What I’m Watching: Scrubs

Scrubs: Season 9, Episode 3 “Our Role Models” (C+)

This episode suffers from the same exact problems as last week’s double-hitter premiere, defined mostly by an ability to move on and try and start a new show. J.D.’s obsession with Dr. Cox as his mentor and trying to make his nemeses look bad has been played out over and over and over again. Turk bonding with Dr. Cox isn’t an event that belongs in this incarnation of the show, and J.D.’s jealousy should have been out the door the moment the show was renewed for a ninth season without him officially on board. Denise’s decision to act as a temporary mentor for Lucy was fine, and it’s nice to see them interact, but the other characters aren’t developing nearly as well. It really seems like all of the dialogue that comes out of Cole’s mouth, like his paranoid notion that he and Drew are involved in some sort of recognition, was written for Aziz Ansari, and he just doesn’t do it as well. The writers couldn’t have possibly though that Ansari would have been available for this show since he was already cast on “Parks and Recreation” long before this show ever got renewed again. The jokes aren’t necessarily terribly funny, but at least having new cast members around means that they don’t all feel completely recycled like they did over the past few seasons. Despite what I said last week, Lucy is reminding me more and more of Elliot, though her ability to keep her voice at the same pitch all the time is much appreciated.