(Update: Bill Lawrence himself responds to my plea in the comments.)Oy, not again.
First we heard, straight from Bill Lawrence's mouth, that Scrubs could get a ninth season. Then we heard it was definitely done at the end of this current eighth season. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is hearing that talks to renew the show are back on, with Lawrence and company trying to figure out how to bring back most of the cast, at least in a recurring fashion.
They have to be recurring, since Zach Braff has vowed that he's done with the show, and Neil Flynn, John C. McGinley, and Donald Faison are all attached to new pilots, with Scrubs being a second option in case they're not picked up. Heck, even Lawrence is busy on the new Courteney Cox show Cougar Town.
I'm here, as one of the show's biggest fans, to beg ABC and Lawrence to let the show die. Please. It's the best thing they can do for it.
This season has been a pretty good one, mainly because Lawrence and company have stripped down and gotten back to the hospital-related stories that made the show so good in the first place. When they go on flights of fancy, they don't spin out that far. Even a tricky episode like the cast's trip to the Bahamas turned out to be one of the funnier episodes they've done in many years.
But there's a reason why this season has been so good; Lawrence was leaving, Braff was leaving, and everyone was resigned to move on, even if the show came back in an intern-centric "next generation" form. So, everyone went for broke. Alan Sepinwall figures that a ninth season won't have the same kind of energy, a notion that I agree with.
I mean, to bring back another old TV reference (see my HIMYM review for the first one), when Magnum was unexpectedly brought back for one more season after everyone -- including the producers and writers -- thought the show was cancelled, the resulting final season did not have the energy and build that the previous season did. Something about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel makes people bear down and perform.
But, more than anything else, an intern-centric season with some recurring original characters just isn't going to cut it for me. The only intern introduced this season that I've enjoyed watching is Denise, played by Eliza Coupe. Problem is, Coupe is also attached to a pilot, so she may not return. The rest of the interns, at least from what I've seen of them so far, are not compelling-enough characters to get me to watch a re-formed Scrubs on a weekly basis.
What do you folks think? Is it about time for the show to go on its merry way or will you keep watching?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-28-2009 @ 1:29PM
cdawg said...
I'm on the fence. Scrubs without JD Turk and Cox isn't Scrubs. But I love Bill Lawrence and I really enjoy his medical humor, so I would like for that to continue. Maybe doing something like they did with the Practice - keep a few characters and rename it Boston Legal with a whole new look. I'd be down for that. Maybe title it Sacred Heart. Have Elliot and Carla (and Ted) still roaming the halls, with the occasional cameo from the others, but focus on Denise (and her jungle love intern).
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4-28-2009 @ 7:51PM
Dan said...
Absolutely agree with you on this one. Sacred Heart could be the medical comedy with all those medical dramas out there. They could stick to the hospital and it would still be a good show. All they would need to keep are Ted, the Janitor and maybe a couple of the random people like The Todd and Dr. Kelso.
I actually am kinda sick of JD. He's getting really over-the-top with his flights-of-fancy and his gayness (not that there's anything wrong with that) for Turk. He's also too much of a know-it-all, which takes away from the whole "scrubs" aspect of the show that was not just about the uniforms but about the fact that they were "scrubs" of the medical community with their lack of experience. I've enjoyed this season (and I love BETTER OFF TED) and will always look back at Scrubs fondly, but I would definitely not mind another few seasons, even without JD, Eliot, Carla or Turk.
4-28-2009 @ 1:37PM
RS said...
Not sure how credible this is, but Variety reports that Zach Braff is now interested in returning for at least a portion of the episodes of a season 10: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002915.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
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4-28-2009 @ 1:38PM
RS said...
sorry, meant season 9...
5-13-2009 @ 1:18AM
matt said...
i thiink that the show should continue as it has such high uality humer and the new interns can help bring that back to life.
yes it was a sad finale but not all of the original cast may go but it is an unfortunate possibility.
scrubs should not be cancelled just yet.
4-28-2009 @ 1:41PM
Chad said...
Have to agree with cdawg; the ONLY way I could see it working is if they did it Practice style. Even if you phase out the original characters to make way for new ones,it has to become a different show in order to work. Scrubs works because of the total ensemble cast working together. If you start to remove pieces of the cast, it just doesn't work the same.
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4-28-2009 @ 1:42PM
Duane said...
Given how often we've compared Scrubs to MASH in the past, I hereby dub this attempt, should it come to pass, "AfterScrubs". Because we all know how well "AfterMASH" came out. Maybe they can still get David Ogden Stiers.
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4-28-2009 @ 1:45PM
Raked said...
Let it die! The only reason that I was happy ABC picked it up was because it's natural ending was cut short due to the writer's strike. Let it end the way it was planned and then let it go! If they keep it going with just the interns, it will ruin the show.
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4-28-2009 @ 2:06PM
Jimmy said...
Great post. I've been saying the same thing for at least three years now. Paging Dr. Kevorkian!
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4-28-2009 @ 2:18PM
jimchig said...
Love the show, but it's time to go.
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4-28-2009 @ 2:34PM
Bill Lawrence said...
Here's what I think Joel. It bothers me that people think they know what the show would be, though I have not commented on it, yet. I consider myself a student of television and have seen the disasters and mine fields out there when you string shows along. That being said: I think we're good writers. I know that SCRUBS as it's now known is ending next week. I would never just pick it up again and move forward without it essentially being a new show (the way Frasier was to Cheers). I never said that the new show would be "The Interns", though I did respond to Eliza Coupe's portrayal of Denise. Just because Donald, John C., and Neil have PILOTS does not yet mean that they have jobs next year. Anyway - what caused me to foolishly respond to a blog? Maybe wait until after the new version of my show exists (whatever it may be) to say that it sucks. It very well might suck - sometimes tv does suck no matter how hard you try (and I've made some sucky pilots that prove that). Still, if I had to bet on my production team or a new group doing a new show - I'd bet on my team. I think we'll do something good and new and surprising and interesting. Or it'll suck. But it won't be a lame, fizzle-out. I promise. If it sucks, it will suck in a grand, really sucky way.
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4-28-2009 @ 5:15PM
Dorv said...
Alpha ____ Kappa Alpha?
4-28-2009 @ 11:47PM
John Darc said...
Bring back Clone High.
4-29-2009 @ 12:35AM
Tommy said...
I think the case-and-point is How It's Made. Have you seen, "How It's Made: Remix"?
4-29-2009 @ 1:37PM
chrisis said...
Bill, you are awesome! (I know, there already is the same message on the ABC forums, but I guess it doesn't hurt to spread the awesomeness you are here too!)
4-29-2009 @ 2:31PM
Juliette said...
Bill, I'll love whatever you make as long as JD and Elliott don't split up! I know its a hotly debated point, but I like my happy TV couples. (This goes for Carla/Turk and Cox/Jordan as well, of course!)
You gave Micheal J Fox such as fab exit on Spin City, I know you can work wonders sometimes - so I'll happily watch whatever comes next with an open mind!
5-28-2009 @ 11:31PM
Candybill said...
Scrubs is my favorite show of all time! This may sound a bit over the top but i watch one or two episodes every night right before I go to sleep. I don't really know why this show has had such an effect on me> I am a 35 year old truck driver who listens to howard stern every day and has a pretty sick sense of humor. But your show has managed to reach a place in me that I didn't know existed as far as sensitivity goes. Your show has made me laugh, cry, and feel very comforted. So I just wanted to say thank you. I am sure whatever you and your team do next will be great and I will always be a fan of yours.
Bill
4-28-2009 @ 2:40PM
billlawrence1 said...
Joel, I got so excited I didn't sign my name. Talk to you soon. Bill
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4-28-2009 @ 3:05PM
Pierre-Luc Allie said...
Let a season pass, and launch a spin-off after.
The show will be funnier with brand new character. The bromance stuff are really getting old. The JD-Cox, JD-Janitor all sounds fake.
Scrubs could have been the ER of Comedy if they would have changed some character 4-5 years ago. Now it's too late.
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4-28-2009 @ 3:13PM
Wii60 said...
I'd watch it, but only with Denise, who seems to be gone.
This probably won't happen, but if it does, cool.
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