‘BECKER” star Ted Danson is poised to join one of the most exclusive clubs in TV.

has someLike Dick Van Dyke and Andy Griffith – his boyhood TV idols – or Raymond Burr and Bob Newhart, Danson appears to have found a second TV hit after starring in in a once-in-a-lifetime smash success.

But like his heroes, Danson didn’t find his second act as one of TV’s most popular stars without a stumble or two along the way (anyone remember ‘The New Dick Van Dyke Show”?).

After finding fame and considerable fortune on the long-running ‘Cheers,” Danson pursued a lacklustre film career that went no where.

After he was lured back to series television with a megabucks contract – had a disastrous half-season on CBS’ ‘Ink,” in which he co-starred with real-life wife Mary Steenburgen playing a feisty newspaper columnist.

But with his new CBS series ‘Becker” picking up steam, Danson says he’s learned from past mistakes.

‘Are we considered a successful show? That’s good to know,” he said, seemingly surprised at ‘Becker” being labeled a bona fide hit.

‘I think what happened with ‘Cheers’ is that I thought, wow, this is what happens when you do television. It was a free ride and I had no idea what the real world was like. Then, when Mary and I did our show [‘Ink’] I realized [TV success] is not a shoo-in, obviously.

‘I don’t think I was all that nervous in coming back to do ‘Becker,”’ he said. ‘What I decided to do was really smart for me, I think, in the way the show was conceived.

‘Unless you’re a [Jerry] Seinfeld or [Bill] Cosby who has his own voice and knows what that is…you’re better off finding a really good script and asking if you can be in it. That, to me, is when you really stand a chance.”

Still, Danson is uncomfortable with comparisions to Van Dyke and Griffith. When asked how it feels to be in elite company, he is blunt.

‘I gotta tell you,I know this sounds like a lie, but I’m trying to stay out of [those comparisons],” he said. ‘The tough part is that all of this feeds right into your ego – and that’s a lose-lose place to hang out.

‘I’m just trying to show up, go to work and be like Dick Van Dyke. Either you get inflated or deflated – and both of them are beside the point.

‘I know that sounds bogus but I’ve spent a lifetime trying to discipline myself to do that,” he said.

‘And it’s less of an apology now. I’m starting to care less about what you guys [the press] think of me and the show. It jars me sometimes, but I’m beginning to stay within myself more.

‘When ‘Becker’ started there was a lot of anger out there, both at the show and at me. And I that surprised me.’

Danson sounds a bit like his character, Dr. John Becker, a cranky Bronx physician – ‘aggressively middle-aged,” as Danson puts it – whose rants on everything from gun control to smoking hide a soft heart and a caring soul.

‘Becker” wasn’t supposed to debut until mid-season, but when ‘The Brian Benben Show” tanked early, ‘Becker” was forced into the prime-time game as an untested rookie.

But so far, it’s worked. ‘Becker” has helped CBS build a strong Monday-night schedule and, following ‘Everybody Loves Raymond” at 9:30 p.m., has retained most of ‘Raymond’s” audience and advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic.

‘To me it starts with the writing,” Danson said. ‘Like ‘Cheers’ this was not developed for anyone in particular . . . and that’s the way ‘Cheers’ was done. And that’s the way a show stands a chance.”