Check into the
surreal world of Sacred Heart Hospital, where the staff is bizarre
and the laughter is contagious. Fresh-faced J.D. (Zach Braff) and
his fellow new medical residents weave their way through each
unpredictable day with hilarious results.
CRITIQUE
I have never seen an
episode of Scrubs before sitting down to watch the first
season on DVD. What I got was a sitcom loaded with humor, fun
characters, a cool style and an overall sense of enjoyment;
Scrubs is a very funny sitcom. The writers come up with all
sorts of stories and character plots that are satisfying and
entertaining, both dramatically and comedy-wise. The characters
really drive the show, however, and each one has a screw loose
somewhere.
The performances
make the characters come to life and it's fun to watch them
perform. Zach Braff is fantastic as Dr. John (J.D.) Dorian as he
hits the right comedic notes, Donald Faison is hysterical as his
friend and surgeon Chris Turk, Sarah Chalke is charming as the
determined yet also fragile Dr. Elliot Reid, John C. McGinley is
impossibly funny as the intense and sarcastic Dr. Perry Cox, Judy
Reyes is also charming and fun to watch as nurse Carla Espinosa,
and Ken Jenkins is believable as the sometimes good-natured but
mostly evil Bob Kelso, M.D.
The interactions
between J.D. and the Janitor (Neil Flynn) are always fun to watch
because of the arguments they get into, but it's really just
because the Janitor doesn't like J.D. and so whatever situation
they're in just turns out to be funny. In terms of storylines, the
first season deals with friendship, sexual relations, situations
at work and at home, and many more. The style of the show is also
fun as there are lots of sound cues (for whenever someone runs
off, turns their head, etc.), imaginative flashbacks, slo-mo
shots, and so on. The show's narration by J.D. works well, too,
and sometimes J.D.'s thoughts mirror those of Homer Simpson, such
as J.D. says to himself not to do or say something but then in
fact does or says it (in which case Homer often utters "D'oh").
THE VIDEO
Buena Vista presents
Scrubs in 1.33:1 fullscreen format. Colors look clean
and well saturated. Print quality is very good, as is sharpness
and detail. All 24 episodes of the first season are available on 3
discs. Optional subtitles include English, Spanish and
French.
THE AUDIO
Buena Vista presents
Scrubs in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, with the front speakers
delivering noise free audio. The rear speakers are active during
the action scenes, and the sound effects and score are presented
clearly.
THE EXTRAS
The extras for this
set are pretty good and there is quite a lot of material spread
across all three discs.
First there are
six audio commentaries by creator Bill Lawrence and guests,
which include Zach Braff on 2 episodes, John C. McGinley, and Neil
Flynn. They are pretty decent overall.
Newbies is a
13-part documentary running a bit over 28 minutes that features
interviews with the writers, the cast and others. It's pretty good
stuff with lots of praise from the actors who talk splendidly
about each other.
The Doctor Is
In is a 5-minute look at actor Zach Braff to recalls scoring the
lead role and other things.
Alternate Lines:
A Second Opinion is 9 minutes worth of different lines or
takes from a variety of shows.
Not Just Another
Medical Show is a 6-minute featurette on what the title
suggests. Plenty of interviews should convince you of it.
Favorite Moments
is a little over 8 minutes of the cast and crew telling viewers of
their favorite moments from Season 1.
There are ten
minutes worth of deleted scenes available as well, some of
which are good.
Outtakes Reel
is a 4-minute laugh fest with the actors flubbing their lines,
etc.
The Superman
Music Video (3:36) directed by Zach Braff is actually pretty
good. It's presented in letterboxed widescreen, which kinda sucks
but I'll live.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Scrubs is a
very funny show, one of the funniest I've seen in a while. I
rarely watch sitcoms, but this one's a winner. I'm really looking
forward to Season 2 which according to an insert inside this
3-disc DVD set is scheduled as coming soon.
