The new season of “Scrubs” premiered Dec. 1, with a new twist. The main characters that viewers have come to love over the years have taken a backseat this season.
J.D. and Turk still have more of a main role than the rest of the cast, but characters like Carla are yet to be seen, and Elliot was only seen in the first couple minutes of the premiere before disappearing. Dr. Cox has taken an odd turn in his role; he is even angrier and meaner then he was in any other season, chopping down anyone in his path in cynical rage.
The beloved Janitor character however has left. Dr. Kelso is back also but only in quick scenes that show him trying to find a sexual partner following the death of his wife.
In the storyline, Sacred Heart was torn down to build a new medical school, where J.D. Turk, Dr. Kelso and Dr. Cox teach. Also, the character Denise Mahoney from last season joins the crew as a professor.
There is an entire new set of interns, but the one the show focuses on is Lucy, a frightened med student, who is reminiscent of J.D. in the first couple of seasons, except, weaker and more vulnerable. J.D. soon takes Lucy under his wing, and begins to mentor her, and help her self-esteem after Dr. Cox cuts her down multiple times.
Dr. Cox also has a new protégé named Drew. Oddly enough he is similar to an early Dr. Cox. He is a blunt, proud character and is just trying to get through med school without being noticed or connecting to anyone. The problem is that Dr. Cox makes him wear a No. 1 sign because he is his new favorite student.
There is another new character, Cole. He’s an annoying med student who hits on anything that moves. He also does anything he wants because, well, all the viewer knows is that his parents are big shots with the hospital. As he says, “he is untouchable.”
The new season is OK. “Scrubs” is having a hard time trying to stay new and funny. The past couple seasons have progressively gone down from their usual glory. The show built up in the first five seasons and reached a peak of sorts in season six. It’s gone down from there.
The show still has its quirks as it always did, but the viewer will notice character degeneration because of how long the show has aired.
Quirks have either been swapped out for something else or played up to the point to which the quirk that made the viewer love the character has made the character seem odd. For example, J.D. always wanted the acceptance of his mentor Dr. Cox.
It was a quirk that made the character seem human, and the audience could connect to that. In this current season, it’s kind of annoying, because anytime you see them together, he just mumbles random things in attempts to be closer to Dr. Cox.
Overall, the new season isn’t bad, it just doesn’t have the same essence that the seasons before it did. Here’s hoping that as the season progresses it will regain its former glory and get better. Catch the new season Tues. at eight.
