Copyright 2002 Time Inc.
Entertainment Weekly
September 13, 2002
SECTION: FALL TV PREVIEW/THURSDAY; Pg. 86
LENGTH: 1338 words
HEADLINE: What's Up, Doc?;
NOW IN THEIR SECOND YEAR OF RESIDENCY, THE SCRUBS TEAM HOPES A HEALTHY DOSE OF
NETWORK SUPPORT AND A VERY FRIEND-LY NEW TIME SLOT WILL ADD UP TO A PRESCRIPTION
FOR BREAKOUT SUCCESS
BYLINE: Josh Wolk
BODY:
Scrubs NBC, 8:30-9 PM STARTS SEPTEMBER 26
There's a new tradition on the Scrubs set in its second season: a weekly
challenge called "Scrubs Factor." In its first installment, cast and
crew members were offered $ 100 for every pickled pig's foot they could eat. (An
assistant director took home the loot, after chomping down seven feet.) Then
there are the standing wagers outside of this tourney, like the open challenge
for anyone to spend an hour in a drawer in the basement's morgue. (The medical
comedy is written, shot, and edited in a Studio City hospital that was closed in
1998.) "I hate turning down bets, but that was like, there's no way,"
says Sarah Chalke, who plays the driven, social-skills-free Elliot.
"There's still mung in the trays." The biggest Scrubs gamble, however,
comes courtesy of NBC, which handed the sophomore comedy the hallowed
post-Friends time slot. That makes it the first critically acclaimed show to
start the season Thursdays at 8:30 since, well, Friends did in 1994. "The
spotlight is so bright [at 8:30], it's almost unfair to ask any new show to go
in, no matter how good it is," says NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker.
(Feel free to snicker when mentally pairing the word good with slot alums
ranging from The Single Guy to Inside Schwartz.) "We realized we would
probably be better serving the time period and ourselves if we moved an
established show in there."
This increasingly rare instance of a network heartily supporting a show that
hasn't yet reached smash status (it finished in 38th place last year) has the
cast somewhat mystified. Says Judy Reyes (the no-nonsense nurse Carla),
"Jeff Zucker loves himself some Scrubs, I have to say." So far the
prognosis seems positive: Since Scrubs moved into its new time slot this summer,
it has been retaining 87 percent of Friends' audience--and Zucker has been
quoted as saying that he'll be happy with a 70 percent retention when Survivor
returns. "I cut that [article] out so I could fax it over to him every time
the numbers come out," laughs show creator and executive producer Bill
Lawrence.
Being bequeathed TV's highest-profile--and, some would say, most cursed--time
slot hasn't given the cast a case of nerves. In fact, they're downright Zen
about it. "We can't do anything about it other than tell one joke at a
time," says Ken Jenkins, who plays the show's soulless chief of staff, Dr.
Kelso. Adds Donald Faison (cocky surgical resident Turk): "We got here
because we played hard and didn't take ourselves too seriously. So we'll go out,
have fun, and enjoy the game."
The Scrubs folks clearly take the "game" metaphor to heart: Visit the
set and you're likely to see John C. McGinley (the
unrelentingly sarcastic Dr. Cox) practicing Rollerblading in the hall. Between
shots, Faison's been known to strum a guitar and perform his impression of Neil
Diamond singing the theme from the cartoon Transformers. Things are so relaxed
that when the actors finish early, they often won't leave. "People hang out
because they're laughing so hard they don't want to go home," says Zach
Braff, who stars as the show's hapless protagonist, the eager resident J.D.
Credit for this chummy atmosphere is given to Lawrence's strict "no
a--hole" policy, announced at the beginning of last season. "I would
rather have a good guy than an a--hole who's slightly better at a job," he
says. "It's a quality-of-life thing."
This policy is taken so seriously that even a whiff of cockiness is met with
relentless mocking. Ask Braff, who, rushing onto the set one day, asked an
assistant director to grab him a bagel. "I got so teased and laughed at for
being a prima donna that I never did it again," he says. The taunting has
become preemptive: It goes on all day in all directions, whether there's diva
behavior or not. "You gotta wear ego Kevlar when you walk in here,"
says McGinley, who received endless jabs last year when
repeated reviews dubbed him a "scene-stealer"; whenever he arrived on
set, he was riddled with faux-reverential barbs from coworkers like "Oh, is
the scene-stealer ready to do his work? Does he have a moment?"
Lawrence extends the show's collegiality by hiring friends and loved ones for
guest shots. "If you're lucky enough to have a friend that's
talented," he says, "I personally think you're a bad guy if they don't
end up working with you on your show." The upcoming season is no exception:
His real-life wife, Christa Miller (The Drew Carey Show), will be back for
repeated appearances as Cox's witchy ex, as will Heather Locklear (Lawrence
cocreated Spin City), guesting as a horny pharmaceutical rep. Schedule
permitting, pal Brendan Fraser will reprise his role as a leukemia patient. (In
his two-episode run last season, his character went into remission. "If
Brendan Fraser's nice enough to do your show, you can't kill the guy!" says
Lawrence.) Lawrence also isn't above using the show to indulge his own personal
jokes and interests. Since many fans and critics noted how much Braff looked
like Ed's Tom Cavanagh, this Halloween Cavanagh will guest-star as J.D.'s older
brother. And after Braff turned Lawrence on to former Men at Work frontman Colin
Hay's solo career, he made Hay the show's unofficial troubadour: Not only does
he appear in the season premiere, but two of Hay's songs will be on the Scrubs
soundtrack (in stores Sept. 24). A splashy musical number later in the season
will feature one of Hay's tunes as well.
That said, Lawrence wants to rein in some of Scrubs' goofiness this
season--specifically the show's trademark fantasy sequences (e.g., an angry J.D.
morphs into the Hulk). "Some early episodes erred on the side of being too
frenetic," he says. He'll also have to economize: The fancy new time slot
comes complete with more commercials, which cut nearly two minutes out of each
episode. "Last year you could take a pause," says McGinley.
"This year, if you take one, hasta la vista--that scene's not making it in,
man." One more addition: Neil Flynn's terrorizing Janitor will return as a
full-time cast member--but this promotion doesn't mean his character will get an
actual name. "Is it more significant to be 'Bill Johnson on Scrubs' as
opposed to 'the Janitor'?" Flynn asks. "I think 'the Janitor' is more
distinctive. It connotes a wrestling villain."
One thing Scrubs will not do is pair off J.D. and Elliot. After a brief
one-episode dalliance last season, Lawrence decided to end the affair and
concentrate on only one couple, Turk and Carla (who are headed for a proposal
this year). "Even I was like, 'Dude, one episode? Shouldn't there be a
ramp-down?'" says Braff. "[Bill] was like, 'Nah, I don't want to talk
about it anymore.'" Leaving the will-they/won't-they chestnut to lead-ins
Ross and Rachel, Lawrence's plan for J.D. and Elliot is that "once a year,
without any warning, they'll randomly f---. And it always falls apart the very
next day That feels real to me."
Speaking of reality checks, here's one: The utopian feel on the set is easy to
maintain before the season starts--but what if Scrubs becomes a true Must See
Friends-level cultural phenomenon? In that stratosphere, can a newly all-star
cast keep from becoming a--holes? "It took me a long time to get
here," says Faison (Clueless). "I wasn't an a--hole when I got here,
so I'm not gonna become an a--hole You control your a--holeness."
Actually, that's a damn good prescription for celebrities in general. --Josh
Wolk