TVSquad

(S06E17) Bill Lawrence and company really seem to be on the back pages of the playbook, aren't they?

For the second time this season, we're out of J.D.'s head, this time hearing about the everyday thoughts of Ted, The Todd, and Jordan. We were already privy to Kelso's thoughts in an earlier episode, which means the writers are breaking the pattern of jumping out of J.D.'s head for an entire episode only once per season.

But, you know what? Sometimes, the last pages of the playbook have all the best plays. This was a funny and refreshing episode.

You have to admit: as funny as J.D.'s voice overs and fantasies are, it's good to hear from someone else for a change, especially after six years. And it was a pretty good idea to get in the heads of three secondary characters (read: not in the opening credits) rather than one of the primary ones, though I think the only head we haven't gotten into at this point was Carla's.

Jordan was the funniest, of course. Why do I say, "of course?" Because of the three, she's the most complete character. Unlike the somewhat one-note nature of The Todd (gay-suppressing hound dog) and Ted (doormat with an Oedipal complex), Jordan has shown multiple levels in the past. Yes, we know she's a bitch who has a somewhat complicated relationship with Perry Cox. But we've seen moments where she's cared about what others think, whether it's Cox or... well, that's about it. And we also know she's a great mother. So not only was her desire to purposely sabotage the happiness of Elliot and the Dudemeister completely in character, so was her trying to repair things with Elliot.

I'd repeat Jordan's speech about the desire to cut your significant other in the middle of the night, but it's long, and I just couldn't do it justice. Suffice to say, when Cox shows up with a bandage on his arm, then his face, it was very funny. I just wish they didn't have her ask Cox about the cut on his arm; it felt like they were explaining the joke. At least they didn't bother mentioning the one on his face. Jordan's Oprah-esque fantasy was OK... for some reason, seeing her dancing with a kid that looks like her didn't quite do it for me, though her insulting the cancer survivor did.

Being in The Todd's head was... interesting. My favorite stuff: Trying to figure out what "five" to use with Turk while he should be listening to his friend talk about Todd's teenage boob job patient, complaining about having to stand there while J.D. goes off on one of his fantasies then comes back from it with a weird comment ("We'd have to find a whole lot of gnomes."), and his fantasy about him and his son "Rod" (get it? Fantasy five!) telling each other that they stuff their banana hammocks -- Todd does it with a big hiking sock, of course. The story about the girl was almost secondary. But the way he resolved it did show that Todd's smarter than he looks. That young man will do well in plastic surgery...

By the way, how odd does Donald Faison look with a full head of hair? It almost doesn't look like him (when was the last time he had hair? When he was in Clueless, maybe?). Wonder if he's growing it for the hell of it or for a specific movie role.

Finally, it was good to get in Ted's head for a little while, and to see him display some balls for once, even if it's only stealthily. Funny seeing Carla and the nurses on their slowdown (and Janitor's sympathetic stoppage, since he normally works pretty slowly... nice suntan light). My favorite part of being in Ted's head was his hair fantasy. Talk about ironies... he has hair but his mom has to pay for it with her life. "Why, hair? WHYYYYYYY!!" (I think this is the first time we've ever seen Ted's mom, by the way) Accidentally calling Kelso an ass and internally laughing at his tormentor's racism was also funny.

A few more items:

• For a woman who calls her private parts her "bajingo," Elliot can sex it up, can't she? The stripper pole was a nice touch, and in true role-reversal fashion, an apron-clad Keith comes out with warm cookies when Ted and Lloyd "somehow" find their way into Elliot's house to install it.
• By the way, Lloyd is played by executive story editor/supervising producer Mike Schwartz. I've noticed that we're seeing him more and more on the show. Of course, Lloyd's a complete mess, which was a good way to fit in the story about the $50,000 of needles Kelso was getting for $50.
• The almost complete lack of Zach Braff in this episode made me think he directed it, but he didn't. Wonder if he just needed a few days off...
• Jordan's parents were loving and supportive? Who knew? Then why is she so damned evil?
• When are we going to see J.D.'s baby mommy, Kim, again? Or was that final, Ausiello-filled scene the last time we see Elizabeth Banks on this show?

On our 1-7 ratings scale, I'm giving this one a 5. Like I said, some good laughs were to be had in this one. Not top-notch, but a pretty good episode in the show's usual zany vein. I like that they stayed relatively grounded in reality in this one and didn't get too mired in the heavy stuff this week; after the Laverne arc, we needed a little levity, and this episode accomplished that task.

By the way, next week, Sacred Heart gets a little felicity. Read the episode description and you'll figure it out.