I've always been a sucker for the TV series Scrubs. Whenever I'm asked the question (and believe me, I'm asked a lot), "What's your favorite TV show?", I proudly respond, smiling, "Scrubs!". My answer used to be greeted with a warm smile and a hearty laugh: "Yeah, Scrubs is hilarious!" My interrogator and I would then share a few laughs as we reminisced over some of Scrubs' funnier moments.
However, whenever I admitted that in the last couple of years, my answer was met with a frown and a roll of the eyes: "I don't know man, that show used to be good. It's just not funny anymore". But I didn't let up. I didn't name my other favorites when I was asked that frequent question. I didn't replace J.D. with Jack Bauer, Dexter, or the ever-growing cast of Lost. I stayed true to the show. I believed in it's writers. I trusted the cast.
The cast of Scrubs.
But my mockers were not entirely in the wrong when they said that Scrubs used to be funny. It's first season was classic. Establishing the characters and unique style that creator Bill Lawrence envisioned. Seasons two through five were it's golden years, providing us with quintessential episodes like the sitcom episode, also known as My Life In Four Cameras, and the Wizard of Oz episode, also known as My Way Home. They gave us memorable moments like J.D. sabotaging his relationship with Elliott for good, Turk repeatedly asking Carla to marry him, Dr. Cox losing three patients at once, and Dr. Kelso once again taking on the responsibilities of a normal doctor.
These were all important moments in the show's history. They established bonds between the characters and the audience. They were the back bone of the show. After the fifth season, the show's future was put in jeopardy. Thinking that the sixth season would be its last, the writers killed off a lovable character. They were worn out, and you could tell. There was an episode that consisted entirely of clips from previous seasons. They started writing slapstick gags that made no sense whatsoever. When they were given the green light for a seventh season, they ended on a cliffhanger consisting of the same relationship that was sabotaged three seasons earlier.
One of Scrubs' wackier moments.
Season seven was not much better. The network officially announced that this would be Scrubs' final season. They were getting the axe. However, this being the year of Hollywood's infamous writers' strike, the show (once again) was screwed by the network and their series finale was a nothing. A dud. An episode that would have otherwise been a fantastic story.
Although these seasons may not have been as funny as the first five seasons were, they were still Scrubs. The reality and truth that the show was built on was still there. The humanity, the realness of the characters, was still present. And it kept me watching. These were the seasons where we saw the cast sing for twenty minutes in a fantastic episode entitled My Musical. We saw J.D. give birth to his first son and take most of the cast on a road trip in an RV. Maybe these episodes were not as funny, they still never lacked the realism on which the show was built.
After its "series finale", the writers struggled to find a way to end the show properly. NBC wasn't giving them many options or funding. They simply decided to quit on a show that they had backed for seven years. But then something happened that no one expected. ABC, a rival network, showed interest in Scrubs and picked it up for an eighth, and final, season. Once again, Scrubs persevered. Once again, it was getting a final season. And what a final season it was. The eighth season of the show was Scrubs in it's prime again. And the series finale? It was exactly how the series should have ended. Flawless. Picture perfect. We all said goodbye to Scrubs, again.
J.D. and Turk share a goodbye in the series finale of Scrubs.
But ABC was not ready to let it die. They just purchased this show with a strong fan base. They wanted a ninth season. There were problems: the cast wanted to move on. Judy Reyes, Sarah Chalke, and Zach Braff were all ready to put Scrubs behind them and move on to other things. So Mr. Lawrence came up with an alternate idea: a whole new show. Still a medical comedy/drama, Scrubs would now take place in a med school where all of our returning characters (Turk, Cox, and Kelso) would be teaching. It was marketed as a whole new show. Like Frasier was to Cheers.
Braff decided he would come back for six episodes to ease the transition from Scrubs to Scrubs: Med School Edition and the writers began their very difficult task of keeping old fans watching as well as recruiting new ones. The first two episodes aired last week.
I was interested to see how different this new season would be from the old Scrubs. With new cast members in Michael Mosley, Dave Franco, and Kerry Bishe, all as med students, the premise is that the old Sacred Heart was torn down and rebuilt on the med school campus. The old doctors are now professors. Turk is still silly. Cox is still a hard-ass. Kelso still doesn't give a crap. The show feels complete, but we've still got J.D. running around doing his old thing. What about once he's gone? Will the show be able to survive without its leading man?
Scrubs' three new med students (from left to right): Kerry Bishe, Dave Franco, and Michael Mosley.
I liked the first two episodes. They set a tone for the rest of the season which has worked for Scrubs before and it maintained its unique style. My only complaint is with the show's new leading lady: Kerry Bishe, who plays Lucy, or "The new J.D." The problem is that J.D. is a character who is so unique and goofy that he's hard to duplicate. You can't replace J.D. with someone who is exactly like him. The voiceover and the fantasies were just so character-specific that it doesn't work when you try to introduce a new character who is exactly the same. My favorite new character is Drew. Played by Michael Mosley, Drew is a thirty year old med school drop out who is back now to finish his degree. He's pessimistic and doesn't want anything to do with anyone - he just wants to finish school.
The first two episodes were good. I laughed. It was like the old Scrubs despite everyone insisting that it's a new show. I'm going to keep watching because it's essentially the same show it was nine years ago. It has the power to make me laugh and it has the power to make me cry. And the next time someone asks me, "Hey Nick, what's your favorite TV show?". I'll proudly say, "Scrubs".
