Originally Posted by RathBandu Greg, you know I love ya, but Scrubs is nowhere near as original as you make it out to be sometimes.
It’s pretty original in that it takes the tried-n-true concept of a medical show and packs it nearly as full of bizarre laugh-out-loud bits as the Simpsons in its prime. It’s probably the only show of its comedic caliber that manages to have the dramatic heft it does (I will grant that the Office would be capable of the same sort of balance, but its setting is more mundane - life and death are rarely factors).
As I recall, St. Elsewhere had some funny moments, but it wasn’t exactly the type of show to feature a surreal ongoing battle of wills between the lead and a janitor. It’s not really the basics of Scrubs that make it great (nor is it the basics of the Office - well, hell, we know that the Office isn’t original, but it’s still great), but the detail work.
Okay, was I the only one who thought tonight’s musical episode was wildly uneven? The jokey songs, “Everything Comes Down To Poo” and “Guy Love,” were kind of painful to watch, but others–especially Dr. Cox’s Gilbert and Sullivan homage and the big numbers that ended Act One and the last one, were really well done and I even got a little misty there at the end.
As a musical fan, too, there was something that was a little off about the way the songs themselves and the narrative of the show all came together. I’m still trying to figure it out, but there were times when it seemed like the writers were saying “Oh, we need a ‘Grease’ style number” and fitting it into the story rather than letting the songs come from the story or something.
I don’t know, I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of the musical number from “My Philosophy” and I was a little disappointed. It was still pretty great at times, though.
That was another thing that bugged me–the show didn’t seem like it was making any effort to write for its actors’ vocal ranges, or if it was, the actors were much more confident in their own vocal abilities than they turned out to be. (Which is something that happens in musical theatre; Sondheim has famously said that he wishes he could begin writing music and lyrics after a show was cast rather than before/during.) Taking an honest survey of what kind of singer each actor was beforehand would have improved the quality in spades–even if it means telling your obviously egomaniacal star that he can’t sing for shit. Say what you will about the equally egomaniacal Joss Whedon, but one of the reasons “Once More With Feeling” worked is that the songs weren’t too challenging that the actors had to strain beyond what they were capable of.
(Wow. I cited Sondheim and Whedon in the same post. I’m king dork of dorkonia.)
Agreed that it had a couple uneven moments (I thought the beginning was the worst of the evening), but for the most part it will be remembered as one the show’s best efforts.
Its funny Rath, because I’m pretty sure my wife got misty at some parts as well.
Originally Posted by RathBandu Okay, was I the only one who thought tonight’s musical episode was wildly uneven? The jokey songs, “Everything Comes Down To Poo” and “Guy Love,” were kind of painful to watch, but others–especially Dr. Cox’s Gilbert and Sullivan homage and the big numbers that ended Act One and the last one, were really well done and I even got a little misty there at the end. As a musical fan, too, there was something that was a little off about the way the songs themselves and the narrative of the show all came together. I’m still trying to figure it out, but there were times when it seemed like the writers were saying “Oh, we need a ‘Grease’ style number” and fitting it into the story rather than letting the songs come from the story or something. I don’t know, I guess I was expecting something more along the lines of the musical number from “My Philosophy” and I was a little disappointed. It was still pretty great at times, though.
The Grease thing seemed oddly obligatory, but I thought “Guy Love” was a pretty ingenious way of including the requisite love song without resorting to the more obvious, but out-of-character in every case, method of having one of the show’s couples perform it (incidentally, did anyone else notice the complete absence of Elliott’s boy-toy this episode? I suspect he’s even less a singer than Braff or Chalke). Considering they had some unusual musical parameters with which to work (about 20 minutes of episode time, the notion that the singing could only happen with the presence of the hallucinating patient), the writers did a superb job. And, while I like “Once More With Feeling,” the decision not to similarly “rock” things up here led to a lot more comedy, a lot less cheese. Also, I dug the Janitor waxing all Javert-like over J.D.
Good, but not great. The vocal limitations of the cast and silliness of the songs kept it from greatness, but it was fun and funny and that’s all I wanted. The Turk/Carla tango was my fave.
I especially liked that they used a rational framework for the musical numbers, kind of like Roxy Hart’s imagination in the film of Chicago. Didn’t Chicago Hope do something similar with Adam Arkin’s character?
I thought it was pretty good overall. The Dr. Cox/Janitor and the Carla/Turk songs were the best. I thought it was interesting that they took a different angle to explain the singing than making another JD fantasy.
And Dave’s right, Keith wasn’t in the episode. That makes it even better!
Originally Posted by DaveB Also, I dug the Janitor waxing all Javert-like over J.D.
Yes, that was quite good. This was in danger of being unbearably cheesy but it was done well. Wish they’d cut down on the stupid ‘message’ recaps at the end of each episode, though.
I thought this was just horrible. And I am a huge fan of the show and everyone involved. It just seemed forced and the musical numbers really did nothing to further the plot.
It just makes you appreciate when people like Trey Parker or Joss Whedon pull something like this off, and do it quite well. To this day I still have the tunes from South Park: B,L,U and “Once more with feeling” stuck in my head. Everything here was forgettable at best.
I don’t think that there was a single moment that i did more than slightly smile at.
I love episodes centered around Kelso. McGinley’s Dr. Cox has always been the heavy hitter on the show, but Ken Jenkins is the secret weapon–he plays it straight most of the time, but every so often they give him a chance and he just kills.
Maybe it’s cause I’m a pinko commie liberal, but hearing Elliot’s arguements on the war in Iraq was really weak. I know they were painting both sides of the issue in broad strokes, but it was kinda eye rollingly ignorant. Liked the payoff with Keith in the storage closet though.
The real winner of the episode, though, is the salt shaker bunny. THAT was classic.
Horrible confession- this was only the second episode of Scrubs I’ve ever seen. Absolutely fucking hilarious. They all this good? I just got real excited when I realized there’s 5 more seasons somewhere out there that I can check out.
Definitely. I only started watching it this past fall when it went into syndication. It’s shockingly awesome. As a bonus for you, one of the New York CW affiliates that broadcasts “Scrubs” from 11:30 to 12:30 every night just restarted the series (they replayed the first episode last night).
Originally Posted by Greg Clark I love episodes centered around Kelso. McGinley’s Dr. Cox has always been the heavy hitter on the show, but Ken Jenkins is the secret weapon–he plays it straight most of the time, but every so often they give him a chance and he just kills.
I read an interview with Bill Lawrence, I think, where he said that more often than not, Jenkins doesn’t get the joke, but added that he always plays it perfectly.
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Originally Posted by Alex Riviello Horrible confession- this was only the second episode of Scrubs I’ve ever seen. Absolutely fucking hilarious. They all this good? I just got real excited when I realized there’s 5 more seasons somewhere out there that I can check out.
I started watching in the beginning of season 4 and have no (through Comedy Central) caught up. Its definitely worth your time.