(S06E13) If I had to sum up this week's episode of Scrubs in one word it would be 'jokey'. I know there was a common thread running through the show which was, in one word, 'trust', but it just didn't seem that it held a lot of substance. In the end it was just the glue attaching a constant barrage of jokes.
Now, before you point you finger at the flat screen and scream 'Of course they're jokes. It's a freaking comedy!' there have been plenty of episodes where the thread actually produced a nice story that wove around the show. A story where some of the humor would come from the situations rather than just from the jokes. Feh, what do I know? Maybe I'm looking too much into the episode. It just seemed to be more of a sitcom this week rather than a comedy. Am I off here, folks?
Anyway, despite all of what I said above, this was a pretty funny episode.
What I really liked was the interaction between Elliot and Dr. Cox. Since she entered private practice Dr. Reid has become more comfortable with herself and it showed during her scenes with Perry this week. The best part occurred when Elliot one-upped Dr. Cox during one of the standard walk-and-talks the show features (you would think it was an Aaron Sorkin production with all of the walk-and-talks.). After getting tripped up (literally) by Cox, Elliot gets him back by distracting him so he doesn't see he is going to walk into a wall. As Carla says afterwards, 'Niiiiccceee!'.
But, even though she's doing that stuff to Perry she still remains a bit naive when it comes to human nature. Case is point is when she discovers that a drug counselor she's working with is Sam Thompson, a man who tricked her into giving him drugs years before. Elliot believes that Sam has turned a page in his life and is now sober. Cox thinks he knows better and believes that Thompson is still doing drugs. It turns out he is, but Cox doesn't tell Elliot about it because, as he puts it, she'll eventually become cynical like everyone else does at Sacred Heart. So, why not enjoy herself now before the world comes crashing down on her.
By the way, Cox's rant on Grey's Anatomy was funny and ironic. Here he is complaining that everything gets summed up nicely at the end of Grey's by an annoying voice-over person who's very vague at times. Hm, sounds like the ending of another medical show on another network that happens to air at the same time as Grey's, doesn't it? Yet, that other show (it's Scrubs you knuckleheads!) had the annoying voice-over ending first. So Grey's just stole it from them. How rude!
The other stories this episode didn't impress me that much. Particularly the whole 'Rowdy or Steven' dead stuffed-dog plot. This just seemed like something the producers put together to give Carla and Janitor something to do. The plot involving Kelso's friend without health insurance (who was the patient in real life? I can't put my finger on the name.) seemed to be the main focus for the beginning of the show, but got sidetracked down the line.
That storyline did bring about one very funny fantasy sequence. Well, actually two, because it was a fantasy sequence within a fantasy sequence -- perhaps a first for Scrubs. It took place when Turk and J.D. were telling their patient that modern medicine would allow her to keep her infected foot. Turk mentions that, had it been several years ago, the technology would not be available. Backwards in time 500 years, and we see Turk sawing off the patient's foot, lamenting that the technology would not have been available a few years ago to accomplish this task. Backwards in time to the pre-historic age where Turk and J.D. club the patient to death. Then, for some reason, J.D. clubs Turk. After that came the funniest moment of the episode . . . J.D.'s sad piano music comes on and he performs an inner monologue in caveman speak. I don't know why, but I just cracked up at that.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-16-2007 @ 10:17AM
clewless76 said...
I agree with your take on the episode. It wasn't quite as seamlessly tied together as past episodes have been. That being said, it was very enjoyable! And you're right...the caveman bit was quite amusing(thanks to DVR I watched that bit @ 5 times).
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3-16-2007 @ 1:45PM
Aaron Perez said...
Why review a show you obviously hate?
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3-16-2007 @ 11:04AM
stephen p. said...
anyone have the name of the actress playing Kelso's friend? i missed it during teh credits and can't find it online anywhere. she looked so familiar.
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3-16-2007 @ 11:26AM
yatesy said...
Kelso's friend was Victoria Tennant. She was in LA Story with Steve Martin and was married to him before as well (they are since divorced I believe).
I love this show but this season seems...disjointed.
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3-16-2007 @ 10:58AM
Bill said...
It was Victoria Tennant (who I only remember from L.A. Story):
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0005481/
The Grey's Anatomy joke was quite funny, and actually I think their second joke about the similarities between the two shows (didn't JD or Elliot once say Grey's Anatomy was "like someone turned our lives into a tv show" or something?).
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/
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3-16-2007 @ 10:59AM
Wendy Mac said...
Her name is Victoria Tennant...
(I had to look her up, but placed her from that Steve Martin classic "All of Me")
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3-16-2007 @ 11:28AM
tricia said...
Victoria Tennant is Steve Martin's ex-wife, in case you didn't know.
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3-16-2007 @ 1:36PM
Hugeliver said...
I thought this was a great episode. For some reason I love seeing episodes where we see a more human side of Kelso. I think that shows some chops on the actors behalf.
I would also like to add that Sarah Chalke IS the most beautiful woman on television. EVER!!!
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3-16-2007 @ 12:21PM
Randy said...
And I thought it was interesting that this episode was written by a first-timer (according to the podcast on NBC.com). I think she did a good job.
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3-16-2007 @ 12:22PM
Eric J. said...
Was Sam Thompson played by Skippy from Family Ties?
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3-16-2007 @ 2:09PM
AJ MacReady said...
Sam Thompson was played by Alexander "Sandy" Carlin; there is a connection to Michael J. Fox, but he was one of the ensemble of Spin City, not Family Ties.
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3-17-2007 @ 12:58PM
creamlatte said...
i thought the episode harkened back to the good old days. they explained something that happens at hospitals (in this case, getting someone treated without insurance), there was good interaction between turk and jd, the todd named a new five, etc. the show was funny, i found myself laughing much more than i have lately and it was wonderful.
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3-16-2007 @ 1:10PM
Bill said...
Eric J: Sam Thompson was on a Michael J. Fox sitcom, but he's not Skippy. He's this guy:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0300040/
You might remember him as James from Spin City.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/
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3-16-2007 @ 1:42PM
Kyle said...
I love the part when they got their colored scrubs back, and JD imagined everyone running around and dancing before the screen froze. I just cracked up.
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3-16-2007 @ 2:47PM
Chuck said...
Aaron, while I agree that there are many bloggers on TVS who have no business reviewing the show because of their loathing of it, I don't think that applies in this case, as I thought it was quite clear this was a review by someone who does like the show . . . but has been a little upset with it as of late.
As I think we all are. That being said, the cavemen bit was one of the funnest things I've seen from Scrubs or any other show in weeks!
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3-16-2007 @ 5:06PM
Paul Little said...
I thought this episode was very well done, even if it wasn't as poignant or storyline-driven as last week's end to the Iraq soldier patient storyline. The jokes about "Grey's" were spot-on, both in taking a little jab at that show (which I do enjoy, btw) and taking a jab at itself in the process (with the vague voiceover J.D. did following the "Grey's" joke).
Hugeliver, you are definitely correct. Sarah Chalke is the hottest woman on television. And there are some HOT women on television.
And Aaron, while I disagree with his assessment this week, Richard definitely loves the show and is a good person to be reviewing it. And frankly, the fact that he can be critical of it makes him an even better person to review the show than just a fanboy/girl who thinks the show can do no wrong (which I would probably qualify as, thus it's good I don't do its review :P).
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3-16-2007 @ 8:30PM
ThomasBB said...
Can anyone remember the time (or seasons) when Scrubs wasn't that predictable?
After ten minutes of this episode everybody knows exactly what's gonna happen:
1. The guy still does take drugs.
2. Cox will find out.
3. Cox will decide to not tell Elliot for some moral reason.
Maybe this predictability is the very reason so many people feel that the shows later seasons just can't match the first seasons.
The only resolution for not being too predictable is to make changes to the show. Of course, if you make changes, people will complain about the show being 'not like the first seasons'. It's an unavoidable curse.
Btw, good review.
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3-16-2007 @ 8:30PM
Darrel Hormeku said...
@15
Your wrong House's Jennifer Morrison is the hottest woman on TV.
Sarah Chalke is hot but too bad shes married I think.
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3-16-2007 @ 9:31PM
Rich Keller said...
Aaron, I don't hate 'Scrubs'; I would never review a show I despise watching. What I am is concerned about the uneveness of this season. It just seems that, after all of the great things that went on last season, they kind of wore themselves out. I love this show and want to see it continue on as both a first-run series and in syndication.
Thank you to all for giving the name of Kelso's friend. I just couldn't put the name to the face.
Finally, Sam Thompson has a bit of a 'Six Degrees' thing going on. Sam guest-starred on 'Scrubs', which was created by Bill Lawrence, who also wrote the ABC Comedy 'Spin City'. Richard Kind, who also starred on that ABC show, has appeared on 'Scrubs'.
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3-16-2007 @ 10:07PM
amy said...
when i was watching this ep i thought they were taking a jab at grey's with the obvious jokes, but also when kelso was talking about people 'stealing scrubs'. he was talking about people physically stealing scrubs, but at the time i thought he might have been referring to something more.
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