(S06E07) Let's see, over the past five seasons J.D. has given his special narrating powers to Turk, Elliot, Carla, and even Janitor. So, it was logical that he would pass on his abilities to one of the two remaining bigwigs of the show. And he did so this week, as the inner monologue was passed on to Bob Kelso.
Its been awhile since we've seen Bob strut his stuff on the show. Yes, he had some significant singing parts during the musical episode, but he's been in the shadows recently. He certainly isn't the powerhouse that he was in the earlier seasons. That was actually the plot of this week's episode: the staff are no longer afraid of Kelso's tirades since he barely shows up anymore.
All in all it was a good episode and had the rhythm of earlier seasons. There were tons of fantasy sequences, many from Bob Kelso. One of the more amusing ones was his thoughts on what his life would be like if he was still in the Navy. Flash to a scene reminiscent of the ending from An Officer and a Gentleman. Except this time it's Kelso in the Navy dress whites rescuing his love from a Far East sweatshop while an Asian version of Joe Cocker's 'Love Lifts us up Where we Belong' plays in the background. The same scene is repeated a few minutes later, except it is the Asian woman rescuing Kelso from the hospital.
The subplot was a play on the continuing debate over the war on Iraq. After a war veteran with a head wound is brought into the hospital arguments break out amongst the staff about the good and bad of the campaign, which cause the patient to be neglected. Laverne and Elliot are on the pro side, while Turk and (not surprisingly) Cox are on the anti side of things. Meanwhile, Kelso decides to befriend the veteran. At the end of the show it is that man who convinces Kelso that sometimes people expect you to be an asshat (not his words) in order to motivate them. It marks a turnaround in Bob's attitude towards the staff as well as his position.
Not much else to talk about this week. There were some funny Ted scenes (the human Magic 8 Ball), J.D. was looking for an apartment (and didn't know anything about Iraq) and we got to see the continued fascination Janitor has with taxidermy and how he utilizes the animals he stuffs. Actually, what I like about Scrubs is that it remembers its history. This week alone we revisited the Janitor's hobby with stuffing rodents, Kelso's tushy tattoo, which says Johnny (and Johnny has one with Bobby), and a few quotes that Elliot had said in previous seasons. Those were predominately displayed on the Coffee Bucks cups.
That's all this time around. I won't be here next week, but brother Joel has graciously stepped in to substitute. See you in a few.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-01-2007 @ 11:51PM
Borat said...
"Who has two thumbs and doesn't give a crap? Bob Kelso."
I liked the Marmaduke discussion...J.D and Turk are just so weird together.
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2-02-2007 @ 12:19AM
ghp said...
Even as the concept of divisions over hot-button topics was good, I thought the explicit Iraq war commentary was a bit too topical. It ended up in a good place, though, with Bobbo realizing that the denizens of Sacred Heart *did* need him -- they need him to be the guy with two thumbs, *not* the guy who worked six days out of six weeks!
The three obvious high spots for me: 1) the human Magic 8 Ball, 2) Elliot's "bajingo" quote on the Coffee Bucks cup, & 3) Kelso's submission slot & shredder combo.
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2-02-2007 @ 7:25AM
heinlein said...
Wow. This was the single best episode of at least the two latest seasons.
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2-02-2007 @ 8:16AM
Lou said...
I really (or REEEE-HEEEE-LY to quote the the Coxsmith)did not like the political commentary. Something in me says I don't want to know how Elliot or Turk feel about the war, because now I can't see past it. I think the producers/writers were smart to keep JD out of it, because being the "lead character" I think you would have really offended the 50% of the viewers who disagreed with him.
there were two comments that really did a disservice to the public debate and it maybe my own political bias showing but here goes:
1) LaVerne's kneejerk reaction that anybody who speaks out against the war can't still support the troops
2) Elliot's (and Keith's) bonding over calling Hillary a bitch.
note to the writers...go back and study your M*A*S*H if you want to see how medical/political comedies should be written
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2-02-2007 @ 9:38AM
Alicia said...
I thought the writers were being very smart about Iraq. Not to voice my own political feelings here, but that pretty much the same conversation I have had/overheard in any one place where people sit down and talk about it.
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2-02-2007 @ 10:21AM
Scott M said...
In my opinion this episode was the best from this season and the last as well. While the debate wasn't the sharpest writing i got a feeling that the lack of depth in arguments was precisely the point (just look at Janitor's contribution "EAAARAARUGGGHENNN" or something to that extent). It highlighted how polarizing debates only divide and distract, especially when both sides deal in misinformation and spin.
finally, a new Scrubs ep. that made a fresh and verifiable point on level with earlier seasons. can't wait for next week now.
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2-02-2007 @ 11:23AM
malren said...
I think most folks missed one of the major points of this episode.
While they all claimed to be professionals who were there to help the sick and wounded, in reality their constant need to argue about the war resulted in them not giving the care and attention to a soldier that he needed, and the result was almost catastrophic. The lesson *I* got from that was everyone claims to support the troops, but are so busy getting caught up in the debate that they actually forget to support the people who make up "the troops." By support I mean care for them, treat them with respect, and most especially care for them when they come home wounded.
We're all too busy screaming at each other to notice how utterly disrespectful and horrible we're being to these men and women who volunteer to get shot at.
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2-02-2007 @ 12:48PM
Pete said...
I feel Scrubs should exist in its own world, not mine. To tackle a current event takes the show out of the fantasy world I like it to be in (and fantasy within a fantasy, for that matter).
I also thought the editing was a bit loose this week, specificly the moments between Bob's internal monologues and his external speaking. It almost made him come off as a bad actor.
This season has been 50/50 for me so far. The Iraq commentary and Carla's depression I found awkward, while the musical and JD's continued goofiness were still top notch.
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2-02-2007 @ 1:30PM
Bob Jones said...
I think what made the political commentary work was you got both sides, they stapled Fox and MSNBC together - instead of some shows (Boston Legal) where you only get the one side - the liberal side.
It would have been political if the show was advancing either view point, but it didn't - the main characters were split and the voice-over stayed out of it.
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2-02-2007 @ 1:30PM
Randy said...
Around here, I'm one of the few people who enjoyed the early season 6 episodes. With that said, this was probably one of my least favorite Scrubs episodes. I agree with Pete about Scrubs existing in its own world. It felt awkward to me to hear them arguing over the war in Iraq.
This episode did have its funny moments. And as a His Story episode for Kelso the plot did work, I guess. But overall, I was slightly disappointed.
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2-02-2007 @ 2:13PM
Gwin said...
The ratio in the cafeteria was a bit off -- it should've been more like 70/30 (against/for the war) in order for it to be accurate.
I know this sounds silly, but I lost a bit of sympathy for Elliot this week. Of course, the fact that she's a privileged white girl from CT (same background as Dubya, as much as he'd like us to forget it) should've been an advance indicator that she's a neocon with a limited worldview.
It is a little weird that these people who are such good friends are only NOW discovering each other's political affiliations, though.
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2-02-2007 @ 2:44PM
Bob Jones said...
You feel less sorry for her now because she is a conservative?
She did turn down her fathers money, to work for her money ... she hasn't exactly killed any poor people or anything, has she?
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2-02-2007 @ 3:36PM
malren said...
"You feel less sorry for her now because she is a conservative?"
That's just how some people are. They pretend to be open-minded, but they really aren't.
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2-02-2007 @ 5:19PM
Gwin said...
Let me spell it out for you since you don't seem to understand: just because I used the word "sympathy" means I "felt sorry" for Elliot -- that would more likely be "empathy," by the way. I simply LIKE her less now that I know she's presented herself as close-minded.
As for myself, I do have a low tolerance for people who clearly are close-minded like this, but that doesn't make ME so. I'm open to all sorts of personalities as long as they are open to ME -- which I don't believe is true of most neocons (what with their hatred of gays, minorities, etc.)
Does that make sense to you...? Actually, I don't really care if it does or not.
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2-02-2007 @ 5:55PM
Bob Jones said...
When was she close-minded though? When she voted for Dubya?
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2-02-2007 @ 6:23PM
malren said...
"I'm open to all sorts of personalities as long as they are open to ME -- which I don't believe is true of most neocons "
The sad thing is, you can't see the inherent hypocrisy and intolerance in your own position. Oh well.
Your loss, no one else's. You just keep labeling everyone and shutting off avenues of enjoyment, friendship and experience because you like the word "neocon."
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2-02-2007 @ 9:20PM
Bob said...
There appears to be a lot of high volume overenthusiastic opinion sharing going on today.
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2-03-2007 @ 2:50AM
Diego said...
I loved the iraq war discussion.
People are really touchy about this subject and at the end of the show nobody was right or wrong, but then again the "iraq war for dummies" was true.
"why am i readin the 'mission accomplished part and i still have 400 more pages to go"
plus the bunny/saltshaker/pepper grinder
and kelso and his "offficer and agentleman" moments.
FAVORITE EPISODE OF THE SEASON SO FAR, HARD TO SEE THIS TOPPED
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