Episode Rankings: Scrubs

Scrubs is definitely a must-see sitcom, and one of the best dramedies ever put on TV. It mixes surreal humor, realistic hospital drama, cutaway gags, introspective ruminations on life, likable characters, and crazy structural experiments, all the while being impressively consistent throughout its runtime. It even ends on a great note, not at all sullied by a hypothetical ninth season that focuses on an entirely different case, because that wouldn't happen, right? ...right? Anyway, here's my ranking of its episodes:

1. My Lunch (S5.20)
2. My Screwup (S3.14)
3. My Finale: Part 1 (S8.18)
4. My Butterfly (S3.16)
5. My Fallen Idol (S5.21)
6. My Changing Ways (S4.25)
7. My Musical (S6.06)
8. My Old Lady (S1.04)
9. My Bright Idea (S5.16)
10. My Cake (S4.06)
11. My Finale: Part 2 (S8.18)
12. My Last Day (S1.24)
13. My Happy Place (S8.04)
14. My Life In Four Cameras (S4.17)
15. My Way Home (S5.07)
16. His Story (S2.15)
17. My Occurrence (S1.22)
18. My Last Words (S8.02)
19. My Five Stages (S5.13)
20. My Dream Job (S2.22)
21. My Dumb Luck (S7.10)
22. My Catalyst (S3.12)
23. My Point Of No Return (S6.22)
24. My Half-Acre (S5.09)
25. My Long Goodbye (S6.15)
26. My Fifteen Seconds (S3.07)
27. My Big Bird (S5.08)
28. My Unicorn (S4.11)
29. My Chief Concern (S8.17)
30. My Overkill (S2.01)
31. My Cabbage (S5.12)
32. My Hero (S1.23)
33. My Tormented Mentor (S3.15)
34. My Roommates (S4.18)
35. My Best Friend's Wedding (S3.22)
36. My Cold Shower (S6.19)
37. My Transition (S5.24)
38. My New Role (S8.07)
39. My Old Friend's New Friend (S4.01)
40. My Fruit Cups (S2.08)
41. My Jiggly Ball (S5.05)
42. My No Good Reason (S6.14)
43. My Best Moment (S4.12)
44. His Story III (S5.19)
45. My Bed Banter & Beyond (S1.15)
46. My Rabbit (S6.21)
47. My Last Chance (S4.08)
48. My Deja Vu, My Deja Vu (S5.22)
49. Their Story (S6.17)
50. My Intern's Eyes (S5.01)
51. My Porcelain God (S3.13)
52. My Super Ego (S1.07)
53. My Words Of Wisdom (S6.16)
54. Her Story (S4.05)
55. My Jerks (S8.01)
56. My Best Friend's Baby's Baby And My Baby's Baby (S6.02)
57. My Philosophy (S2.13)
58. His Story IV (S6.07)
59. My Own Worst Enemy (S7.01)
60. My Soul On Fire: Part 2 (S8.15)
61. Her Story II (S5.10)
62. My Absence (S8.09)
63. My Own American Girl (S3.01)
64. My Best Laid Plans (S4.19)
65. My Urologist (S5.23)
66. My Drug Buddy (S1.14)
67. My Fault (S3.20)
68. My Office (S4.02)
69. My Brother, Where Art Thou? (S3.05)
70. My Sex Buddy (S2.11)
71. My Number One Doctor (S7.06)
72. My Kingdom (S2.19)
73. My Big Move (S4.22)
74. My Cuz (S8.16)
75. My Extra Mile (S5.15)
76. His Story II (S3.18)
77. My Waste Of Time (S7.10)
78. My Lawyer's In Love (S8.08)
79. My House (S6.04)
80. My Common Enemy (S4.07)
81. My Nightingale (S2.02)
82. My Karma (S2.16)
83. My Full Moon (S8.13)
84. My Chopped Liver (S5.17)
85. My Road To Nowhere (S6.08)
86. My Hypocritical Oath (S4.15)
87. My Cookie Pants (S8.06)
88. My Rite Of Passage (S5.02)
89. My Heavy Meddle (S1.16)
90. My Lucky Night (S3.04)
91. My Journey (S3.02)
92. My Mirror Image (S6.01)
93. My Drama Queen (S2.21)
94. My First Step (S2.07)
95. My Female Trouble (S4.10)
96. My Hard Labor (S7.02)
97. My Self-Examination (S3.21)
98. My Own Personal Jesus (S1.11)
99. My Missed Perception (S5.06)
100. My Dirty Secret (S3.09)
101. My Brother, My Keeper (S2.14)
102. My Faith In Humanity (S4.23)
103. Their Story II (S8.12)
104. My Advice To You (S3.06)
105. My Coffee (S6.03)
106. My First Kill (S4.04)
107. My Best Friend's Mistake (S1.03)
108. My Choosiest Choice Of All (S3.19)
109. My New Suit (S5.18)
110. My Turf War (S6.18)
111. My New Coat (S2.05)
112. My Quarantine (S4.16)
113. My Soul On Fire: Part 1 (S8.14)
114. My New Old Friend (S2.12)
115. My Day At The Race (S5.03)
116. My Big Mouth (S2.04)
117. My Saving Grace (S8.03)
118. My Therapeutic Month (S6.10)
119. My Lips Are Sealed (S4.21)
120. My Old Man (S1.19)
121. My Interpretation (S2.20)
122. My Malpractice Decision (S4.09)
123. My Student (S1.17)
124. My Lucky Day (S2.09)
125. My ABCs (S8.05)
126. My Conventional Wisdom (S6.20)
127. My Drive By (S4.24)
128. My Manhood (S7.08)
129. My Rule Of Thumb (S3.10)
130. My Lucky Charm (S4.14)
131. My Two Dads (S1.05)
132. My New Game (S4.03)
133. My Monster (S2.10)
134. My Friend The Doctor (S3.08)
135. My Nickname (S1.10)
136. My Comedy Show (S8.10)
137. My Friend With Money (S6.05)
138. My Own Private Practice Guy (S2.17)
139. My Mentor (S1.02)
140. My Identity Crisis (S7.04)
141. My Moment Of Un-Truth (S3.17)
142. My Buddy's Booty (S5.11)
143. My Boss's Free Haircut (S4.20)
144. My Perspective (S6.09)
145. My Fifteen Minutes (S1.08)
146. My Case Study (S2.03)
147. My Way Or The Highway (S1.20)
148. My First Day (S1.01)
149. My White Whale (S3.03)
150. My Own Personal Hell (S5.14)
151. My Balancing Act (S1.13)
152. My Clean Break (S3.11)
153. My Big Brother (S2.06)
154. My Tuscaloosa Heart (S1.18)
155. My Fishbowl (S6.12)
156. My Bad (S1.06)
157. My Nah Nah Nah (S8.11)
158. My TCW (S2.18)
159. My Growing Pains (S7.05)
160. My New God (S5.05)
161. My Blind Date (S1.12)
162. My Ocardial Infraction (S4.13)
163. My Sacrificial Lamb (S1.21)
164. My Scrubs (S6.13)
165. My Bad Too (S7.07)
166. My Day Off (S1.09)
167. My Inconvenient Truth (S7.03)
168. My Princess (S7.11)
169. My Night To Remember (S6.11)

Scrubs (Season 8)

With Seasons 6 & 7 marking a dip in quality, I think this was the perfect time for Scrubs to end on a high note. Thankfully, the crew put their a-game into this final season, making for the best one since Season 5.

Season 8 spends its time dealing with tying up the loose ends of Season 7 and bringing the characters to their natural conclusions to end the series off in a satisfying way. I actually really like the first few episodes of Season 8, they kind of feel like the ending Season 7 should've had, between the great storyline about the new Chief Of Medicine and JD and Elliot finally getting together. I also really happen to like "retired Kelso", as he spends much of this season hanging around the hospital, and his mellowed-out nature is just so fun to watch. The rest of the season is spent giving all the characters satisfying endings, like JD moving away, Kelso realizing he misses be a doctor, Turk becoming Chief Of Surgery, and Janitor getting married. It's all great stuff. The only thing I don't find all that great about this season plot-wise is the new interns, who I find to be mostly dull and forgettable, especially compared to the ones who were introduced in Season 5.

While they had their dark moments (especially Season 5), I feel like Scrubs had kind of dialed it back on the introspection and bittersweet-ness over the past few seasons, especially the mostly goofy and light-hearted Season 7. The characters spend their time contemplating whether they're truly happy with the lives they lead right now, which is perfectly fitting for a final season. However, one aspect about Season 8's episodes that I'm really mixed about is how many of them only focus on a few characters, most likely due to the budget cuts the show suffered during the making of this season. On one hand, it allows for some pretty unique episodes like My Absence, My Happy Place, and My Last Words, which go for a more small-scale approach to great effect. However, we end up getting this stretch in the middle of episodes that only use a few characters at a time and it makes the hospital feel oddly empty. Sometimes it's justified, My Last Words takes place at night after all, but other times it just feels wrong.

Highlights:

My Last Words: It's been a while since we had an episode like My Last Words, one where a character gets attached to a patient who ends up dying at the end. It's as sad as any other of those kinds of Scrubs episodes, but what makes My Last Words hit especially hard is how personal and small-scale it is. Most of the episode is just JD, Turk, and the patient George chatting away, eventually delving into a really thought-provoking and mature discussion about their fear of dying. It's also not very shocking, we know George is going to die from the start, to it gives the episode this bittersweet feel where we're happy that George has people to comfort him in JD and Turk, but we also know that he could pass away at any moment.

My Happy Place: So whenever a will-they-won't-they relationship finally gets together, it's this big event that usually happens at the end or midpoint of a season in the most bombastic way possible. But JD and Elliot getting together isn't bombastic at all, as a matter of fact it's kind of boring. They spend all of My Happy Place just talking it out, discussing their relationship, their fears, and whether or not they should be together. When JD and Elliot get together, it's after a long stretch of healthy communication and discussion, and that's a massive breath of fresh air given how carelessly their relationship was treated in previous seasons.

My Chief Concern: This was a great penultimate episode for Scrubs, as the cast has to deal with JD's massive decision to leave Sacred Heart and move away. It has a great sense of finality to it and really makes it clear that the show is coming to an end.

My Finale: This is just a really solid and heartwarming series finale, everything you'd really want from the end of a sitcom. JD trying to get a goodbye with every single character leads to a series of heartwarming moments that utilizes the whole cast, but the highlight is definitely Dr Cox secretly admitting that JD is a great doctor and his friend. However, my only gripe with the episode is that vision scene at the end, which is heartwarming but went on a bit too long for my tastes.

Overall, while it suffers from budget cuts and the introduction of a few dull characters, Season 8 is otherwise a fantastic and bittersweet final season that really delves into the main cast to get each and every single character the end they deserve.

4/5 Stars

My ranking of the Scrubs seasons is:

5 > 3 > 8 > 4 > 2 > 6 > 1 > 7

My ranking of the Scrubs finales is:

8 > 4 > 1 > 2 > 6 > 3 > 5 > 7

Favorite Episode: My Lunch

What? Were you expecting me to bring up Season 9? I don't know what you're talking about, Scrubs doesn't have a ninth season.

Scrubs (Season 7)

Because of the writer's strike, Season 7 of Scrubs was cut short. This happened to several shows and while I think series like The Office and 30 Rock adjusted well enough, this strike was a pretty huge blow to Scrubs and made for the weakest season of the show, easily.

Due to its short length, Season 7 doesn't have too much in the way of plot. The season starts with Elliot and JD both breaking up with their respective love interests, and shifts to focusing on them rebuilding their relationship so that they can finally get back together. However, as mentioned above, this season got cut short, so all the Elliot and JD buildup didn't actually end up paying off until Season 8. The other big plot point in Season 7 is Kelso retiring, which is easily the best part of the season and leads to some pretty solid and emotional final few episodes. But the season being lacking in terms of plot isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as its funny, since the comedy and standalones were what saves Season 6 for me. Unfortunately, even the comedy and writing in Season 7 has felt a bit weaker than how it usually was, not only lacking in creativity but just not landing their jokes as well, most likely due to the show just starting to overstay its welcome. The drama is also a lot less effective, not to mention prevalant, as Season 7 focuses a lot more on cartoonish humor than grounded pathos.

But the writing being weaker than usual isn't what really made this my least favorite season, it's the way they decided to end it after the strike. Because My Dumb Luck, which had Kelso retire, could have worked as a great impromptu season finale. The following episode, My Waste Of Time, could have been a solid denouement that sets the stage for Season 8. But instead, we got My Princess, an awful fairy tale parody that isn't just the worst Scrubs finale by far, it's also easily the weakest episode of the series. What's worse is the fact that it had a smaller production code than a few other Season 7 episodes (not to mention Kelso's still around), so the executives purposefully moved My Princess to the end of the season. This wasn't an accident caused by the Writer's Strike, that I could forgive, they made a conscious decision to end Season 7 (and at the time what was assumed to be Scrubs as a whole) with the worst episode of the show. This whole situation really frustrates me and ultimately causes me to not look back on Season 7 all that fondly, even with its good episodes. 

Highlights:

My Own Worst Enemy: Believe it or not, I actually really liked the way Season 6's cliffhanger was resolved. I do think the cliffhanger itself was a bit cheap, but I thought it was really cool that JD and Elliot used their almost kiss to really reevaluate things about themselves and their love interests. Granted, JD doesn't break up with Kim for another episode but Elliot breaking things off with Keith after being together for so long is huge!

My Dumb Luck: As mentioned above, Kelso's retirement is hands down the best episode of the season. Even with how much of a jerk the guy is, it's pretty sad to see him go (until you realize that "retired Kelso" is one of the best things about Season 8 but more on that later). But I also think it's worth mentioning that this episode has my favorite cutaway gag in the series: The Love Train scene. If you've seen the episode, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Overall, Season 7 is not a great season, and suffered pretty heavily from the Writer's Strike. It has its really good moments, particularly when the plot is involved, but the writing is weaker, the season's big storyline didn't get a proper resolution, and the season finale was downright awful.

2/5 Stars

Scrubs (Season 6)

As I mentioned before, Seasons 3-5 are the peak of Scrubs for me. I don't hate Season 6, but it is definitely one of the show's weaker seasons and has some very glaring plot issues that hold it back.

I've heard people say that sitcoms start to run out of ideas when a character becomes pregnant. I'm not entirely sure if that's accurate, but if it is, then Season 6 of Scrubs is a damn good piece of evidence. This season starts with Carla, Jordan, and Kim all pregnant, and it feels strangely repetitious. Like there's not really much you can do to change up a pregnancy plotline, so it just felt like I was watching the same show three times at different points in the story. Thankfully, there are other storylines in Season 6, even if they're also pretty hit-or-miss as well. I liked Kim well enough in Season 5, but leaving the show after lying to JD about a miscarriage only to come back in the last few episodes made me really hate the character. Elliot and Keith's relationship woes fared a lot better, as they spend the season preparing for a wedding that the former is slowly feeling less and less enthused about. It's really the only storyline I don't have any qualms with, since otherwise, Season 6 is just really frustrating on a plot level.

Thankfully, while Season 6's plot is a bit of a mess, it still manages to shine through its standalone episodes, both comedic and dramatic. On a purely dialogue and episodic level, Seaosn 6 is really still as good as any other season of Scrubs. It's not as bonkers in its experimentation as Season 5 (though nothing is), but we still have plenty of classics like the first Story episode about multiple people, a musical episode, and an episode using a cold shower to delve into the cast's inner conflicts. And while most of the plot doesn't work too well, a huge plot point that does land for me is the first and only death of a major recurring character, showing that Scrubs can still nail the dramatic moments even in its sixth season. As a whole, I still think this season is really consistent, with the only downright weak episode for me being the clip show. Even if I'm not a fan of what's going on in the story, the comedy is generally still pretty good.

Highlights:

My Musical: Musical episodes are usually hit or miss, in that they're either really good (Buffy) or really bad (Riverdale). Thankfully, Scrubs's musical episode is actually an absolute blast, and nails everything a good musical episode should. All of the songs are entirely original and very well-written, the cast's singing is pretty solid and never heavily autotuned, and we get one of Scrubs's token gut punches as we learn why the episode is a musical. "The Rant Song" and "Guy Love" are bangers.

My No Good Reason/My Long Goodbye: Laverne's death is easily one of the worst in the series entirely because we've known her for the first five and a half seasons of the show, but what really made these two episodes for me is Carla's struggle to say goodbye, elevated by Judy Reyes's tour de force performance. Oh yeah, and Jordan gives birth, I keep forgetting about that for some reason.

My Point Of No Return: While not the best finale of Scrubs, My Point Of No Return is definitely one of the most memorable for its shamelessly cruel (if a bit too cruel) cliffhanger where the season ends with JD and Elliot in an almost kiss. But I think the real meat of this episode is JD and Elliot unsure about the relationships they're in, a plot point that gets built on to great effect in the following season. It's the moment where the show starts to really treat JD and Elliot's relationship with the seriousness it deserves.

Overall, I'm pretty mixed on Season 6. It has a pretty consistently solid lineup of episodes with just as strong writing and humor as the last few seasons, but the overarching story just doesn't land for me a lot of the time, mostly coming off as either repetitious or downright frustrating.

3/5 Stars

Scrubs (Season 5)

Season 5 of Scrubs is phenomenal. I like this show, but Season 5 is far and away the best season. It's not just consistent, it's consistently fantastic, nearly every episode is experimental, and the balance between uproarious comedy and crushing dramatic is at its absolute best.

The start of Season 5 feels like a pretty big turning point in the series, as after being interns/residents for the last four seasons, JD, Turk, and Elliot are finally proper doctors. This means that there's now an entirely new lineup of interns joining Sacred Heart, and JD, Turk, and Elliot are the ones who are going to have to coach them. This also means that JD and Dr Cox are now essentially equals in terms of their jobs, which adds a new wrinkle to their dynamic as it transforms from a mentorship to a partnership. I think these changes was a breath of fresh air for the series and despite how disastrously introducing a new lineup of characters can go, I found myself liking most of the interns well enough, and they never stole screentime away from the main cast we know and love. There are also a bunch of solid subplots this season, particularly Elliot and JD both entering genuinely long-lasting relationships with intern Keith and urologist Kim (exactly what I wanted out of Season 4) and Turk and Carla trying for a kid which remains the best baby-related subplot in the series. My only... and I mean only... gripe with Season 5 is the finale, which isn't bad on its own but two of its big twists end up reflecting negatively on the season that comes afterwards.

I can't even begin to express just how amazing Season 5's lineup of episodes is. The crew came up with so many amazing and fun experimental episodes, way more than even in the last two seasons, such as a premiere that took place from the perspective of an intern, an episode that reused the script from the pilot, a Rashomon episode, a Dr Kelso character study, multiple Story episodes, and a Wizard Of Oz homage. The sheer variety on show here makes for easily the funniest season of Scrubs, as the show also amped up the surrealism and goofiness to great results. However, Season 5 is also probably the darkest season of Scrubs, as it contains two different two-parter episodes (so four episodes in total) that rival My Old Lady and My Screwup in sheer gut-punchiness. One of these episodes in particular is my absolute favorite in the series, and really pushes the bar in how emotionally gutting a sitcom episode can be. Season 5 really is the peak of Scrubs and everything I love about the show, and the way it balances absurdity with heart-wrenching drama is unrivaled by any other show outside of probably Bojack Horseman.

Highlights:

My Way Home: I love seeing what a show decides to do for their 100th episode, but Scrubs going for a Wizard Of Oz homage was definitely an... interesting choice. Thankfully, while this episode could have come off as really corny (like a certain other homage episode in a later season), My Way Home is actually one of the most heartwarming and fun episodes in the series. The episode packs in many sly references to the source material without feeling over-bearing about it, culminating in one of the show's best musical montages set to Sam Lloyd singing Over The Rainbow. And with all that, My Way Home still manages to feature the whole cast and reflect on how much they've grown, just like a good 100th episode should do.

My Big Bird: I love Rashomon homages so much, it's such a simple but reliably great premise to pull off, and given Scrubs's penchant for cutaway gags, I think the structure fits the show pretty much perfectly. It's another great example of a Scrubs episode that starts off funny as we learn what JD, Elliot, Turk, and Carla were doing when a patient died, only for it to really hit you that they might've just caused a patient to die. 

My Half Acre: Just to clarify, the first three episodes in this highlight section came out back to back to back, that's three fantastic episodes in a row! My Half Acre isn't super gimmicky or emotional or anything, it's just really solid and fun. Julie is one of the funniest JD love interests in the series, a clumsy female version of him who he eventually buys a half-acre block with. But the real highlight here is Turk joining the Cool Cats (and unintentionally creating the Fortnite default dance), leading to another one of my favorite musical montages, this time set to More Than A Feeling.

My Cabbage/My Five Stages: This is the first of the two big dramatic two-parters, and is another episode that's really funny until it's not. JD picking favorites between the interns is My Cabbage leads to a lot of great gags, at least until the titular intern gets fired and infects a patient with a disease. Cue another great episode about dealing with the five stages of grief, I'm surprised it took so long.

My Bright Idea: No one talks about My Bright Idea which is a shame because I think it's one of Scrubs' most effective episodes. It basically plays out as a farce where the cast learns Carla is pregnant before she does so they have to pretend they don't know so she can surprise them. It's like the The One Where Everybody Finds Out of Scrubs, complete with the same heart-warming ending once all the secrets are out.

My Lunch/My Fallen Idol: My Lunch is my favorite episode of Scrubs, it just encapsulates the show perfectly. Jill Tracy returning and the subplot of Todd possibly being gay may have you believe this going to be another comedy-focused episode, until a series of disaster dominoes leaves Dr Cox unable to save three separate patients in hands down the most heartwrenching moment in the series, made even worse by the fact that it's scored to How To Save A Life. It's hard to see Dr Cox break down to this degree, and his subsequent spiral in My Fallen Idol is just as rough.

Overall, Season 5 is the best season of Scrubs by a mile. It changes up the status quo just enough to keep the series and its character dynamics fresh, it brings so much variety to the table with its experimental episodes, it amps up the comedy to ridiculous degrees, it boasts some of the darkest episodes in the series, and it manages to do all that while remaining consistently great.

5/5 Stars

Scrubs (Season 4)

Coming after the massive improvement that was Season 3, Season 4 of Scrubs is another pretty good season of the show. It doesn't reach the same heights, but it makes up for that in sheer consistency. 

Unlike its predecessor, this season of Scrubs doesn't go for an overarching story arc, and instead focuses on evolving the character dynamics and changing up the status quo a bit. JD and Elliot are still reeling from their disastrous attempt at getting together last season and both end up getting back in the dating scene, Turk and Carla deal with married life, and Dr Cox and Jordan continue to revive their relationship. It's all solid character progression that feels natural, unlike the aforementioned JD/Elliot disaster. The plot point I tend to remember the most from Season 4 is always JD's relationship with Molly Clock, who is probably my favorite non-Elliot love interests of his. Their dynamic just felt really wholesome and healthy, and I kinda would've liked to see more of them together before Clock left the show a third in. His second girlfriend Kylie was pretty enjoyable too, but I would've preferred the series just focus on developing a single love interest. The other big plot point for Season 4 is the conflict between JD and Turk, since the latter being married means they can't really be roommates anymore. There's a great feeling of tension throughout the season, as it slowly becomes increasingly clear that JD is going to have to move out and it's only a matter of time until that happens (though quite predictably, it happens in the finale).

As for the episodic stuff, Season 4 of Scrubs mostly just keeps doing what the previous season did so well, albeit slightly more consistently. I mentioned that Season 3's second half was fantastic, but aside from a few episodes, I actually thought its first half wasn't anything too special. Season 4, on the other hand, starts off with one of the show's best premieres and ends with one of the show's best season finales, rarely hitting a lull or dipping in quality. The same sense of experimentation also applies here, with the typically great guest star appearances, a really cool multi-camera sitcom parody, the closest thing the show has to an action movie, a bottle episode, and another Story episode. However, despite mostly keeping the same level of quality as Season 3, I found that this season just didn't reach the same high points for me, especially in terms of emotional punch. Granted, it would be hard to top My Screwup and My Butterfly, but I'll be honest and say that this season's big emotional episode, My Cake, wasn't quite as much of a gut punch (though that's entirely intentional).

For my last segue ever, take a look at some of these highlights:

My Cake: My Cake deals with the real-life passing of John Ritter, who played JD's dad, and yet it takes a different route than most of Scrubs's emotional episodes. It's not meant to leave you gutted, it's meant to be a lot more cathartic, with JD having a full-on support group to help him deal with his dad's death. Even if My Cake is sad, it's also really heartwarming to see Dr Cox drop everything to be supportive to JD, and paralleling that, Carla's uncharacteristically calm reaction to learning Turk has diabetes is also just really sweet. I think this episode's calming, mature, and at times light-hearted tone was intended to soften the blow of Ritter's death for the audience, and I'm sure it did a great job at it too.

My Unicorn: I'll be honest, I just really liked this one because Matthew Perry is in it, and he just goes full-on Chandler for the whole episode. Scrubs tends to use its guest stars really well, though while Brendan Frasier and Matthew J Fox had more dramatic roles, Perry got to really show off his comedy chops and it was a joy to watch.

My Life In Four Cameras: Similarly to My Butterfly, this was the genius high-concept episode of Season 4 that also happened to end with an unexpected punch to the gut. With things not going too well for pretty much the whole cast, My Life In Four Cameras has JD imagine a sitcom version of Sacred Heart where nothing goes wrong, everything is brighter and realistic, and a laugh track plays. The crew does a great job at mimicking traditional sitcoms like that, to the point where the show snapping back to reality where nothing's really been fixed feels all the more shocking and jarring.

My Roommates: My Roommates is simultaneously one of the funniest episodes of the season and one of the most important. JD finally gets kicked out of the house by Carla and Turk, and watching him bounce around all of his friends' houses is a ton of fun. JD comes back, of course, but this episode makes it clear that he's going to have to move out for real at some point, and when he does, Turk and Carla are going to need to figure out how to live together.

My Changing Ways: Excluding the actual series finale, this is my favorite finale of Scrubs. It's not as shocking as My Last Day, I don't think anything else will be, but it utilizes the whole cast and changes the status quo super dramatically for pretty much everyone. Similarly to My Last Day, this episodes marks the end of the cast being residents, and thus feels like the end of an era. Elliot is heading off to another hospital, JD is moving out, Turk and Carla are planning to have a kid, Jordan gets a job at Sacred Heart, if it weren't for JD not getting the happiest ending, this actually could have been a solid series finale.

Overall, Season 4 is just another really good season of Scrubs. It doesn't reach the emotional highs of the season before it (spoiler: or the season after it), but it's consistently strong, develops the characters, and doesn't have any stupid plot points like the last season did.

4/5 Stars

Scrubs (Season 3)

Seasons 3-5 are the peak of Scrubs, in my opinion. They're the show at its most creative, consistently funny, and emotionally effective. While Season 3 is slightly held back by an ill-conceived plot point near the end, it still stands out as a far better season than the first two.

Compared to the first two seasons, Season 3 actually has a few defined story arcs, with one focusing on JD and Elliot, and the other focusing on Turk. JD and Elliot's typical will-they-won't-they relationship really comes to a head this season, as they both end up getting other love interests only to still be drawn towards each other by the end of the season. Not to mention their own storylines like the further development of JD and Cox's relationship and Elliot becoming more assertive, it all weaves together as a fantastic build-up to the two getting together. However, I can't really say this season nails the payoff. The only thing I don't like about Season 3, the one thing preventing me from giving it 5 stars is the fact that the moment JD gets together with Elliot, he suddenly decides he doesn't want to be with her anymore. That's just bad writing no matter how you slice it, I'm sorry. Thankfully, the Turk stuff is a lot better, as the season focuses on him and Carla preparing for their wedding, while he also butts heads with the new attending surgeon. As you'd expect, both of these subplots collide in pretty spectacular fashion in the finale, along with the return of the aforementioned love interests for JD and Elliot just adding to the chaos.

But what really elevates Season 3 above the first two seasons for me is easily the consistent and fantastic level of quality of most of the episodes, especially in the second half. When I said that Scrubs is at its best when it gets experimental, this is exactly the season I was talking about! The imagine spots are more creative, we got episodes that play around with perspective and alternate timelines, we got way more guest stars including a phenomenal performance by Michael J Fox, and an episode entirely revolving around the song Don't Stop Believing (speaking of which, I just need to express how much I love the needle-drops in this show, they're all so good!). It's not just comedy though, the drama has also been heightened, leading to some of the most heartbreaking and serious episodes in the show to date. Season 3 of Scrubs deals with suicide, OCD, and in probably one the most infamously depressing TV episodes of all time, coping with the loss of a dear friend. All of these shifts in tone are so well-executed, and make for just a fantastic run of television.

These segues were always pretty cheesy and awkward, maybe I should stop them. Anyway, here are this season's highlights:

My Fifteen Seconds: Even with its minor subplots, My Fifteen Seconds is mostly focused entirely around JD and Dr Cox, and all of their banter throughout the episode is great (that Whack-a-Newbie gag lives in my head rent free). However, while it starts off as one of the funniest episodes, My Fifteen Seconds quickly becomes one of the saddest when they learn recurring character Jill Tracy tried to poison herself. The overarching theme about them not getting to spend enough time with their patients makes this moment all the more poignant.

My Catalyst: Television has never been the best at depicting OCD, most shows never really take the disorder all that seriously. It's not just germophobia, and it's also not as simple as just wanting to sit at the same spot on the couch (looking at you, Sheldon), it can be really serious and downright crippling for some people. Scrubs is one of the few shows to actually depict it accurately, and Michael J Fox's performance as the OCD-striken Dr Casey is absolutely phenomenal. I may not have OCD myself, but I felt Casey's pain in that final scene.

My Screwup: What can I say about this episode that hasn't already been said? Brendan Frasier's amazing and genuine performance as Ben, the genius red herrings and foreshadowings building up to that final twist, the fact that the episode still manages to be funny in spite of its dark subject matter, the sheer gut-punchiness of "Where do you think we are?" no matter how many times you've seen the episode, My Screwup is easily one of the best episodes in Scrubs.

My Tormented Mentor: Similarly to My Hero, this episode deals with the fallout of My Screwup, and it's as sad as you'd expect it to be.

My Butterfly: Alternate timeline episode! My Butterfly deals with the concept of the butterfly effect in the most literal fashion possible. After a butterfly causes everyone's days to go horribly, JD wonders what would've happened if it landed somewhere else. It's a very funny and clever episode as it plays around with the differences between both of those timelines, but also manages to get in a great gut punch as we learn a patient dies in both timelines. But then, in case I didn't love this episode enough, we get an ambiguous ending where we don't know which of the timelines is real. Peak television right here.

Overall, Season 3 of Scrubs is great! Aside from one really stupid plot decision, this is the most focused season so far in terms of plot, and almost all of the episodes are consistently creative and well-written, regardless if they make you cry from laughing or from crying.

4/5 Stars

Scrubs (Season 2)

Scrubs continues its solid trajectory with yet another solid second season. This still isn't one of the best seasons of Scrubs, it's mostly more of the same as Season 1, but it does improve on several elements and takes the sitcom in some interesting new directions.

As mentioned in my last review, it's hard to really pin down what any given season of Scrubs is about. However, I think as a whole, Season 2 of Scrubs feels like it's about the novelty of being a doctor slowly going away for JD, Turk, and Elliot. And it's not even about all the deaths, which they've seen plenty of at this point, it's all the boring stuff like monetary issues, monotony, family struggles, and generally just being an adult. Despite what my use of the term "boring" may have you believe, however, I think this is a really novel and cool direction to take the show. The ex-interns are still pretty young adults, so I like that Scrubs puts a bit of focus on them adjusting to adulthood. However, I actually wish this storyline was given even more of a focus rather than just being a running theme in the background of the season. Thankfully, there are a bunch of great subplots to add a bit of much-needed serialization, between Elliot's difficulty with her father, Jordan having a kid, and Turk trying to propose to Carla.

Compared to most seasons of Scrubs, Season 2 doesn't really have all that many straight-up dramatic episodes, at least in the way that you might be used to seeing from the show. Not to say there aren't deaths this season, but they're not as crushing as the ones in Season 1. Thankfully, Season 2 makes up for all that by focusing a lot more on the comedy, which has generally improved since the first season. It also helps that the cast has gotten a lot more comfortable with each other since the start of Season 1, as is usually the case for a long-running sitcom like this. However, my complaints about the show not being all that inventive with its storylines still mostly applies. There is one really cool episode that shifts perspective to Dr Cox, which I'll definitely be talking about in greater detail later, but otherwise, Scrubs doesn't really start to play around with structure until Season 3. It may seem odd that I'm harping on this so much if you haven't seen the show, but trust me, Scrubs is always at its best when it experiments.

I'm running out of ideas for segues, here are the highlights:

My Overkill: Coming after Season 1's cliffhanger, My Overkill mostly serves to clean up the mess that Jordan caused by revealing everyone's secrets, and it makes for a fantastic premiere. There's a nice blend of comedy and drama here, and it believably ties up loose ends while maintaining the feeling that things have been irrevocably changed. I feel like I have to watch My Overkill every time I see My Last Day, it works that well as a followup.

My Fruit Cups: Change. That's it, that's the episode. Jordan reveals she's pregnant, Dr Cox gets back together with her, Elliot gets cut off from her father, and Turk decides he wants to propose to Carla, all in the course of a single episode, and that's not even counting the financial issues the residents all have to deal with. It's a messy but memorable turning point in the season that pretty much sums up what it's all about.

His Story: This is the start of Scrubs's once-or-twice-per-season trend of having an episode focused on and narrated by someone other than JD, and are usually called "His/Her/Their Story" episodes. It's an awesome concept and leads to a lot of great episodes, but it's the first one, which focuses on Dr Cox, that remains my favorite. It uses its premise for a bunch of great comedy while also delving deep into easily the best character of the series, revealing a hidden caring side to the outwardly abrasive doctor.

My Dream Job: My Dream Job is such an interesting case, because it should feel like a disappointment coming after My Last Day's ridiculous cliffhanger. It's low-key and introspective and, aside from one punch, pretty uneventful. However, it's also one of my most-watched Scrubs episodes to date and one of my favorite finales of the show, so what gives? I think it's because of the low-key and mature nature of this episode, all the characters reflect on something here, from Turk and JD's disillusionment with their jobs to Cox dealing with being a father. And all that reflection culminates in one phenomenal moment of catharsis to end off the episode... which also happens to be a pretty sick cliffhanger in and of itself.

Overall, Season 2 is another pretty good season of Scrubs, even if it's still not the series at its best. It's funnier than Season 1, and the way it tackles adulthood is pretty neat, but otherwise Scrubs just hasn't been giving it its all yet.

3/5 Stars

Scrubs (Season 1)

Scrubs is a great sitcom, and probably a perfect dramedy. It's simultaneously a surreal comedy with ridiculous cutaway gugs and a surprisingly realistic and at times heartbreaking depiction of being a doctor. It's a really consistent show too, to the point where it's a bit tough to differentiate each of the different seasons, though that won't stop me from trying to do the series in as much justice as I can.

Scrubs is a show about a group of interns starting their jobs at Sacred Heart Hospital, and eventually becoming full-on doctors as the series goes on. JD is the main character here, he narrates every episode, and his friendship with fellow intern Turk, unlikely mentorship with the abrasive Dr Cox, rivalry with teh hospital janitor, and romantic subplot with another intern named Elliot form some of the central character dynamics in Scrubs. I wouldn't say JD is one of my favorite characters, but he does have a great arc about slowly losing his naivety as the series goes on. Outside of all that set-up, Season 1 (and the series as a whole) is fairly episodic, though it does have a bit of a running theme about the workers keeping secrets from each other. Cox develops a crush on Turk's girlfriend Carla, JD has his crush on Elliot, the evil Dr Kelso lies about giving Cox a promotion, and JD sleeps with Cox's ex-wife. This whole secrets storyline does feel a bit aimless for most of the season since it isn't quite clear where it's all going, but man does it all lead to an absolutely magnificent payoff.

Scrubs is a show of two parts, the surreal comedy and the heartwrenching hospital drama. Since JD is narrating the whole show, we get a lot of great imagine spots that make up some of the funniest moments of the season, since they let the actors go wild and play completely opposite their character. But even in real life, Sacred Heart has plenty of gloriously weird elements like the aforementioned Janitor that gives Scrubs an almost parodical vibe... but it's not a parody. Because Scrubs is still a show about a hospital, and sometimes people just don't make it. Scrubs could've just not had anyone die and focus on the comedy and romance, but I think its willingness to be frank with the audience is one of its greatest strengths. It's always heartbreaking whenever a patient doesn't make it, especially if it's a character we get to know, but it's never done out of shock value and always has a lasting impact on the leads. It also helps that apparently Scrubs is surprisingly realistic, even moreso than the hospital show Grey's Anatomy. I'm not a doctor and I haven't seen Grey's Anatomy, but if Scrubs is as realistic as people say, that only makes the series better in my book. However, being the first season of a sitcom, Scrubs does have a few growing pains since it does have to establish all of the characters and get into the swing of things. Despite having its high points, the surreal humor doesn't land quite as often as in later seasons, and the storylines aren't quite as creative as they would eventually become. JD's narration has the potential to really play with the structure of any given episode, but outside of two notable instances, this rarely happens in Season 1. 

While not one of the best seasons of Scrubs, Season 1 does have its high points, one of which being impressively early on in the show's run:

My Old Lady: This is the episode that proved to everyone just how good Scrubs's dramatic chops were. The beginning narration of My Old Lady establishes that one in three patients die, implying that one of the cast's three patients is going to die, instantly giving the episode a sense of tension, especially as we get to know all of the said patients. But then they all die. It's a shocking and gut-wrenching twist that proves Scrubs won't pull its punches, as well as showing that JD's narration can be misleading or unreliable.

My Occurrence: Speaking of JD's narration and imagination being misleading or unreliable, My Occurrence has the crushing reveal that he was just trying to imagine away the leukemia of one of Cox's best friends Ben Sullivan. It's another fantastic twist, but one that wouldn't work nearly as effectively if Brendan Fraser's performance as Ben wasn't so effortless charming and lovable. That man is an absolute treasure and he improves every episode he's in. 

My Hero: My Hero is simply the follow up to Mr Occurrence, and while not quite as shocking, is no less emotional. Focusing on Dr Cox dealing with Ben having to take chemotherapy, this episode falls in line with one of my favorite types of episodes: Characters dealing with the prospect of death. It's not super funny, but My Hero is very deep and mature for a sitcom episode, and it thankfully ends on a pretty happy note (for now). And once again, Brendan Fraser is a treasure.

My Last Day: My Last Day is mostly a pretty satisfying finale, with the interns having their last day as interns and pulling off an incredibly clever plan to save a patient. There's a great sense of finality to the whole episode, to the point where it could have been a series finale... at least until Jordan comes into the scene at the very end and reveals everyone's secrets in one of the most explosive moments in sitcom history. Still one of my favorite cliffhangers ever, such a ridiculously ballsy move.

Overall, Season 1 of Scrubs is a solid start for a great series. While it has its growing pains and its main storyline doesn't really click until the final episode, the surreal comedy, great hospital drama, and lovable cast of characters that the series is known for are all established right from the very beginning.

3/5 Stars