TV Meme: Day 14 - Favorite Male Character

Well, this was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be. There are so many great male characters on television that it was very hard to limit it to just one.

That being said, I decided to just go to the old standby and pick one from Scrubs. But, which one? Scrubs actually has multiple viable candidates in J.D., Turk or Dr. Cox, but the one character that always keeps me interested in what he is doing is The Janitor (Neil Flynn).

He is so interesting, that the Scrubs wiki even has a separate link for "The Janitor's storyline" for each episode. How many other characters can say that?

As you have heard before, most likely by me, The Janitor (along with Ted the Lawyer and a few other background characters) were only supposed to be on the show for a short amount of time. But, they were such a huge hit during the first few episodes that they kept them for the entire run of the series.

It is also pretty interesting that Bill Lawrence (the show's creator) originally intended to have The Janitor be a figment of J.D.'s imagination. And it is sort of interesting with that little bit of knowledge to re-watch the first season and see that The Janitor doesn't talk to or get acknowledged by any other character but J.D.

I am, however, grateful that they didn't stay with that intention. It would have been pretty odd - and also pretty obvious - if The Janitor was only talking to J.D. for eight seasons. Once he was allowed to mingle and throw his crazy at the other characters, he really started to shine.

In a show that was pretty weird most of the time, and had a great time with fantasy and crazy story lines, The Janitor always seemed to go even further which really made him that much more funny - and, well, that much more strange.

TV Meme: Day 7 - Least Favorite Episode of My Favorite Show

Wow. This took me a long time as I read through each episode of Scrubs to figure out which one I just didn't feel was up to par. Sure, I could have wussed out and went the easy route by selecting an episode from Scrubs: Med School but technically that is not the same show - so I researched and I think found the show that is my least favorite.

I say I think because I am still not sure. I can watch any episode of Scrubs nonstop and always come away happy. But, in order to stick to the guidelines of this meme my least favorite episode of Scrubs is My Quarantine.

Anyway, this episode is mainly about J.D. (Zach Braff) trying to impress his new girlfriend, Kylie (Chrystee Pharris). He shows off his outfit to Carla (Judy Reyes) and Eliott (Sarah Chalke), who soon realize just how horrible the outfit is once he starts stripping it off. The outfit as a whole works, so J.D. announces he will not take anything off and that way it will work.

Well, right away his plans are shot out the door as he runs over an opossum and uses his jacket to take it to the vet. He then hits a box as he leaves the vet's office, that turns out to be a home for a homeless man - he then has to use his shirt to wrap the man's hand - and he looks like the fool he didn't want to in front of Kylie.

They take the man to the hospital and J.D. continues to try to impress Kylie, but accidentally says the word 'SARS' which is an automatic quarantine. And as things continue to be dull, he feels he is losing her and pays the homeless man to fake a heart attack to make himself look like a hero.

I guess the main reason I was not a fan of this episode is I just wasn't a fan of the character Kylie and the apparent relationship between her and J.D. There also just wasn't too much going on during this episode - which is strange because of the great characters in such a close space usually produces great comedy. But, in this episode I just felt the characters were all in the wrong place to make the comedy great.

There were two great parts of this episode, however, but they weren't enough to make this episode better. There is a moment when the characters are explaining their worst dates and Turk (Donald Faison) overhears Carla telling hers and Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) telling his - and they happen to be the same date. I thought that was a pretty cool way to let Turk (and the audience) know that Cox and Carla once dated.

Finally, the Janitor (Neil Flynn) bets Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) in a game of flicking a cotton ball into a jar using a tongue depressor. Janitor ends up about $700 in the hole and at the end says 'double or nothing' on one final shot - and nails it. I thought it was a pretty good background story.

Well, that is my least favorite Scrubs episode - which I would actually watch right now if it were on. That is how difficult this was for me, because I love each episode of this show - despite this being my least favorite, I still like it.

TV Meme: Day 4 - Favorite Show of All Time

This, so far, was the easiest day for me. Ever since I started getting into this show it has been considered my favorite.

I speak about it almost non-stop and refer to it often in these blogs, so I am sure most of you know what show it is before I even mention it.

That being said, my favorite show of all time is Scrubs.

I am not really sure when or how I got into the show because I didn't watch it during its first and probably even its second season. I do know that once I did start watching it I could not stop.

I own each and every season on DVD and watch it whenever possible on Comedy Central when the repeats are getting shown. I have seen each episode probably a dozen times, but that does not stop me from watching it again - nor does the fact that I can probably recite each episode. I still laugh.

This show has probably been the underdog of television comedies ever since it started. It was sort of a running joke between everyone on the show if they would make it to the next season. The show began on NBC and was moved around so much over seven seasons and was never given too much promotion - but it still lasted seven seasons despite that.

Eventually after NBC pulled the plug - ABC picked up the show and had the eighth and practically final season (the show continued as more of a spinoff: Scrubs: Med School for one season).

The premise of the show was following John "J.D." Dorian (Zach Braff) as he enters Sacred Heart Hospital on the first day as a doctor. He is joined by his best friend, Chris Turk (Donald Faison), who is a surgeon. On his first day he stumbles upon Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley), who over the course of eight seasons would become a mentor/father figure to J.D.

J.D.'s first (and eventual last) love interest and fellow doctor was Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) and the mother figure of the group and eventual wife of Turk, Carla Espinoza (Judy Reyes) was one of the head nurses.

The Janitor (Neil Flynn) as he was affectionately known was probably my favorite character on the show. He was best known for lurking around, trying not to work and busting everyone's chops throughout the episodes - but most especially making J.D.'s life as miserable as possible.


That is one thing I really enjoyed about Scrubs was despite having the five main characters, the secondary characters all had a huge role in the success of the show. Whether it was The Janitor (who originally was only supposed to be a figment of J.D.'s imagination), Ted the lawyer (Sam Lloyd) or The Todd (Robert Maschio).

If you have a great sense of humor and you haven't checked Scrubs out yet I highly recommend that you do. I have hooked a handful of my friends on the show already who thought they wouldn't be interested. It is downright hilarious, but it also has a lot of heart - the characters truly feel for one another.

Just great casting and amazing writing. I am sad to see it end, but it will live on in reruns for a good, long time.

"My Finale" (?)

The eighth season of my absolute favorite comedy, Scrubs, came to an end on Wednesday with an amazing one hour special. Possible Spoilers below.

In true Scrubs fashion it went out without a lot of fanfare - a lot like ER - as there was no huge wedding or death, but just a doctor, who's life we have all grown to know and care about, was moving on to another hospital.


J.D. (Zach Braff) began his final day at Sacred Heart with some "morning' sex from his girlfriend Eliott (Sarah Chalke) and as he arrived at Sacred Heart received one final mega "EAGLE" spin from his best friend, Turk (Donald Faison).

As the hour progressed, Turk was upset that he might have done his huge goodbye too early, as they were still going to see each other for the remainder of the day. Eliott, however, was mad at herself for not being as sad that J.D. was leaving, because she was still going to see him every day.

J.D. kept going through the day expecting some dramatic exit, but kept noticing that no one was really making a big deal about it. Carla (Judy Reyes) gave him a heartfelt "I'm going to miss you", as her and J.D. had truly grown into a brother-sister relationship over the years. Jordan (Christa Miller) pulled out some emotion, and said her goodbyes as well. Even the Janitor (Neil Flynn) gave him a goodbye, and forgave him for a long running gag 'the penny in the door' after J.D. confessed.

We also learn the Janitor's real name. Or did we? In another great gag, the Janitor has become known as a pathological liar and story teller - so even after he told J.D. his real name, we are again left wondering if it was true.

The one person J.D. was obviously looking for some sort of response from was Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley), but of course Dr. Cox would never give him the satisfaction - knowingly. J.D. ended up tricking him at the end by having Sunny (Sonal Shah) say something to him that triggered a response.

The ending was pretty magical - J.D. (in his head as always) voiced over how in the end your future is what you make of it - and he walked through an entire hallway of people from his past, including the dead, that have been apart of his life for the past 8 years. It was nice to see some of the people from the older episodes.

Finally, the show ended with a montage of things that could happen if the series were to have progressed along with the current cast. J.D. and Eliott get married; they have a baby; they hang out with Turk, Carla, Dr. Cox, Jordan and their families for Christmas; even their children (I want to say Sam and Izzie) get engaged in the future. It was very fitting, and touching.

And in the final moments before J.D. jumped in his car to leave Sacred Heart one last time, he says goodbye to a new janitor cleaning up some garbage - the creator Bill Lawrence.

It was an amazing finale, and an amazing run for this comic gem. One that I don't think every truly got the praise it deserved. But, like Lawrence said, once they realized they weren't drawing in the tons of people - they decided to write the show for their followers - so this finale was for us.

The question mark in the title above is due to the fact that despite the episode title, "My Finale", the final decision has still not been made as to whether or not Scrubs will return for another season. There has been discussion to bring the show back as ABC is liking the pairing of it and Better Off Ted on Wednesday nights.

Whatever happens, though, this was the finale for the main cast because almost all of the entire cast has decided to leave after this season - but they did say they would return in recurring guest spots in the future. Braff has left to focus on movies and directing while McGinley, Flynn and Faison have all signed on for new pilots that if picked up wouldn't allow them to return, except in guest starring roles.

So, in essence, this was the true finale of the show we have come to love over eight seasons., because even if it returns it will never truly be the same.

Thanks for a great eight seasons. I love you Glenn Matthews!!!!!