"Scrubs" brings hospital hijinks to ABC

Scrubs , 9-10, ABC)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Here it is, Season eight of "Scrubs" -- the one that never was supposed to happen. Like "Diff'rent Strokes" more than 20 years ago, the hospital sitcom has defected from NBC to ABC for what is presumed to be its final season. Or maybe not.

One never knows what the show's irrepressible creator Bill Lawrence might have up his sleeve, and to be sure he's pulled off quite a feat to land this 18-episode stay of execution. Of course, the fact that "Scrubs" is produced by ABC Studios might have had a little something to do with it. No matter the reason, it's pretty terrific to see the return of a half-hour this charmingly performed and superbly written, particularly when we're suffering such a primetime network comedy shortage.

The show hits the ground in midseason form after eight months and one change of venue, integrating a new crop of interns with seamless aplomb and again demonstrating how to fuse dramatic elements into a sitcom without breaking a sweat.

It rolls onto ABC with a double-barreled (a.ka. a two-episode) premiere assault. First up is an episode that introduces the heartless and unethical Dr. Maddox, played by none other than new recurring player Courteney Cox (who surely knows her way around a comedy series and turns in sharply over-the-top work here). She's surrounded by the usual cast of returning "Scrubs" players led by the underrated Zach Braff along with Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, the incomparable John C. McGinley and Judy Reyes -- long one of TV's most talented and colorful casts. The opening installment sputters a bit before finding a rhythm in Episode 2 that guest stars Glynn Turman as a dying patient coming to terms with his mortality.

What remains great about "Scrubs" is its politically incorrect tone, one that's so smooth the offending line is already in the rear-view mirror before you have a chance to work up a good dose of outrage. While universal health care may still be a political pipe dream, laughter remains a medicine we can afford. And "Scrubs" supplies plenty of that without demanding so much as a co-pay.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter