Barely Breathing: The Demise of 'Scrubs'

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"SCRUBS" IS A simple case of a show running too long. It's an all-too-common occurrence in American sitcom. A show has a brilliant start, trudges along for three or four solid seasons, and then the jokes start to run thin. The American version of the "The Office" is in the midst of the same thing right now. Sometimes, you need to wrap things up before people stop caring.

The hospital comedy was on life support last year as it slogged through what would have been its seventh and final season if the writer's strike hadn't gotten in the way. While season seven never quiet wrapped up, NBC didn't care and dropped the show from the network. ABC stepped in, but will the network save "Scrubs" from its impending demise? (ABC plans to pump new life into the show and keep it going, although star Zach Braff will leave after this season.)

What used to be such an innovative and compelling series has been reduced to poor caricature. Initially, Bill Lawrence created a world where imagination made sense. Protagonist J.D.'s (Braff) whimsical narration and dream sequences drove the show, with ridiculous scenarios often building to a moral lesson. The show was equal parts intelligent, funny, far-fetched and poignant.

But somewhere along the line (arguably, the middle of season five), "Scrubs" lost its way, perhaps trapped in its own self-referential and wacky style. It's gone so far from its roots that it's easy to forget how good the show used to be.

With this week's release of "Scrubs: The Complete Season Seven" on DVD, here are four things that have helped "Scrubs" along on the path to irrelevance.

» DR. KELSO GETS NICE
Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) used to command Sacred Heart Hospital with an iron fist. The staff didn't necessarily like him, but they respected him. He put up with shenanigans, but never backed down in a serious situation. When Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) punched Kelso in the face, he retaliated with a suspension. He threatened to fire employees, and he meant it. Then, somehow, he lost his mojo. He got nice. As a result, he got boring. Sure, it's accurate to say that as Kelso ages he becomes increasingly placid, but it doesn't mean he should. Now that Kelso's out as chief of medicine, he'll be surely missed.

» KEITH AND ELLIOT'S RELATIONSHIP
Keith's (Travis Schuldt) character was always kind of annoying — perhaps because J.D. found him annoying, so the viewer did too. But there was always something silly about Keith. He was developed to be J.D.'s arch rival of sorts (Janitor is more his true enemy), even though he started out as one of J.D.'s interns. But his relationship with Elliot was boring, even if it ticked off J.D. The two lacked chemistry and ate up a good portion of season six's screen time. If anything, Keith's greatest accomplishment was his last name, Dudemeister. Sometimes "Scrubs" knew how to be funny, simply for the sake of being stupid.

» KIM AND THE PLOT OF LAND
Two developments are clear culprits in the hastening of "Scrubs'" demise. First, there's J.D. buying the plot of land in "My Half-Acre" (more on that next). Then, there's introduction of Dr. Kim Briggs (Elizabeth Banks) a few episodes later in "My Urologist." It's not that Kim was such a bad character; it's more the path the show took once she joined. J.D. gets her pregnant, and she starts to become an important character, though, she was mostly used as a device to get J.D. to grow up — something he'd been unable to do for five seasons. Her pregnancy triggers a shift in J.D., yet not in the show's tone. As he seems to be attempting to accept fatherhood, the show regressed, falling into self-parody and overblown absurdity.

» THE SAGA OF J.D. AND ELLIOT
This is as much about J.D. and Elliot individually as it is about the two together. Elliot has always been the weakest of "Scrubs'" lead characters, with Sarah Chalke's portrayal tending to lead toward the overdramatic. She's annoying, she lacks self-confidence and she's overemotional. But Lawrence has made it worse by refusing to offer Elliot growth. Elliot the doctor is very much the same character as Elliot the intern in season one.

J.D. is a more tragic figure. Without him — and all of the other elements Braff adds to the show, like narration and influence on its soundtrack — "Scrubs" wouldn't have found nearly as much success. But J.D.'s descent into mental instability seemed to mirror the show's slow decline, and by season six, each episode seemed to be a fresh beating of a dead horse.

With season eight, maybe the network change and the certainty of the end will inspire new creative heights — or at least a return to form. And if it doesn't, it's no big loss; at this point, there's very little left of "Scrubs" to save.

Written by Express contributor Rudi Greenberg
Photo courtesy NBC