Friday, July 21, 2006
Dumb In '01: Scrubs Is Good
I watched half of a couple of episodes of Scrubs the first month or two it was on the air. I thought it pretty much sucked. The narration, the speed and density of the dialogue, and the fantasy elements all annoyed the hell out of me. In 2004 I randomly caught that episode with Clay Aiken, the "My Life In Four Cameras" one, where they mocked standard sitcom conventions; I thought that was really great, but wrote it off as a gimmick. I started watching it occasionally, though, when I had nothing better to do, and by this past season I enjoyed Scrubs enough to consider myself a fan.
So. Last week we got the first season from NetFlix (newly memberized for the second time). We made it through the first two discs these last two nights, and now I'm wondering what the fuck I was thinking back in '01. This show was already plenty great from the very beginning. It's one of those rare show where I like every single character and actor. The overreliance on musical interludes can be a drag, and it's almost always schmaltzy at the end; still, the treacly endings counteract the generally cynical and unsentimental fifteen or so minutes that precede them. Anyway, I regret my past self's poor judgment.
I watched half of a couple of episodes of Scrubs the first month or two it was on the air. I thought it pretty much sucked. The narration, the speed and density of the dialogue, and the fantasy elements all annoyed the hell out of me. In 2004 I randomly caught that episode with Clay Aiken, the "My Life In Four Cameras" one, where they mocked standard sitcom conventions; I thought that was really great, but wrote it off as a gimmick. I started watching it occasionally, though, when I had nothing better to do, and by this past season I enjoyed Scrubs enough to consider myself a fan.
So. Last week we got the first season from NetFlix (newly memberized for the second time). We made it through the first two discs these last two nights, and now I'm wondering what the fuck I was thinking back in '01. This show was already plenty great from the very beginning. It's one of those rare show where I like every single character and actor. The overreliance on musical interludes can be a drag, and it's almost always schmaltzy at the end; still, the treacly endings counteract the generally cynical and unsentimental fifteen or so minutes that precede them. Anyway, I regret my past self's poor judgment.
