Fresh faces obscured in 'Scrubs' spinoff
Imagine indulging in a passionate goodbye with someone, only to turn the corner and bump into him five minutes later. That sums up the experience of watching the season premiere of the medical comedy "Scrubs," which, after seemingly wrapping up for good last spring after eight years, makes an inexplicable return Tuesday night as a hybrid reincarnation/sort-of spinoff of its former self.
After Season 8's touching finale, which tied up every story line, no one seems more nervous for reaction about "Scrubs" 2.0 than the people who make the show. " 'Scrubs' will be back, but in a new incarnation. . . . I know many of you will have very strong opinions on this topic," series star Zach Braff, who plays J.D., wrote on his MySpace page back in May, adding, "Don't hate it until you see what [executive producer Bill Lawrence] comes up with."
The first few minutes of the premiere take place at some vague point in the future. Sacred Heart Hospital has been torn down, replaced by a new hospital built on the campus of a medical school, in which implausible -- but hopefully hilarious -- medical melodramas will surely play out.
Some of the show's original cast members (John C. McGinley as Dr. Cox, Donald Faison as Turk) have stayed behind as teachers, while others will make guest appearances (including Sarah Chalke as Elliot, now J.D.'s pregnant wife, and Ken Jenkins as Dr. Kelso); and the real action will focus on a group of four new, and of course much younger, faces.
Yet having members of the previous cast remain even temporarily -- Braff will only appear in six episodes -- weighs down the premiere. As great as it is to see J.D. and his BFF Turk have a glorious, slow-motion reunion while "Guy Love" -- the power ballad from Season 6's musical episode -- plays in the background, the inside jokes detract from getting to know the new characters.
The veteran actors are clearly having a blast, but it feels too much like college students who crash the high school party. The best part of a new show is the mystery and discovering hidden depths to odd characters, so there's a bit of a letdown here. While this "Scrubs" is technically "new," we're already well-versed with the characters' quirks; such as knowing Dr. Cox does indeed have a heart, despite telling a class in the first episode: "Turns out you're not actually medical students at all. You're all murderers and assassins that have been sent here to try to kill my patients."
Not enough time is spent on the "Scrubs" 2.0 cast to tell whether they'll be any fun, though the most promising are Denise (Eliza Coupe) and Drew (Michael Mosley). Both are brilliant yet incapable of emotion, so naturally they start a torrid affair. Lucy (Kerry Bishé), a socially inept student, takes over from J.D. as narrator of the series through her inner monologue.
By the second episode, there are fewer fantasy sequences -- thereby moving away from a signature "Scrubs" device -- though the plot is familiar as the naive Lucy puts blind faith in a sketchy patient. This happened to other characters one or two or seven times in seasons past -- and luckily, they're all right there to help.
Conventional wisdom suggests the audience will find comfort in the familiar original characters. In reality, the best plan is to go forward. We've said our goodbyes; it's time to move on.
Scrubs
(two half-hour, back-to-back episodes) premieres Tuesday night at 9 on ABC.
Source: Washington Post
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