What I’m Watching: Scrubs (Season Premiere)

Scrubs: Season 9, Episodes 1 & 2 “Our First Day of School” & “Our Drunk Friend” (C+)

It’s hard to believe that this show is beginning its ninth season, especially since the show was supposed to first have ended a few years ago. The series was definitely wearing thin and in desperate need of a shot of new life. Unfortunately, what the show is now, with the title followed by a bracketed Med School, isn’t really the solution. The notion of a similar series set in medical school is fine, and even having Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso teaching classes would work. Denise as both a resident assistant and teaching assistant isn’t terribly believable, even if she claims to be doing it for the free room and board. The real problem is the inability to give up on old characters. J.D. and Turk are way too woefully immature to be taken seriously as teachers, and putting them in that role, especially when they have the same playful dynamic they always did, undermines the effectiveness of the show. The playing of the song “Guy Love” within the first few minutes of the series is a clear sign that the show isn’t willing to give up on old jokes and won’t be able to properly move on to its new characters. Tying in familiar characters without contracts on the show will also be tough, and seeing Elliot in the first episode and then some random actress playing J.D.’s winged mother is just one easy example of why this will be an issue. Carla’s absence is particularly notable, while the Janitor’s exit makes considerably more sense (and is more important, considering he has a role on a fairly successful new ABC series, “The Middle”). The phasing out of J.D. will also be strange, I'm sure, and it's started with the pluralization of the episode titles. Moving on to the new cast, Dave Franco is a dead ringer for his brother James, and his character is a bit too reminiscent of an entitled Ed, who might have been on this show had Aziz Ansari not gotten a gig on “Parks and Recreation.” Drew is okay, and it’s good for Dr. Cox to have someone to pick on, and in a fresh way. The most wonderful addition to the show who should definitely serve as its guiding light in however many million seasons it has left is Kerry Bishé as Lucy. While it pains me to remember that she’s here because the magnificent series “Virtuality” didn’t get picked up, she’s a breath of fresh air as a less neurotic version of Elliot who doesn’t possess the same annoying traits but just as much of the do-gooder naivety. She’s a boon for this show, and hopefully she’ll remain just as strong as it goes on. The show as a whole needs a bit more time to define itself, and hopefully next week will be a better effort, coupled with the season premiere of “Better Off Ted.”