Blu-ray Review: SCRUBS - The Complete 8th Season

[JeffSaylor]

A good laugh is the best medicine...

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The laughs are louder in Hi-Def as the adventures of Dr. John "J.D." Dorian and surgeon BFF Dr. Christopher Turk returns in SCRUBS – The Complete Eighth Season on Blu-ray disc for the very first time. The small medical comedy first premiered nation-wide on NBC back in 2001 and was followed with seven seasons. The Disney-owned show (then Touchstone Television) has returned to Disney-owned network ABC for season 8 (now ABC Studios).

For the past few seasons prior to its move to ABC, the show was becoming more sluggish in the ratings. Fans griped that it wasn't as funny or clever as it was in the first few seasons... or maybe it could also be that it became frustrating to find out when exactly the show would air if at all. The future of Scrubs has always been in what felt like the television emergency room.
Bless this crazy invention called home video. Season 8 of Scrubs, no matter where it would have aired, is as endearing as ever. All the regulars are here but there are plenty of new faces. The faces are of new interns, all with their own personality quirks that are to become the thorn in the seasoned veteran's sides. Whether you hate them or like them, the show deals with these issues in moving ways that will still charm the pants off you as it always had.

If you never liked the show, you probably still won't. For the rest of you that have found yourself daydreaming like J.D., or wanting to be the guy who owns the "high five," Season 8 is, much like the seasons that came before it, what the doctor ordered. There are 19 episodes total in this two-disc set along with audio commentary with creator Bill Lawrence, who is often joined by various writers, producers, and members of the cast. The ever passionate Lawrence fills each commentary with quirks and stories that you won’t hear anywhere else, and since he’s so close to the show, you wouldn’t want anyone else on it.

Also included are Bloopers, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Lines, and a series of Scrubs Intern Webisodes that revolve around the cast of newbie's. They may start off annoying or hateful, but you will grow to love them as you loved the original cast. And that’s what a good show does. The final bonus feature is "My Bahamas Vacation" that takes you behind the scenes with the cast and crew on the filming of the episode filmed entirely in... the Bahamas. Exclusive to the Blu-Ray release is a small bonus feature called "It's All in the Name -," where you can see a montage of every moment Dr. Cox calls J.D. by a humiliating girl's name. Also exclusive to Blu-Ray is "SeasonPlay," a feature that allows you to never miss a beat in where you are in the season, even if you remove the disc and watch something else. Putting the Scrubs Season 8 disc back in will allow you to continue right where you left off. If you have other family members who are watching at their own pace, they can simply create their own SeasonPlay profile to follow their own progress.

If Season 8 truly was the last season, it would be a great close to a great show. And if you’ve been a huge fan of Scrubs in the beginning and fell off the wagon somehow, get back on. You’ll wonder why you even left to begin with. The show still has plenty of laughs to offer and plenty of things to learn from it than most give credit for. And isn't it true that a good laugh is the best medicine?

Scrubs The Complete Eighth Season was released on DVD August 25, 2009.
Scrubs The Complete Eighth Season released on Blu-Ray November 16, 2009.

Review by David Yeh
Review Sample Courtesy of ABC Studios

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