Scrubs Episode 1 - Short Review

Again, like my Princess Mononoke review, this was written for college and therefore had to adhere to certain template, layout and content rules. Which is why it is the way it is. Hopefully I'll have a review written solely because I fucking want to write it up sometime soon. It's also worth mentioning that I had to pretty much review one episode, which is why I spend a lot of time dwelling on the pilot episode.

Scrubs is a fun and partially accurate look at life within a hospital. It’s main character is JD (Zach Braff) is supported by a strong and varied mix of supporting roles. Scrubs achieves that rare thing in television shows of being able to side-splittingly funny whilst also throwing in some truly heart-wrenching dramatic conventions.

JD starts off his day lying awake on his bed, worrying frantically about his big day starting at the local hospital, Sacred Heart.

You immediately warm to him as he goofs off in front of the mirror, whilst the show’s only bad point, and his voiceover explains his apprehension and excitement at the coming day.

Unfortunately for JD, his view of being a Doctor is shattered as he steps into a busy, frightening and decidedly un-glamorous world. He finds reassurance in the kind and gentle Dr Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins) who puts his fears to rest and seems to be there to help him. He also encounters Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) who is a brash and renegade Doctor. Also introduced is Turk, the frat-boy best friend and roomate, Carla (Judy Reyes), the experienced, no-nonsense nurse, Elliot (Sarah Chalke), the bookish and mousey love interest and finally the Janitor (Neil Flynn) who takes an unexplained, yet hilarious and instantaneous dislike to JD.

As I previously stated Scrubs has managed a rare thing in the comedy television genre, which only ‘House, M.D.’ has managed to pull off. I’m talking of course of the ability to combine excellent humour, razor-shape medical accuracy and strong drama storylines without making a hash of it, something many comedy shows do. A prime example is ‘8 Simple Rules’ that fails so badly at mixing comedy and drama they may well have not bothered. There are also serious hospital shows, such as ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Holby City’, now whilst these shows have their own merits, they can not do something which is truly hard to pull off, the mixing off such contrasting genres.

The only problem with Scrubs, from a technical point of view is the amount of voice-over dialogue, the show ‘House, M.D.’ has no voice over and yet manages to get the story and point across with heartbreaking quality. Whilst it does help give a personal insight into JD’s mind, I can’t help but feel I’m slightly being force fed the storyline with a giant spoon, by an angry German nanny who insists on making aeroplane noises whilst shoving the metaphorical spoon and it’s contents into your fucking EAR CANA…sorry, I appear to have got off topic.

ANYWAY.

I think Scrubs strongest point is the characters and their relationships with each other. Nearly all the characters have comic relationships, be it rivalries, sexual tension or dangerously un-politically correct quasi-racist remarks. And yet there is a depth, or more, a different side to all these relationships, ones of caring, mutual respect and love. And it is the blend of these two sides of the relationships that allow ‘Scrubs’ to work quite as well as it does.

To summarise, I think Scrubs is an excellent, charming and heart warming take on hospital dramas, a genre that is nothing new, yet Scrubs has the wonderful ability to make itself seem fresh and invigorating. Successfully merging two very contrasting genres with seamless quality.

P.S. '8 Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter' is possibly THE most terrible show ever made. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?

I WANT SOME SKITTLES.