Scrubs – The Complete Third Season
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: B- Episodes: B-
I did not expect Zack Braff to have run out of ideas so
soon, but he and the writers on his hit TV series Scrubs has become more
formulaic in its Complete Third Season than expected. To recap, Dr. Dorian (Braff) is the focus of
the show, including his own perception of reality. The show will tackle any subject, person and is not politically
correct, like all great television comedies.
However, all 22 episodes from this 2003 – 2004 season are still funny
enough, but there is a loss of some energy and even spontaneity here versus the
first two seasons.
Virtually each title begins with “My” to perpetuated the
sometimes-crazed state of mind Dr. Dorian is in. However, when he is impersonating George Michael in the opening
show of this season, it is a bad sign of stumbling to come. The writing is still better than just about
anything else on TV today, especially situation comedies, but the refreshing
heart and soul of the show starts to age and tarnish a bit. The dilemma for the makers is how to
overcome the weekly TV grid, especially when the show is in a corner of one
person’s reality. Note the declines of Murphy
Brown and Ally McBeal.
Otherwise, this is good enough to catch if you really
liked the previous seasons and sets, including many extras. The only other complaint is that the
packaging of a translucent slipcase over folding DigiPak is tighter than usual
and could easily damage the fold-up. I
like the cast and can’t wait to see what Braff in particular does next.
The 1.33 X 1 image is not bad either, and when you zoom in
on the image with captioning at 1.78 X 1, it still looks good. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound on all shows
offer a lively enough mix as well, so playback is good. Extras help offset the episodes issues,
including commentary by writer Mark Stegemann and Donald Faison on His Story
II), show creator Randall Winston with Donald Faison and Judy Reyes (on My
Self Examination), One on one with "The Todd", "Scrubs
Factor: How far will the cast & crew go on a dare?" featurette,
Long-Term Residents: Behind season 3's unforgettable guest star appearances,
"The New Elliot" - Watch her character go from pushover to
knockout, What up dawg?, Is there a doctor in the house?, Scrubbed out:
Deleted scenes, Alternate lines: a second opinion and a gag reel. Though this season sagged a bit, you are
still better off catching the DVD version of Scrubs because it does more
justice to the series than mere broadcasts of the episodes.
- Nicholas Sheffo
