Here’s a new one: A spinoff of a once-successful series that’s not labeled a spinoff and continues to bear the original’s name even as its creator insists it is a spinoff.
Welcome to the ninth season of “Scrubs” (9 and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, ABC), which creator Bill Lawrence wanted to retitle “Scrubs Med” but ABC executives balked.
On a continuum of spinoffs that sinks to the depths of “AfterMASH” and to the creative heights of “Frasier,” where does the new, unretitled “Scrubs” land? Probably somewhere in the middle. It’s not terrifically awful, but it’s also not as reliably fun as “Scrubs” was in its prime. There’s too much time spent with the old characters to get viewers invested in the newbies, giving the show a divvied-up feel.
As the new season opens, J.D. (Zach Braff) explains to viewers in his typical voiceover narration that Sacred Heart Hospital has been torn down and rebuilt on the campus of Winston University.
“Part of me hates how familiar this seems. I hope I can find a way to make this all feel new,” says J.D., now an instructor alongside Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) and Turk (Donald Faison).
Then his narration gives way to a female voice belonging to Lucy (Kerry Bishe), who narrates part of the episode. Although she’s the show’s new voice, her character isn’t all that distinctive. She’s an insecure doormat without much of a personality.
Far more interesting is last season’s returning intern, unemotional tough girl Denise (Eliza Coup), whose character is (unfortunately) somewhat softened in Tuesday night’s second episode as she embarks on a relationship with former med-school dropout Drew (Michael Mosley).
The most notable new character is cocky, lazy Cole (Dave Franco, James’ little brother), whose character traits bear some resemblance to the intern played briefly by Aziz Ansari (“Parks and Recreation”) at the start of last season. Jerky Cole makes a good foil for Denise and a thoughtless tormentor to Lucy.
Series creator Lawrence, who wrote the “Scrubs” season premiere, said he didn’t want to ignore other old characters even if he doesn’t have the budget to include them on a weekly basis.
“I hate when shows move forward as if all these characters have died. ‘Frasier’ was so smart. They just moved to Seattle so everybody still exists (back in Boston at Cheers),” Lawrence said this summer at the TV critics press tour in Pasadena, Calif.
By moving the show to a medical campus and spending less time in the hospital, it becomes plausible that viewers see some of the show’s original supporting characters less frequently.
Scripps Howard News Service
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