Scrubs Comes To ABC

After 7 seasons on NBC, the hospital sitcom Scrubs made its debut on ABC Tuesday night. Although I tuned in regularly for the first 5 years or so, my viewing had fallen way off in 2006 due to a variety of reasons (NBC jerking it around the schedule, life, blah blah blah). On the rare occasions when I did watch Scrubs as it was winding down its run on NBC, I was a bit disappointed. Although Scrubs hadn't degenerated into a horrible show, it was just mediocre compared to the high standard it set during its first 5 years.

Even though my last time watching Scrubs was a letdown, ABC's steady promotion over the past couple of months had me hyped for the return of J.D., Turk, Elliot, Carla, Dr. Cox, "The Janitor" and the rest of the gang at Sacred Heart Hospital. When I watched the back-to-back episodes tonight, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Scrubs has made a solid return to form. All the trademarks of the series were there: quirky humor, off-the-wall pop culture references, and the ability to walk that tightrope between comedy and seriousness without drifting into "very special episode" territory (curse you Blossom!).

Joining the veteran cast members of Scrubs for a 3 episode stint is Courtney Cox as Dr. Maddox, the new chief of staff (replacing the retired but still hanging out at the hospital Dr. Bob Kelso). Although Dr. Maddox is a lot easier on the eyes, she is just as "profit first, patients a distant second" as her predecessor. Also worthy of note are the additions of Aziz Ansari and Eliza Coupe as two of the new "sucky" interns. Ansari plays Ed (a fanboy who's more interested in texting and discussing the Matrix trilogy than becoming a better doctor) and Coupe portrays the obliviously callous Denise (aka "Jo" because she reminds J.D. of Ms. Polniaczek from The Facts of Life). It was also cool to see Glynn Turman (Cooley High, A Different World) pop up in the 2nd episode as a dying patient.

In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, an article on Scrubs stated that although star Zach Braff and creator Bill Lawrence would be leaving after this season, there was a possibility that the show would continue with a new cast. I've since read an article on TVGuide.com in which Sarah Chalke (who plays Elliot) confirms that this will be the last season. I hope that she's right. Eight seasons is a long time for a show and I'd hate to see Scrubs leave me wanting less.

Below is the opening sequence to the 8th season premiere of Scrubs, titled "My Jerks":