Finishing Up The Season: Scrubs

I consider the first two seasons of “Scrubs” to be among the best television I’ve ever seen, and after that, the show went downhill. It never got back to its original constant excellence, but there were ups and downs along the way. It’s hard to believe that the season of the show that’s just ended is the eighth. Not much has actually happened since those first two brilliant years, and the past six years have felt repetitive and often stale. This year, however, represents the first effort to move past the sameness of the show and actually get somewhere. What I feared, however, and what has been confirmed by the show’s renewal last week for yet another season, is that the show will cycle endlessly just as “ER” has done and the cast will be continually replaced, and by show’s end in season fourteen or thirty-five, none of the original cast, spirit, or critical praise of the show will be left.

This season worked desperately hard to both spruce up and phase out its original players and introduce a whole host of new characters. Dr. Kelso stuck around catching muffins and drinking even after his retirement. J.D. and Turk raised their babies while becoming the definitive heads of their respective departments. J.D. and Elliot got back together, remarkably easily in fact, and opted for romance over constant fighting. Dr. Cox stayed exactly the same as he always was, perhaps toning down his aggressive insulting a bit too much for my taste. The Janitor and Ted entered into new relationships with bizarre women who actually liked them, and while it was all just a bit peculiar, it worked well.

Then we have all the new interns. Some didn’t last long, like Aziz Ansari, whose obnoxious Ed left so that the actor could star in “Parks & Recreation,” where he’s created a far more balanced and less annoying character. Some, like Howie and Katie, need to either discover more neuroses or strengths before they become truly compelling. Denise and Sunny are both pretty good, and though he hasn’t featured prominently yet, Derek balances them out well. I also enjoyed his less than romance with Denise, because it was reminiscent of another couple on the show, dare I say – J.D. and Elliot?

The real problem with this year that showed with certain episodes was the uneven balance between the old and the new. One J.D.-less episode found Turk and Elliot babysitting the interns during their first night on call. Unfortunately, it didn’t feel like a smooth passing-the-torch (which J.D. would have loved), but instead the absence of the show’s lead actor was really felt, and the transition felt forced. Along the same lines, placing J.D., Elliot, and Turk somewhere between the new interns and Dr. Cox was a tricky battle that the show couldn’t really win. If the show is going to continue, which it is, then it would be better to think of it as something completely different, sort of like a reboot with all-new characters, at least the interns, who establish themselves as individual, separate people, rather than ones shaped by these semi-stale characters that have been around for eight years now.

Next season will likely not be able to solve this problem, mostly due to contractual issues. It sounds like Zach Braff will in fact be back for a few episodes, which is a real shame because his character was so well wrapped up in the finale. The writers did leave it open for his staying or leaving by making the wonderfully impressive final montage an imagined projection sequence. The news about his staying is made even more problematic by the absence of one of the interns. Last I heard, Eliza Coupe, who plays Denise, had been cast in a pilot for next season and probably wouldn’t be able to come back to the show. I hope that’s not true, because all of the other characters are a bit too ridiculous (Sunny) or boring (Katie). Therefore, I’m not too hopeful and I’m not sure “Scrubs” will be of very much interest. I imagine it will be like this season, decently entertaining but hardly original or must-see.

Season finale: B+
Season grade: B
Season MVP: John C. McGinley