(S08E12) It's always fun when Scrubs takes its annual trip outside of J.D.'s head and lets us know what some of the other people around Sacred Heart are thinking. Considering we've heard from just about everyone else, it was nice to give the interns a chance in the spotlight. And, after last week's heartfelt but mostly laugh-free episode, it was good to see the show come back to the funny standard it had set for itself this year.
I'm starting to realize that if Bill Lawrence had actually taken the plunge and given us a spin-off featuring the interns, the character whose head we'd be in would be Denise / Jo. Yes, Jo's caustic. Yes, she's got about as much sympathy as a rock. But she seems to be the most well-developed character of all the interns, the one whose history we already know a little about and the one we know is ripe to go through a transformation over time. It doesn't hurt that Eliza Coupe a) does such a great job and b) is so darn nice to look at...
I thought it was funny how Jo never played into Elliot's constant need for validation on everything about her that wasn't medical. "I think that dress is inappropriate to wear in a hospital, but you're totally rocking it." It shows that she has a backbone but still knows what's needed to get the job done. And it's good to see that she's learning to take the heat when necessary.
By the way, isn't it funny how Elliot seems to be completely confident in her medical abilities but a mess about everything else? It's like we have a combination of early-day Elliot and last-three-seasons Elliot this year. I welcome the change...
It seems we have a young Turk (pun definitely intended) in Derek, a new surgical intern. It did seem like things were out of balance, intern-wise, between medical and surgical. I liked hearing what he was thinking, like when he chided himself for snidely comparing J.D. to Martin Luther King (which J.D. took seriously, of course). But I have to wonder what intern in their right mind would charge back into a cafeteria and yell at two attendings, the head nurse, and the chief of medicine on his first week on the job. Now, Cox is the kind of chief who probably admires that the guy stood up to him, but I can't see this realistically happening at an actual teaching hospital. But, who knows? A lot of times I thought this show took creative license when in fact the events they dramatized actually happened.
More fun stuff:
- I really do think Neil Flynn's entire role is now improvised, from him saying he's been hypnotized for 15 years to how he interacted with is robotized cart.
- Missing cast member alert: No Ken Jenkins as Kelso.
- Funny how that cart went from radio-controlled to almost sentinent ("It's learning..."). It seems like the writers are reserving all their whacked-out non-fantasy stuff for Janitor this year.
- I'm still getting used to Sunny. Good to see that she wanted to be included in Janitor's sick taunting, though.
- Even J.D.'s fantasies are turning on him: In the strutting fantasy, Turk goes to choke him when he learns J.D. used his removed testicle as a disco ball.
- Ah, the circle of life: Cox is the new Kelso, and J.D. is the new Cox.
- Gotta love how Jo's fantasy about enhanced Elliot's "I told ya so!" dance became a reality (without the split, though). It shows how literal her thinking is. And it gave us a chance to see Elliot's robot again. That whole segment showed why Sarah Chalke needs her own series; she's got that "go-for-it" comedic mentality that I haven't seen since Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
- Carla flirted with Derek. Odd.. "Be careful, she likes brown men. We both do," said J.D.
- Carla also delivered my favorite line to Turk: "If we do hook up tonight, for once, you won't be the only one thinking about J.D."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-26-2009 @ 9:40AM
MadMup said...
This episode felt a little off to me. As hilarious as Denise/Jo and Sunny are in their little bit parts, I didn't feel like ANY of the internal monologues from the interns added anything to the show, and most of the characterizations of the mains didn't sit well.
The Janitor won this episode, hands down.
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3-26-2009 @ 9:59AM
StillBash said...
Loved the episode.
Sarah Charlke's german was really good as well this time. "Ich hab's gesagt, ja das stimmt ich hab's gesagt" is "I told so, yeah that's right I told so" - which only leaves out the "Dir" which is "you" - would've been better but what the heck :-)
I guess the french one was right too I think it's "J'ai te le dit" but I don't know if the "le" fits in there, it's "that" ^^;)
And there was hardly any accent noticable - in all three languages ;-)
I wholeheartedly agree that there is spinoff material in Jo. She's great. I can't quite put it who she's me reminding of - a whole other show but I don't know which one. It's not "Felicity" but something else...
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3-26-2009 @ 10:35AM
NueveFiveOh said...
StillBash: There's no accent because Sarah Chalke is fluent in both French and German. You should check out her last appearance on Conan from January.
And Elliot's "told ya so" routine was the first time I've literally almost fallen out of my chair laughing at one of her comedic bits in a long time. That was an awesome throwback to season 1 ("My Tuscaloosa Heart").
3-26-2009 @ 11:02AM
StillBash said...
Yeah she might be fluent but the previous times she's had trouble with her accent - at least a little bit. I also doubt that she's really fluent in german. I mean she might be able to get around here but I guess she's about at the stage I was after middle school in english.
I don't know whether that was talking her down or praising myself, take your pick ;-)
This way or the other I like her and would love to find out who's got the worse accent, her or me ;-)
And we could try french as well :-D
3-26-2009 @ 5:32PM
Chuck said...
Nuevefiveoh: "fluency" has nothing to do with accent. "Fluent" means able to converse well in a language, about a variety of topics. An accent is nothing more than the sound we use when speaking that language. And most linguists agree, after the onset of puberty or so, it is almost impossible to be completely rid of an accent, no matter how well you understand and can speak the language.
3-26-2009 @ 5:37PM
Sam said...
Yes, her french was not bad indeed. She does have a little accent but it just makes it even cuter!
what she actually said was:
Je te l'ai dit. Oui, c'est ça, je te l'ai dit.
Normally in french, 'I told you so' would translate to:
Je te l'avais dit.
But both tenses work.
/end of lesson
and yes, Jo is hot!
3-26-2009 @ 6:05PM
StillBash said...
Thanks Sam :-)
I saw the episode of Conan and it sounds like Heidi Klum speaking english to me just the other way round. Funny accent. I like Sarah :-)
"Der Weihnachtsmann" *hrr hrr hrr*
Didn't know her mother was from Germany. Yeah it's right we celebrate Christmas on the 24th in the evening on "Heiligabend" - "Holy Eve".
I don't know why Conan doesn't get Marzipankartoffeln. I mean if you take a vegetable that no kid wants to eat and make it out of marzipan and kids eat it isn't that great?
Stupid Conan ^^;
3-26-2009 @ 10:39AM
Raked said...
Was anyone else as excited to see the famous Jett Jackson get an acting job that wasn't Cyborg? I was.
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3-26-2009 @ 11:41AM
rahul said...
i was happy too that that they brought back the classic "i told you so" dance
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3-26-2009 @ 12:17PM
Jables said...
Sarah Chalke DOES NOT need her own series.
"I have to wonder what intern in their right mind would charge back into a cafeteria and yell at two attendings...but I can't see this realistically happening at an actual teaching hospital." Of all the crazy unrealistic happenings in this show, you picked THAT to question?
Strutting Fantasy reprise was awesome.
Jo is hot.
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3-26-2009 @ 12:37PM
Pete said...
I thought this ep was aweful. The intern's thoughts were completely unneccesary. Thoughts like, "Oh no." and "You go girl." do not tell us anything. And they sure aren't funny.
Plus, usually there is a transition from JD to the other person who takes over for his thoughts. This time they just jumped in out of nowhere. It was distracting.
Very few laughs this week. It felt like maybe Lawrence's second cousin's neighbor, who maybe saw the show once, took a shot at writing. Turk and JD's feud. Carla's flirting. The final moral lesson... It all seemed forced.
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3-26-2009 @ 2:16PM
cashew_76 said...
What happened to Ed?
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3-26-2009 @ 2:26PM
Paul said...
He was fired by Cox several episodes back... so he could take a government position in Pawnee, Indiana, in the Parks & Recreation department.
3-26-2009 @ 2:33PM
Duane said...
Scrubs geeks will note that the Janitor could not possibly have been hypnotized by the word "popsicle" - remember the episode where Dr. Cox lined them all up to tell him he was the greatest doctor in the hospital? "Now I will go down the line and each of you will sound off with a resounding 'YOU ARE!' or my friend the janitor here will, and these are his words, not mine, 'popsicle' you."
Best meta-joke "Didn't we do this fantasy sequence before?" "Yeah but I been working out so this time I get to be shirtless."
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3-26-2009 @ 5:09PM
asirah said...
any one know what the song at the end is?
Reply
3-26-2009 @ 6:09PM
StillBash said...
Group: Rogue Wave
Album: Asleep at Heaven's Gate
Song: Chicago x 12
3-27-2009 @ 8:15AM
Verene said...
Even though I like this episode, I agree that something seems a little off; maybe it's because they included too many interns and their monologues are not too well developed (except Denise's).
Gotta love the throwbacks! Bill Lawrence has been watching season 1 rerun right? The strutting fantasy is a throwback from My Kingdom (Season 1) right? And Elliot's "I told you so" dance is just spectacular. Chalke speaking French and German is always funny.
Seems like Katie and Howie are the new Elliot and JD. Not only there's a physical resemblance, but Katie's wacky sexuality reminds me of early Elliot a lot (Remember season 2? Elliot Reid - Tramp!). I particularly enjoyed the side-boob bit.
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