Scrubs – The Complete Ninth and Final Season (2009 – 2010/Disney DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: C+
Scrubs is not Scrubs without Zak Braff. He
was the central character and his quirky mannerism combined with great writing
made the series the success it was. Even
in the later seasons the series wavered as you could see Braff getting weary of
the role that made him famous. Scrubs will no doubt be remembered as
one of the best comedy series of all time, but like many other series that
attempted to go on without the stars it just didn’t work.
Dr. Cox
(John C. McGinley) and Turk (Donald Faison) return to train a new group of
residents, but sadly everything about the series feels forced. Whereas McGinley and Faison were overwhelming
important to the chemistry of the “original series,” at this time they just
seem to be going through the motions. It
seems that Zak Braff was contractually obligated to appear in a certain number
of episodes as JD, but like his fellow alum he just has no desire to be
there. The series would have worked
better if the writers had chosen to rework the series as a ‘spinoff’ or focused
on lesser known established characters (The
Jefferson’s anybody?). The series instead introduces a host of new
characters (and abruptly at that) who the viewers have no invested emotion in,
yet we are presumably suppose to except them as JD, Turk, Carla and Elliot
replacements.
The
scripts are dry and seem to be recycled storylines from the past, but now
appear to be more female-centric. Not
only are the characters forced upon us, but they all seem to be jerks. The writers/directors must has misunderstood
the original characters oddities, ineptitudes, and personal struggles for
something else, because this cast just does not have it.
The
picture and sound quality are very similar to the previous DVD releases. The picture is presented in a 1.33 X 1 full
screen that is not as bright and vibrant as it should be. There is no grit or grime and the softness
that the previous DVD releases had has been fixed. Again it is odd that Scrubs
is (was) the only NBC series not to get the Widescreen treatment. The
sound again is a simple Dolby Digital 5.1 Mix that gets the job done on a
series that is mostly dialogue. Most of the sound projects front and
center, though there are moments (mostly during fantasies) that music and
atmosphere will kick in. The sound as in the previous seasons is not bad, but
not great either.
After
viewing this season the extras felt like sort of a waste to me as I was not
interested. Season 8 is the final season of Scrubs to this reviewer and quite frankly it had one of the best
“series finales” ever created. The
extras on this set include “Live from the Golf Cart”; Blooper Reel; Deleted
Scenes; “Scrubbing In” featurette. The
“Scrubbing In” featurette was slightly annoying as they talked about the series
as if they had made some epic changes to make it work, when all they truly had
was a sinking ship.
The
problem with the later seasons of Scrubs
was the fact that they ruined the dynamics.
They made JD increasingly crazy, egotistical and his fantasies went from
endearing to pure dribble; making his light hearted character unlikable. They managed to redeem him for the most part
in Season 8 as they brought him full
circle, but his appearance in Season 9 was
useless. Suddenly he was again more
effeminate, nutty, and self absorbed; essentially turning him into a caricature
of his former self. Certain characters
like Drew (Dr. Cox’s favorite) stood out this season and should have been the
focus, not Lucy. Also this should have
NEVER been Scrubs Season 9, but a
completely different title. In the end,
it just didn’t work.
I still
think a cleaning staff/cafeteria worker spin-off would have been best.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
