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RSS'Scrubs' says bye to Courteney Cox and hello to new possibilities
Another week, and another double-dip of Scrubs on ABC. Seems like the network is unable to hold onto fresh new episodes of this show any longer, and are airing them faster than you can say "Courteney Cox." While on the surface the two episodes tonight bore little in common with each other, both dealt with the issue of incremental change. It asked in ways both obvious and subtle: are these characters any different after all this time?
In the first half-hour, the show presented Dr. Maddox as the logical extension of new intern Katie. Carla's "lioness" sought to stave off the seemingly inevitable by nipping Katie's arrogance in the bud before it was too late. I'm not sure exactly where such arrogance came from: in last week's initial episodes, Katie was more like Hermione from the Harry Potter series than anything resembling Maddox. Katie's arrogance and desire to succeed also called to mind Elliot's arc in Season 1. However, Carla points out that Elliot's "family" within the hospital not only benefited her as a doctor, but as a human being as well. A trite lesson? Sure, but any face time for Carla is time well spent in my books.
While Carla turned her attention to the next generation, Cox turned his towards the last generation, employing a retired, bored, yet extremely well-fed Kelso in his scheme to rid Sacred Heart of Maddox's evil, money-pinching grip. Kelso's only request? That Cox admit that he missed his former boss. Cox initially refused, unable to bring himself to show anything resembling a smidgen of human decency. In the end, Cox did budge, turning the heat down on their always tempestuous relationship just a touch. So, bye bye, Courteney Cox. We hardly knew ye. Good luck in Cougar Town.
And really, it's that light, almost imperceptible touch that pervaded the various relationships on the show. As Scrubs moves through its last season with this cast (and maybe its last season period), it's smart enough to try and keep the core essence of these characters while moving them slowly and surely towards a place recognizably different from where they started. And no other aspect of these two episodes showed that better than what can only be described as a mini-chamber play between the show's central characters, JD and Elliot.
In a small series of scenes between the two, the show clearly laid out their rocky past while allowing the characters to show utter surprisingly observant statements about both themselves and each other. Rather than reiterate the extreme drama of traumas past, the two spoke of their previous attempts at relationships in an almost anthropological manner. It was as if they were speaking about two people they used to know, rather than about themselves. And this dichotomy drove home the central point of the night: these recognizable characters might look and act the same on a basic level, but if you hear them speak, you'll realize they are different.
And thus, JD and Elliot enter into what will undoubtedly be their last attempt at a romantic relationship, giving off an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-lite essence to the proceedings. They enter into it with full knowledge of their previous failures, and yet proceed forth anyways, hoping they are maybe different enough this time around to make it work. Whether this fills you with romantic swooning or excessive phlegm is up to you. They've either gone completely in circles only to return to the same spot, or they have walked a long way only to simultaneously reach the same spot a little bit further down the road. I'll leave it up to you to decide what they did.
Some other tidbits from tonight's episode:
- Loved Elliot overtly exploiting JD's tendency to instantly imagine anything she says. The show's never been fully consistent on how others judge JD's visions, and I hope other people start exploiting them for their own use down the line.
- The Janitor's "Photo Shop" plot had me in stitches. I haven't seen a Photo Hut since the 1980's, and now I really want to go find one.
- With all the repetition of "35!" in the first episode tonight, I couldn't help but think of JD Number One from the episode "My Tuscaloosa Heart."
- After tonight's episodes, I think a lot of unemployed men are going to apply for jobs working in the candy shop in their local hospital.
- Best Line of the Night: a tie between JD's, "Interferon sounds like the name of a robot that always gets in the way," and Kelso's, "I'm like Norm in this b#tch!"
- Hotter male-male love scene: JD and Turk, or the Janitor feeding Kelso a scone? I know which one Jordan would pick.
What did you make of tonight's episodes? Was Courteney Cox's departure too early, or right on time? Are JD and Elliot doomed to repeat the past? And where did Kelso learn those ninja-like muffin grabbing skillz?
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I'm glad they got rid of "dr Maddox" definitely a terrible character idea.
I was really surprised to see Courteney Cox leave the show already. I was under the impression she was around for the full season. All in all, she was rather inconsequential, but I'm interested to see who comes in next.
I like that the show is tackling some of the rough relationships from seasons past. The Cox/Kelso scene was great, as was the Cox/Turk connection.
For what it's worth, I've always envisioned this series ending with Dr. Cox becoming Chief of Medicine...
I was convinced after season 4 that JD and Elliot were done for good and I was OK with that, but after last season I warmed up to the idea of them getting back together. Needless to say, tonight's second episode was a good one in my book.
I know there are a lot of people who are against JD & Elliot Part IV, but to be honest they've never had the chance to be a couple. I think the show did a good job at letting them put everything on the table so they could avoid making the same mistakes. Maybe, just maybe, this time is for real.
If it's not then I might have to stop watching the show because I can't take another on again off again situation. You have them together, so keep them together for goodness sake!
I hope JD and Elliot stay together, and i believe they will. The groundwork put in now with JD's son with Elliot is huge, and we all know how much Elliot wants a baby. My guess is, whilst she won't get pregnant, she will end up being the mother of Sam away from Kim. Not just that tho, these 2 did lay out their mistakes like a road map, and i think the writers are smart enough to not spend this last season have them fall out once more. I don't think there will be wedding bells, but hopefully they live happily ever after
I had considered season 3 to be the end of JD/Elliot but season 7 made me warm to them and I thought the newest ep handled them really well, addressing alot of the problems that fans have (such as him being a jerk to her in episodes past). I liked the Friends reference as well (it was said before they "are not exactly Ross and Rachel" and Lawrence is against a big dramatic run-to-the-airport sort of finale for the two).
And I've noticed how not every cast member is in every episodes. Of the four episodes so far, there was no Janitor or Elliot in ep 2, no Turk in ep 3, no Carla in ep 4. There were also no interns in the last ep and Ed wasn't in either. Also, Sunny is the star of the "Interns" webisodes, and has she been in it at all?
I'm torn on this cheif of medicine thing. I would love for Kelso to come back. They could bring him in as a temp until they find someone to replace him (since he's too old for the job). But I would love to see Dr. Cox in that position too. For him to be faced with becomming the new Kelso would be fun! Can't decide....
I think the perfect final episode would be a JDF/Elliot wedding at the hospital before they leave to provide medical care in Africa or Haiti or someplace like that.
The show did a good job of both showing and telling the difference between Kelso and Maddox (though we didn't have nearly enough time with Maddox to see if she had any soft spots, as we saw in Kelso over time). But I can't believe the character was brought in JUST to make the comparison--I don't want to see her again, and I'm not sure HOW we could, but I wouldn't be surprised if she made another appearance. As long as we keep seeing Kelso, I'm happy.
JD/Elliot would probably be more exciting if we weren't seeing it alongside the terrific Carla/Turk and Cox/Jordan relationships. C/T and C/J have so much chemistry and depth, and it's clear the partners are great together. Compared to that, JD/Elliot is, frankly, boring, and feels perfunctory.
What about Janitor's jail character? That was fantastic! "They shanked him with a shiv and then shived him with a shank"! And from the look of the credit scene, it was mostly improvised.
These 2 episodes were awesome cl***ic Scrubs. I loved how they reintroduced the JD/Eliot relationship. It has a chance now because they are differant people. And they essentially said, who cares what we think anyway they ar going to do what they want. I respect that commitment to their characters.
I thought the Janitor and Ted where excellent tonight and welcome back as they seemed off last week. Ted is one of my favorite minor characters and the acting job by the actor who plays him is a true treasure.
I thought one of the funniest parts was when, JD spilled coffee on his shirt then Eliot asked JD if he still pictured here in a sexual way and you saw his fantasy. Then he asked her the same thing and then you see him posing with no shirt. Of course you know it wasn't her fantasizing but that he was actually doing it. But it's the commitment to the joke that makes it work.
Scrubs is back and it's awesome.