BLOGS
I groaned along with the rest of the world at the thought of Scrubs returning for a superfluous, and, honestly, very desperate Season 9, and watching the premiere I wavered a little bit, but that feeling was mostly reinforced. The first episode wasn't horrible by any means, but I just don't understand why we're still doing this. There weren't many laughs, I missed Carla, there wasn't enough Elliot, and Dr. Cox's schtick has long worn very, very thin. But then I hung in there for episode two, and surprisingly, I laughed a lot.
Despite how glaringly weird the lack of Carla is, the new characters are decent. There's Lucy, the wide-eyed med student with low self-esteem, who is basically a little JD. There's "Number 1" (because they wanted to drill the similarities between Dr. Cox and Dr. House in further, Dr. Cox is assigning his students numbers instead of names now), the mild Tourette's sufferer who likes to stick up for the little guy, and Cole, the entitled, misogynistic jackass whose family money makes him untouchable at the hospital. They're all pretty entertaining, and though I found Lucy annoying at first, she quickly became endearing, which is really a credit to the actress. Because on the page, that girl is grating as hell. I wouldn't go so far as to say the new characters have revived the series, but they're definitely watchable if nothing else is on. And that's frankly a million times better than I expected any of this to be.
And of course JD is embracing his new teaching duties as an opportunity to become a new-age mentor to a class of bright young minds, and that's backfiring as expected. One of the reasons I stopped watching a couple seasons ago was because JD was just way too whiny and annoying, but he was back to silly, impish form last night, getting stuck in trees, participating in awesome fantasy sequences and flashbacks (the Lifetime movie trailer was particularly amazing), and making up funny songs with Turk. Speaking of Turk, he is still hilarious and adorable ("Ooh, she's like a Gremlin!"), but it'll be weird for him to be the focus of this show eventually without Carla. Is she really going to make zero appearances? And we're just supposed to ignore their marriage and child forever? Weird.
Oh well. At least we still have The Todd. Naïve five!
And of course JD is embracing his new teaching duties as an opportunity to become a new-age mentor to a class of bright young minds, and that's backfiring as expected. One of the reasons I stopped watching a couple seasons ago was because JD was just way too whiny and annoying, but he was back to silly, impish form last night, getting stuck in trees, participating in awesome fantasy sequences and flashbacks (the Lifetime movie trailer was particularly amazing), and making up funny songs with Turk. Speaking of Turk, he is still hilarious and adorable ("Ooh, she's like a Gremlin!"), but it'll be weird for him to be the focus of this show eventually without Carla. Is she really going to make zero appearances? And we're just supposed to ignore their marriage and child forever? Weird.
Oh well. At least we still have The Todd. Naïve five!
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I actually really enjoyed it. I like the new characters well enough, and it is sort of nice seeing most of the old ones back. I just am going to miss, so deeply, The Janitor. And Ted.
Hated it and stopped watching about 15 minutes into the first episode. They should have let it die at the end of last season with JD's amazing future vision montage. I've loved Scrubs for a lot of years, but probably won't watch.
I have always been a fan of scrubs, so I was really looking forward to this new season.
I really enjoyed the first two episodes. The characters are different, but the heart behind the writing is the same.
Scurbs didn't usually go for the cheap laugh. And it isn't just about the laughs, it is a show that can make you feel good.
I have always been a fan of scrubs, so I was really looking forward to this new season.
I really enjoyed the first two episodes. The characters are different, but the heart behind the writing is the same.
Scurbs didn't usually go for the cheap laugh. And it isn't just about the laughs, it is a show that can make you feel good.
I agree, I thought it was okay, not greatness, but okay. It will be interesting to see how story starts to change once JD is completely out of the picture and only Cox and Turk are around.
At first, I was disappointed that they brought it back, but then I heard an interview with Bill Lawrence where he said something to the affect of he wanted it to end last year, but if bringing it back meant that his crew still had jobs in this economy then he was okay with it.
You can't fault a guy with a mindset like that.
I admit, I came to the show pretty late. I saw a few scattered episodes, but only started watching it regularly a few years ago (just after Carla gave birth, if you're looking for a timeline). I kept hearing everyone complain that it was much better in the earlier seasons, but I still enjoyed it.
That being said, I thought last night's episodes were still pretty funny, but not as funny as the previous episodes. That's okay, though, 'cause it's still funnier than a lot of the comedies on TV these days. Definitely funnier than anything else on the network right now, at least 'til Better Off Ted comes back next week.
I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that I didn't hate it, and I found myself laughing a few times. I don't know if I'm totally sold, but I'll be sticking around for a few more weeks.
To be honest, I'm not really missing the other regulars (especially Carla), but I think it's because I was prepared for it. Of course, I'd like more Elliot, but I think Sarah Chalke should be in a few episodes this season, so that's good.
Of courses it's not as good as it once was, but it's still funnier than some other shows that are on the air.
The first fifteen minutes of the first episode almost lost me, but by the end of the second episode, I was happy it's back.
Hmm. As I was reading this, I got a sinking feeling in my gut at the realization that Scrubs appears to be following the trajectory of the Simpsons. Start out all fresh and full of heart, over time resort to emphasizing peripheral characters and bizarre gags and stereotypes, and then keep the whole thing moving steadily but quietly along for years upon years.
I'm still on the fence. I haven't really been a fan of the show since season two (and I haven't watched the last few years), but this was... okay. I did laugh more than I expected and some parts were pretty clever.
My only huge issue is Lucy. She's not funny and she's a pretty awful actress. I have the same problem here as I had with the last half decade of Scrubs -the characters just don't act anything at all like human beings anymore. They're all over-the-top quirky stereotypes. They occasionally throw in a dramatic moment to try and pretend like the characters have actually been developed, but it's always followed up by a long fantasy sequence.
Oh, but the real reason I came back was for the lack of the janitor and Carla. Not sure the new characters are any better but... it's a good start.