Excuse me if I’m not dancing a jig
Well, it’s with blissful smugness that we dedicated Scrubs fans read recent news surrounding our favorite show.
As you’ll no doubt remember, your favorite Scrubs fan hypothesized/wondered months ago if the show’s foray into syndication would vault it from cult hit into actual, tangible, critical success — and recently, we’ve heard the answers.
The show’s syndication and NBC’s pairing it with other quality shows on Thursday night (ratings stunts be damned) has actually resulted in Scrubs’ best ratings ever — even opposite CSI and Grey’s Anatomy; or, as I refer, the has-been and the knock-off.
(Giggles uncontrollably; like a tit mouse.)
Anyway, the news gets better. Scrubs will return for a seventh season (OK, so it may be running on fumes by the time it hits seven) either on its current network NBC, or on parent company ABC/Disney (Buena Vista distributes and owns the show.) Scrubs, for all intents and purposes, is now somewhat of a success story. Where networks misstepped with Newsradio and Arrested Development - with Scrubs they’ve actually, somehow, and patiently — gotten it right after six years. The show’s a critical darling, it’s sandwiched in the best hour-and-a-half of TV in tens of years, and it’s receiving some buzz.
Good news, right? Well, sort of. This musical thing - that aired tonight, well… I know the critics will love it, and that it will receive all sorts of praise from newspaper writers and bloggers all over the place, but seriously. Musical? I know Scrubs pledges much of its humor to the corny-lame, but — well, they don’t come any lamer than musicals. The critics will love it, the show’s staff is likely proud of it, and Bill Lawrence, Scrubs creator, summed it up, saying they’d always wanted to do a musical, and for hard-core fans, the musical would be really rewarding.
Well, it wasn’t. Not for me. Small point, but I’m a hard-core fan, and it was stupid. Stick to the stories, please, not some inane bit of kitsch that made me feel ashamed for championing my favorite show in the first place. I think Fonzie was riding a shark in the background, but I’m not sure.
That’s all I’ll say. Well, close — in this era of politically correctness, is it still possible to describe musical theater as completely, well, gay? And not the good kind of I’d-like-to-marry-my-life-partner-and-watch-Showtime gay, but gay in the bad way. The-uber-lame-at-every-single-level way. The cringing, hopelessly, freaky, kitschy way. Toast the success of Scrubs, sure — but no more stunts like tonight’s. Please.