Although Bill Lawrence and Zach Braff both swore up and down that this season would be the last for the show, here we are are going into 2009 and Scrubs is prepped for season 8, this time on ABC instead of NBC. Things are looking up, though, as the year is the last for Braff and Judy Reyes, so the show will be massively overhauled if it continues past the 8th season. And frankly it needs it. Really, we as fans didn’t even WANT another whole season, we just wanted 6 more episodes to wrap up the series and give everyone closure. It’s already living on borrowed time as it is and flogging the dead body isn’t going to suddenly create a ratings juggernaut, so just let it die already, ABC. Great, I’m bitter already and I haven’t even started the review.
The seventh season of Scrubs features only 11 episodes due to the writers’ strike, and they are presented on two discs as follows…
Disc One
– “My Own Worst Enemy”. So after the millionth JD-Elliot tease that ended season six, Elliot ends her relationship with the Dudemeister, and that doesn’t go well for her. First appearance of Dr. Beardface and Snoop Dogg Attending of the season, as they’re just jumping right into it. We meet Janitor’s new girlfriend Lady, whom JD suspects of being imaginary. Perish the thought. Cox is perturbed by an incredibly nice patient who he actually likes. First mention of JD’s sports issues this season. And the solution to the medical mystery proves to be House-like as they’re not even hiding the homages at this point.
– “My Hard Labor”. So JD is not in love with baby mama Kim, giving us a classic JD & Turk bit where they need some exercise, so they play Xbox. Another appearance for the guy from Men At Work in JD’s fantasy here. JD’s really being kind of a dick here, as Kim is about to give birth and HOT, and he just can’t get over the whole miscarriage deal. Realy, there’s a time and place to break up with someone, and during LABOR isn’t it. First appearance of Nurse Shirley (Laverne’s sister) in an off-hand cameo. And so Sam is born as there’s babies all over the place, and Kim is written out. More angsty and less wacky the first couple of episodes so far, although “I hate your hair!” and “That’s impossible, no one can hate my hair” is a great exchange before Kim says goodbye. Last appearance of the Dudemeister here in a one-line role before he disappears.
– “My Inconvenient Truth”. Ted is spreading the word of Al Gore to the Janitor and a scale is ruining the self-esteem of the nurses, as the wackiness returns in full force. Dan Dorian returns from his various failed shows to prank his brother and reveals that he’s now a successful house flipper. Bet that career isn’t doing so good for him these days. Bob carpooling with all the wacky background doctors is a nice touch, and everyone tells JD that he needs to grow up, although as usual he’d be back to his usual self by the next week. But that’s how it is with JD, as every year he undergoes a big life change that leaves him a new person, and two episodes later he’s back to the old person again. Felt like a waste of Tom Cavanaugh here.
– “My Identity Crisis”. The Turks go to war over speaking Spanish in the home, while Perry and Jordan have a cold war over who can go without admitting loneliness to the other during a Christmas break from each other. Janitor exposes JD’s facade as “man of the people” by pointing out that he doesn’t actually know the real names of Beardface, Colonel Doctor or Snoop Dogg, so JD vows to learn all 310 names in the hospital. Of course, the bet is flawed, because there’s one name that no one knows. First appearance of Ted and the Blanks this season. Again, more angst than I’d like. Where’s the FUNNY?
– “My Growing Pains”. Sam has his first baby daydream in the open, and a major storyline begins as Bob’s birthday is approaching and Elliot decides to start meddling to figure out how old he REALLY is. JD and Turk trying to get their babies to kiss is a bit messed up. JD & Turk threaten the return of World’s Most Giantest Black Doctor complete with World’s Most Giant Stethoscope and Clipboard. Cox actually points out that JD vowed to grow up two episodes ago and hasn’t done it yet, as the meta references continue. Turk trying to lure JD back to the dark side again with Hide The Saltine is a nice touch. And Hooch is STILL crazy. JD and Turk being infantile morons is FUNNY, and they do well to remember that.
– “My Number One Doctor”. JD learns what it means to be a man: Obsessing over every little competition. Kelso introduces RateYourDoc.org (which is still up and hosted by NBC, even though the show is no longer affiliated with that network) after winning free muffins for life from CoffeeBucks. Lady actually gets some character development as a one-off joke becomes yet another member of the cast. It’s actually, dare I say it, some good acting from Neil Flynn as he desperately tries to cover up his insanity in order to have a normal relationship. The RateYourDoc thing turns into some shots back at the fans, as the doctors read complaints about Turk saying “that’s what I’m talking about” too much. Sadly, NBC no longer supports TheToddTime.com, it seems.
– “My Bad Too”. And we’re back from the writer’s strike. Finally an awesome opener this season, as JD & Turk play Space Invaders with the interns and then need to come up with a lesson after the fact. Lloyd the Delivery Guy gets a career upgrade to Lloyd the Ambulance Driver. Turk learns Spanish as a gift to Carla and gets Brinner (breakfast for dinner) out of it, although we here in the Keith household have hash browns and eggs for dinner all the time, so I don’t see the big deal. And again the seeds of JD & Elliot are sown, although thankfully JD leaving the show next year should mean they won’t go down that road again permanently. Probably the best of a so-so season.
Disc Two
– “My Manhood”. MAN RUMBLE! Janitor comes up with the idea of the Janitorial, a hard-hitting newspaper to examine Janitor-related issues. Like wolfmen. JD gets his ass kicked by Turk in remote wrestling, and in typical JD fashion he takes it as proof that they’re the best buds in the hospital. Besides Tracy and Stacy, of course. ENTIRE COFFEEBUCKS FIVE! First five of the season, in fact. JD gets all weird about proving his manhood to Sam, until he accidentally lays the smackdown on Turk. Best joke of the season is actually a very typical sitcom one, as Cox pisses off the Janitor and gets hugged by everyone as a result, leading to JD searching for a hug and giving the inevitable “What interview?” punchline. We also discover that Turk is lacking one testicle, which gives us a bizarre JD fantasy. Lots of heart, lots of funny, as they get back on track with the end nearing fast.
– “My Dumb Luck”. The season now goes out of order, as the finale, “My Princess”, was supposed to air here and got bumped to the end instead. Ted’s reaction to Kelso’s impending retirement is a fantastic moment. This one is all about Kelso, as he ropes Boon the intern into sitting with him and getting nostalgic. The war between Cox and the idiot twins makes for some great physical comedy from ZB. Kelso just acts the shit out of this one and it’s totally his episode, as everyone goes to the board to plead for him, and he walks away on his own terms anyway. Dr. Kelso, don’t go! There’s still so many muffins for you to conquer!
– “My Waste of Time”. This was actually the last episode shot before the strike. They had another 7 of them written and prepared after it, but NBC just kept the previous episodes in the can until after the strike and then “cancelled” the show before they could shoot a proper finale. Cox has ascended to his rightful place as Chief of Medicine and we get an Ice Fishing Five as the payoff of a LONG fantasy from JD involving Turk’s prosthetic ball. I don’t know if Fantasy Fives count or not, but it’s not like it really matters. Janitor tries to turn Ted into a new man, which is always comedy gold (“I’d like to make you pregnant”), but it backfires on him in the form of Super Confident Ted. They totally should spin off Ted & Janitor into Legal Custodians, because I would watch the shit out of that show. The use of Modest Mouse at the end actually made my wife into a big fan of theirs, so mission accomplished on their part. And with JD and Elliot sitting together at Coffee Bucks with Sam, that was supposed to be the end of the season and the show. But there’s still one more…
– “My Princess”. This is their big special episode of the season, and it blows. Since this was intended as episode 9, Kelso is inexplicably back in charge of the hospital again and Keith is back. The conceit here is that Cox is reading Jackie a bedtime story, which turns the episode into a giant medieval fantasy sequence. And it blows. Did I mention that already? Todd gives us the Fairy Five and Still Can High-Five Five as the show switches from fantasy to reality on the fly while they try to figure out a medical mystery / monster mystery depending on the point of view. But really, if Cox knew the answer and the patient was in that bad of shape, why wouldn’t he just tell them and gloat about it later? And a major downer ending for what was supposed to be the end of the series on NBC. Kind of an interesting twist on the show, but horribly disappointing for what was a “series finale”, as it was just an earlier, more expensive, episode with no resolution for the characters.
(Rating: ***)
Audio & Video
Still no HD (although it’s coming with the move to ABC) so this season is presented in full screen format like all the others. Good looking, though, with nice bright colors on the scrubs and minimal flaws on the video. Audio is Dolby 5.1, a little on the quiet side, but music and dialogue are clear and the music is uncut, so it’s fine for what it is. (Ratings: ***, ***)
Bonus Features
Once again, commentaries on all the episodes, although none of them are terribly interesting compared to other shows. Still, nice to see Scrubs finally getting on that bandwagon. You also get an 18-minute making-of feature on “My Princess”, an 8 minute interview with Ken “Bob Kelso” Jenkins, 14 minutes total of deleted scenes, 15 minutes of alternate takes (many of which belong to the Janitor, of course), and the good old blooper reel running 3 minutes. Plus a crapload of commercials for ABC properties on DVD masquerading as “bonus features.” Sadly lacking is any discussion of the writer’s strike that destroyed the season for them, or NBC’s bullshit treatment of the show, or really anything more in depth than “Watch us next year on ABC, where we might actually get a timeslot that’s stable and wrap up the show on our terms.” (Rating: ***)
The Pulse
Definitely this is one for fans only, as the quality of the strike-shortened seventh season is drastically affected and the show seems to be phoning it in during a lame duck final year on NBC. The shows here are so-so at best and you need to be a longtime fan to get most of the best jokes, which makes this is a terrible introduction for new viewers. It’s one of my favourite shows, but this is clearly the worst year for the show. Hopefully ABC can breathe new life into it if they insist on dragging it back from the dead. Recommendation to avoid.
