Scrubs – Regular Guy

A Fond Farewell

brian — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:16:36 +0000

I have resisted writing this post because I didn’t want to admit the news was true. A week ago, Zach Braff posted something on his Facebook page that I fully expected, but dreaded.

Many of you have asked, so here it is: it appears that “New Scrubs”, “Scrubs 2.0”, “Scrubs with new kids”, “Scrubbier”, “Scrubs without JD” is no more. It was worth a try, but alas… it didn’t work. zb

Like I said, no one could have realistically expected ABC to pick up the show. The network has not commented and creator Bill Lawrence has said he has not been told of a cancellation, but he fully expects the show has met its end … for the third time.

Part of me actually welcomes this news. The show’s future had started to get worse than the Ross-and-Rachel story lines of “Friends.” Someone had to make up their mind eventually so the finality is refreshing.

But I think the new version of the show didn’t really get a fair shake. First of all, the presence of Braff really hamstrung the creativity. He seemed to take up too much space, which didn’t allow us to really get to know the new cast. Since the main narrator mirrored the J.D. character in too many ways, that really left for some herky-jerky episodes in the first half of the 12-episode order.

So many comedies need time to find the personalities of the characters. When they are meshing with an existing cast, that’s hard enough. Putting one member of that old cast front and center with the character’s worst traits turned up to 11 (they really wrote the annoying version of JD this time around) makes the process even harder.

Combine that with the usual time-slot BS that the show deals with – I thought the move to ABC was going to end that – and Lawrence’s baby had no chance. I have no idea why they just didn’t toss it into the 8 p.m. slot on Wednesday’s after “Hank” flamed out. I know the other three comedies that night have done exceedingly well, but adding a re-run of one of them really made no sense to me. I don’t think it would have solved all of the show’s problems, but it might have helped ABC get a better sense of the show’s potential audience.

My biggest problem with the whole scenario is that I don’t think Lawrence, who was understandably focused on the development of “Cougar Town” this season, followed through on his promise that the new version of “Scrubs” would fail in a spectacular way if it didn’t make the grade. The opposite happened: the Med School version of the show went out with a whimper simply because the writers never got a chance to get a hold on the characters because they had to make too many connections to the show’s predecessor.

The List

brian — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:49:50 +0000

I started to think about something the other day when I posted something about “Jersey Shore,” aka the greatest television show ever created. I have enjoyed watching The Situation so much, I decided he ranked among the top five people I wanted to have a beer with.

I remember a guy I went to college with telling me that he couldn’t really trust a guy until he sat and had a beer with them. I tend to agree. Even if you don’t drink, the casual attitude at a bar really lets you learn a lot about a person. Plus, a beer takes somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes to drink at a casual pace, so that’s plenty of time to get to have a substantive conversation with someone you find interesting.

The only problem with that declaration was that I don’t recall ever considering what four other people would make the list (inspired by a great storyline on “Friends”). That changes right now. Without further ado, my top five in no particular order:

The Situation, formally known as Mike Sorrentino. He has burst onto the scene with his bravado and humor from “Jersey Shore. He has blown me away with appearances an appearance on The Tonight Show and a Funny or Die video which slayed me.
Peter Buck, guitarist for R.E.M. He was the driving force in the rock return of Accelerate,the band’s most recent album. He plays in several other groups, including The Baseball Project, and is a total music geek. To top it off, the humor and insight of the liner notes he sometimes contributes to the band’s projects would provide for lots of conversation.
Bill Lawrence, creator of “”Scrubs.” My man crush on the man behind one of my favorite TV shows is well known. We almost went to college together. I could have been his right-hand man. Plus, he provides the most refreshing interviews I have ever read. Easily a two-beer conversation.
Jason Segal, “How I Met Your Mother” and Judd Apatow movies. He just seems cool.
Rhett Miller, singer, guitarist from the Old 97s. Ever since I saw him play earlier this year, I have had a slight obsession with the band’s music. A writer and terrific performer, I would love to swap stories with a guy who wrote a line “My name is Stuart Ransom Miller, and I’m a serial lady killer.”

That’s the list, for now. Like all endeavors in this vein, I will probably think of someone else later, and I reserve the right to change things. I also disqualified people like Tim Quirk and Charlie Todd, who I have interviewed for my dear, departed podcast.

Time to “Scrub” In

brian — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:03:54 +0000

Good news hit the wire yesterday. The return of “Scrubs” is only a month away. Creator Bill Lawrence announced earlier this summer his plans for the ninth season of the show, and we’ll see the new version of the hospital (now med school) comedy on Dec. 1.

I like this news for a few reasons. First off, I love the show. I have been mildly disappointed with Lawrence’s new show “Cougar Town,” so hope to see his old magic on display with this premiere. Secondly, ABC has put the show on Tuesday, which is one of the nights where I have no other TV obligations, making it easy for me to fit this into my schedule.

But last of all, I’m excited about seeing how the transition to Turk and Dr. Cox teaching med school goes. They will introduce new characters to carry the load left by regulars such as Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, Ken Jenkins and Neil Flynn. Those favorites will return in some form throughout the 13 episodes, but the med students learning under Turk and Cox will be the focus.

That might worry some fans of the show, but Lawrence made a promise to those of us who lived and died with the Sacred Heart staff. We should be entertained regardless of how well the transition works.

It very well may suck. But don’t say it sucks until you see it. And my pledge is that if it sucks, it’s not going to suck in a fizzly way. It’s going to suck in a giant, ‘Oh my god’ kind of way, because we’re really swinging for the fences and trying to do some big stuff.

Holding Out Hope

brian — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:58:08 +0000

I want to like “Cougar Town.” I really do. I basically have a man crush on creator Bill Lawrence and can’t fathom the thought of him making a one-note, boring comedy. I hope he can prove me wrong. After two episodes, I’m not 100 percent sure I can stick with it.

First, I want to focus on the things I like about the show. I liked Dan Byrd, who plays the son of star Courteney Cox, a lot more in the second episode than I did in the first. I think he can provide a decent comedy foil for Cox, especially with Brian Van Holt, who plays his father. I really, really like the pairing of Ian Gomez and Christa Miller as the married couple living next door. Gomez is a classic “that guy,” who plays the whipped husband secure with his lot in life. Miller does another great job playing the mother jaded with the job of raising her children, just like she did in the latter days of Scrubs.

When they focus on these dynamics, the show works. The power struggle between Cox, Miller and Gomez when Cox’s character Jules decided to party it up provided a bunch of funny moments. The father-son tandem riding around in a golf cart also work, particularly with the scene at the public fountain. That was a classic Lawrence sight gag involving a callback.

I also enjoyed Lawrence and producing partner Randall Winston appearing in the second episode as cops in a photo montage showing Jules’ wild night. Now I just wonder when we will find a character names Randall Winston in the show.

But they have ruined these moments with the insipid attempts of Jules to regain her youth. I know that’s a significant part of the plot, but it happens in such predictable and uninspiring ways that it threatens to make the show entirely miss-able.

I know she needs a younger foil to counteract Miller’s character, but Busy Philipps‘ portrayal of Jules’ co-worker and party friend Laurie is horrible. So is every other female “party character” such as the older redhead realtor who has no problem living the wild life.

The reason Lawrence’s previous shows (Spin City and Scrubs) have succeeded is because characters that might sound like they fit a stereotype always had a depth that provided more realism to the story. Laurie does not do that one bit. Neither does the redhead nor Jules’ 40-something male neighbor Grayson.

Besides, we can see the whole Grayson-Jules hookup coming, which will give her a chance to re-examine whether she should be hooking up with a guy her age and make him regress to his 20-something hookups even more to overcompensate. And that predictability has me worried that the show will turn into something anyone could have written, not the wry, offbeat comedies that have made Bill Lawrence successful.

You might have noticed I haven’t commented much on Cox. There is no need to. She’s Courtney Cox – she plays an over-worried, over-reactionary, loud character just like she has every time she has in the past. I had just hoped the rest of the package would make up for her weaknesses. Instead, they might be working around her, which is a recipe for disaster.

I hope Lawrence either proves me wrong or has saved all his good stuff for the return of Scrubs in January.

The Final “Scrubs,” Kinda

brian — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:27:52 +0000

I would like to say that the crushing disappointment of the end of Scrubs as we know it has kept me from blogging for a week, but, in reality, I have just been lazy. So what better to get me back into the blogging swing of things than a recap of last night’s finale.

My man crush on Bill Lawrence pretty much guaranteed I would like the episode. I have a hard time getting disappointed at TV shows, especially ones I already love. I am in the minority of people who liked the Seinfeld finale. I had invested too much in the show to feel offended at the way the thing ended.

But the Scrubs finale went beyond simple satisfaction for me (and others). The episode, written and directed by Lawrence, managed to stick with the themes that kept the show alive for eight seasons while tying up loose ends to give this incarnation of the show a proper ending. They accomplished this in a few ways:

Putting a really simple, yet complex medical case at the forefront. The need for a man about J.D.’s age to decide whether or not to take a test which told him he had inherited a fatal disease fit perfectly into the finale story. Lawrence has always said medicine drove the show from its beginning and this clear-cut case involving a difficult decision made that happen one more time.
J.D. moved to avoid the commute. Turk acknowledged the commute would affect their friendship. But Elliot “sneak moved in” with JD without regard to the commute. That subtle touch showed where their relationship had gone this season. Lawrence put them together at the beginning so there wouldn’t be a “will they or won’t they” vibe as the season drew to a close. I think that allowed this small sacrifice by Elliot to be even more special.
Everyone said goodbye in their own way. The Janitor humanized himself, maybe. Judy Reyes showed why Carla can be such a powerful figure in such an ensemble. Turk admitted maybe the bromance was getting to be a little too much. Kelso simply cut and run. And Dr. Cox stayed true to himself to the very end. The characters stayed true to the path they have traveled for eight years.
That hallway scene showed how much Lawrence understands his fan base. I don’t know about you, but my wife and I rewound it and played it slowly (more than once) to make sure we got a good look at everyone who appeared. The reruns on Comedy Central make it possible to see those characters all the time, but we still appreciated the opportunity to see who would populate J.D.’s mind on his final exit. I just wished Mandy Moore had been there.
The episode ended with a J.D. dream sequence that was similar to what he has always done, but a little different. Not only was it more realistic and focused solely on family, but the grainy nature of old home movies added a nice effect, especially compared to the clear vision of past guests that lined the hall before he went outside.
Finally, Lawrence inserting himself into the final shot as the janitor taking down Turk’s farewell banner cemented the notion that, in the end, this is a small and select group of people who really understand and enjoy the show.

Sure, the audience for this season is only a third of that which watched the first couple of seasons when it had an amazingly powerhouse lineup around it. But NBC drew 6.4 million or so for the past four seasons while between 4.5 and 5 million people watched this season on ABC. I never thought I’d describe five million people as a small group, but that’s the truth in television terms.

The inside jokes and constant callbacks make the people who watch Scrubs feel more like viewers and almost like a participant. The fans know the story behind Randall Winston, Lawrence’s producer and friend who plays the hook-handed security guard and also provides his name to the Janitor’s midget friend. The fans know that Mike Schwartz is an executive producer and plays Lloyd the Delivery Guy. And the fans knew the second that they saw Lawrence in a janitor’s uniform that he thought about us when he put the final episode together.

That’s not to say that if you didn’t like it, you’re not a fan. I’ll always believe in personal preference, but I find it hard to see how people can’t acknowledge that Scrubs deserved this final episode regardless of how many silly jokes missed over the past few years. I know some complain that the show will suck if and when it is re-jiggered for a ninth season, but I agree with Lawrence that so many other shows suck and something he creates should be worth a chance.

‘Scrubs’ Coming Back?

brian — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:12:14 +0000

This time, the President has overstepped his boundries. I have put up with a couple of prime-time press conferences, mainly because they did not conflict with anything I watched. Now, he’s messing with “Scrubs.”

The penultimate show of this season, which is supposed to the final season, will not air tonight because of the presser celebrating President Obama’s 100th day in office. Instead, it will run next Tuesday with the supposed series finale set for next Wednesday. Thanks for making me wait another week for a new Scrubs, Prez.

I say supposed because creator Bill Lawrence is talking with ABC about bringing the show back for a ninth season. This has always been a possibility because of the introduction of the new interns, but this is the first concrete news I have seen.

The show would certainly have a much different look as descriptions for the next two episodes pretty much confirm that J.D. will leave Sacred Heart, confirming that Zach Braff is cutting the cord. Good for him – he deserves it and can probably do little else with the character.

The stories I have read said that Donald Faison, Neil Flynn and John C. McGinley all have pilots they hope to turn into a regular series next year. I also read that Judy Reyes wanted to hit the stage in her native New York. So maybe some of them could pop in for occasional guest spots while a new set of characters brings us some laughs.

I suggested on one blog that Dr. Kelso, played fantastically by Ken Jenkins, could serve as the bridge to the new cast. Someone likened that idea to AfterMASH, but I don’t think it has to be that bad of an idea. Some people have said that Scrubs just isn’t Scrubs without J.D., but aren’t the maddening aspects of J.D.’s life the things that often made the show stagnant?

So it might be more of a spin-off than a ninth season of Scrubs, but who doesn’t want a smart, funny show set in a hospital with some sense of familiarity in a day and age when new, hit comedies are incredibly hard to find?

Welcome Back, Scrubs

brian — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:30:42 +0000

One of the best shows on TV came back last night. Scrubs now airs on ABC and we got a double-shot of episodes that reminded me why the show always sucks me in.

First off, they had the goofy first episode with the new chief and interns learning about how strange a place Sacred Heart really is. Then they had the emotional, but still funny, follow up with a dying man facing his fate along with Turk and JD.

This will supposedly be the last go round for this show. Creator Bill Lawrence, who I almost became best friends with in college*, and star Zach Braff have said they are done after this, the eighth season. Lawrence has held out hope that something different may come out of the new characters they are introducing this season.

I don’t know if this will work, but at least they aren’t focusing on that and just letting it happen naturally. There are webisodes featuring the interns, but I haven’t watched them yet. This might be the first time I actually indulge in webisodes. Makes me feel dirty.

Anyway, I liked how they get a little bit of each character in there, including the small Kelso role in the coffee shop. I have unfortunately read ahead and know what happens with the chief position so if you don’t like spoilers (a term I hate), don’t check out the episode guide on Wikipedia. Regardless of whether you know ahead of time or not, it’s going to be a wild ride.

* – Bill graduated from William and Mary the same year I graduated from college. W&M was my first choice, but I got wait listed and went to Allegheny instead. He surely would have been impressed with my wit and charm, and I could have ridden his coat tails all the way to Hollywood.

Listen Up, Priscilla

brian — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:10:58 +0000

About a year ago, fans of “Scrubs” like me just assumed the show would wrap up its sixth and final season and live in reruns for a while.

Not only did that notion go by the wayside, but now news has broken that the show may come back for an eighth season after it finishes the current abbreviated season, which has five episodes left. Only one question remains – which network will show it next year?

While the show currently appears on NBC, a division of ABC actually owns the show. ABC president Steve McPherson developed the show at Touchtone Studios before he took over at ABC. NBC has done just enough to keep “Scrubs” because it knows ABC will snap it up the moment they drop it.

That’s why ABC has shown interest in an 18-episode order next year. Apparently, “Scrubs” has done so well in syndication – I know we watch it on Comedy Central whenever we can – that the cost of producing that many shows will easily be made backon the back end.

NBC has a period where it can exclusively negotiate for next season so I guess it’s just a matter of whether fans of the show will endure another season of NBC dicking around with the show or if ABC will give it the respect and status I think it deserves.

I just hope the whole cast comes back. If that doesn’t happen, all of this talk should just stop now.

Welcome Back, Kinda

brian — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:47:44 +0000

One of my favorite TV shows, “Scrubs,” made a bold choice last season and killed off a major character, Nurse Laverne Roberts. Well, news has come out that she might be back next season … kind of. Aloma Wright, the actress, will return in a new role that ought to be worth some laughs – Nurse Roberts’ single, alcoholic sister Shirley.

Get it? Laverne and Shirley. I love Bill Lawrence.