Scrubs 2/1/2007 "His Story IV"

[cmontyburns]

Scrubs is one of my all-time favorite shows, and I hate saying anything bad about it, but... Even the best series produces a clunker now and then, and this was one. There were a few mild laughs in it (Janitor's rabbit, Iraq War for Dummies [there really should be one of those]), but for the most part it was unfunny and strangely awkward. Was all the political commentary trying to make a point? Was it supposed to be funny just because everyone chose sides? Because it was the basis for some would-be-creative (but we've heard them all before) insults from each side? As the basis for an episode, it just didn't work. Neither did the episode itself, really.

[WeBoat]

Agreeed. Strange Episode. I think it was the political issues. Not funny.

[Jesda]

I enjoyed seeing more of Bob Kelso. The war stuff was just a bunch of rambling cliches.

Each season of Scrubs gets weaker. Still beats some of the other drivel on TV I suppose.

[mrpantstm]

There's an odd feel to Scrubs this season. I'm talking more about how the episodes are shot. Dunno, it just feels different.

Hot Republican sex in the closet. :D

[Combat Medic]

Hot Republican sex in the closet. :D
That was the only saving grace.

[Meathead]

+1 on a bad episode

[Zevida]

I enjoyed seeing more of Bob Kelso. The war stuff was just a bunch of rambling cliches.

I agree, I really liked getting inside Kelso's head.

The war stuff was a bunch of cliches, just like the episode where JD and his baby momma debated abortion and the episode where Carla had post-partum depression. I've always enjoyed that each episode of scrubs had some sort of life-message, but those were general life and relationship lessons. Lately, it seems like there is an agenda of some kind, but I don't know what it is.

[cmontyburns]

There's an odd feel to Scrubs this season. I'm talking more about how the episodes are shot. Dunno, it just feels different.

Funny you said that -- I've noticed the same thing. Can't put my finger on it, though.

[MitchO]

I think some of the wipes have been more awkward .. where we used to have a seamless shot and the screeching record sound, we have a slower pan. For example, they moved up into the white ceiling area after the Janitor/JD globe scene, and it seemed oddly amateurish to me.

I think the issue with the episode is that Bob is more of a caricature than the previous H** Story folks. For me, the most accurate scene for him was when he was following the nurse with the intent of stealing her cupcake :)

"How convenient, everyone is already sitting on the proper sides!"

[LoadStar]

Agreed, major clunker of an episode, not entertaining in the least.

[Ave]

I didn't really like this episode. I was hoping for a lot more of Kelso, something more like the first His Story with Dr. Cox. I guess watching the earlier season's reruns lately has built me up to expect a lot more out of this season, which it hasn't delivered.

[YCantAngieRead]

I'm so weird. I liked this one. I always like when we see another side of Kelso, though.

[Fassade]

Another saving grace could be the return of Bob Kelso as an antagonist. Over the run of the show, he went from pure evil, to a mean guy whose motives were at least explainable (having to fire Clay Aiken), to somebody occasionally doddering ("Who's pregnant?"), and all together nicer and softer ("I need you," urging a drunk Dr. Cox to come back to the work). JD's closing remarks that Kelso's role is "to be hated" would have been accurate a few seasons ago, but for the last few years Kelso has been more a quirky, avuncular figure than a bad guy.

I would not like to see Kelso back as a cartoon Devil again, and the Cox-Kelso rivalry has probably played itself out, but there probably are some good storylines there with JD and Elliot having to face-of directly against Kelso as attendings, without Cox as a protector. At any rate, a reborn Kelso would mean more screen time for Ken Jenkins, and for Sam Lloyd as the beaten lawyer (as opposed to just as a singer).

That would be another saving grace of this episode -- but then again, I am probably reading far too much into the end of this episode, and need to spend more time outside :)

[writdenied]

"Doctors, Slagathor, come with me..."

[mrpantstm]

Another saving grace could be the return of Bob Kelso as an antagonist. Over the run of the show, he went from pure evil, to a mean guy whose motives were at least explainable (having to fire Clay Aiken), to somebody occasionally doddering ("Who's pregnant?"), and all together nicer and softer ("I need you," urging a drunk Dr. Cox to come back to the work). JD's closing remarks that Kelso's role is "to be hated" would have been accurate a few seasons ago, but for the last few years Kelso has been more a quirky, avuncular figure than a bad guy.

I would not like to see Kelso back as a cartoon Devil again, and the Cox-Kelso rivalry has probably played itself out, but there probably are some good storylines there with JD and Elliot having to face-of directly against Kelso as attendings, without Cox as a protector. At any rate, a reborn Kelso would mean more screen time for Ken Jenkins, and for Sam Lloyd as the beaten lawyer (as opposed to just as a singer).


That's a good point. :)

[Jonathan_S]

The "Johnny" tatoo was a nice call-back to one of the earlier episodes. (Wish I could remember which one).

[bruinfan]

JD's closing remarks that Kelso's role is "to be hated" would have been accurate a few seasons ago, but for the last few years Kelso has been more a quirky, avuncular figure than a bad guy.

avuncular.... my favorite SAT word.

Iraq for dummies: "I'm at the part where Bush says Mission Accomplished, but there's still 400 pages left!"

Probably the worst episode of Scrubs ever for me. Had some good lines, but the plot was so annoyingly agenda-ridden. On the bright side, the next episode can only be better, right?

[TAsunder]

Bad episode. But I got a kick out of wondering which actors were portraying their real life political positions in the show.

[trainman]

So, if "Scrubs" has become a show where people argue about the war in Iraq, does this mean "Hannity and Colmes" is now a sitcom that takes place in a hospital? :D

[Aniketos]

I liked the episode (then again I might be easily pleased, because I really enjoyed all of nbc thursday, while in other threads it seems a lot of people were underwhelmed.)

The reverse officer and a gentleman scene with the asian woman nearly breaking her back carrying Kelso out combined with the music in the background had me dying.

[DevdogAZ]

It wasn't the best ep ever, but I still liked it. I like the eps when we get inside someone else's head, but it definitely gives the episode a different feel, which a lot of you mentioned. I liked the "human magic eight ball" part.

Ted: Ask again later. WHY WOULD I SAY THAT?!?!?

[kar74]

I'm so weird. I liked this one. I always like when we see another side of Kelso, though.


+1 :)

[Jesda]

So, if "Scrubs" has become a show where people argue about the war in Iraq, does this mean "Hannity and Colmes" is now a sitcom that takes place in a hospital? :D

ROFL! I just pictured Alan Colmes narrating his own scenes and having comedic flashbacks to the Democratic Convention.

Alan as Zach Braff and Sean as Turkleton. :p

[NoThru22]

I find it hilarious that even in an episode where they represented both sides of the Iraq War "equally" (though they were highly exaggerated, comic views of people's opinions) people still thought there was an agenda attached to it. It seems as if someone on side A watches it and whenever side B's opinion comes out, they think "the show's producer is pushing opinion B on me!" I thought they presented the two sides of the Iraq War in a funny, light hearted, equal way, meant not to take a definitive side.

[bruinfan]

sure, they presented both sides... but most of the jokes seemed to be anti-war. i just know that the impression i got was they were really against being in Iraq.

[needo]

The "Johnny" tatoo was a nice call-back to one of the earlier episodes. (Wish I could remember which one).

My Tuskalooska<sp?> Heart.

Wow... I'm such a nerd. :)

[NoThru22]

sure, they presented both sides... but most of the jokes seemed to be anti-war. i just know that the impression i got was they were really against being in Iraq.
I think the only joke in the whole episode that didn't have a counter was the "I'm at mission accomplished and there are still 400 pages to go," which is hilarious, by the way. JD is the voice of the show and we never got to hear his exact opinion (in fact they avoided giving it) as well as Bob Kelso's, the temporary voice of the show. I would guess that you are pro-war, am I right?

[drew2k]

I would guess that you are pro-war, am I right?Please ... let's just NOT go there, ok? :rolleyes:

[Warren]

power bottom

[windracer]

I'll agree we could have done without the political overtones (I guess this is the "in" think in Hollywood right now?) but c'mon, where can I get a salt shaker/pepper grinder bunny? :D

[rifleman69]

Writers are running out of ideas, must be true that the series is going to be done by next season at the latest.

[bruinfan]

I think the only joke in the whole episode that didn't have a counter was the "I'm at mission accomplished and there are still 400 pages to go," which is hilarious, by the way. JD is the voice of the show and we never got to hear his exact opinion (in fact they avoided giving it) as well as Bob Kelso's, the temporary voice of the show. I would guess that you are pro-war, am I right?
irrelevant what my views are, cuz i'm trying to be objective. all i'm saying is the whole overtone of the show seemed anti-war. i could be wrong with the joke ratio. I deleted as soon as it was over cuz the show was a big suckfest. but that's the message that i got.

and since you asked, war sucks, but is sometimes a neccessary evil. this war, we were lied to, our troops were underarmed, undermanned, and underplanned, there is no end in sight, and bin laden is still free. we should have kicked afghanistan's a@# instead of saddam.

[bruinfan]

I'll agree we could have done without the political overtones (I guess this is the "in" think in Hollywood right now?) but c'mon, where can I get a salt shaker/pepper grinder bunny? :D
You have to make your own.

[Bondelev]

irrelevant what my views are, cuz i'm trying to be objective. all i'm saying is the whole overtone of the show seemed anti-war. i could be wrong with the joke ratio. I deleted as soon as it was over cuz the show was a big suckfest. but that's the message that i got.

The whole show was so weak it's not worth analyzing, but I really felt they bent so far over backward to give a pro-war voice at all that it seemed to lean in that direction. I mean, I'm supposed to believe Elliot is pro-war? It seems inconsistent with everything else about her character.

[NoThru22]

Please ... let's just NOT go there, ok? :rolleyes:
I'm not trying to bring any actual war argument into this thread (believe me, I'm not!) I'm just trying to prove my point. I think I did, to some extent, because Bruin thinks it was anti-war and Bondelev thinks it was pro-war.

[TAsunder]

Whereas I thought it was just a weak children's after school special plot that felt really out of place in a scrubs episode. What's next, an episode devoted to the hpv cervical caner vaccine?