Scrubs - The Complete Third Season

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre television series Starring Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Judy Reyes, Neil Flynn, Ken Jenkins and John C. McGinley Directed by Paul Quinn Publisher Buena Vista Home Entertainment External Links Official Scrubs Website

Before receiving this review copy, I have never caught a single episode of Scrubs. I have never even watched a few minutes of it while channel surfing. Then again, due to my weird work schedule and the fact that the quality television programming over the past several years has gone down the tubes, I really don't have much time for TV. So with that, this review is based off of my initial viewing of the show. I have yet to view the first or second seasons so saying that the third season is the strongest or weakest of the series will be completely irrelevant.

To those who have also never caught the show and/or to those who watch the show regularly but have suffered from a recent freak accident resulting in brain trauma or severe amnesia, Scrubs is an NBC comedy series that centers on the professional and personal lives of the staff at the Sacred Heart Hospital. It is a fast-paced show that uses such elements as first-person narration, subplots and surreal escapism (visual interpretations that are going on in the minds of the characters) and a splash of reality (you know, the normal things that doctors deal with ever day, like death and stuff). After doing some research, I learned that season three is a pivotal point in the series. Most notably is J.D.'s (Zach Braff) developing of romantic feelings for his co-worker and friend Elliot (Sarah Chalke). In turn, Eliot, who in the past seasons came off as insecure and unconfident, goes through a radical change in her appearance and personality. As the package reads on the back, she goes from "pushover to knockout" (not that she wasn't hot to begin with...). Another plot thread is the relationship between Dr. Turk (Donald Faison) and Nurse Carla, who have announced their plans to get married. Over the season, the two face many trials and tribulations that nearly deter their road to the aisle, such as Turk's college boy behavior and Carla's bossy demeanor. All in all, it works out in the end, as their wedding day is the central point of the season finale.

After my initial viewing, I have to say that this show is brilliant! The writing is a clever mix of off-beat, innovative humor and sincere human emotion. Every character has a unique personality that makes them memorable and eventually likable. Zach Braff and Donald Faison are more or less the modern day Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John. They have great chemistry and timing. Sarah Chalke, with her days as Becky #2 on "Roseanne" far behind her, is a wonderful mix of sweet and sassy. Neil Flynn has some of the best moments of the series as The Janitor and John C. McGinley nearly steals the show in every episode as the tormented mentor who loves to torment, Dr. Cox. Also, Season Three has a slew of guest appearances from Tara Reid, Christopher Maloni (who absolutely owns as Dr. Norris, the puppet-sporting pediatrician), Brendan Fraser and even Michael J. Fox. The content and the tone of the show is so original and so entertaining, I found myself at the wee hours of the night watching it. Once an episode is over, you find yourself watching the next and the one after that and the one after that! Its addicting. Period.

Season Three of Scrubs is a three-disc set with 22 episodes. For a TV series set, we actually get a healthy amount of special features. There are two commentaries on two different episodes featuring cast and crew. Unfortunately, both of them come of rushed and don't really offer anything noteworthy. The rest are a slew of featurettes that cover different production aspects of the show. "Twist and Shoot", for instance, looks at some of the first-time directors of the show while "Don't Try This At Home" give us a brief glimpse into some of the stunt work and physical comedy. "Long-Term Residents" discusses the many guest stars of the season. "What Up Dawg?" is a cute but kind of unnecessary featurette that talks about how everyone on the show, including the screw, brings their pets to the set. "Scrubs Factor" talks about the gross stuff they do on the set, okay. "Robert Keeps Talking" is an interview with Robert Maschio, who plays the high-energy fast-talking "The Todd", the guys is as equally amusing as his character; he's quick on the tongue and very witty. "The New Elliot" talks about the character's dramatic change and how it was successfully pulled off and "Is There A Doctor In The House" is a roundtable discussion dealing with the developing relationship between J.D. and Elliot. Finally, there are a bunch of alternative, extended and deleted scenes, plus an unnecessary gag reel. I hate gag reels! While this long list may have you thinking that it will provide a ton of replay value, most of the featurettes don't even go over 10 minutes but they are fun and neat little bits that go into the creative process

So with that, I'm hooked on Scrubs. I will have to track down the previous two seasons and get caught up with seasons 4 and 5. Lets face it, TV, with all its reality shows and celebrity insider shows, is in the pits. Thankfully, we have shows like Scrubs that remind us that quality television is still out there, you just have to look a little closer.