How The Scrubs Spinoff Failed In A Single Strange Season
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.พ. 2022
- Scrubs will always be remembered as one of the best sitcoms of all time. The timeless cast and emotional storytelling created a truly unique half hour comedy. But the legacy of Scrubs took a major hit when ABC decided they wanted to extend the life of the show and try a soft reboot with Scrubs: Med School. Which after a near perfect Season 8 Finale, would ultimately be the shows downfall.
#Scrubs #FinalSeason #Nerdstalgic
Written by Dave Baker
Edited by Dan Smiley - บันเทิง
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I am actually amazed you managed to do a 10 minute presentation about a season that doesn't exist. Outstanding imagination
he did a great job with those scene clips too. the AI of today is amazing
Honestly, to think about it Lucy and Cole is kinda like JD and Turk. Only this time around they are of the opposite gender, so they can actually be together (without having to be gay LOL)
@@erakattack I know, i mean normally hands are messed up but those ones are perfect.
@@peteryang8991it's guy love
lol
I never watched this season. The season 8 finale was perfection. No need in more.
same here
Same. Never watched it.
I randomly saw an episode. Hated it and forgot it existed until now. 😅
You didn't miss anything, it's honestly worth skipping completely.
It’s not a season of scrubs. It was a completely separate spinoff. Network only made it “s9” after it tanked, to be able to sell it in box sets and to streamers. Even the show’s entrance is different with a different title. And yeah i watched it because… it was always meant as a spinoff and i was curious. It’s good if you don’t see it as a part of scrubs.
I think I remember reading an interview with Bill Lawrence at the time where he basically admitted that the only reason why he agreed to do a ninth season was because he didn’t want to leave his cast and crew looking for work in the middle of a recession.
More like the crew since the cast should’ve been really well off by then.
@@sauceguy19 the regular working guys in “the crew” and the actors who get rich are different. Plus, you need a certain amount of work each year to keep your benefits through your respective unions., so it was a big favored both the workers and their families.
@@vysharra they are different. The actors could lose work and not bat an eye the crew though needs it. It does make me mad though cause it's just another sample of the small guys getting screwed
@@tiffanywyatt5137 Yeah the actors by then probably were getting hundreds of thousands an episode and a shit ton of money through syndication. They likely wouldn't care if the show got pulled off air or not at that point.
@@tiffanywyatt5137 exactly. Zach Braff was making $350k per episode
I just treat season 9 as spin off, that way scrubs remain with the perfect finale in my head
It was meant to be one but the network got scared people wouldn't like it and decided to force it to be season nine. Season eight literally ended with "My Finale" as the title for its last episode.
Same, I consider medschool a different show and in that view its actually not to bad. I wouldn't say it was scrubs proper good, but it was enteraining enough, they should have kept it as its own spin off.
It wouldn’t have been so disappointing if they had just called it a spin off
For me, Scrubs ended when J.D. left, that "Book of Love" montage was the perfect note to end the series on, but they chose to needlessly carry on with a final season, just for the money, naturally.
Exactly that!
That literally WAS the end of scrubs. This show was a spinoff.
I don't think I ever watched past that. Either that or season 9 was totally purged from my memory.
There is no season 9 in my eyes
The reason Bill Lawrence actually agreed to do it in the end was to keep all those people involved in Scrubs employed during the looming recession at the time. That doesn't make season 9 better, but it puts its creation into a much more understandable context.
One thing you didn't mention that I feel would change people's opinion on the black mark of the shows underwhelming season 9 is that a big reason why Bill Lawrence agreed to this was to keep a lot of the writers, directors, and staff in general employed during the recession that was happening (or certain to happen) at the time. So does it make the season any better? No. But at least it makes the season 9 attempt seem a bit more noble and forgiving
I was unaware of that context and im a huge scrubs fan! That really speaks to Lawrence's integrity as a person and definitely softens the blow that was that 9th season
Interesting. I did not know that.
I didn't know that either, that's great. Actually when a show gets canceled I always think of the crew and employees. It's an unstable business.
I haven’t seen the season 9 episodes since they first aired and man I forgot how weirdly cheap and artificial the new sets looked 🥴 the lighting and filming in an actual (disused) hospital gave the first run a really natural look which holds up really well
There's not 9 seasons
The original was filmed in a defunct hospital. 3rd floor was the dressing rooms, etc.
9th season was on the Paramount backlot.
@@Subangelis They also changed filming equipment.
Exactly. What like what were they smoking?
One little correction, Eliza Coupe's Dr. Mahoney wasn't a new character. She was introduced as a recurring character in Season 8 (and was the best of the interns introduced that season).
Imo, if they had wanted to carry on with Scrubs post-Braff, it should have been following the season 8 interns (Denise, Sunny, Howie, and Katie) with Coupe as the new main character. The most interesting thing about Season 9 was her.
I agree.
Why not making it simple and go on with the interns which are very interesting characters
It would have also worked better because unlike entirely new characters, we already knew who they were and, at least to some extent, their personalities etc.
Meh, I don't think Denise was good enough to be the main character. Her whole thing is being brutally honest and near completely emotionally void. She was a great foil for the hyper emotionally in touch JD, which is the main reason her character worked. As the lead, she'd be too boring.
@@PumpkinHoard that's actually why I think she'd have made a good main character. As the main character, she is going to show more growth and development than as a side character. And her being outwardly the "emotional void" could actually work well in a show like Scrubs where the main character is narrating the story.
I don't know who these people are who remember Scrubs mostly for that "last season". I remember Scrubs as a core memory of laughter and tears for eight years that was handled brilliantly to the very end. And then there was a season of something else, who cares.
Exactly
The issue really started with NBC not renewing it after season 7, preventing the opportunity for proper closure. When ABC offered to pick up the show for a full season 8, Lawrence took the opportunity to conclude everyone's story to his satisfaction... but the network wanted more out of their investment. Most of those returning did so under contractual obligation and not much else.
I bet if NBC renewed for a season 8, there would actually be more seasons after that. Maybe down the road we'd get a proper closure.
I love scrubs so much but I just have to consider S9 as a totally different show
Because… you know… it was a totally different show. It was a spinoff. It only became “season 9” after it tanked, for marketing purposes of selling it in the box sets and streaming services.
@@zimvader25 this is false, it was not a spin-off. ABC did not make it season 9 after it tanked as you put it, the marketing before it premiered dubbed it as S9. ABC deliberately made it that way from the jump, Bill Lawrence views it as a separate show & even asked ABC to make it an actual spin-off. ABC rejected his plea & made it season 9 instead…
Yes, this is all in the video we just watched 😆
@@TheKing8707the TV company said it was season 9, not a single person on the cast or crew or the creator accepts that😂 it's a spin off.
I have to take issue with the claim that this lackluster final season is what Scrubs is known for in pop culture. I've never watched Scrubs, yet am familiar with it, its characters, and some of its jokes from cultural awareness. I had never heard of this final season until just now.
Yeah, most people just disregard the existence of season 9 and consider season 8 the ending (which it is). It's still one of my favorite shows.
@@danielmbg Exactly this. Scrubs is remembered for what it did right -- but, whenever you recommend it to someone, it usually goes hand in hand with 'skip the last season, it sucks.'
And they ignore you, but hey, that just makes it so that they can repeat the cycle when they in turn recommend it to someone else.
I feel like Eliza Coupe and Michael Mosley helped make this season likeable and did well bringing their characters to life. Although I do think the season itself is unnecessary.
I can't believe that I forgot that Dave Franco was in this show! At least he went onto bigger and better things!
I totally forgot as well
He was really hilarious
Would’ve been cool if Seth Rogen was a doctor with him too lol
True but wtf he even doing these days
Dave Franco sucked in this show. Made me hate him as an actor for a while
Main mistake: the title. Call this Med school, without scrubs, and it could work. The characters are cool in my opinion, especially Drew and Cole who, while annoying, had a cool arq.
I think people bo longer give sitcoms the breathing time they all need at first. Give this show another season and it could have been cool
Agreed
It was a spinoff of scrubs so they wanted to make that clear but yeah. Either just drop scrubs or made it much smaller than “med school “ in the title. That plus the timeline. This should’ve been a big time jump instead of just trying to be funny by claiming all this change happened in a year.
I believe the network forced the scrubs in the title
Are even scubs University
I'm sorry, Cole was a complete tool of a character and someone that idiotic would never have been allowed into med school to begin with.
Dr. Mahoney was introduced in eight so I felt like we were just following her during her time. As a med school teacher. She seems like she was the anchor and the connection between scrubs and this
Honestly that Jamaica joke at the beginning made me laugh and idk how to feel about that hahaha
There were a lot of funny scenes in 9 i'd hate to lose though.
Cox " You're leaving? How will the hospital go on for god's sake! Everyone, STOP SAVING LIVES! Shut it down!"
Cole " Yo, you're a riot Dr. Cox."
Cox "....Errrhhhhh."
I watched the 9th season just out of love for all the cast. However, the 8th had a perfect finale. Best sitcom show ever made.
Season 9 also has a genuinely great farewell episode for Ted, who really deserved it. Everyone clowns on 9, but that episode… that one’s worth keeping in the canon.
That was tarnished too tough, since he canonically loses his love interest and is turned back to a complete sad sack in Cougar Town
Nah it's sucks
It's almost kind of weird how many parallels there are between Scrubs season 9 and the first season of Community. Drew Suffin is basically Jeff Winger...
He really is.
I never saw it as Scrubs season 9. I always saw it as Scrubs Med School... To the point where I always got confused when people complained about the final season because I thought they were talking about Season 8, which may not be the best but I thought was good enough
How Scrubs ended in season 8 was perfect, beautifully done and so emotional. Definitely one of the greatest endings to a show
I feel like the greatest problem of Season 9 was introducing entire new characters, rather than relying on Denise from Season 8 and her fellow interns. If Scrubs was to survive, I think pivoting to them as leads and expanding their lives fully while retaining other characters besides JD would allow a sort of generational, long-lasting sitcom that could continue with a rotating generational cast.
Partly, another issue is the casting of the original cast was a lightening in a bottle moment. Literally even the likes fi Laverne, Ted and Todd where brilliant casting that you can't imagine being played by anyone else. The new cast were just dull, generic and try hards who didn't remotely fill the characters or have the comic timing of the old main cast.
Unfortunately I think the issue for the Network would have been that none of the interns worked as a "replacement" for JD (because they were set up as having different personalities).
I dunno, I think they should have kept like 2 or 3 old characters and cut off the legacy. I think the same thing happened to a show like Glee. Its hard to get people to like new characters when half the show is about or referencing old favorites.
Well I don't normally have such a contrartian POV but I actually quite enjoyed the 9th season of Scrubs. Every criticism you have of it is for the most part valid (although JD was never going to feel he had earned Cox's approval) but I still found the humour to be different enough to work for me. Hell some of my favorite jokes are from S9. I also feel like you may have skipped over some emotional highlights from both Drew and Dr. Mahoney's Relationship and seeing how Cole and Lucy grew together in the season. Nothing groundbreaking but I will always love the episode where Drew and Mahoney finally stop screwing around and learn to trust each other.
S8 was a perfect ending to the show but I didn't hate the stories they told in S9. If the ending of 8 hadn't been so perfect, I think 9 could have gone on to take the reigns.
I watched episodes of Scrubs sporadically while growing up, and I finally decided to watch it straight through. It's a great, memorable show with flawed, realistic characters that share great times and horrible experiences. I will say that while there are many episodes of the original show that I remembered even before the rewatch, I forgot about the 9th season almost immediately after watching it.
I liked the spinoff season and was really bummed out that they didnt make any more seasons.
I just wish they fully committed to an actual spinoff. I was expecting JD to just be there for the first episode. I generally liked the acting of the new cast but they didn’t have any room to make Scrubs something their own.
Eliza Coupe (Dr. Mahoney) and Michael Mosley (Drew) were the only "new" good characters. While Eliza wasn't new, she grew more in this season. I am glad Eliza came back but she wasn't enough to save this show. Michael was a great character that didn't get more room to grow considering his "tragic" meltdown.
I agree with everything you said. I found the second half of the 9th season to be quite enjoyable, and wish that it was given the chance to continue after it had started to find it's footing
The editing on this video is excellent. The Seinfeld wipe to JD pulling down the sheet is *chef kiss*
Scrubs did end on the perfect note for me. I only found the show in streaming, heard about the last season from someone who had watched it thus had a warning and only watched seasons one through eight so my last scene of Scrubs was that impressive lineup of past characters, the look into the future, and JD driving away. Perfect.
you either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain
Something else to consider, the early episodes weren't as quirky. JD was much more of a straight man... Everyone was flanderized over time.
So to introduce new characters who are already overly quirky and goofy definitely didn't help. We didn't get the chance to like them before they became unrelatable
The very first scene in the entire show is JD goofing off a bunch with shaving cream…
@@RobertJW Do you think goofing off is not something a normal person does?
I dont even consider that last season as part of the show, watched 1 ep and new it didn't belong and that was it. Scrubs stands the test of time, still on of my greatest sitcoms of all time
I actually love season 9 and view as a “summer break” for our favorite characters. When I rewatch the series I watch S7, 9, then 8 and “forget” that Elliot is pregnant. Big cheat but it actually works for me and seriously you don’t miss anything and it keeps the magic from S8 as it has one of the best season finales in tv history!
In response to the does Zach Braff need more money thing. I saw an interview with John C. McGinley where he was talking about Season 9/Med School and he said most of them knew it wouldn't work unless one of the actors just really caught fire but it kept the crew together and working. So while yeah Braff probably didn't need more money random members of the crew who got 1 more season definitely did.
Apparently, he only stayed on to help transition the old show into the new format.
I remember I used to hate your videos. I used to roll my eyes because everything you said sounded so self righteous and delivered as an absolute fact. I'm really glad you're finding your own voice and taking the VO in a more casual tone. Happily resubscribing.
Uploaded one day after I finished the whole series for the first time! How is this timing SO perfect? 😱
You say that, but I legitimately watched it first. As a spin-off, it succeeded as the "encore season". As a real season that's part of the official Scrubs series, it failed. I wouldn't have watched the show if it weren't for youtube videos of Cole being silly breadcrumbing me to watch the rest of the show (many, many times). And yeah, now, I don't rewatch S9.
Love your vids man. Somehow you always talk about my favorite shows and movies
Season 9 was great. Elliot as a mother figure, J.D. as a mentor, seeing how Cox was changed by his time with the original cast, it did a great job demonstrating the effect of the last 8 seasons.
The new characters are awesome. Lucy is not just J.D. and the fundamental differences between their characters are so clear that I feel like you had to have watched the season with your eyes closed not to get it. I don't understand why you would though, because the show was so pretty and well shot.
season 9 was the only season i watched and loved it simply bc i hadnt seen prior seasons. it wouldve worked as a separate show entirely
Eliza Coupe was from S8 of the original series along with the lady playing Sunny Day.
They were not new to the Med School series.
I follow this channel and have notifications on but this is the first video I've gotten notified for in almost 2 months
I consider it to be Scrubs: Med School, a spin-off rather than a continuation of the original series.
The last season of Scrubs was awesome. I love season 8!
Scrubs is, hands down, my favourite sitcom ever, and is the show I go back to whenever I need escapism or just generally cheering up. Season 9 was a terrible abandonment of the heart, originality and meaning that went into the first 8 seasons, and I've often wished I could erase what "Med School" gave us from my memories. Saying that, I think all it needed was a different main character (ideally Drew, as his character offered a completely different perspective and he was ultimately very likeable) and to slowly build the new cast up over their first season while gradually decreasing the screen time of the legacy characters. Lucy was painfully similar to JD and it instantly made her feel like a bad parody in a cast which actually had the potential to grow into its own lovable group.
I actually liked the last season when it aired, and when I rewatched it.
The season 8 finalle gets me every time. A new spin off i think could work. The kind of style and chemistry from scrubs is sorly missed..
Season 9's biggest flaw was actually Zach Braff. JD's story was so perfectly wrapped up that him being back and retreading the same ground, especially with Cox hurt the show.
The new characters were actually pretty funny and I really enjoyed the dynamic between Turk and Cox where they are now the two top guys in the hospital and have a begrudging respect and friendship. It alludes to some of the dynamic Cox developed with Kelso and Janitor and was looking to expand on that. Could have been a great place to keep the stories with the older cast fresh while playing a strong foundation for the new cast.
Denise was a wonderful bridge between the S8 newbies and S9 newbies and maybe one more person, like Howie would have helped. Could have been Cox and Turk running the place, Denise and Howie balancing the med students, and all the med student cast. There would have been alot to work with .
I just consigned to treating the 9th season as if it never existed.
Scrubs is like the reverse “office” in a way because it was on tv all the time for a while, Comedy Central use to show like 3 or 4 episodes every afternoon in syndication around 2009-10, and then it just went away. It doesn’t get talked about much anymore or shown in reruns on tv.
IFC airs reruns of it
I prefer Scrubs to The Office
I liked the ninth season and have it on dvd. There were issues though. I think it was a mistake bringing back the original cast members. They should've just started with the new characters so we could decide for ourselves if it would work or not.
It was really good. I dont get the hate
I always thought it was Bill Lawrence’s idea to extend the show for another season, so thanks for setting the record straight. They could have made it an actual spinoff with Cox and Turk and maybe that would work.
I had fun watching this season, but it was basically just "Not Scrubs" (even with the shared characters). It made me laugh and I would've watched more!
This was actually pretty good towards the end of the season. Dave Franco is absolutely gold and if it weren't a Scrubs tie in it would've had a damn good run
Whenever I rewatch Scrubs, I always stop after season 8 and then proclaim out loud, "...And they never made another episode."
They should of kept just Dr. Cox, said he transfered to be a teacher and started with the new med school group, with origional cast being used as one episode cameos only that were similiar to the cameos of celebs being used in the origional to drive deep narrative and learning for the new cast, like the episode with Dr. Cox and Ben dying
The jokes may be bad... but Dave Franco's delivery is always on point xD
On rewatches I usually watch season 9 first, then go through the first 8 seasons. Med school is an earlier stage of education than where season 1 starts us. And that ending doesn't get ruined.
I was not ready to part with the gang at the end of season 8, so I was glad to see that the main characters were all back for season 9. But you could tell after a few episodes that Zach Braff was sick of it, so, ironically, by making him turn into an unlikeable character, it made him easier to part with
RIP sam lloyd. Ted's quartet was fun to watch.
I really liked this ensemble. They could have definitely turned it around.
Reminds me of Entertain the Elks channel assessing how Scrubs died with this last season, definitely recommend his vid as well😄🙌
I liked this season! the new characters are also hilarious
I literally forgot this season even existed! In my mind, I can just go on ignoring this ever happened(especially in this post reboot world we live in, where nothing ever truly ends)
It's amazing how you made a video of a season that doesn't exist!
Recently rewatched scrubs, including season 9 and really enjoyed it. It might have worked better as a spin off rather than a continuation of scrubs itself though.
I personally think it started rough but ended strong. I wish it had one more season. I really wish Carla was apart of season 9.
I loved this show sooooo much, and binged it all in like 2 weeks. When I got to season 9, I watched the first 5 minutes of that first episode and then stopped. The Season 8 ending is the real one lol
Good video and interesting thought experiment. What if Scrubs had a season 9? Thankfully it never came to that
What was that about the finale of Seinfeld? I remember that one as wrapping it up quite well (in what felt like the spirit of the series). What's your take on it?
I rewatch scrubs once a year & rarely make it trough season 9
Cole is the GOAT he made it so much fun
People are, naturally, entitled to their own opinion but I actually enjoyed most of "season" 9.
The Denise and Drew storyline and the two security guys kept me interested.
Dude idk about you but that “don’t speak caribeassian” joke is freaking hilarious!
Well done. I didn't realize that the final season was actually considered a part of the original show. I always assumed it was considered a spinoff.
I never saw the final season, and it's been so long since I watched Scrubs that if I just sat down and watched season 9 on its own I might like it.
I was lucky enough to watch Scrubs after it had all come out, so I new better than to watch season 9. I can see from this that it was the right decision.
There were only eight seasons of Scrubs, I don't know what you're talking about.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Exit on a high note.
Really wish they just made this a spin off instead of making it season 9 & having it forever attached directly to the legacy of a great show in Scrubs. The way season 8 ended with JD imagining how his life would turn out while The Book of Love played was so damn beautiful & well done. This sorry excuse for a continuation of the show following the S8 ending fudged what could have been an otherwise satisfying ending to a series.
I have watched scrubs 4 times with my family and I hadn't even known that there was a ninth season until the third watch and now we just say "what? There's no ninth season of scrubs!"
I wholeheartedly agree... Except for part where you said Scrubs didn't really do big/weighty episodes often. There are so many "tender moment" Scrubs episodes wrapped around big ideas.
feels like i'm one of the only people who loved season 9, also eliza was a prominent character in season 8 judging by this video seems like you didn't even watch it lol
Yeah I always stop my rewatches of this series with season 8
Why does Dave Franco always play a role where he's super concerned about his future 😆
21 Jump Street " i was supposed to go to Berkeley!" while behind bars
never saw this season but the tonal shift - the way the new actors look, talk, move, are made-up/dressed and lit - is SO HUGE. it looks like riverdale crashed into golden girls. there’s no way the original cast exists in this far more serious-looking, model glossy world. the lighting alone! it’s jarring.
I would love to hear Braff and Faison talk about this video on the Fake Doctors Real Friends podcast
lol i actually liked season 9 and was sad they didn't move along with it because i always saw it as a spinoff despite the title and lucy rlly wasn't even that much of a female JD imo. they used similar elements in her character but it didn't make her feel like a clone at all.
I kind of like it, honestly. I thought Franco was hilarious. The "that's how gardners die!" line is gold.
I enjoyed the last season and wish it continued but you're mostly right, I think people didn't take the bait because you have the same themes with people with whom we don't have the same emotional attachment
I'm just happy that I got to see the old cast again one more season even if it was in season 9.
I bought the DVDs when that was still a thing. All except the last season. That way I had a full run with a great finale.
Season 9 was fine.
I was just glad to see the old crew back ...
Can you do a the perfect the middle episode video?
7:24 is by far the best joke of the season. I always laugh so hard when he whistles.
It might be the greatest representation of jumping the shark since my then fonze did something cool on the beach that one time
Idk I always really really enjoyed the last season. I was kinda surprised and bummed when it was cancelled. When it first aired I watched it weekly. My only beef was JD left after the first couple episodes. If he didn't leave I think it would have been way better. But it was actually good anyway. For instance the Dave Franco Carribean joke had me rolling 🤣😂