That's two very meh "Scrubs" episodes to start the season. At what point should I start getting concerned? Spoilers coming up just as soon as I figure out how the baby got out of the NICU so fast...I give them major points for being so blunt in JD and Kim's discussion of abortion, even though I knew there was little to no chance of them having the guts (or, more importantly, the juice within NBC) to have Kim go through with it. I also liked Scolding Statue Jesus' take on the subject and the entire subplot about Cox being too candid with Jack. (Christa Miller also played the hell out of that little moment when Jordan said, "I sure did, sweetie" after Jack kept saying that she had an abortion, as you could see her imagining what that first kid might have been like, even as she knew she made the right choice for her.)
As for the rest of the show, I liked JD and Turk's drumline dance, Turk using his frozen hand to cool/calm Carla, Todd complimenting Carla on her vagina, but this one had the same problem as the premiere: too much happening, and too many jarring tone shifts between pathos and pure unadulterated wackiness.
Is it just me?
I've always loved Scrubs, but even last year when many were saying it was having its best season, felt like the show had become played out. J.D. is dorky, Cox is mean, Elliot is insecure, blah, blah, blah. It's starting to feel very repetitive and I'm starting to feel like I don't really care about the characters. I really hope this is the last season and ESPECIALLY hope they don't try to keep it going without Zach Braff.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that's two episodes in and I'm really unhappy with the direction (or lack of one) that the show is taking.
ReplyDeleteI feel like they're trying to cram too much stuff into every episode. I didn't like the light-hearted tone the 'abortion discussion' took, I realize this is a comedy show and TBTB weren't going to allow it to happen, but sheesh, to resort to flipping a coin?
Jack was the only funny thing about last night, even Janitor let me down.
personally, I think the "new" Scrubs can't hold a candle to the Srubs of, say, the first two seasons, and I've avoided it for most of last year. That said, I felt quite entertained by yesterday's episode.
ReplyDeleteI liked this episode better than the last one, but last night's ep was missing an essential ingredient: The Cox Rant(tm). Those are inevitably the funniest moments in the show for me. And I don't think he called JD a girl's name once. Very odd.
ReplyDeleteOh, and why do sitcom writers always fall back on the old "someone's in the hospital or having a baby so the whole cast shows up to wait" device? It just seems worn out to me. I've had plenty of close friends who have had babies, and I'm perfectly content to see the little bugger after he/she's been cleaned up, the parents are home, and they've been used to having him/her around for a while. Heck, if it were up to me, I wouldn't see the kid until he/she was about to go off to college...
I still think Scrubs rocks -- but abortion comedy is really disturbing. It made me uncomfortable, and was really unnecessary since we all knew they would end up "trying the baby thing."
ReplyDeleteI thought the episode was all over the place and wish it had focused more on the birth of Carla and Turk's baby.
BTW: Turk's baby looked ginormous. And a hospital would never allow Turk to carry the baby around the halls -- especially fresh out of the NICU. Newborns are always kept in their rolling bassinettes, because of insurance regulations.
Scrubs is a "wacky comedy" and nothing more than that. No life lessons are to be learned from watching an episode of Scrubs. There are no Very Special Scrubs.
ReplyDeleteThe show still makes me laugh (out loud!) more than just about any other sitcom on right now. I'm not about to criticize it...I'm thankful its still here after losing Arrested Development. I hate to see it get picked apart now, whether its lost a step or not. Let's be happy its still on and making new episodes.
well, it was more than a "wacky comedy" when it started.
ReplyDeleteAlan - where's the OC recap. best ep of the year!
ReplyDeleteI thought this one was better than last week. Although I also found the abortion stuff a little disturbing. I mean, unless one of them was seriously, seriously considering the option, why even bring it up? I mean, if she was freaking out and thought she couldn't handle it, etc., I could see her consider the option, but then have J.D. come in and give his support and have that idea be over with.
ReplyDeleteI actually thought Jordan looked more regretful that she had that abortion...because of how much she loved Jack and what a great kid he turned out to be. I didn't see any look there that would make me think she ultimately thought it was the 'right' choice for her.
Still wish I knew what was going on with Dr. Cox and his Shirley Temple hair. Someone get that man a barber, please!
Completely agree. Too many shifts back and forth. I'm a viewer not a yo-yo.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole, the episode was predictable. I knew that the decision by JD and Kim was going to last until they Turk and Carla's baby. And by seeing the baby they would decide to keep their baby. Everything the two did was simply filler material.
Too much background into Jordan's character and too much of Jordan not being Jordan. It did not feel authentic.
Abortion comedy can be funny (See It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), but only if it is clear what agenda is being put across. Here it was a mismatch between trying to be funny, trying to be edgy, and trying to be serious. Personally I find that Scrubs gets somewhat pathetic when it tries to be dramatic. That and some of the writing was awfully amateur. Did anyone not think the coin was going to land on its side? Additionally, the writers have gotten caught up in writing based on pure character shtick rather than anything else. This can be funny, but it also means that the risk is run that you'll overplay particular characters.
ReplyDeleteThough the biggest problem I had with the episode, as well as last week, was that whenever Kim in onscreen she drags the entire show down to a standstill. I mean, I can appreciate having the straight guy to play the comedy off against, but it seems like she is so damn dull that she just sucks in any humor that was present and leaves us with another generic comedy.
Sigh, I keep tuning in hoping the show will return to form. At the least, I will keep watching until the musical episode, if just to see "Guy Love".
I don't really get what you ppl mean by saying there is too much happening at once. Scrubs has always juggled alot of different things at the same time: for example, see the awesome season 2 ep "His Story" which featured multiple very important storylines.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I liked the episode better than most of you, but it wasn't a series classic.
I thought the dumpster line was pretty damn audacious. I was very surprised to see humor like that on TV. Other than that, the show was only so-so. I've gotten kind of tired of the show in the last season or two, but I like it enough that I will watch along with the other three excellent shows on Thursday night.
ReplyDeleteso i saw scrubs was on and sat down. the first thing i hear coming out of a toddler's mouth is my mommy got an abortion.
ReplyDeletethat about did it for me. the show had always been about saving lives and love, ect. before and i didn't worry about sitting down and getting unsettled over something like that...
it's just gotten way too serious lately.