DVD available at Amazon.com
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video
Release Date: May 9, 2006
Number of Discs: 3
Number of Episodes: 22
Running Time: 477 Minutes
MSRP: $39.99
Creator:
Bill Lawrence
Cast:
Zach Braff……….Dr. John ‘J.D.’ Dorian
Donald Faison……….Chris “Turkelton” Turk, M.D.
John C. McGinley……….Perry Cox, M.D.
Sarah Chalke……….Dr. Elliot Reid
Judy Reyes……….Carla Espinosa, R.N.
Neil Flynn……….The Janitor
Ken Jenkins……….Bob Kelso, M.D.
Robert Maschio……….Todd Quinlan (aka “The Todd”)
Almoa Wright……….Nurse Laverne Roberts
Sam Lloyd……….Ted Buckland
Christa Miller Lawrence……….Jordan Sullivan
The show:
Five years and counting, Scrubs is still an abnormality when compared to other sitcoms on prime-time television. The show has no laugh track and is shot using only a single camera. It’s something fresh, something different. The series’ uniqueness must have struck a cord with certain NBC executives. Why else would it have lasted for five years, going on six?
Ever since its debut on October 2, 2001, this comedy about doctors at Sacred Heart Hospital has been a victim of haphazard programming. Like a steel BB inside a pinball machine, it has bounced and careened all over the NBC schedule. It’s been on Tuesdays, Thursdays, acting as a band-aid for shows that couldn’t attract viewers. During the all-important Sweeps months, the series would be pushed out of the way so “Super-Sized” episodes of Friends and Will & Grace could air instead.
The show isn’t a ratings bonanza, though it did average in the top 20’s during the 2002-2003 season. Yet despite its dwindling ratings, Scrubs has retained its devoted following – viewers who enjoy listening to quick and witty dialogue and internal monologue, as well as flashbacks and screwball antics – and managed to find its niche at NBC.
With the series passing the century mark, as far as episodes are concerned, it remains one of the best shows television has to offer. Much can be attributed to the third season, where change and growth helped to curtail the slapstick and strike a balance of comedy and human drama.
Change is evident in the season’s premiere episode “My Own American Girl”. J.D. (Zach Braff) arrives to work at Sacred Heart and notes, internally of course, that things never really change at the hospital. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) is the exception. Always the neurotic doctor who would be trampled mentally by her superiors, she grows tired of “Old Elliot” and transforms into “The New Elliot”, an independent woman with confidence and a backbone. Her appearance bolsters the tone of personal growth throughout the season.
Her transformation is also one of the major story arcs of the third year; J.D. begins to have feelings for the woman who is every bit as zany as him. Creator Bill Lawrence and the writers flirted with the idea of the two being an item; their first encounter resulted in one of J.D.’s most memorable thoughts. Following her up a flight of stairs he commented to himself that her butt looks like two Pringles hugging. Both have also been sex buddies, or as the politically correct police like to call it, “friends with benefits.” For J.D. to act on such impulses he must contend with Elliot’s perfect boyfriend Sean (Scott Foley). The manner in which the situation plays out doesn’t seem like it’s forced on us. Unlike Friends where the promos would play up the whole “Will they or won’t they?” affair between Ross and Rachel. The writers know their audience is too smart to fall for such gimmickry.
There’s more love at Sacred Heart as Dr. Turk (Donald Faison) and Nurse Carla (Judy Reyes) prepare to get married. Constantly putting his wants and needs before his significant other, Turk is like a 12-year-old. Carla is a wee bit bossy, but that’s because she has worked for the hospital for several years. If the marriage is to succeed, compromises need to occur. Turk must be able to mature beyond his “frat boy” mentality and recognize Carla’s needs; Carla must put away her tendency to boss and accept Turk for the man-child that he is. Seeing how their relationship evolved, it is definitely a high spot in a series of high spots.
J.D., Elliot, Turk and Carla may be the center, the peanut butter and jelly that holds everything together, but they are far from the best characters. That honor goes to Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley). Johnny C. has the best rapid-fire delivery on the show. As the head resident, he is his acerbic self, constantly harassing pretty much everybody. Rank or status, it does not matter. Tell that to Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins), the chief of medicine. Cox punched him right in the face. Guess he heard one too many, “what’s got two thumbs and doesn’t give a crap” references.
Special attention should be given to McGinley’s performance in the incredible episode “My Screw Up” (and the follow-up “My Tormented Mentor”). A heartbreaking performance if there ever was one, it’s a shame the Emmys or Golden Globes haven’t acknowledged his work on Scrubs.
And who could forget the nameless Janitor (Neil Flynn). The first few years he was a background character who would throws some funny jabs every now and then. What a difference a year makes because now he’s a major contributor to the absurdity of the show. Whether he’s trying to be a security guard or revealing that his grandmother is really is mother and his brother is his brother-dad, his antics are off-the-wall.
Prior to Scrubs, Bill Lawrence created Spin City. He must have made a lot of friends during the series’ six-year run. Many who worked for the fictional Mayor of New York have made guest stints in the hospital. For “My Catalyst” and “My Porcelain God”, Michael J. Fox makes his return to television as Dr. Kevin Casey, a skillful surgeon who suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – this was a clever device used to disguise his Parkinson’s. Both he and Cox have a history that stems from when they first started in the medical field. This leads Cox to try to one-up his worst nightmare through a series of diagnostic questions. All it really proves, though, is that Cox is scared of the Fox.
Following these two episodes is arguably the series’ finest half-hour, “My Screw Up”, with Brendan Fraser reprising his role from season one as Dr. Cox’s brother-in-law Ben. Written by Garrett Donovan and Neil Goldman and directed by Chris Koch, this episode is proof of what can happen when it expertly nails both comedy and drama. The final minutes are staggering. The comedy train is speeding along then suddenly the brakes are slammed. Like a punch to the gut, you will be left breathless.
Besides these guest appearances, there is an amazing procession of supporting guests. Tom Cavanaugh (Ed) returns as J.D.’s free-loading big brother Dan; Scott Foley is the prototypical All-American boyfriend for Elliot; the hypochondriac Richard Kind (Spin City) returns to Sacred Heart; and Christopher Meloni forgets about “law and order” for a day and plays pediatrician Dr. Norris in “My White Whale” His character is every bit as arrogant as Dr. Cox, yet, he’s so good at his job that parents keep sending their children to him, anyway. Go figure.
While every season of Scrubs is special, this season combines everything that makes it one of the best on network TV. The situations may be the stuff of fantasy, but the relationships are grounded in reality. And, unlike most sitcoms, they don’t overshadow the little stories.
22 episodes in all, but you just need one. A single episode is all it takes to make you appreciate something fun, something different.
Score: 10/10
The DVD:
“Scrubs – The Complete Third Season” is spread across three discs. 8 episodes are on the first, 9 are somehow crammed on the second, and the final includes 5 plus all the available bonus features. The discs come housed in a three-panel foldout; two discs overlap on the central panel and the third disc all by itself on the right. Each disc has photos of two cast members on the label – J.D. and Elliot on disc 1, Turk and Carla on disc 2, and the Janitor and Cox on disc 3. The cardboard flaps and panels have a group photo op as well as an episode and bonus feature guide. Folded in a neat package, the casing slides into the bottom of a clear plastic sleeve for protection. A lithograph insert is also included that shows the title of the set and a photo of the cast. (Note: 100 of these have been autographed by the cast and distributed to random retailers.)
Each disc features colorful animation with the show’s theme “Superman” by Lazlo Bane playing in the background. Navigation is a breeze. There’s a “Play All” feature if you want to see all the episodes on a certain disc. If you choose to watch a single episode, you don’t have to worry about superfluous “Scene Selection” menus.
THE VIDEO
(Presented in 1.33:1 full screen)
Yeesh, whoever decided to cram 8 and 9 episodes to a disc should have known that such an act lowers the bit rate. Thus, grain is present and there is great deal of edge enhancement. Another result is a weak color palate. But in all honesty, those who are going to buy this set will do so based on the content, not on my criticisms of the video quality.
Score: 6/10
THE AUDIO
(Dolby Digital 5.1)
Not sure why the DVD producers decided to present the episodes in 5.1 clarity. The audio is mostly heavy from the front speakers with not much going on in the surrounding channels. Since this dynamic resembles typical network quality, one shouldn’t expect anything more. Dialogue is clear for the most part, not discernable faults with the sound. It’s a shame that the 5.1 couldn’t have been utilized to greater effect, especially when season three has music from U2, Coldplay, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and other essential artists.
Score: 7/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: Two commentaries and numerous featurettes!!!
Unlike the previous two releases, the third installment has regulated the bonus features to only disc 3. There are two audio commentaries, one with Donald Faison (Turk) and writer Mark Stegemann on “His Story II”, and another with Faison, Judy Reyes (Carla), and director Randall Winston on “My Self-Examination”. While it would have been great if other cast members could have participated, these commentaries are serviceable enough. They may not be strong, but who can resist hearing Faison refer to Zach Braff as “Chicken Little”? (Chicken Little was the titular character Braff voiced for the animated movie.)
The rest of the bonuses are numerous featurettes about the show. Twist & Shoot (6:54) involves three of the series’ first-time directors: Richard Alexander Wells (1st Assistant Director) on “My Fault”, John Inwood (Director of Photography) on “My Lucky Night”, and Randall Winston (Line Producer) on “My Self-Examination”. The piece may be short, but it let’s the viewers know each director’s style. Like how Inwood used unique camera angles and a lot of crane shots in his episode.
Don’t Try This at Home (5:45) explores some of physical comedy stunts performed in reality as well as fantasy sequences. For one fantasy sequence involving Turk tumbling out of a moving vehicle, the process was done in post-production and borrowed unused shots from the car crash in Vanilla Sky.
Long-Term Residents (7:11) is a good way to catch up on various guest stars from the third season. Turns out, many of the guests are friends of the show: George Takei (Star Trek‘s Mr. Sulu), The Brady Bunch‘s Maureen McCormack, Erik Estrada, and many of the characters I listed above. Still waiting on John Cusack, who is good friends with John C. McGinley. He’s been on set a few times but only for lunch.
Apparently everyday on the set is take your dog to work day. What Up Dawg? (6:03) shows all the dogs of the cast and some of the crew. Johnny C. hates all the dogs on the 3rd floor. Robert Maschio (a.k.a. “The Todd) takes pleasure in picking up the dog poo left in front of his door and putting it in front of Donald Faison’s.
If dogs weren’t enough to deal with, the cast and crew play games in between takes and at the end of the day to let off some steam. Scrubs Factor (4:45) has stories of all the gross things people have done for money: eating pigs knuckles, ordering Starbucks coffee in a burlesque costume, licking Tobasco sauce off a sweaty foot.
Specific cast members are profiled in the next two featurettes. Robert Keeps Talking (4:54) is a short interview with Robert Maschio, who plays “The Todd” on the show. While in Columbia University he studied abroad (but she doesn’t like to be called that) and did a bunch of plays. Turning to stand-up comedy, Maschio is a quick wit. Very entertaining five minutes with a guy who jokingly admits he used to be the Karate Kid.
The New Elliot (5:51) came about because the network, ahem NBC, wanted the writers to reinvent Elliot into a more marketable image. Wow, a suggestion by a network that actually was an improvement on the show. Very atypical.
The last featurette is entitled Is There a Doctor in the House? (4:18), and it has a discussion with cast and crew about the season-long story arc between J.D. and Elliot and how hard they restrained themselves from turning it into an out-and-out romantic comedy.
Scrubbed Out: Deleted Scenes (4:41) and Alternate Lines: A Second Option (3:05) is essentially the same thing. While “a second option” has characters giving alternate deliveries of various lines, the first feature is a combination of longer scenes that were cut. Unlike most deleted scenes, some of these shouldn’t have made the cutting room floor. Completing the extras on the final disc is a gag reel that runs a few seconds over four minutes.
Some special features are more special than others, but overall you can’t go wrong with an extra 57 minutes of the cast and crew of Scrubs.
Score: 8/10
WEBSITES TO CHECK OUT:
Scrubs – My Own Personal Net Thing
To coincide with the release of the third season on DVD, a second album has been made available exclusively through iTunes. The soundtrack is featured on the site’s TV Show section – a first for the mega-popular music online destination.
SCRUBS VOL. 2 TRACKLISTING
01. The Mavericks “I Want To Know”
02. The Coral “Dreaming of You”
03. Rhett Miller “Our Love”
04. Elefant “Why”
05. Old 97’s “Question”
06. Joseph Arthur “In The Sun”
07. Joshua Radin “Winter”
08. The Polyphonic Spree “Light & Day”
09. Tom Mac “Half”
10. Tammany Hall NYC “Cindy”
11. Martin Sexton “Diner”
12. Colin Hay “My Brilliant Feat”
13. Cary Brothers “Honestly”
14. Citizen Cope “Sideways”
AUDIO STREAMS:
Elefant “Why” – (Windows Media)
Colin Hay “My Brilliant Feat” – (Windows Media)
Colin Hay “My Brilliant Feat” – (Real)
| InsidePulse’s Ratings for Scrubs | |
