Posted Feb 1st 2010 9:35AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, Scrubs, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
ABC really loves dealing with Bill Lawrence and his crew, don't they?
'Scrubs' has been on far longer than anyone expected, and
'Cougar Town' is now on its way to a second season. It seems like Steve McPherson and company haven't been deterred by the poor ratings of 'Scrubs,' since
he's ordered a pilot from two of the show's writers.
'How to Be a Better American' is about a middle-aged man who goes on a journey to be a better man, dragging his unwilling family along with him. It's a single-camera comedy that will be run by Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley,
longtime members of Team Lawrence; they will also be writing the pilot.
No casting news yet, so the show is more of a concept than anything else. But it sounds kind of like 'The Middle' in an RV, which actually wouldn't be so bad. As long as they don't have a kid who whispers to himself, they'll be OK.
Posted Jan 27th 2010 9:25AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E11) Just like with
Better Off Ted, there doesn't seem to be any sign that the final two episodes of
Scrubs are going to air any time soon. One was supposed to air tonight, but got yanked. One might air next Wednesday, but evidence is conflicting.
If this is the last episode we see, then, that'll be a shame, because this was the best one of the season. We saw a lot of growth by all the characters, even the ones that we've seen on our screens for nine years. But mostly, we saw exactly what the new
Scrubs could be if given time: a great ensemble comedy that brings the funny on a consistent basis.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Dear Leaders
Posted Jan 20th 2010 3:25PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E10) After last week's seemingly out-of-order interlude with J.D. and Elliot, we're back to the purity of following the med students around, and I have to say, this was the best of those episodes to date.
Given the proper elbow room, you can see even some of the more one-note characters, like Lucy and
Drew Cole, grow and change. And, given the fact that even Bill Lawrence thinks it's a 70/30 shot against renewal, it's a bit of a shame; episodes like this make me want to get to know these characters a little more and follow them through their med school trials and tribulations.
Again, the pacing of the episode was slower, and we didn't see as many flashbacks and fantasy sequences. Which is fine with me; I want to get to know these characters with regards to how they interact with each other, not how they fantasize.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our True Lies
Posted Jan 16th 2010 11:06AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Interviews, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free, Cougar Town
During ABC's portion of the press tour (which feels like a month ago already), the network had its Wednesday night comedy showrunners on for a panel. Surpisingly, Bill Lawrence actually let Steven Levitan of
Modern Family and Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline of
The Middle speak for a good portion of the time, though he had a few things to say himself, not the least of which was that Conan's letter saying no to 12:05 on NBC was a "ballsy" move.
You knew I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to speak to Bill while he was there, especially with
Cougar Town getting picked up for a second season and the new
Scrubs trying to find its way after a shaky start. The conversation we had is after the jump.
(Oh, and it's always amazing to me that I can talk to Lawrence for maybe 15 minutes, cut out 3500 words, and still have 2500 words left. The man can talk a blue streak.)
Continue reading Bill Lawrence on the Cougar Town renewal and Scrubs missteps - TCA Report
Posted Jan 13th 2010 2:17PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E09) While the illustrious boss-man -- AKA Joel Keller -- is off at the TCA Tour stalking creator Bill Lawrence, I have the honor of stepping in and looking at the latest episode of
Scrubs. J.D. returned this week, and the opening sequence slipped back to having him hang the final x-ray, rather than Lucy, who took over the last couple of episodes.
With J.D. back, the silliness between him and Turk returned as well, but it didn't dominate the episode as it so often has in the past. It was also nice to see the old Elliot in full neurotic meltdown mode. Plus, the scene at home where she was scarfing down her meat salad instead of making sweet love to J.D. was almost too authentic to real life with a pregnant woman. It was nice to see J.D. being supportive, if frustrated. And at least Cox is there to support his neediness.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Stuff Gets Real
Posted Jan 7th 2010 11:02AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Scrubs, Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free
Frankly, I was surprised that ABC gave
Better Off Ted a second season at all. Don't get me wrong, I was pleasantly surprised, because I absolutely adore the show, but ABC didn't seem to have much confidence in it, and ratings weren't exactly out of this world. So, as a fan, I guess I should be thankful that I'm still seeing new episodes, but I'm still kind of annoyed that ABC seems to be burying this hilarious show.
Along with Zombie
Scrubs, it was basically the only new show on the air over the holidays-- when nobody was home to watch. They're doubling up episodes and seem to be burning them off as quickly as possible. Fans have already seen the writing on the wall, and are beginning to mobilize to save Ted. Between the
#saveted hashtag on Twitter, and the new site,
SaveBetterOffTed.com, people are letting it be known that they do not want this show to go off the air.
Continue reading Fans mobilize to save Better Off Ted
Posted Jan 6th 2010 10:09AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E07 / S09E08) I don't usually do a joint review when two episodes of a show air in the same night, but both these episodes were so interestingly similar in tone, that I felt it was better to discuss them together than separately. Also, I've got a case of the winter lazies.
But back to that first point: Many of you couldn't understand why I hated the episode on New Year's Day so much; many of you felt that it did a nice job of showcasing the med students as well as a maturing Turk and Elliot. But there was something so off about how those characters were written last week that it didn't sit well with me. This week's episodes showed me why. They also gave me a good indication of the pace and tone that
Med School should settle into. Just hope it's not too late.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our White Coats / Our Couples
Posted Jan 1st 2010 10:41PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E06) Wow. Just wow.
I knew the first Zach Braff-free episode of this new version of
Scrubs was going to be a bit of a bumpy ride, but I didn't think things would be
this bad.
It's not just that the episode was lacking in funny. The established characters were mostly written wrong, exhibiting characteristics we've never really seen before. And the med students -- except for Drew -- were so broadly written that they could have been played by anybody.
No wonder why this episode was buried on New Year's Day.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our New Girl-Bro
Posted Dec 23rd 2009 6:45PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E05) Sorry this one is late, folks. Sometimes life intervenes before you get to see your favorite shows...
Can you blame me? Given the low ratings and the fact that
ABC has decided to blow out all 13 episodes by the end of January, it seems like this is the last we're going to see of the
Scrubs: Med School gang, unless the show gets yet another last-minute reprieve. So it's tough for me to get too attached to this new set of characters.
But that may be a good thing. If what we saw last night was any indication of how things are going to be once the med students are carrying the show, it's in trouble.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Mysteries
Posted Dec 21st 2009 11:30AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Programming, Scrubs, Reality-Free
While it's great that fans of
Scrubs will be able to see two episodes of the show each and every week starting January 5, that's actually not a sign that ABC loves the show so much and it gets such great ratings that they want to have it on their schedule as much as possible. They're burning off all of the episodes quickly.
They're doing the same thing with Better Off Ted, which somehow made it to a second season (that's not a comment on the show, I'm talking about how it was a surprise that ABC renewed it). Both shows will have two episodes on Tuesday nights for the next several weeks, and both shows will see their 13 episode seasons end in late January.
Of course, this doesn't
necessarily mean that the shows won't be back for another season (after all, we all thought
Scrubs was gone a couple of seasons ago), but it
probably means that the shows won't be back for another season.
Posted Dec 16th 2009 11:01AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E04) It was good to see an episode that had a bit more of a balance between the old and the new. Yes, we concentrated a lot on the J.D./Turk "Bro-a-Palooza" and Ted's departure from Sacred Heart. But we also got a fair amount of the students working together.
Do Lucy and Cole still need a little bit more of a personality infusion? Sure. But it's hard to keep up comedically with characters who have been developed over the last eight years. This episode gives me hope that eventually they're going to be able to stand on their own.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Histories
Posted Dec 11th 2009 1:01PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: OpEd, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, Festivus, The Office, Project Runway, 30 Rock, Dexter, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, Glee, Community, Cougar Town, Modern Family, V
I finally, and with great difficulty got the tree up, I've somehow gotten roped into holding a cookie exchange at my house this weekend, and I have glitter in places where glitter should not be. What's that smell? It smells like Festivus to me. While the main thing I want this year is to just lie very, very still in a dark room for a week or so, this is a TV blog, so let's talk about what TV could do to make me happy!
- Stop with the long hiatuses already! I don't get to see a new episode of V until March, and I'm being forced into leading a Glee-less existence until April. Give it up already! If you have 3 months between new episodes, it's a new season, why not call it that? You know what I have been doing for the past 11 weeks? Watching the first 11 episodes of Dexter. This week, I will be watching episode 12, and then the season will be over. It's efficient and satisfying. The networks need to get on board.
Continue reading All Kona wants for Festivus
Posted Dec 9th 2009 11:20AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E03) Since I saw the first two episodes via screener, this is the first time I got to see the "[Med School]" subtitle in the opening credits. Wow, talk about barely there... if you blinked, you missed it. I guess it's better than not having it there at all, but wow; it's as if ABC is really trying hard to tie this show to the original
Scrubs.
I felt a little odd watching this episode. By all objective measures, it was a good episode; funny, good story, lots of glimpses into the characters' personalities. But, as in the first two episodes, most of the good stuff involved the old cast, mainly Zach Braff. And, since this is supposed to work more as a transition to a new show than more of the old show, this trend is getting me worried.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Role Models
Posted Dec 1st 2009 10:28PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E02) Here is where we see glimpses of what
Scrubs: Med School could be. Lucy gets too involved with a case. Denise opens up -- well, at least as much as she can open up -- to Drew. Cole being Cole. Cox overseeing everything with his lit-on-fire rantings.
But they're just glimpses. As in the premiere, the more memorable stuff was from the old crew and how they interacted with each other. The most troubling part of that was J.D., or, more accurately, the Two J.D.s.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our Drunk Friend
Posted Dec 1st 2009 10:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Scrubs, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S09E01) As much as I want to treat
Scrubs: Med School as a new series, let's face it: The show is listed everywhere as being
Scrubs' ninth season. So that's the way I'm going to treat it until told otherwise. Sound good to you folks?
Anyway,
my preview of this new iteration of Scrubs pretty much gave the entire setup, so we can mercifully skip past that and just talk about what was funny, and what wasn't.
Oh, and for those of you who are still hanging on to the story thread that is the Elliot / J.D. relationship, you'll be happy to know that everything's fine there. More after the jump.
Continue reading Review: Scrubs - Our First Day of School (season premiere)
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