The return of Scrubs

I am excited. I need new episodes to erase the abortion that was last season.

 

I'm all for more Sarah Chalke.

 

People who didn't even get to Season 5 missed some of the best episodes. I think Season 5 might even be my favorite season, when I think about it.

My Way Home -- The Wizard of Oz parody/tribute is awesome. If you haven't seen it, you're missing easily one of the best episodes of the series.

My Half Acre -- Possibly my favorite Scrubs episode of all time. Dr. Kelso bans "air bands" and J.D. hooks up with Mandy Moore. Turk does an absolutely hilarious Bel Biv DeVoe lipsync, and the "More Than A Feeling" airbanding at the end rules. Ted's face during his guitar solo is one of my favorite throwaway Scrubs moments.

My Lunch/My Fallen Idol -- Maybe the saddest (two) Scrubs episode(s) that's not named "My Screw Up." Dr. Cox questions whether he wants to be a doctor after a multiple organ transplant goes bad and kills three patients.

My Jiggly Ball -- You finally understand why Kelso is kind of a prick, and why his job is much harder than everyone really understands.

His Story III -- The Janitor narrates, and figures out how to communicate with a quadripalegic patient sort of like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. There's almost no J.D. here, which is a cool change. You also get to see in a flashback that Carla used to always help Elliot out when she was an intern, and Elliot realizes maybe she shouldn't be so hard on her own interns.

There are several others in Season 5 that sing. Season 6 is inconsistent, but still strong.

Season 7 is where the series really started to drift a bit too much from its original magic.

 

My Way Home and My Musical have to be on any sane person's top 5 Scrubs episodes list, and they're in Seasons 5 and 6.

And yes, I am looking forward to this season. Thank-you, Mr. Hulu.

 

Sweaty Teddy.

Ahem.

 

Exactly. I just lent Seasons 5 and 6 to someone, and she'll return them with glowing reviews, I'm sure. They're just so strong, it's amazing.

 

Can't wait for tonight.

DD, like usual, is right-on. Season 5 is Scrubs at the top of its game. It's so deep that he didn't even mention "My Cabbage," which has the most haunting scene in the show's history--the very last second, right before "To Be Continued," as you can see Mrs. Wilk realize that she's once again not feeling well. I always thought the subsequent episode, "My Five Stages," was a nice companion piece to the fourth episode in season 1, "My Old Lady."

There's also an episode where the Janitor and Cox become drinking buddies, but it's the Janitor, and not Cox, who is ashamed to admit it to his friends. And speaking of the Janitor, Neil Flynn really nails "His Story III." I still say my favorite scene in Scrubs history is the one where he realizes the paralyzed patient is thanking him and he almost begins to cry as he walks away with a clear joyful spring in his step.

And seasons 5 thru 7 really develop Kelso. Season 7 wasn't very good, at least by Scrubs standards, but it had a couple great Kelso moments: Kelso consoling his son over another broken relationship and the brilliant sequence in which the ladies get his job back and Kelso responds by telling the hospital boss to kiss his ass. He grabs his portrait off the wall, sees Ted and says "Thanks for everything Ted. Sincerely." Just a perfect moment.

And was it in season 5 or 6 when Cox extended an olive branch to Kelso by asking him to tell him about his gay son? Always loved that moment, too. "Tell me about him." Then Cox sits down and begins listening, and eventually Kelso is pictured staring proudly at a picture of his son and boyfriend.

I think Ken Jenkins is the most underrated member of that cast.

I could go on and on.

 

When Scrubs grounds itself in reality, it still can be an excellent show. In the past few seasons, it got way, way too silly and meta. Also, it seems that the ratio of interviews with Bill Lawrence to quality content was far too high.

Jenkins has always been great on the show, especially the last few years -- I'll still take McGinley if I have to choose, but he's a close second.

Last year's line -- "Thanks for everything, Ted. Sincerely." -- might have been one of my favorite Scrubs moments ever.

 

I am perfectly willing to admit that I have missed some great episodes. But it just seemed like everytime I was able to watch, it was absurdity on top of absurdity with a sprinkle of the crazy on top.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/arts/television/30scru.html?_r=3

No more banana hammocks for the Todd, per the orders of top men at Disney.

 

I find it a little troubling that Braff seems to take every chance he has to say how happy he is that the show is in its final season. It seems like he's been bad-mouthing the show for a couple years now, but maybe that's the constant frustration of whether it's going to be picked up or not, which has seemed to be an issue since the show started.

 

I agree Mizzou. It's not like Garden State was that big of a hit or that are making The Last Kiss II. I could be wrong, but I just don't see him as a movie star.