'Scrubs' tackles the 'A-word'

December 07, 07:57 PM

... By which, of course, I mean "appletinis."

Scrubs has always had a pretty soft heart beating beneath all the goofy physical comedy and off-center sensibility. So I wasn't surprised, or even bothered much, by the somewhat Very Special Episode nature of Thursday's show, which featured Carla and Turk having their baby.

What has made that sentimentality palatable is the show's willingness to undercut the shmoopy moments with well-timed jokes. Thursday's show, though, was something different.

While Carla was having her child, and Turk was stuck in an ice machine, Homer Simpson-style, J.D. and new girlfriend Kim were talking about not having their child. And when was the last time you saw any TV series, much less a comedy, willing to talk about abortion, without it turning into a polemic? Maude, maybe (assuming you were alive then)? Nurse Laverne, along with her Talking Jesus, and the pregnant Jordan pretty much summed up the two sides of the debate, and J.D. and Kim clearly, if a little childishly, struggled with their decision.

That's all well and good, and kudos to Scrubs for dealing with the issue without becoming a polemic for either side. But all the serious talk made for a less-funny-than-usual episode. The stuff with Dr. Cox and little Jack was pretty good, as was the payoff to Turk in the ice machine -- both as an explanation for how Leonard, the hook-handed security guard (played by producer Randall Winston) got that way and as a way for Turk to help out with the birth -- finally -- by cooling Carla off in the operating room. And J.D. and Turk's baby dance with the drumline? Gold, as most dance sequences on this show tend to be. And have we seen J.D. and his unicorn before? I don't recall it, but I like that bit.

But the parallel to Turk and Carla's wedding, at which he also screwed up massively, was a little too on-the-nose for my taste, and whether the Simpsons reference was intentional or not, I found myself a little preoccupied with it.

I know one of the show's stated goals this season is to bring J.D. a little closer to full-fledged adulthood, and I'm confident there's a lot of comedy to be mined from that. This episode, though, just didn't hit the way I'm used to Scrubs hitting.

But maybe that's just me. How'd you like Thursday's Scrubs?

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Comments (7)

Comments

In the early 90s or earlier, this episode of Scrubs would have been the single most controversial half hour on TV. Today however, not many would - or apparently did - even blink at the topic of abortion, even though it is still an extremely devisive issue.
Whether or not they should have done this episode the way they did is debatable. But a couple in JD and Kim's situation would most likely have the "What are we gonna do?" conversation.

This episode did seem disjointed to me. Everything seemed a bit more rushed than a typical Scrubs episode and things seemed to fall flat quite a bit. I can't quite put my finger on why. Perhaps it was the "very special episode" feeling that put me off. I'll have to go back a watch it again though.

But I agree with pretty much your entire review, though Turk's incident didn't evoke Homer in my mind. Turk's gotten his hand stuck in machines before. The marching band sequence was awesome and so was the broadcast of Carla's privates all across the hospital.
And of course the episode would not have been complete without The Todd's vagina compliment.

Dork King | Dec 8, 2006 9:47:30 AM | #

I'm so happy Scrubs is back that I can't get critical until I see it again on DVD.

Alister | Dec 8, 2006 11:52:01 AM | #

I love Scrubs, but was so caught up in a hilarious 'earl', that I forgot it was on. Will catch the rerun.

R.C. | Dec 8, 2006 3:43:44 PM | #

I was really suprised of the some what " serious " parts of the show.But the humor was as always Funny.I do on the other hand agree with the review.Lover of Scrubs!!

JLA | Dec 8, 2006 4:35:22 PM | #

I actually thought this was pretty good episode. It wasn't a series classic, but it plenty of good humor (the Janitor, especially) and I thought all the serious stuff was handled well.
Best lines "That shirt is gay." and "What did you just do? 'Cuz I don't see any wedding rings!"

Bill | Dec 9, 2006 9:09:28 AM | #

This to me was an average Scrubs episode (in that in made me laugh a number of times). But it did touch on some serious issues and didn't exaclty identify them as serious issues, which is a good thing. Also, the unicorn had been introduced before (in My Unicorn), I'm not sure if JD named it but he referred to it as a horse with a sword on its head "to protect my hopes and dreams." Last thing, I didn't think of Homer until Turk started moving the machine to get to Carla.

Steve | Dec 12, 2006 11:19:49 PM | #

Actually, I think what Steve is referring to was a journal that J.D. was keeping that had a unicorn on the cover. That was great.

Jason | Dec 14, 2006 11:35:51 AM | #