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The Movie: Certainly one of the finest sitcoms since "Seinfeld" and one of the best ensemble casts in a good ten years, I've often said "Scrubs" is one of network televisions few bright spots since its debut in 2001. For those unfamiliar with the series, it focuses on a group of new medical interns at a local hospital, including John Dorian "J.D." (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison) and the attractive, yet neurotic Elliot (Sarah Chalke). They're looked over by the near-psychotic Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley in an amazing performance), cost-cutting head Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins), nurse Carla (Judy Reyes) and others, including Janitor (the brilliant Neil Flynn). During the first year, "Scrubs" launched with an unusually high degree of confidence. The show's mixture of the real and the surreal is often brilliant, as the random dream sequences are at their best during some of the first season episodes. The show's ability to mix comedy and drama is downright remarkable, such as the incredibly touching two-parter "My Occurence"/"My Hero", which stars Brendan Frasier as Cox's best friend and his ex-wive's brother, who finds himself admitted to the hospital for a serious issue. I won't give away any more than that, but while "Scrubs" had been terrific up until this point, it's this exceptional two-parter where the show really showed what it was capable of and it showed non-believers that it deserved to be around for a long, long time. "Scrubs" is a delicate balance, and yet creator Bill Lawrence ("Spin City") manages to get it right nearly all of the time. The show's dream sequences are remarkably funny and add even more punctuation to nearly all of the show's bits. It helps that two of the show's writers, Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, were picked up from the king of surreal dream sequences, the animated "Family Guy". The performances by the leads are also first-rate, as Braff makes for a likable "everyguy" and Faison somehow balances a frat-guy sense of humor with a lot of intelligence and heart. Sarah Chalke is also makes what could be an unlikable character charming. Finally, John C. McGinley rips into the role of Dr. Cox, who terrorizes everyone but occasionally lets a caring side show. The show's supporting cast is simply priceless, lead by Robert Maschio as Todd (aka "The Todd") a "frat boy" surgeon who turns every sentence into something sexual, yet he also somehow is a good doctor. There's also Ted, the hospital lawyer who is a reluctant servant of Kelso. Johnny Kastl plays a wonderful target for Kelso and Cox, as Dr. Doug Murphy, a resident Cox refers to as "nervous guy". Finally, there's Christa Miller ("Drew Carey Show" and creator Lawrence's wife), playing Cox's ex-wife, who's as much of a rage-a-holic as he is. The cast works together perfectly, especially Faison and Braff, who are completely believable as long-time friends. One of the best character elements of the series is that everyone's flawed and the mistakes that people make here aren't sitcom cliches, but feel real. It's one of the reasons why "Scrubs" can manage to be so touching at times, and why the characters are so engaging. This first season of the series doesn't have a bad episode in the bunch, but there are certainly some highlights aside from the previously mentioned two-parter: "My Two Dads" has J.D. being bounced between mentors Cox and Kelso, eventually ending up playing a round of golf with the two that stands as one of the first season's funniest moments; "My Bad", where J.D. ends up sleeping with board member and patient Jordan (Christa Miller), who, unknown to him, is Dr. Cox's ex-wife; "My Day Off", where J.D. finds himself a patient when he gets appendicitis and Turk is the assigned surgeon; "My Own Personal Jesus", where Turk examines his faith and J.D. gets in trouble when he screws up filming a birth; "My Drug Buddy", where J.D. finds out the woman he's dating has been stealing drugs from the hospital and Turk finds out that Cox has feelings for Carla; "My Student", where J.D., Turk and Elliot get their own students; "My Old Man", where J.D.'s father (John Ritter) visits, along with Turk's mother and Elliot's parents; "My Way or the Highway", where Cox finally gets a nurse who can make good coffee, then Kelso fires "coffee nurse" and finally, "My Last Day", where Jordan (Miller) has a lot to share. Season 1 1. 1- 1 My First Day (aka Pilot) 2. 1- 2 My Mentor 3. 1- 3 My Best Friend's Mistake 4. 1- 4 My Old Lady 5. 1- 5 My Two Dads 6. 1- 6 My Bad 7. 1- 7 My Super Ego 8. 1- 8 My Fifteen Minutes 9. 1- 9 My Day Off 10. 1-10 My Nickname 11. 1-11 My Own Personal Jesus 12. 1-12 My Blind Date 13. 1-13 My Balancing Act 14. 1-14 My Drug Buddy 15. 1-15 My Bed Banter & Beyond 16. 1-16 My Heavy Meddle 17. 1-17 My Student 18. 1-18 My Tuscaloosa Heart 19. 1-19 My Old Man 20. 1-20 My Way or the Highway 21. 1-21 My Sacrificial Clam 22. 1-22 My Occurrence (1) 23. 1-23 My Hero (2) 24. 1-24 My Last Day The DVD VIDEO: "Scrubs" is presented in the show's original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio by Buena Vista. Presentation quality is generally very good, as although some of the first episodes look a little less vibrant than later efforts, the episodes as a whole look as good as they did when they were originally broadcast. Sharpness and detail are never really exceptional in any way, but the picture does at least maintain a consistent level of definition, and always appears at least crisp. Some minor grain and edge enhancement appear at times during the proceedings, but mostly, the presentation appeared clear and free of flaws. No wear was present on the elements used. The show's color palette is mostly fairly low-key, although bright colors occasionally show through quite nicely. No smearing or other faults are spotted. Black level appeared solid, while flesh tones looked natural. SOUND: "Scrubs" is offered with 2.0 soundtracks. Dialogue and music remain crisp and clear, with no distortion or other faults. Unfortunately, as it goes with most shows on DVD these days, *some* of the music tracks have been changed. It's especially a bummer given the fact that music plays a pretty important role on the series, but I'd rather have "Scrubs" on DVD with altered music than no "Scrubs" DVDs. EXTRAS: Commentaries: Creator Bill Lawrence offers an audio commentary on the pilot episode, creator Lawrence and actor Zach Braff chat about "My Old Lady", creator Lawrence and actor Neil Flynn on "My Fifteen Minutes", Lawrence and Braff return for "My Blind Date", Lawrence and actors Sam Lloyd and Robert Maschio chat about "My Sacrifical Clam" and finally, Lawrence and actor John C. McGinley talk about "My Hero". The commentaries are pretty subdued at times, but provide a pretty enjoyable look into the day-to-day life on the series. Also, the participants have a good time looking back on some of the early moments of the show. Newbies: This featurette takes a look at how the show got started, the writing process and the development of the show's style of humor, structure and characters. As with elements of the commentaries, we also learn here about how "Scrubs" works on a day-to-day basis, with a lot of nice behind-the-scenes footage. This area also has some minor featurettes on each character/actor. Alternate Lines: This piece offers several minutes of extremely funny improvs. The Doctor is In: A fairly brief interview piece with actor Zach Braff. Music Video: The video for "Superman", the show's theme song. Outtakes: An amusing outtake reel lasting a few minutes. Not Just Another Medical Show: This featurette looks at creating the look of the series. We learn that the show took over an abandoned medical facility in Hollywood (they had their pick of a few abandoned facilities, sadly) and dressed it for the series. Given the fact that everyone is together in the facility instead of working on a set, that has only brought cast and crew closer together. The featurette also features interview footage with medical advisor Jon Doris, who J.D. is based on in the show. While there are certainly inaccuracies on the show due to trying for comedy, the majority of the series tries to present medicine in a fairly realistic manner. Also: Deleted scenes and the cast looking back at their favorite moments. Final Thoughts: "Scrubs" offers one of the finest ensemble casts currently working in TV today and although this first season isn't entirely consistent, I don't think there's one mediocre or even "average" episode in the bunch. If you haven't started watching one of the few highlights of network TV yet, this first season set is your chance. Highly recommended. |