My Doc Talk 01.27.08: Scrubs - MY ABC's and MY Cookie Pants
Posted by James Craig on 01.27.2009
Muppets in one episode and a major turning point for Sacred Heart in the other !
Welcome all to the first in the reviews for season 8 of Scrubs. I'll give put up the recap that I wrote in my East Coast Musings column, and that should provide enough of a recap of the 4 episodes preceedingtonight. I will follow that up with a look tonight's two new epidoes, My ABC's and My Cookie Pants
Recap - Episodes 1 -4
The first episode of the new season wasn't anything to too worked up about, it did manage to introduce Courtney Cox as Scared Heart's new Chief of Medicine, Dr. Taylor Maddox, for a three episode arc. While no longer than most of the other guest spots the series has had in the past, these three episodes opened up for one of the more memorable scenes in the series' history, with Dr. Cox having to admit to Kelso that he missed him. An action born from the desire to get rid of the Dr. Maddox, a person Cox saw as even more undesirable than Kelso was during his tenure as Chief of Medicine. Also, as part of the Dr. Maddox experiment, The season's opener saw her fire Janitor for not revealing his name when asked. This sparked a bit of concern as there was no sign of Janitor for the second episode at all. As far as being a long time fan of the show, this was a moment that actually managed to get a real reaction as it seemed, even for a moment, as if a beloved character was seemingly gone, and with little warning.
The second episode of the season, My Last Words was one of those episodes that makes you remember that Scrubs can be one of the best comedies on television while still offering some real, hear felt moments. This very well may have been the best, most touching episode since, My Long Good Bye in season 6, where the Sacred Heart crew had to deal with the death of Nurse Roberts as well as the birth of Dr. Cox's daughter. Glynn Turman's performance as dieing patient George was nothing short of great and the interaction he had with Braff and Faison's Turk was great. For me, at the very least, it seemed as if there was some sort of real growth for both Doctors, as they were able to get past their own "bromance" and come to the side of a man who needed it. The episode wasn't all gloom as there were some funny moments, with new intern Denise trying out her take on good bedside manner and sharing her story of her hook-up with a "fatty". Going along with the "Steak Dance" this episode almost perfectly combined comedy and a touch of seriousness and it worked very, very well.
The third episode had the above mentioned admission by Dr. Cox, but the fourth episode is where I think the main plotline of the season will come from. It seems as if Elliot and JD are again partnering down the path towards a relationship. The groundwork for this had been laid in last season's My Waste of Time and carried on through My Jerks but it is here where it finally comes to some sort of fruition. I can understand why some may groan and say that the series has "been there, done that" before. This is in and around the fourth go at it for these two. The thing to remember here is that in other tries at a relationship between these two have been short and to the point with one party or the other sabotaging the relationship. I think that this time, the two characters have matured enough to the point where we can see a real, longer than 3 or 4 episode thing evolve. Here's hoping that we're not let down, as I'm encouraged by the sense of character growth and maturity being shown so far.
Episode 5 - My ABC's
This is the much hyped Sesame Street episode, and I for one was excited going into this, as Scrubs has more often than not managed to produce quality stuff with gimmicky type episodes. So as I was expecting this to be more on the lines of even the fairy tale type from last season, I was pleasantly surprised that they chose, instead, to use the Sesame Street characters as part of JD's daydreams, rather than as the central focus of the show. The muppet crew, however, were used very well and provided for funnier than usual daydreams.
My ABC's actually turned out to be an episode where we are finally given a more in depth look at the new interns that have been introduced in the first 4 episodes of the season. JD, Elliot and Dr. Cox are all looking to pick their new "protoge" from the class of interns and each picks one they think would work the best for them. JD goes with Denise, the very, very blunt intern, Elliot chose Katie, the intern who Carla had the talk with about being less of a jerk, and finally Dr. Cox chose Ed, the catch phrase coining overly enthusiastic intern. As you might expect, their picks all turn out to be a disappointment n one way or another, as we see each intern fleshed out a bit more.
The JD/Denise dynamic was the least fleshed out as we had already had a dose of her in My Last Words and were reminded at just how ridiculously uncompassionate she is as she deals with a cancer patient on his death bed. The other two relationships added some meat to the bones of Ed and Katie. After having the law laid down to her by Carla in My Saving Grace, Elliot felt that Katie had been suitably humbled and was now in a position much like she was in her early years of her career and wanted to help her build her self confidence in a constructive way. Elliot decided that helping Katie get up the nerve to put herself in the running to be the medical assistant on one of Turk's paper's would be the way to get her over the hump and set herself apart from the other interns. Elliot asks Turk to help her out and consider Katie for the position, and he agrees. The plans seems to work, but Turk throws a wrench into the works as he instead decides to pick Ed, because he signed his name in three different colors.
Speaking of Ed, as always he was overly energetic, and to me at least, very annoying. From nearly the beginning of the episode, Dr. Cox was trying to pin point the reason why he seemed to dislike Ed so very much. Carla named many of Ed's more annoying qualities, yet those mentioned either didn't bother Perry, or he actually didn't mind too much. It was in the aftermath of Turk's announcement that he was able to put his finger on the reason as Ed decided to turn down the opportunity, citing that he only actually signed up to so he could write his name in 3 different colors. Perry finally realized that he didn't like ED because he seemed just too lazy and nonchalant about work. Ed seemed perfectly happy "being better than most" of the other interns at Sacred Heart. Also, as it turned out when Elliot was able to further talk to Turk about Katie and her apprehension towards applying, Turk pointed out that Katie was actually the first to sign up and that perhaps she was playing Elliot in order to get her self further ahead, This was only confirmed at the ending as Katie, while leaving the hospital said that she was in the clear as she had Dr. Reid wrapped around her finger.
The ending of the show was pulled together by a very slow, quiet version of the Sesame Street theme, that only added to the feeling that the sense of optimism, much like that held by children watching Sesame Street was lost by the 3 senior doctors as they watched the interns they has such high hopes for, disappoint them with the reality of who they were.
I can't finish this off without offering a couple examples of the muppet appearances on the show tonight. Two of the funnier ones were that of Grover looking for a "high four" of course leading to The Todd obliging and sending Grover flying down a hallway. Also, after showing Denise how to truly emphasize with a patient, Elmo cozies up to her and as JD asked what he was doing, he in turn asked, "What? This your woman?" As JD snaps out of the daydream, he asks what is Elmo ? A seal? These were two of the funnier ones in my opinion.
Rating: 6.5
Episode 6 - My Cookie Pants
This opened looking like it was going to be a JD, Elliot relationship centered episode, and I was less than enthused at the prospect of such. Even though I have high hopes for where the relationship was going, I'm not sure that now was the time to devote an entire episode to follow-up on what happened in My Happy Place. Luckily, as with My ABC's the show went in an entirely different and very good direction, using, the relationship as only a minor part of the episode.
This episode turned out to be a follow-up to not only the last episode as we were able to focus in much more detail on the Denise character, but also it addressed the situation regarding the absence of a Chief of Medicine at Sacred Heart after the ousting of Dr. Maddox in My Saving Grace. As I stated in the episode 5 review, the JD/Denise dynamic wasn't touched upon quite as much as she had a fair bit of light shed on her in My Last Words, but it is here where she was moved from being a one dimensional type character and made into someone a tad bit more relatable.
While she was still on her very most harsh and bitchy throughout the episode, there seemed to be some growth in both JD and Denise. For JD it seems to be continuing on the effort made in the last season to have him grow and mature, at least in small measure to become a much more effective doctor. I find that this season an emphasis has been placed on his leadership and willingness to put himself in grown up situations with less apprehension, and embrace his position, both in the hospital and in his personal life as he embraces fatherhood. The same evolution was seen with Turk when he became a father, but it is refreshing to see some movement on the part of JD. As he was trying to coach Denise into developing a better bedside manner, there was an adoption of a tough love approach that has previously been unseen, and again it seemed refreshing. Denise made baby steps in her movement towards becoming a better doctor, but when confronted as to why she is like she is, she explains that while the nuts and bolts of medicine and the human body are endlessly fascinating to her, she can't bring herself to relate to he patients in even the tiniest way. The conversation between JD and Denise allowed us to finally understand a little bit more the reasons for Denise's attitude and also how JD was able to express and admit his own weaknesses as a doctor in a moment of self evaluation and honesty that is also stemming from the maturity level rising.
The second arc of the episode revolved around Dr. Cox being offered the position of Chief of Medicine on a permanent basis, not just temporarily, like in season 7's My Waste of Time. Always looking to play the foil to Cox, Kelso decides to plant the notion in Perry's head that while the noble idea that the position may hold in Perry's mind may be attractive, the reality of the job is one of bureaucracy and having his hands tied. This in turn leads to Cox "getting in his own way", a problem we know he has dealt with for several seasons now, and deciding to not take the job. Needless to say, Jordan is not overwhelmingly in favor of this decision and confronts Kelso on order to remedy the situation.
This leads to an interesting swerve I didn't imagine I would see, as it is revealed that Kelso wasn't trying to dissuade Cox from taking the job, but only giving him an advanced warning as to what was waiting for him. Also, it comes out that it is Kelso who recommended Cox for the position to the hospital board in the first place. While antagonistic, this seems to be the beginning of a new level in the Cox/Kelso relationship, where a friendship may start to evolve as the two men are coming closer together through the position of Chief of Medicine.
On a final note, I just want to touch on how the JD/Elliot relationship was furthered along, but not in the usual, shove it down our throats manner as in seasons past. Instead, it remained in the background to the two major arcs of the episode, but still managed to progress the relationship. While it isn't so important that Elliot was trying her hardest, practically harassing Turk on the best way to freshen up their re-ignited sex life, but rather that the two seem to be more concerned with making it a relationship of substance this time around. Like I said after the 4th episode, I like how the relationship is being built, and it flows in the theme of maturity and personal development, this season.
Rating: 8.5
The 411: Overall, both episodes were able to accomplish what they set out to do. While My ABC's was more of a lead-in to further episodes, it still managed to flesh out the interns we are sure to see more of. It wouldhave been rated lower, but the inclusion of the muppets saved it from being just an "ok" episode. It is in My Cookie Pants that we see the characters starting to take off and go in new directions for themselves, and a real feeling of change, for the good, is felt. I enjoyed both episodes, but it is My Cookie Pants that is the mor eimportant one to the direction of the show. My final rating will be an average of the two shows...
