TVSquad

(S07E11) Well, that was a little confusing, wasn't it? Kelso is still in charge of the hospital, Keith is still around, and J.D. and Elliot are talking about their almost-kiss from the 6th season finale, something we thought they had gotten past awhile ago.

It was pretty obvious that, once NBC told Bill Lawrence that he couldn't make any more new episodes after the strike was over, there was a mutual decision to make "My Princess" the season (and, as it turns out, the NBC) finale. Problem was, since it was episode 709 (look it up at the NBCU Media Village site), some continuity problems would rear their heads.

Oh, well. Continuity was just a small problem with this episode. I will say this: any episode Zach Braff directs is going to be ambitious, and this was about as ambitious as Scrubs has gotten. But for some reason, I was expecting more from this Princess Bride homage than I got. It was funny in spots, but it could have been a whole lot funnier.

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• Is Katee Sackhoff about to join CSI?
• Daryn Kagan visited CNN for the first time since getting canned after 12 years and it was...odd (especially the second video).
• What the heck was going on at the Ellen show the other day?
• Get ready for more commercials on TV network sites.
• Earl Pomerantz tells a secret about a Mary Tyler Moore Show script he wrote.
• How would you like to star in the new music video that Zach Braff is directing?
• Ratings for The Office hit a season low the other night, and 30 Rock's weren't that great either.
• Check out the storyboards for the second season of Mad Men.

(S07E10) So next week, according to NBC, is the "Scrubs finale," which means that only 11 episodes will have aired for what was going to be the show's last season. Epguides.com lists a 12th episode, but I'm guessing it either never got made or it'll be saved for the eighth season on ABC.

Anyway, tonight was definitely an episode full of transitions. Kelso's on the golf course. Cox is the interim chief of medicine ("Chief Dr. Cox," as he orders everyone to call him). Carla wants another baby, especially now that Turk's a Uniball. Ted's got some confidence for once, and is challenging the authority of the Janitor. And J.D. and Elliot are starting to look more and more like a couple, especially when they're cooing over little Sam Dorian.

(S07E09) Last week, one of our commenters, perhaps inspired by Shakespeare, left the following comment on my generally positive review of "My Manhood" (spelling and capitalization have not been touched):

what are you doing reviewing a show you obvioulsy disdain? you suck.

While I generally don't respond to witty comments like these, it gives me a good opportunity to remind folks that, yes, I do like Scrubs. In fact, it's one of my all-time favorite shows; I laugh my butt off at the reruns, even if I've seen them a hundred times. When I don't like an episode, it's usually because I'm disappointed. I know the show can do so much better, and with limited episodes left, it disheartens me when I come across a dud. It disheartens me even more when there's a string of a few duds in a row.

This episode, though, was not a dud. In fact, it was pretty funny, and it felt like one of the show's original writers penned it. I'll talk more about that later, but I first want to ask one important question...

If you haven't heard, 30 Rock and Scrubs are switching time slots starting this Thursday. 30 Rock will now be seen at 9:30 for the rest of the season while Scrubs moves to the 8:30 slot.

A lot of people (including myself) assumed that this was because of the rent "MILF Island" episode of the show. NBC received a lot of complaints about the episode, saying it was too raunchy for the "family hour," the 8pm to 9pm time that has always (sort of) been for family viewing (NBC even touted a "family hour" when they announced their new lineup a few weeks ago). Now comes word from the network that the switch isn't happening because of the controversy. But the real reason is just as interesting.

They're moving the show to 9:30 so it has a better lead-in (The Office) and can give the show more exposure as Tina Fey's new movie Baby Mama opens. The network does say, however, that when the fall rolls around the show will be back in its regular 8:30 time slot after My Name Is Earl.

(S07E08) When I was watching the cold open to this episode, one thought came to my mind, "Oy, I don't know how I'm going to put up with another season." Usually on Scrubs, the cold open is a good indication of how the episode is going to go, comedy-wise.This cold open was not only not particularly funny, but it seemed oddly paced, as well. The only funny part about it was the gag about Ted being The Janitorial's investigative reporter because no one ever knows he's there.

But then something happened: the episode got funny. Not peak-level Scrubs funny, not even peak-level season seven funny. But it at least gave me hope that Bill Lawrence and his gang have enough in the tank to give us another twenty or so episodes (between what's left this season and what they'll likely shoot for ABC next year) and not make me want to stick a fork in my eye or, worse yet, turn the show off altogether.

(S07E07) God, what a snoozer this episode was. And you can't really blame it on the writers being rusty after the strike; this is the first of the last five episodes made before the strike, which NBC held until it could pair it with new episodes of the rest of the Thursday lineup. In fact, as we found out, this is the first of the five final NBC episodes, as the show wasn't picked up by the Peacock. We'll likely see an eighth season on ABC, but nothing has been set yet.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the boringness of this episode. There were two decent laughs in this one: "brinner" and... you know what? I can't think of the other. There was some story advancement in this episode, but overall it was so unmemorable that I'm just going to pretend that next week's episode is the first Scrubs since the strike. Yeah, that'll work.

When NBC announced the return of their shows after the strike, people were wondering why Scrubs wasn't getting any love. Sure, NBC has never been the biggest supporter of the show, but you'd think that in the show's final season, the network would allow Bill Lawrence and friends to finish the show out the way he envisioned it. Heck, he even gave the network a break, telling them that he could finish out the season in 16 episodes instead of the originally-ordered 18.

But the network hemmed and hawed about making those wrap-up episodes. So now ABC Studios is finally talking about making the long-threatened move of moving the show to its parent network, ABC. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two Disney-owned companies are in negotiation to bring 18 episodes to the alphabet network, likely starting next fall.

Now that the Arrested Development movie is pretty much a done deal, fans are dreaming of what the big screen event should include. FilmSchoolRejects listed eight things the Arested Development movie must include, such as the stair car, Lucille 2, and the banana stand. Being the AD fan that I am (I've seen every episode at least 5 times if not more), I've decided to come up with my own list. A girl can dream, no?

Just last night, a fan named Kevin sent me this query...

"What actor/actress has received the most money for a sitcom syndication deal?"

Well, the short answer is Jerry Seinfeld. The long answer has all the details.

David Denman impressed me with the depth of emotion with which he played Roy, former coworker and boyfriend to Pam Beesly on The Office. The scene in which he erupted in jealous rage was portrayed so perfectly, it was one of the most uncomfortable moments on a series that excels at discomfort. Denman nailed it. And while it makes sense that his character arc has come to an end on The Office, it is nice to see Denman's arc continue.

TV Guide says that if this pesky strike ever ends, Scrubs' Zach Braff will executive-produce Saint of Circumstance for FOX, written by his brother Adam. The pilot will feature Denman as a man who quits his office job to work as a night-shift paramedic in the midst of a mid-life crisis. That could be a spin-off. Roy had to quit his office job (granted he worked downstairs in the warehouse) so this could be the next chapter in his life. Maybe he could get a call to Michael and Jan's house for a freak implant spork-related accident.

(S07E06) I've been getting mixed signals, from commenters as well as fellow critics, about this season of Scrubs. A lot of TV Squad readers have been finding more fault with the episodes this year than I have, and the Star-Ledger's Alan Sepinwall called this season "flat and repetitive" on his blog. But I've been enjoying it so far; I think that the flatness some see is a low-key-ness that we haven't seen since season two or so. And the repetition? Final-season homages to the past. Anyway, I've been liking this season because anything that even slightly improves on last season's general clunkiness makes me happy.

All that being said, this episode didn't do it for me. It just wasn't funny. Even the most reliably funny characters, ones that save otherwise clumsy episodes, just didn't have it in them this week. And even the touching J.D. - Elliot moment rang a bit hollow.

(S07E05) I really have to give Bill Lawrence and his staff credit; they're really doing a nice job of making the final season of Scrubs a strong one. This is yet another example of how the writers have made the show funnier by making things less wacky. In fact, the lack of wackiness parallels how both Turk and J.D. are becoming more like real adults than either of them want to be.

Were there some tired jokes in this episode? Sure. But the laugh quotient was pretty high this week, and that's all anyone can ask, right?

(S07E04) This was kind of a quiet episode, wasn't it? It seemed to go at a relaxed pace that I haven't seen from the show in quite some time. As we've been finding out this season, Bill Lawrence and company have been trying to scale back the zany and make some episodes that were more reminiscent of the show's early years. But this one felt like an early one, like one of the first few half-dozen where even J.D.'s internal monologue was subdued.

But I liked it. It really got in and explored some of the characters' insecurities while giving us a few of the classic laughs that Scrubs is known for.

(S07E03) Based on the first two episodes, I was tentatively hopeful that the final season of Scrubs was going to be a good one. Now, after this third episode, my confidence in Bill Lawrence and company is almost fully restored after last season's awkwardness and inconsistency.

What worked this week? Well, having Tom Cavanagh come back to play J.D.'s older brother Dan always helps. But, like last week, we had a refreshing lack of insanity, punctuated by some funny situations that came out of the characters' personalities instead of zippy lines.