PASADENA, Calif. — This fall on the CBS sitcom "Becker," Nancy Travis is in — and Terry Farrell is out.
But, despite the fact that she was, well, fired, Farrell didn't do anything to prompt her dismissal, said executive producer David Hackel.
"It was a totally creative decision, not a punitive one," Hackel insisted. Which didn't make it any easier.
"My conversation with Terry, as you might have imagined, was a difficult one," Hackel said. "I ended with us making plans to go to dinner so I could meet her fiance. She's been nothing but incredibly gracious and wonderful."
"Incredibly gracious," repeated series star Ted Danson.
Hackel said the reason for the change is "fairly straightforward." And it had nothing to do with the fact that Farrell, along with the rest of the supporting cast, staged a work slowdown of sorts last year in an attempt to increase their salaries.
"When you get past year five of a show . . . what happens is you're looking for a way to shake up the show. Something new to write about," he said.
And by adding Travis as a potential love interest for the title character, cranky Dr. John Becker (Ted Danson), Hackel hopes to provide not only a surprise but a lot of new stories.
But, while there was always attraction between John and Reggie, there was never any romance. So why did one character (and the actress who played her) have to leave to make room for another?
"My feeling was that if you have two strong women that you then have to service, not just financially, but with the script," Hackel said, "the show begins to be weighted too much in the wrong direction. This is still the story of a doctor in the Bronx. If I made it a triangle for the rest of the show's run, I believe it would turn the show into something different. So I decided to choose."
He chose Travis, who appeared in the last three episodes last season — a story arc that was supposed to have ended. The plan was that when Becker went to see her in this fall's season premiere, her character would be gone. And that when he went back to Reggie she would say, "I came to my senses" and that Becker "would be right back where we always had him."
"I thought, well, what would happened if I did just the opposite? What would happen if he went where no one expects him to go? And the stories started to happen.
"And, quite frankly, if I had had Ted pursue Reggie romantically, it's you folks who would have just run to your typewriters and said, 'Boy, didn't we see that coming.' Well, hopefully, you didn't see this coming. And hopefully the audience won't see it coming. And, hopefully, it will be interesting to you."
For the first time, Becker will pursue romance.
"I can't wait to see Becker chase a girl," Danson said. "He's never done that, and he'll be terrible, I imagine. . . . But I love all the possibilities."
Hackel said that, in light of the skirt-chasing character Danson played for 11 seasons on "Cheers," he "studiously avoided any kind of romantic entanglement" for John Becker. "We just thought to invite that comparison would be silly." But the feeling is that, as the show enters its sixth season, it's now OK to go in that direction.
And Danson, who went through a major cast change in "Cheers" (Kirstie Alley replacing Shelley Long), thinks the change will help "Becker."
"Different circumstances, but I don't think 'Cheers' would have lasted as long as it did if there hadn't been a change like that," Danson said. "I think it just naturally energizes the show."
"You said that when that change was made, it gave an excuse to shine a light on all the other characters again," Hackel said. "Sort of retell their stories."
Which, coincidentally, he thinks might be a good thing given that the show is moving from Mondays at 8:30 p.m. to Sundays at 7:30 p.m. in the fall.
"Maybe we can get new people as well who need to meet these folks," Hackel said. "And I can't think of a better way than to let the characters explain who they are."
Reggie's sudden disappearance from the show will be explained when "Becker" returns in the fall. But Hackel isn't giving any hints.
"You have to watch the first episode," Hackel said. "It will be dealt with in the first episode. And it will be dealt with, hopefully, in a way that surprises you."
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com