“Scrubs: The Complete Ninth and Final Season” DVD Review
Scrubs seemed like a real cockroach of a show by the end of its run. It survived mediocre ratings throughout it’s lifetime, managed to traverse networks while remaining relatively unschated and even was awarded a ninth season that could have mortally wounded the formula it worked so hard to build up over the previous eight seasons. True, this ninth season was its last but for all of the new characters it introduced, it still felt like the same old show…although that probably had a lot to do with the old characters that kept cropping up. In the end this ninth and final season wasn’t the high note the series could’ve gone out on (see season eight for that), but it’s still a nice addendum and a look into what the series could have been had it gone on a bit longer.
Synopsis
Allowing millions of fans to complete their collections of one of the most outrageous comedies on TV — on September 28, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment releases ABCs Scrubs: The Complete Ninth and Final Season — the home entertainment debut of the exciting final season of the fan-favorite series. Scrubs: The Complete Ninth and Final Season features every final season episode of one of ABCs most beloved comedies, complete and uninterrupted, along with never-before-seen bonus materials that fans will love, including bloopers, hilarious deleted scenes and much more.
I remember remaining very skeptical of this season up until its premiere. Considering it was still loaded with Zach Braff and Co., however, it was a very simple and easy transition into the new formula for the season. Although it really wasn’t that much of a change, as we still had the voiceover from the new J.D. fill-in (Lucy, played by Kerry Bishé) and the new cast kind of filled the same type of roles as we got from the old cast (who, again, all showed up quite frequently). Plus with additions like Cole (played by Dave Franco) and Drew (Michael Mosely) it was hard not to kind of immediately like the new cast.
Since the focus does move us away from the hospital and into the classroom, there are more dorm room antics and whatnot than strict hospital stays, although that is there too of course. In fact the more I think about this season the more I wonder if it should have been a bit more daring—it played it incredibly safe by keeping so many familiar things around that it when it came time to wane us off completely, we would’ve been incredibly comfortable with the show. The problem there being that it never really got us off the old show as it kept some of the old cast around…although quite honestly if Dr. Cox wasn’t present each week, I doubt I would have been so I guess they did all of this for a reason.
Not that it really helped in the end. The ninth season delivered the worst ratings of the entire series, although considering the various timeslots it held (it moved nights no fewer than five times during the course of its thirteen episodes) I’m not surprised. Sure, in a TiVo world it would’ve recorded no matter which night it was on, but the vast majority of the TV viewing audience does not have DVRs so they still would have had to track down the show every few weeks on ABCs schedule just so they could see it. With that it’s no wonder the series faltered as much as it did in its final season—combined with a tweaked formula, quite a few new cast members, and a spinning wheel of a timeslot, there was really no hope for this season from day one.
Which really is a shame. It’s not the same ingenious show that we started out with way back in season one, but it was respectably good in its own right and with a bit more time the cast could’ve grown to be our next J.D., Elliot and Turk (and more). But as is it was a fair look into where the series could have gone and as I said before the series was already on borrowed time so it’s no wonder that this was its last. For fans it’s still a Recommended outing as you get some more hilarious J.D./Turk shenanigans as well as plenty of other hilarious situations throughout the season. Sadly once you get used to everything in the season it’s over, but it’s still worth checking out.
The DVD
Due to its relatively short run, just 13 episodes, the season set for this season has been downgraded to a two-disc set. Not altogether unexpected, but it makes you wonder how it has an MSRP of $29.99. The set itself is packed in a standard two-disc amaray case with a cardboard slipcover and the usual Disney inserts. Menus for the set are simple and easy to navigate and if you own any of the previous seasons, you know what to expect here. Thankfully unlike the last season we get this one in widescreen on DVD, as opposed to the Blu-ray only widescreen release that came down the line later on. It’s clean and clear and looks as good as a modern show can and the DD5.1 mix is more than adequate for a comedy that remains in the front channels for the most part.
Extras include:
Deleted Scenes (including introductions and explanations from Bill Lawrence)
Bloopers
Scrubbing In – from the halls of Sacred Heart Hospital, to the halls of Winston University, this cool bonus feature allows viewers to meet the talented newcomers to Season Nine, along with insights from Show Creator Bill Lawrence, and veteran actors Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke.
Live From The Golf Cart
Sadly we don’t get a season-wide commentary list this time around, but the few featurettes we do get are worth checking out if you’re a fan of the show (notably this final season). It’s not a huge list, but it’s decent enough to check out.
Overall a Recommended set to round out your collection.
Scrubs: The Complete Ninth and Final Season arrives on DVD on September 28th.