dave franco-related stories
Posted Mar 11th 2010 11:01AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E12) With our illustrious leader away on a covert mission for the state (you didn't hear that from me), I agreed to step in for this penultimate episode of
'Scrubs.' Hopefully, he'll be back in time for next week's finale as it may be his last chance. Still no word on the fate of 'Scrubs' 2.0 beyond these two episodes; I suspect ABC is holding out just in case ratings go up with the show as part of their successful "ABC Comedy Wednesday" block.
The episode itself was a bit of a mixed bag. I'm still just not able to get into Cole as a character. He's far too cartoonish for my tastes. At least J.D.'s antics were tempered by the sense that he was a person we could believe in, while Cox showed a vulnerable side underneath all his venom. I'm still struggling to believe in Cole as a sympathetic character.
Luckily, some moves were made to correct that as the episode wound down. Words of wisdom from one Bob Kelso making the difference in that one; what an interesting progression Kelso's character has had over the seasons.
Continue reading 'Scrubs' - 'Our Driving Issues' Recap
Posted Jan 27th 2010 9:25AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E11) Just like with
Better Off Ted, there doesn't seem to be any sign that the final two episodes of
Scrubs are going to air any time soon. One was supposed to air tonight, but got yanked. One might air next Wednesday, but evidence is conflicting.
If this is the last episode we see, then, that'll be a shame, because this was the best one of the season. We saw a lot of growth by all the characters, even the ones that we've seen on our screens for nine years. But mostly, we saw exactly what the new
Scrubs could be if given time: a great ensemble comedy that brings the funny on a consistent basis.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Dear Leaders
Posted Jan 20th 2010 3:25PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E10) After last week's seemingly out-of-order interlude with J.D. and Elliot, we're back to the purity of following the med students around, and I have to say, this was the best of those episodes to date.
Given the proper elbow room, you can see even some of the more one-note characters, like Lucy and
Drew Cole, grow and change. And, given the fact that even Bill Lawrence thinks it's a 70/30 shot against renewal, it's a bit of a shame; episodes like this make me want to get to know these characters a little more and follow them through their med school trials and tribulations.
Again, the pacing of the episode was slower, and we didn't see as many flashbacks and fantasy sequences. Which is fine with me; I want to get to know these characters with regards to how they interact with each other, not how they fantasize.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our True Lies
Posted Jan 13th 2010 2:17PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E09) While the illustrious boss-man -- AKA Joel Keller -- is off at the TCA Tour stalking creator Bill Lawrence, I have the honor of stepping in and looking at the latest episode of
Scrubs. J.D. returned this week, and the opening sequence slipped back to having him hang the final x-ray, rather than Lucy, who took over the last couple of episodes.
With J.D. back, the silliness between him and Turk returned as well, but it didn't dominate the episode as it so often has in the past. It was also nice to see the old Elliot in full neurotic meltdown mode. Plus, the scene at home where she was scarfing down her meat salad instead of making sweet love to J.D. was almost too authentic to real life with a pregnant woman. It was nice to see J.D. being supportive, if frustrated. And at least Cox is there to support his neediness.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Stuff Gets Real
Posted Jan 1st 2010 10:41PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E06) Wow. Just wow.
I knew the first Zach Braff-free episode of this new version of
Scrubs was going to be a bit of a bumpy ride, but I didn't think things would be
this bad.
It's not just that the episode was lacking in funny. The established characters were mostly written wrong, exhibiting characteristics we've never really seen before. And the med students -- except for Drew -- were so broadly written that they could have been played by anybody.
No wonder why this episode was buried on New Year's Day.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our New Girl-Bro
Posted Dec 23rd 2009 6:45PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E05) Sorry this one is late, folks. Sometimes life intervenes before you get to see your favorite shows...
Can you blame me? Given the low ratings and the fact that
ABC has decided to blow out all 13 episodes by the end of January, it seems like this is the last we're going to see of the
Scrubs: Med School gang, unless the show gets yet another last-minute reprieve. So it's tough for me to get too attached to this new set of characters.
But that may be a good thing. If what we saw last night was any indication of how things are going to be once the med students are carrying the show, it's in trouble.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Mysteries
Posted Dec 9th 2009 11:20AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E03) Since I saw the first two episodes via screener, this is the first time I got to see the "[Med School]" subtitle in the opening credits. Wow, talk about barely there... if you blinked, you missed it. I guess it's better than not having it there at all, but wow; it's as if ABC is really trying hard to tie this show to the original
Scrubs.
I felt a little odd watching this episode. By all objective measures, it was a good episode; funny, good story, lots of glimpses into the characters' personalities. But, as in the first two episodes, most of the good stuff involved the old cast, mainly Zach Braff. And, since this is supposed to work more as a transition to a new show than more of the old show, this trend is getting me worried.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Role Models
Posted Dec 1st 2009 10:28PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E02) Here is where we see glimpses of what
Scrubs: Med School could be. Lucy gets too involved with a case. Denise opens up -- well, at least as much as she can open up -- to Drew. Cole being Cole. Cox overseeing everything with his lit-on-fire rantings.
But they're just glimpses. As in the premiere, the more memorable stuff was from the old crew and how they interacted with each other. The most troubling part of that was J.D., or, more accurately, the Two J.D.s.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Drunk Friend
Posted Dec 1st 2009 10:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E01) As much as I want to treat
Scrubs: Med School as a new series, let's face it: The show is listed everywhere as being
Scrubs' ninth season. So that's the way I'm going to treat it until told otherwise. Sound good to you folks?
Anyway,
my preview of this new iteration of Scrubs pretty much gave the entire setup, so we can mercifully skip past that and just talk about what was funny, and what wasn't.
Oh, and for those of you who are still hanging on to the story thread that is the Elliot / J.D. relationship, you'll be happy to know that everything's fine there. More after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our First Day of School (season premiere)
Posted Nov 30th 2009 3:05PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Early Looks, Reality-Free
If you're a regular reader of TV Squad, you probably already know what's going on with the unexpected ninth season of
Scrubs. From Bill Lawrence's statement that
the eighth season might not be the final one to his
detailed descriptions of
how the show was going to transition to its new med school setting, you've been given a good idea of how this shift was going to happen.
But one thing we didn't know was the biggest question of all: is it going to be funny?
The answer? A qualified yes. The two episodes ABC sent for review, which air back-to-back tomorrow at 9 PM ET, were definitely funny. But most of the humor came not from the new med students we're supposed to get to know, but from the characters we've known and laughed with for eight years. And for this ninth season to succeed, that ratio will have to even out, and quickly.
Continue reading Scrubs season nine -- An early look
Posted Aug 21st 2009 10:00AM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: Spoilers Anonymous, Reality-Free
This is
Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at
TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our
tips form or by emailing us at
tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at
(775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for:
Bones, Brothers & Sisters, Chuck, Desperate Housewives, Fringe, Gossip Girl, Greek, Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, House, Lost, One Tree Hill, Scrubs, Smallville, Supernatural and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
Continue reading Spoilers Anonymous
Posted Aug 20th 2009 4:24PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Scrubs, Casting, Reality-Free
In
Bill Lawrence's interview with our own Joel Keller, he said: "There's going to be a new young lady with a voice over and she's either going to be funny and talented and great, or the show's gonna crater."
Well, now we know who that young lady is and I'm sure Kerry Bishe (
Virtuality) will be thrilled to find out that Lawrence is hinging the entire success of
Scrubs 2.0 on her. No pressure! She joins
Dave Franco, cast earlier this week, and
Michael Mosley to complete the new faces of Scrubs (Med School?).
Besides being the new narrative voice for the show, and presumably the lead, Bishe will be a 22-year old first-year med student. She's the first in her family of fisherman to go to college. Mosley, the other new cast member signed today, is ten years older than the rest of the students, the result of a major meltdown a decade earlier when he was at Harvard. So this is his second chance.
Continue reading The cast is complete for the new and improved(?) Scrubs
Posted Aug 17th 2009 11:05AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Scrubs, Casting, Reality-Free
Casting like this makes me hopeful that the new iteration of
Scrubs might have a chance. After all, you can't put the entire weight of the series on Cox and Turk.
Dave Franco's role in Scrubs is described as charming, conservative, confidently stupid and incredibly entitled."
Now I never saw
Superbad, but due to my esteemed position here at the Squad, I did get to review the
awful Do Not Disturb, that featured Franco as well. In that, he was arrogant and cocky and lazy, which sounds pretty similar to what he'll be getting up to in
Scrubs. More importantly, he played that role very well. I found myself wanting to slap him across the face several times. Partially because he was in such a terrible show, sure, but also because of his portrayal.
We never really got the background of that character, but his entitled whining here is because his family donated a wing to the school. I can already see the friction between him and Dr. Cox. On
Scrubs 1.0, he'd have been fired immediately like Aziz Ansari (
Parks & Recreation) was, but now Cox will have to put up with his crap.
Posted Sep 10th 2008 11:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Early Looks, Episode Reviews
In the behind-the-scenes interviews the network sent along with the pilot, the entire cast and the creator described
Do Not Disturb, premiering tonight at 9:30/8:30 Central, as an "upstairs-downstairs" workplace comedy. Creator Abraham Higginbotham (
Arrested Development) based the show on his time at the Paramount Hotel in the '90s. "It's
Freaks and Geeks in a hotel," he said. "You've got your upstairs crowd where you have to basically turn in a photo to be approved to work where you come into face contact with guests. And then downstairs, anybody can work there because they're the people doing all the real work."
Unfortunately, if this is going to be the major thrust of the series going forward, they picked a pretty poor episode to establish that for the pilot. "Work Sex" tackled sex and promiscuity, which are such powerful subjects in this country they tend to overwhelm everything. And since the show is trying to introduce its premise, characters, relationships and the dynamics of its ensemble at the same time, it may have been better to launch with a subject a little less dominating. In fact, I didn't really get the struggle between the two groups at all.
Continue reading Do Not Disturb -- An early look
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