Scrubs - The Complete First Season - The sitcom may be flatlining, but as long as...

The sitcom may be flatlining, but as long as there are fresh and original series like Scrubs, the prognosis isn't entirely negative. Created by Bill Lawrence, Scrubs is an interns'-eye view of hospital life and the torturous, tragic, and triumphant route to becoming a doctor. The eminently likeable Zach Braff heads the cast as "newbie" J.D., whose years of medical school haven't quite prepared him for chaotic Sacred Heart Hospital. Family Guy has nothing on the live-action Scrubs when it comes to surreal asides and fantasy sequences (for example, J.D. literally becomes the proverbial deer in the headlights when he cannot answer a medical query), pop culture references, and TV Land casting (John Ritter guest stars as J.D.'s negligent father in "My Old Man," and St. Elsewhere veterans William Daniels, Ed Begley, Jr., Stephen Furst, and Eric Laneuville appear as Legionnaire's-stricken doctors in "My Sacrifical Clam"). With surgical precision, this inaugural season charts J.D.'s growth as a doctor and a human being, and the close-knit bonds he forms with his equally overwhelmed peers and colleagues, including best friend and surgeon Chris Turk (Donald Faison), beautiful, but raw-nerved and by-the-book Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke), and supportive nurse Carla Espinoza (Judy Reyes'), who affectionately nicknames J.D. "Bambi." But at the heart of the series is J.D.'s relationship with his mentor, Dr. Cox (an Emmy-worthy John C. McGinley), a cross between Obi-Wan Kenobi and a pit bull. Giving Scrubs a further shot of adrenaline are recurring characters Jordan (Christa Miller Lawrence), Dr. Cox's satanic ex-wife, and Neil Flynn as the Janitor, who torments J.D. just as Larry Miller menaced Jerry in the Seinfeld episode "The Doorman."

Scrubs' animated sensibility allows for inexplicable cameos by Jimmie Walker or, at one point, an impromptu West Side Story-esque dance-off to convey the schism between the surgeons and other doctors. But while hilariously funny, Scrubs, too, can break your heart, as in the two-parter "My Occurrence"/"My Hero," with guest star Brendan Fraser as Jordan's spontaneously spirited brother, who is diagnosed with leukemia, and "My Old Lady," in which J.D., Elliot, and Chris experience for the first time losing a patient. Scrubs is one of NBC's few remaining "Must-See" series, but it has not been well-served by the network. Whether you're a "newbie" or devoted viewer, this DVD release is just what the doctor ordered. --Donald Liebenson

Now relive all 24 episodes of the groundbreaking show's highly acclaimed first season. With a host of great bonus features, including never-before-seen dream sequences and a fascinating retrospective documentary, this spectacular four-DVD set is off-the-charts entertainment you'll want to watch over and over again. Joining the rumpled J.D. at Sacred Heart Hospital are fellow residents Chris Turk (Donald Faison, REMEMBER THE TITANS, FELICITY) -- J.D.'s college buddy who is part of the more elite surgical group, and the beautiful but socially awkward Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke, ROSEANNE).

Customer Reviews:

An undiscovered jewel, Scrubs is the Rodney Dangerfield of sitcoms
"Scrubs" and "Homicide: Life on the Streets" have a lot in common - they are/were high quality shows of their genre that were never given the respect or attention they deserved and were both moved around and ultimately stuck in time slots that would cause them to remain undiscovered by the average viewer. I myself did not discover this series until it showed up in syndication several months ago. "Scrubs" came into existence after Bill Lawrence visited some old college friends who were now doctors. Listening to stories about the crazy things that went on during their internships, Lawrence was inspired to create a comedy about young interns learning the ropes of their profession in a hospital environment. Since Lawrence used to work on "Spin City", most of that show's cast members have guested on Scrubs over the years.

J.D. - John Dorian - is an insecure, geeky, constantly self-analyzing medical intern and the central character of the show. Everything is narrated by and seen through him. This includes a series of fantasy scenes that occur in almost every episode that amount to the musings and daydreams of J.D.'s overactive imagination.

Dr. Cox is the sometime mentor and sometime tormentor of J.D. Cox is a brilliant doctor and really likes hearing it from anyone who'll tell him. Dr. Cox routinely rants at and/or belittles J.D., though his apparently rough treatment of J.D. is intended as conditioning for the rigors and horrors of hospital life, as well as an outlet for Cox's frustration in his personal life. Much credit has to go to the writers, of course, who consistently give John McGinley (Cox) the best rants you'll find outside of Dennis Miller Live, but they wouldn't be half as funny if not delivered with the perfect intonation and scathing sarcasm by a man who seems like the word "snark" was literally invented to describe him. These days, the phrase "he was born to play that part" gets tossed around a lot, so much so that it's lost a lot of its meaning, but believe me when I say, truthfully, that John McGinley was born to play Dr. Perry Cox.

Dr. Cox does occasionally offer up words of wisdom to J.D., though. For example, Cox tells J.D. that the ICU is full of old people that would be more than glad to leave this planet, but will likely go on living for years and years. However, he points out, J.D.'s current ICU patient is just young enough to die, since it is Dr. Cox's observation that "God hates doctors".

Remarkably, the relationship between Elliot, an attractive and well-off fellow intern, and J.D. takes off and then crashes all in one mid-season episode during the first year, but manages to not turn into the "Sam & Diane Show" like Cheers did where eventually the see-sawing relationship took over the show and got so old that there was nothing else to do with it. Also, Carla and Turk are almost instantaneously a couple, but that plays out well too. Their relationship becomes a badly needed bulwark of stability in what is a parade of dysfunctional relationships, even the dysfunctional ones that seem to work. For example, Dr. Cox divorces his wife, and from that point forward their relationship seems to work as well as any relationship involving those two. Dr. Kelso, the evil chief of medicine, has been married for years, but he and his wife live completely separate lives. Instead, the love of Dr. Kelso's life is his dog Baxter.

The janitor, as J.D.'s foil throughout the series, is a great touch of originality - who would think of making a janitor a regular on a comedy that revolves around a hospital? The janitor has an air of mystery about him though. You get the feeling he is a Renaissance man who has decided to retire from the world and hide behind his mop. Especially since he speaks Spanish, Korean and Italian as well as English, being also able to pull off, convincingly, at least 3 different accents and types of English speech.

Through all this there is the friendship of Turk and J.D. that has lasted since college. They are roommates while they are completing their internships and residencies, and share each other's goofy sense of humor. Turk and J.D. own a stuffed Golden Retriever named Rowdy which they treat like a live dog, giving him baths, and speaking to him as if he can answer back. However, Turk is in a surgical residency, while J.D. is a medical resident. This is often shown as a humorous rivalry in which the two groups are made to look like rival gangs in West Side Story or like rival cliques in high school in which the surgery interns are the cool kids and the medical interns are the geeks.

My personal vote for best episode of the first season is "My Old Lady" (MOL). There were other close contenders, but this one really stands out. MOL has that spot-on balance of comedy and drama that I love about the show -- early on, J.D.'s voiceover informs us that one out of every three patients admitted to the hospital will die there, then we follow he, Elliot, and Turk as each strives not to be the one to lose theirs. The format allows for equal focus on all three, gives us a great understanding of their individual issues, and ultimately shows just how well the actors were grasping their characters so early on. Very funny in places, intensely emotional in others, and making excellent use of background music, MOL illustrates the Scrubs formula perfectly.
--2006-12-10

one of the few great sitcoms
Its easy to understand why Scrubs has gone on as long as it has when you watch these episodes. This DVD set serves and the unbelievably hilarious beginning to arguably the single best TV show of this decade or any other. It follows a young doctor, Zach Braff, in his struggles to be accepted into the hospital and by his patients. John C. McGinely does an incredible job as the awesomely two-faced Dr. Cox and the rest of the cast will blow you away. The extra stuff on this DVD is also great to watch and you can see why this DVD is a great buy.
--2006-12-08

Forget "Reality" shows!
This is the funniest show ever created.. I think it blows Friends & Will & Grace out of the water... People need to stop watching pathetic "Reality" shows that are far from realistic and just flat out imbarrassing to watch... I can't believe they push back season premiers of Scrubs for Dancing with the washed up no talent stars!
--2006-12-06

Man, what a pleasant surprise!
My ex-boyfriend used to tell me how great Scrubs was and I tuned in once but couldn't catch on to the show. So I bought season one and boy, was I impressed.

It takes a lot for me to laugh out loud repeatedly and this show hit the mark. The main characters are very sympathetic and easy to identify with. Dialogue is crisp and extremely funny... My only complaint might be that the show focuses much more on the life of the interns than it does on patients -- much like Grey's Anatomy. Wouldn't hurt to have a little bit more development of patients but otherwise this show is excellent.

Sigridmac
--2006-11-18

Scrubs - First Season
Great series the first season is very good and makes you want to buy the rest!
--2006-11-10

Scrubs - The Complete First Season

- Buena Vista Home Entertainment