The Best Episodes Directed By Andy Ackerman

Not tipping for a favor gets Larry into bad graces with the studio lot's coffee guy, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus accuses him of leaving a ring on an antique table in her house. Meanwhile, he deals with the suspicion that their closeness during production of the Seinfeld reunion has led to Cheryl sleeping with Jason Alexander.

Mr. Harris returns just as Christine starts falling in love with Max.

Becker is crabbier than ever when a flickering street light keeps him from getting any sleep. When the city refuses to make the broken street light a priority assignment, Becker takes matters into his own hands to ensure that he gets a proper night's rest. Meanwhile, Margaret agrees to let Linda bring one personal item into the office, unaware that Linda's item is breathing.

Much to Becker's dismay, an alley cat finds its way into his office and refuses to leave. When they realize that the cat is sick, Becker's guilted into taking care of it -- to the tune of $1,500. Meantime, Margaret attempts to help Becker plan a trip she knows he'll never take.

A prime parking space, an unexpected tax refund and a flawless trip to the post office are just a few of the lucky breaks bestowed upon Becker. Unable to accept the idea that he might just be having a good day, he remains wary of each new stroke of luck and convinces himself that payback is on its way.

Confined to his apartment during the recuperation period, Becker is subjected to the intruding lifestyles of those who live in his building, which has him seeing red. His mood brightens -- temporarily -- when his doctor from the hospital, Elizabeth Carson, makes a house call. Meanwhile, "good help is hard to find" takes on a new meaning when Margaret and Linda try to find a doctor to fill in for Becker.

A rumor starts that John is dying when he suddenly begins eating healthy food and tries to control his temper.

After John agrees to take on a vacationing doctor's patients and one of them dies, he inadvertently leaves a phone message, then desperately tries to retrieve it. Meanwhile, Linda tries to comfort her friend Lynda, who won't leave the office; and Reggie and Jake trade barbs during a slow time in the diner.

John gets into an argument with a priest over whose hands a patient is really in -- God's or the doctor's; Reggie, Jake and Bob take a gamble on the stock market.

Challenged to do so by his friends, Becker changes his routine with disastrous results. When he eats at a new Chinese restaurant, Linda gets a stalker, Margaret gets food poisoning, Bob gets punched in the nose, and Reggie and Jake lose $80 to a scam artist.

Becker decides to quit smoking -- unfortunately, on a day when nothing goes right; Margaret is worried that her marriage is falling apart when her husband plans a trip to Atlantic City without her; when Linda keeps screwing up an X-ray, she convinces an old woman that she's crazy to get the woman to keep coming in for new X-rays; Bob, instead of fixing Becker's broken radiator, sleeps in Becker's bed and breaks his clock radio; and Reggie makes Becker do a memory test for a school project.

A tuxedo-clad John is on his way to his ex-wife's wedding in Connecticut when he stops in a bar because, in all honesty, he doesn't want to attend the event. Instead, the grumpy doc would prefer to have a few drinks, bend the ear of Frank the bartender for a while and get home in time to see the Knicks game on TV. And in the end, that's what he does, but not until he recalls (via flashbacks) his miserable Valentine's Day to Frank. While John complains about being all alone, the wise barkeep helps him realize how truly lucky he is.

When John receives eight expensive steaks from a patient, his new neighbor Chris compels him to throw a party.

The fourth season concludes with a romantic cliffhanger as Reggie and a new neighbor (guest star Nancy Travis) each vie for John's affection. Also, Linda takes Margaret out for a night on the town, which Margaret lives to regret.

Joe is thrilled to learn that, for a charity auction, a plane ticket he donated to fly to any nearby airport goes for a staggering $10,000. But his mood sours when a misprint on the ticket forces him to fly crabby old Carlton Blanchard on a cross-country trip for a reunion with his brother.

Cooing between Jerry and his girlfriend irritates George; Elaine runs afoul of a soup vendor; Kramer loses Elaine's armoire to muggers.

Christine finds herself forced to feign happiness when she covets the house Richard and New Christine have purchased.

The conclusion of a two-part collection of highlights from the first 100 shows includes the characters' concern about their self-images. Also: the evolution of "the contest"; how "marine biologist" George saved a beached whale.

George adopts his girlfriend's verbal shorthand; Jerry suspects a comic motive behind his dentist's conversion to Judaism; double-daters Kramer and Mickey don't know whose date is whose.

Becker's attempt at friendship is short lived; with Margaret at home with the flu, the flaky Linda is left in charge of the office; Reggie receives an unwelcome visit from a former high-school classmate.

Becker is less than thrilled when his estranged father, Fred, makes an unannounced visit. Although Becker is unhappy to see his father, the others are instantly charmed by Fred's easygoing, jovial manner. Despite Becker's chilly welcome, Fred refuses to give up on resuming contact with his polar opposite son.

When Becker learns that his ex-wife Sandra is in town for a book signing tour, he feigns disinterest until he learns that chapters of her new self-help publication denounces "Angry Man," a pseudonym for Becker. When Becker confronts Sarah at her hotel, it becomes abundantly clear that their explosive chemistry remains fiercely intact.

Becker is grumpier than usual after he decides to quit smoking, but he gets a lift from Reggie's friend (Marjorie Monaghan), an ex-smoker who tells him the only substitute that worked for her was sex.

Ryan does not like to be alone in his house. At group, Ryan encourages Sonia to break up with her boyfriend. She does, but then becomes the cat lady. Ryan has to deal with the fallout. Also, Ryan helps George replace a lost basketball.

George's intellect thrives when thoughts of sex are shut out; Elaine wants her intern to become a doctor--stat; Jerry is bumped from a school's Career Day.