Archive for Recap
With our illustrious leader away on a covert mission for the state (you didn’t hear that from me), I agreed to step in for this penultimate episode of ‘Scrubs.’ Hopefully, he’ll be back in time for next week’s finale as it may be his last chance. Still no word on the fate of ‘Scrubs’ 2.0 beyond these two episodes; I suspect ABC is holding out just in case ratings go up with the show as part of their successful “ABC Comedy Wednesday” block.
The episode itself was a bit of a mixed bag. I’m still just not able to get into Cole as a character. He’s far too cartoonish for my tastes. At least J.D.’s antics were tempered by the sense that he was a person we could believe in, while Cox showed a vulnerable side underneath all his venom. I’m still struggling to believe in Cole as a sympathetic character.
Luckily, some moves were made to correct that as the episode wound down. Words of wisdom from one Bob Kelso making the difference in that one; what an interesting progression Kelso’s character has had over the seasons.
This new iteration of ‘Scrubs’ is still struggling to find its own identity, even though it’s now probably far too late. They’re so close to finding the perfect balance between douchebaggery and humanity in Cole needed to make him watchable. Cox and Kelso were able to be bigger dicks from the beginning because they were in the roles of foils for J.D. and the original batch of interns so we didn’t need to “root for them,” though many of us did.
I’ve been told I’m overly critical of the Cole character, and I can accept that possibility. Maybe it’s that I’m not seeing much range in Dave Franco, though that could be the limitations of the role he’s been given. He still can make me laugh, though, as I thought his T-Payne rap about his mole (prepared for both results) was spot-on hilarious.
But we’ve been down this “why doesn’t anybody like me?” crap with him before. That’s why it was refreshing to see Kelso show up and sit by him in bed. Kelso’s storyline was surprisingly real, though the ending wasn’t so much. Losing one’s independence in old age is something that so many people experience; I can still remember when my grandmother was stripped of her own ability to drive. It’s a huge blow.
But Kelso was right. True friends will be there even when you’re a dick. You just can’t be a dick all the time. It’s as if Bill Lawrence and the gang realized that the character of Cole needed to be tempered with some decency for people to stand behind him as a character they can like despite his constant jackass demeanor. Yet another case of a course correction for an improving series perhaps too late.
At the same time, when Denise and Cox realized they were both too much alike, while I appreciated the comedic potential in that scenario, I couldn’t help but be struck by how much Drew was like them as well. His speech to the pair of them when he brought them together was delivered in a very Coxian manner, which might have been intentional but either way seems ill-advised. Especially if you’re going to openly decide two of your cast members are similar.
The big difference between Cox and Kelso through the years was that Cox cared about his patients and his doctors under his gruff demeanor. The difference between Cox and Denise is … gender? One of them can sleep with Cox’s “#1?” Well, I guess technically it’s possible for — you know what? I’m just going to leave it. Let’s leave that right there.
It is a disappointment that the new ‘Scrubs’ seems to have been a failure on launch. If it had truly been launched as a spin-off series, a la ‘Frasier,’ it may have stood a better chance as the audience would have been better prepared for the stark differences from last season to this one. Unfortunately, it looks as if time has run out on ‘Scrubs’ with only one more week remaining.
After an amazing not-series finale last season for ‘Scrubs,’ I’m definitely intrigued to see what they bring to the screen with next week’s installment, ‘Our Thanks.’ It’s certainly a title worthy of a series finale, and you have to imagine Lawrence knew the writing was on the wall going into this one. Hopefully, it can at least provide a bit of closure for these new characters.
Watch ‘Our Driving Issues’ Episode Online
Just like with Better Off Ted, there doesn’t seem to be any sign that the final two episodes of Scrubs are going to air any time soon. One was supposed to air tonight, but got yanked. One might air next Wednesday, but evidence is conflicting.
If this is the last episode we see, then, that’ll be a shame, because this was the best one of the season. We saw a lot of growth by all the characters, even the ones that we’ve seen on our screens for nine years. But mostly, we saw exactly what the new Scrubs could be if given time: a great ensemble comedy that brings the funny on a consistent basis.
What did I like about the episode?
– Drew asserting himself as a true leader, with Cox’s help. It really looks like Cox is taking a shine to his number one, to the extent that he’s giving Drew lessons that go beyond medicine. We’re seeing a new side of Cox, too, one that doles out compliments along with his patented shaming method of leadership. Also, we know what makes him smile: the prospect of putting his students through Hell Week.
– Lucy getting a spine. Sure, she picked on Trang, the smallest one in the group, but she had to assert herself somewhere. “It’s getting froggy in here. Want to jump?” was one of the funniest lines I’ve ever heard her utter. Now if they just got rid of her narration (it’s almost gone), we’d be in good shape.
– Turk can be humbled. We’ve seen it before, of course, but as chief of surgery, we knew that we were going to see his ego go out of control at some point. Sure, as Kelso mentioned, Dr. Dennis is a “douche,” but sometimes you need to suck up to help the greater good. It was also fun to see Turk try to break out his dance moves and pull a muscle. Those days of busting a move to Bel Biv Devoe’s “Poison” are long gone, aren’t they?
– Denise being human and Denise, all at the same time. While she was trying to help Turk get back his dignity with the whole Dennis argument — she called him a “little girl bitch” — she was dealing with her feelings for Drew. Now, I wonder if the writers wrote about how Denise’s throat would close when stressed to explain whatever hoarseness Eliza Coupe showed up with that week, or if it was just a coincidence. But it was interesting to see her own Hell Week psychotic break in a flashback.
– The Trang / Maya pairing has a history: Maya’s mom dated tennis champ Michael Chang. That family seems to be drawn to overachieving Asian men, don’t they?
– The Todd wanting scrubs that hugged his privates better. Always good to hear from The Todd.
What didn’t I like? Not much. Cole was Cole. He’s OK when treated mostly like he was in this episode, where he was mostly just comic relief. As others have mentioned, it seems like this role would have gone to Aziz Ansari if he didn’t take Parks and Recreation last season, since Cole seems to be almost the exact same character as Ed, only Aziz did a better job with it. So Ed would maybe be an intern all over again and Cole would have morphed into someone else. Not sure.
To see the show improve every week at this point is encouraging and disheartening all at once, but it also proves once again that, in the right hands, many comedies will improve from a shaky start. Not sure if ABC will give this version of Scrubs a chance, but if they don’t, at least we’re ending on a high note.
Watch “Our Dear Leaders” Episode Online
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I knew the first Zach Braff-free episode of this new version of Scrubs was going to be a bit of a bumpy ride, but I didn’t think things would be this bad.
It’s not just that the episode was lacking in funny. The established characters were mostly written wrong, exhibiting characteristics we’ve never really seen before. And the med students — except for Drew — were so broadly written that they could have been played by anybody.
No wonder why this episode was buried on New Year’s Day.
First of all: Elliot. Was that the same person we left at Sacred Heart last year? Granted, she was a much more confident doctor and person at the end of season eight than she was at the beginning of the series. But I didn’t recognize this Elliot. She was almost cocky, a characteristic even season eight Elliot never had.
Could she have developed it after getting married to J.D. and getting pregnant? Maybe. But it felt like the writers had another doctor in the original draft and just decided to make the doctor into Elliot. Really, Lucy could have been marveling at any doctor who seemingly “had it all,” then called that doctor a “munch” when the doctor left her with her patient. The way it was written, we didn’t really see much of what made Elliot such a compelling character all these years. And, if all Bill Lawrence could afford was a couple of full episodes with Sarah Chakle, he and his crew pretty much wasted an opportunity.
On to Turk. Jeez, the guy’s got to sack up. He worked for an entire year without J.D. You’d think he’d be used to it. He never seemed to be the needy half of the couple, so having him essentially whine and pout throughout this entire episode was a little off-putting. We like Turk because he’s a cocky bastard, comfortable enough in his own skin to be able to dance to “Poison” and feel fine about it. Whiny Turk is not a fun Turk. Maybe palling around with Denise will give him back his mojo.
Oh, and Denise. Didn’t she kind of not like Turk? Or was she just disdainful of the whole weird thing he had with J.D.? Now all of a sudden she’s liking him? Seems convenient that Turk is turning to her to find people like the Korean Helen Hunt and steal birthday cake from too-chipper employees.
And why would Cox conspire with a med student, even if the med student was his designated #1, to get another med student to do all the scut work? Is that really something Cox would even bother with? Cole is barely worth his time, much less the effort to tell him about some fake ranking system.
Finally, Lucy. Dull as usual. Nothing about her character makes me want to follow her as she moves on in her medical career. And screw-ups like mixing the bachelorette photos for the class slides didn’t give me any more reason to sympathize with her.
Download “Our New Girl-Bro” Episode here
It’s J.D.’s last day of teaching and the students all submitted their teacher evaluations. Even though J.D. is the top-rated teacher, he gets one bad evaluation. He’s determined to find out who it is and teams up with Turk as the interractial Hardy boys and they discover a path of clues that lead them to Dr. Kelso’s shag pad. Damn, a dead end. Dr. Cox eventually reveals it’s him that wrote the evaluation, he has one last thing to teach J.D. He does not need other people’s approval and doesn’t need to keep babying the students. It’s medical school, not kindergarten.
Meanwhile, Lucy is unable to draw blood from anyone except J.D. He agrees to let her use him during her exam when she proves unable to draw from Cole. To let Lucy grow and after Cox’s speech, J.D. doesn’t show up to her test and she draws blood successful from Cox.
Oh and Sunny is back and wants to double date with Denise and Drew. Drew says no and Denise quickly pretends like she didn’t want to either. Cox convinces her she’s losing the power in the relationship so she makes him go and ditches him during the date. She explains to him they’re in a relationship because she said so.
Our new narrator, Lucy, decides she wants to help an alcoholic patient, Alan, get sober, while Cox wants to waste no time and just dismiss him. Following J.D.’s advice, Lucy attempts to connect with Alan and decides rehab will work. She tries to get the signature required from a doctor, and Cox agress if she raises the money. After a successful car wash (thanks to the new security guys), Lucy sends him to rehab only for him to return drunk. Cox does the standard I told you so and J.D. admits he was in on it the whole time. It was a learning experience, but at least she had him there to help her.
Meanwhile, J.D., Turk and just about everyone know that Denise is sleeping with Drew and they convince her not to be her own island and to tell her feelings to him. She does and he quickly turns down her offer to get a drink. Turk talks to Drew and he asks her out for that drink and they go.
Oh and Kelso nearly bangs the obnxious Cole’s mother.
J.D. decides to move closer to Sam so he buys a house near Kim. After picking up Sam from Kim at St Vincents, where she works, J.D. ends up taking a job there. J.D. and Turk try to find a way to make their friendship work long distance (37 minutes away), but find it rough to hang out outside of work due to their families. They’re nervous they’ll never see each other again when J.D. leaves. Aww. At work, Turk is definitely very cocky with his new chief title and even uses it to go over J.D.’s head and perform surgery.
Meanwhile, Denise has been suffering from low confidence at work, is continuing to sleep with Derek, and when she messes up, Elliot takes the fall for her.
Ted asks the Gooch to move in with him, despite not getting the blessing from the Janitor and the brain trust.
Download “My Chief Concern” Episode Free
