Posted by Frosty

Review by Kevin Biggers

Perhaps the reason for the numerous cancellation calls and basement scraping ratings for the critically acclaimed Scrubs is its serial structure—which includes thorough characterization, multi-episode stories and—the cherry on top of its toxic-for-television sundae—inside jokes. Though the formula works well within the two-hour confines or a movie or a one-hour drama, is rather fatal for 23-minute weekly episodes. Ergo, there are George Lopez’s, Ray Romano’s and Damon Wayan’s shows for people to hop in and out of without much dedication or attachment.

Still there will always be a special place for shows like Scrubs, thanks to the latest surge of DVD sales, which compelled some able-minded executive finally to begin releasing the show on DVD—a move that will likely attract those on-the-fence with the show to assimilate the first two seasons.

What likely will sell the show onto unacquainted and unsure viewers is how much they’ll care about the characters. John “J.D.” Dorian (Zach Braff) heads the show as the precocious but puerile doctor who longs for the satisfaction of head resident Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), wiggles his way through a number of steamy dalliances and tries to save the world on his own, but as the opening theme (“I can’t do this all on my own/ I’m no Superman”) suggests, often leans on the more pragmatic advice of his friends, peers and patients. Braff plays Dorian with Emmy-worthy consistency, aptly leading the viewers through the physical and emotional complexities of the hospital and its staff, and humorously presenting his own oneiric fantasies—which have become the live-action tantamount to Family Guy’s practices. Donald Faison plays J.D.’s best friend/surgeon Turk with admirable vulnerability, both selling the cocky veneer and exposing his sensitive core. The female characters, Elliot (Sarah Chalke) and Carla (Judy Reyes), never resort to stock female depictions that often plague and drown less worthy sitcoms, and consequently the two actresses warrant their own storylines and equal face time. Yet despite such solid performances from the main characters, it’s John C. McGinley as the witty and irascible Dr. Perry Cox who almost steals the show in a way that Martin Sheen stole The West Wing from Rob Lowe—though in a testament both to McGinley’s and Braff’s comedic acumen—has not happened.

If there’s anything bad to say about Season Two, it’s that it drops off a bit from Season One in both dramatic and comedic categories, which is expected considering the proverbial sophomore slump and shakeup of the show’s dynamic from documenting the lives of interns to documenting the lives of young residents. One fault to the writers is the lack of compelling patients for the doctors to interact with. Season Two largely concentrates on the personal rather than occupational lives of the doctors—J.D. and Elliot face yet another romantic entanglement, Carla and Turk contemplate marriage and Dr. Cox becomes a father.

Nonetheless, there is no show on network television as courageous as Scrubs. Each episode creatively separates itself from past and future episodes whether it’s a three-minute montage of J.D. followed around by guitar-wielding Aussie Colin Hay, who provides an acoustic version of “Overkill” for both source music and the soundtrack, or half an episode presented through the stream-of-consciousness narration of Dr. Cox. Perhaps the riskiest moves come when guest stars like Heather Locklear, Amy Smart and Ricky Schroeder are integrated into multi-episode storylines, knowing very well that there stay won’t last long.

Another example comes during a dramatic scene where a woman’s life hangs in danger from a premature pregnancy, while J.D. dreams up a candid camera gag, which not only provides one of the most humorous sequences of the season but elevates the dramatic implications of reality. In a way, Scrubs pokes at television on both sides of the spectrum—intelligence-insulting humor and maudlin drama—by juxtaposing both as if to say somewhere in the middle is real life, and real compelling material.

Video/Audio

1.33:1 Aspect Ratio. Dolby Digital, 5.1 Surround Sound. Crisp and clean.

Extras

While 22 episodes should be enough for any fan, the DVD set teems with extras including six audio commentaries by creator Bill Lawrence, Zach Braff and other members of the creative team. There are ten separate features, each walking the viewer through the on-set intricacies and facets of the television show. All are worthy watches, though two stand out the most, like “Musical Stylings,” which explain notable integration of music into the show, and “Imagination Gone Wild,” which showcases some of the memorable J.D. fantasies of the season.

Final Words

In a recent Entertainment Weekly issue, Lynette Rice discusses the lackluster numbers of NBC Thursday, which is headlined by Joey’s 42 percent decline from last year’s ratings. It’s no surprise that in proposing three NBC stalwarts to surround the ailing Friends spin-off, one of those shows was Scrubs, which despite being left off the fall lineup, is widely regarded as one of the few shows that can save NBC’s disappointing 2005-2006 campaign.

It strikes me as ironic, and as a fan slightly amusing, that the ratings giant of the late 90s and early 2000s would call upon Scrubs to resurrect its marquee night, after nearly five years of pigeonholing the show in the hopeless slots of network neglect and all but fitting the guillotine for the head of Bill Lawrence (creator/producer).