ABC Studios | 2009 | 390 mins. | NR
Some shows are cancelled too soon, while others are allowed to overstay their welcome. Unfortunately, Scrubs falls into the latter category—I was more relieved then said when the series finally ended its ninth and final season. What had once been a fresh and funny experience was now just a bad caricature of itself.
When Scrubs debuted back in 2001, it received critical acclaim and a loyal fan following. Viewership peaked in its second season when NBC made it part of the Must-See Thursday night lineup right behind Friends, then television’s third-ranked show overall. Unfortunately, in 2004, the show lost the coveted timeslot and ratings suffered.
Scrubs found itself at the bottom of the Neilsens, with cancellation looming. Likely due to fan loyalty, the show was saved. And then, in what was to be Scrubs final season, the 2008 writers strike occurred. While many shows were cancelled in large part because of the strike, ABC (whose parent company Disney had always been the producing studio) was there to renew it. While creator Bill Lawrence and the Scrubs cast were able to close the show the way they want during the eighth season, ABC ordered another year.
Since everyone thought the eighth season of Scrubs would be its last, it’s safe to say the ninth season almost feels like a different series. Major changes occurred. Principal among them: Dr. John Dorian (Zach Braff), is no longer the protagonist; most of his co-workers, from neurotic on-and-off love interest Elliot (Sarah Chalke) to best friend’s wife Carla (Judy Reyes) to retired hospital chief Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins) were removed from the principal cast.
Instead, we meet a new crop of fresh faced medical students. A few characters we knew well stayed around as the authority figures of sorts, impatient chief of medicine Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) and J.D.’s best friend, Chief of Surgery Dr. Christopher Turk (Donald Faison). To emphasize the change in the series, the old Sacred Heart Hospital has been torn down and rebuilt on the campus of fictitious medical school Winston University.
Most prominent among the students of Cox, Turk, and teaching assistant Denise Mahoney (Eliza Coupe), are three newcomers. Lucy Bennett (Kerry Bishé) assumes narrating duties from J.D., whose insecurities she seems to share. 30-year-old Drew Suffin (Michael Mosley) is giving the medical profession one last shot, after quitting a few years before. Finally, there is Cole Aaronson (Dave Franco), an obnoxious, slacker whose rich family’s many donations to the hospital and school offer him protection, or so he believes.
So, while the ninth season of Scrubs can hardly be called terrible, it’s not the show devoted fans have come to know. Zach Braff appears in six episodes this season, but I couldn’t help but feel like the entire season felt forced and unnecessary. Rarely am I this blunt, but for me, Scrubs ran for eight seasons and this ninth one was something different altogether, under the same banner. Thankfully, it’s only 13 episodes.
The DVD set is unimpressive. Episodes are transmitted in a mscattershot full-frame transfer and slapped with a front-loaded 5.1 surround mix. Special Features: a featurette on the overhaul to the series with interviews of the cast and crew, deleted scenes and an unfunny series of “security guard” shorts.
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