Scrubs: Season Five

Television has had a long history with the practice of medicine. Some of the earliest big hits were series like Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. In 1972 TV had a major paradigm shift with the advent of M*A*S*H. This was one of the first series using the half hour comedy-drama format. In 2001 another medically based ‘dramedy’ hit the tube, Scrubs. It does more in thirty minutes than many television series can do in a whole season. At the time of this writing the series in now concluding its sixth season and you can now get the first five on DVD. Unlike a lot of early sit-coms the characters of this series have grown over the years. In season five each of the leads are facing drastic changes both professionally and personally. ‘Scrubs’ has the rare quality of combining drama and comedy with a healthy dollop of humanity mixed in. It is intelligently written, extremely well acted and has attracted numerous notable guest stars. It is pretty certain that even if you never watched a single episode this season five box set will get you hooked. You will be anxious to get the previous sets just to find out how the characters got to this point of the stories.

The series centers on a group of people working at Sacred Heart Hospital. As a teaching hospital most of the characters started out as fresh naïve first year interns. Now in season five they are well on their way to finalizing their professions. The main protagonist is Doctor John 'J.D.' Dorian (Zach Braff). At the start of this season has completed his residency and is now an attending physician. As such he is now over a group of interns and medical students, the one responsible to teaching the practice of medicine. J.D. has always been easy going but now has to re-examine his life now that others look to him for guidance. One of his best friends is Dr. Christopher Turk (Donald Faison), a surgical attending. Turk is also entering a new phase to his life. Not only is he now an attending but he has a new wife, Carla (Judy Reyes), a head nurse on the medical service. Then there is J.D.’s other best friend Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) who at the start of this season has left Sacred Heart for a fellowship in County Hospital. In the lives of these four friends are others on staff. There is Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley), the Resident Director and mentor to J.D. His ex-wife and mother of his child is Jordan Sullivan, a hospital administrator and during this season pregnant with their second child. Lording over everyone is Dr. Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins) the Chief of Medicine. Always lurking in the hallways is a man only known as The Janitor (Neil Flynn), a big strange man whose mission in life is to keep the halls clean and J.D. miserable.

Right from the first episode of this season the gang has to face the new responsibilities they face. Turk is barley used to being a husband and Carla wants to start a family. He goes through numerous machinations to prevent that from happening. Elliot regrets leaving Sacred Heart for County and plots to return. She also is fed up with the way most people see her, helpless, needy and full of self doubt. No wonder Carla’s nickname of Bambi fits so well. She and J.D. have gone through many phases to their complicated relationship from workmates to lovers. Now they are best friends but miss the physical side of their relationship. They both try out the concept of the ‘booty call’ but Elliot is morally upset when hers turns out to be married. Meanwhile J.D. meets a beautiful girl Julie (Mandy Moore) and the start to date. The thing is she is the epitome of clumsiness.

The hundredth episode is a milestone for any television series. Usually it means there are enough episodes to sell to syndication but it also signifies that the series has staying power. The fifth season of Scrubs contains their 100^th. ‘My Way Home’ featured a spoof of the Wizard of Oz. Turk is looking for a heart to transplant, Carla doubts she has the courage to be a parent and Elliot loses what little confidence she had in her intelligence. Meanwhile the Janitor is painting colored navigation lines on the floors.

This series is fantastic. It is one of the better half hours of television around and of course there are doubts about the network picking it up. There is heart to this series that sets it far above the typical mindless excuse for humor most thirty minute shows exhibits. These are characters that you can become involved with. They are engaging because they are so real. The juxtaposition of wacky humor with situations like alcoholism, fear of transition and life and death medical decisions makes for something special. One a technical note this is one of the rare cases where the show is recorded with the single camera technique. Most series use multiple cameras to expedite the recording but this one employs the more complicated but artistically superior single camera.

This series is also an example for the right cast merging into a powerful ensemble. Zach Braff has become one of the leading comic actors on television. He has the talent to go from a pratfall to a serious moment without breaking stride. His character also usually serves as the narrator, giving the audience a personal perspective and the moral of the story. Braff is a natural actor, one that sells his role as a regular guy that happens to be a doctor. He makes his character both a dedicate physician and a fun loving guy. Donald Faison was in Clueless and has honed his skills over the years. He also adds credibility to his role through his easy going manner. Sarah Chalke is a real treat. She is beautiful and talented. She became a television staple as the second Becky on Rosanne but here she got to invent her character all on her own. She gives Elliot numerous sides from the dedicated doctor to the uncertain little girl who needs the approval of others.

Buena Vista continues to bring this imaginative series to DVD. The video is full screen with a better than usual color palette. The audio is in Dolby 5.1 and considering this is a dialogue heavy series, remarkably full. The extras set this box set apart from many other similar series sets. Their there is an extended version of the 100^th episode that makes the set a value on its own. Several episodes have cast and crew commentaries. You get the feeling that this is group of people that actually enjoys working together. There is also a look at some of the alternate lines that took place while recording. For those that are just getting into the Scrubs experience there is a look back at the previous seasons. This is a must have for the legion of fans out there and certain to make a fan out of any newbie.

Posted 05/17/07