Scrubs re-watch

[dead-ced-dead]

I've been re-watching Scrubs. It's an interesting watch as a bridge between 90s multi-camera laugh track sitcom and the dominant single camera, laugh track free "edgier" shows of the 2000s. I know it's not the first big single camera show, but it and Malcolm in the Middle probably had a huge influence.

I like that it retains some silliness of earlier sitcoms without (usually) being annoying. I also LOVE the performances of most of the main cast, especially Ken Jenkins; one of the most underrated comic performances of the 2000s.

Some jokes have aged poorly. Most of The Todd's sex jokes are icky, even if he's the butt of most jokes. Mostly, though, it holds up very well.

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

What a coincidence! I recently did a Scrubs rewatch myself, partly spurred by watching Scrubs clips compilations on YouTube. But I didn't do a full rewatch (and I don't mean that I just left out season 9). I found myself opening up an episode guide and rewatching only the episodes I wanted to see again.

You see, the last time I rewatched Scrubs was in the mid aughts when Comedy Central ran two episodes back to back every day Monday to Friday. And Scrubs should not be watched that way. It should be watched one episode a week, as it was originally broadcast. The reason for this is that characters fall into two groups - real people (JD, Turk, Elliot, Carla) and cartoons (The Janitor, Dr. Kelso, Laverne, the Todd, Ted, Jordan) - all except for Dr. Cox. The writers try to do both with him, making him a short-tempered asshole who delivers hilarious rants and delights in fucking over authority as represented by Dr. Kelso in most episodes, and then showing that he's a deeply troubled man who cares so much and had a bad childhood that's left him estranged from his religious sister and worries he won't be a good father in other episodes.

The problem is if you watch several episodes of Scrubs at once, Dr. Cox's humanising moments undercut the hilarious cartoon asshole persona. The fact that he's supposed to be a real human being changes his angry rants and tendency to threaten or carry out violence from being funny to just bullying. Like, fuck you then, Dr. Cox, and your various insecurities, you're just a piece of shit and your workplace should have fired you long ago. When there's a week between episodes, the jarring contrast between funny Cox and sad Cox is less glaring and it's easier to tolerate.

That aside, it is a decent comedy and I would class it with Malcolm in the Middle as taking the surreal comedy usually only seen in cartoons and adapting it for live-action.

[madhair60]

When I revisited it a few years ago I found the show's treatment of Elliot and Carla to be pretty disgusting; J.D is actively a piece of shit who treats women like playthings

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

When I revisited it a few years ago I found the show's treatment of Elliot and Carla to be pretty disgusting; J.D is actively a piece of shit who treats women like playthings

Yeaaaahhh JD at times is very unlikeable and we're supposed to side with him. Another thing that is glaringly apparent if you binge-watch episodes.

[Neomod]

I was a big fan of this at the time of broadcast and have the first two seasons on dvd but just can't imagine watching it ever again.

[g0m]

rewatching scrubs in modern day i'm surprised at how every joke seems immediately undercut by a little musical sting. it's more distracting than a laugh track

[dead-ced-dead]

rewatching scrubs in modern day i'm surprised at how every joke seems immediately undercut by a little musical sting. it's more distracting than a laugh track

I wonder if this is how they managed to get a show without a laugh track? By compromising with a sting? I could just be making things up.

[the Fallen]

I enjoy revisiting this but the DRAMA isn't so good fourth time around

The medical stuff can be interesting. Still has a whiff of relevance

Cox can still make me laugh

I had a weird phase when some of the incidental music got lodged in my brain
Some of it is proper elevator stuff

[MrsWarboysLover]

Used to love it, started rewatching it recently and made it a little bit into season 2 then lost interest. I still found it entertaining, and I might pick it back up again, but something in my brain has changed to where I just don't find any of it that funny anymore. Not in a way where it actually makes me laugh, anyway.

[shoulders]

Yeaaaahhh JD at times is very unlikeable and we're supposed to side with him. Another thing that is glaringly apparent if you binge-watch episodes.

Fucked if I'm going to get an argument about Scrubs but this just isn't true. From a few series in JD is portrayed as a vacillating narcissist whose actions and inactions cause people genuine harm and it goes to the extent of showing the evidence of that in such a way as to not make him seem at all the person who you should be siding with.

The idea isn't meant to be 'oh an asshole/oh a hero' but to make him a normal flawed person whose psychological faults make him unreliable and flaky and selfish.

It becomes crippling tedious viewing by this point when the vast majority are tuning in hoping for a low stress knockabout comedy with pratfalls but hey.

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

Fucked if I'm going to get an argument about Scrubs but this just isn't true. From a few series in JD is portrayed as a vacillating narcissist whose actions and inactions cause people genuine harm and it goes to the extent of showing the evidence of that in such a way as to not make him seem at all the person who you should be siding with.

The idea isn't meant to be 'oh an asshole/oh a hero' but to make him a normal flawed person whose psychological faults make him unreliable and flaky and selfish.

It becomes crippling tedious viewing by this point when the vast majority are tuning in hoping for a low stress knockabout comedy with pratfalls but hey.

I probably should've said "JD is very unlikeable at times [comma] and we're supposed to side with him". I don't think we're supposed to cheer him on when he's a dick to Elliot for example, but overall he is the protagonist, our POV character for 99% of the series. We are supposed to sympathise with him overall. As I said, it works when you watch one episode a week. If you binge the show it feels like he's shitty more often.

To revisit madhair's earlier remarks,

When I revisited it a few years ago I found the show's treatment of Elliot and Carla to be pretty disgusting; J.D is actively a piece of shit who treats women like playthings

I think this is a symptom of the show being made in the early/mid-aughts with a young(ish) single guy as the protag. Add to that JD is consistently portrayed as a huge nerd and oh haha his sexist behaviour is funny because he's a dork and a bit of a loser.

[dead-ced-dead]

I will say that Donald Faison must be one of the most charismatic men on TV in the aughts. Turk does a lot of questionable stuff (less so than JD), but Faison is just such a likable, funny performer.

[H-O-W-L]

The Janitor is honestly my favorite. Easy to say but still.

[Gulftastic]

I will say that Donald Faison must be one of the most charismatic men on TV in the aughts. Turk does a lot of questionable stuff (less so than JD), but Faison is just such a likable, funny performer.

He's in the latest season of The L Word.

[up_the_hampipe]

The "Tasty Coma Wife" storyline was truly insane, even back then.