The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: Scrubs

2 posts in one week? what the frak?

As you can tell I am still adjusting to life without BSG, which ended about a month ago. Friday nights are a little less enjoyable without it, but I have managed with The Soup, PTI, and Scrubs. Well scratch another one of the list, Scrubs is supposedly done.

They aired their season (series?) finale this past week. It focused on J.D.'s last day at Scared Heart. I have seen lots of finales (obviously) and this one ranks up their as one of the best. The writers have always done a great job of balancing humor with emotions. I remember the first episode I saw was the one where Brendon Fraiser (yes him) *spoilers* died. I remember laughing so hard at times during the episode, but then wiping tears away at the end.

Scrubs has done it all. The finale was no different. Watching J.D. all episode trying to get Dr. Cox to tell him how he felt, only to keep getting rejected was very sad. Then when it looked like it wasn't going to happen...bam it did. Awesome writing and acting. And then the last scene where J.D. "sees" his future was a great way to end the show.

There is talk of a spin off with some of the interns that were introduced this season. A few weeks ago I was all for it, but after this ending...I doubt they could top it. Rename the show, but don't call it Scrubs. We saw what happened when Spin City tried to go on without Michael J. Fox. The show was still funny, but it lost a lot of the original magic. Side note, the creators are the same.

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: More Spin City

I forgot to mention one of the cooler things about Spin City. Not only was it a great show, but it was created by the same guy that created Scrubs (we all know how I feel about that show). Anyway, a majority of the cast of Spin City has appeared at least once on Scrubs...as different characters, but still cool none the less.

Let's look at the cast of Spin City;
Michael J. Fox
Alan Ruck
Michael Boatman
Heather Locklear
Barry Bostwick
Richard Kind
Alex Chaplin
Connie Britton
Victoria Dillard
Jennifer Eposito
Charlie Sheen

Out of that cast all but the last 5 have been on Scrubs. That's a pretty big feat to get those stars to be on the show. It goes to show you how much they liked working for the creator of the series. BTW, Charlie Sheen probably hasn't been on the show because he has been busy with his own show, Two and a Half Men, which airs on a different network.

The Sun Always Shines on T.V.: Spin City

Ok I know this isn't BSG or The Soup, but I have been catching re-runs of Spin City all summer long and have gotta say what a great show it was. It starred Michael J. Fox and a cast of others as city workers (mayor, deputy mayor, etc.). The first few episodes were kind of rough to watch, but they hit there stride mid-season and never looked back. The writers did a good job of creating and expanding on the characters. Carter (gay black man) and Stuart (male chauvinist) moving in together after their bar went under. Or Mike's relationship with Nikki. The first four seasons are great and worthy of any "greatest sitcom" talk ever.

So what happened? Well Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and had to leave the show. Here's where it gets bumpy. First off, his last show he talks about meeting a Senator from Ohio, Alex Keaton (who he played in Family Ties) cool nod there. So he leaves enter, Charlie Sheen. Well it wasn't just Fox, but half the cast also left. All the side characters that helped make the show great were gone. So did the show suffer? Actually no. It worked just as well. It reminds me of when Don Knotts left Andy Griffith, Andy went on with a 6th season and also switched to color. This is similar, not only do we have a new character, Sheen, but they dumped half the cast. It gave the show a brand new feel to it.

The show lasted 6 seasons, 4 with Fox in the lead. It is a classic show. Read about it HERE.