5/5 Blu-ray: Fans of "Scrubs" will no doubt love this comedy series in HD.
  by Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California)
"Scrubs", the popular medical comedy series which has been a staple on the NBC television network since 2001 but chose not to renew the show and drawing ire from the dedicated fans. Fortunately, the series was immediately picked up by ABC for its eighth season.

The longtime comedy series was created by Bill Lawrence ("Spin City", "Clone High" and "Cougar Town") and is a medical comedy series which takes place at Sacred Heart Hospital and focuses on the life of Dr. John J.D. Dorian (Zach Braff, "Garden State", "The Last Kiss"). J.D. has an imaginative mind, thus you often see things through his perspective and what he is saying to himself internally. He works with his off-and-on again girlfriend Dr. Elliot Reed (Sarah Chalke, "Clone High", "Roseanne" and "Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy") who has a similar sense of humor as him, his best friend Dr. Christopher Turk (Donald Faison, "The Boondocks", "Robot Chicken") and Turk's wife Nurse Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes, "Third Watch", "The Passion"). And at the workplace, J.D. must put up with Dr. Perry Cox ("Any Given Sunday", "Stealing Harvard", "Office Space") who seems to not like him and the unusual janitor (Neil Flynn, "The Middle", "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull").

With this eighth season, the season will be the final season focusing on the character of Dr. John "J.D." Dorian and also included on the Blu-ray are the web episodes of "Scrubs: Interns" which was shown on [...]. The eighth season focuses on J.D.'s relationship with Dr. Elliott Reed, working with their new interns but also J.D. leaving Sacred Heart Hospital.

With a successful and special feature heavy DVD released earlier this summer, "Scrubs" now enters the High Definition realm with all 19 episodes of "Scrubs - The Complete Eighth Season" are featured on two Blu-ray discs. Viewers can choose to watch the series with "SeasonPlay" (Blu-ray technology that allows you to save and store where you last left off) or watch and episode without it.

Here is a listing of the episodes on each disc (note: the following are spoiler-less summaries):

DISC 1:

* EPISODE 151 - My Jerks - Dr. Taylor Maddox (Courtney Cox), the new Chief of Medicine arrives to Sacred Heart and brings hell to the hospital. Meanwhile, the doctors must do rounds with their new interns.
* EPISODE 152 - My Last Words - J.D. and Turk are very excited about "Steak Night" but due to a terminally ill patient, the two doctors decided to stay and comfort the patient.
* EPISODE 153 - My Saving Grace - Dr. Maddox is making the workplace quite unpleasant for the doctors and nurses at Sacred Heart that Dr. Cox has to resort to requesting Dr. Kelso's help in getting Dr. Maddox fired.
* EPISODE 154 - My Happy Place - J.D. and Elliot discuss their new relationship, especially her sleeping over and changing things at his home.
* EPISODE 155 - My ABC's - J.D. starts to see characters of "Sesame Street" at the hospital, meanwhile the doctors must get used to the intern that they have been paired with.
* EPISODE 156 - My Cookie Pants - Elliott cooks some cookies and thus she dons her cookie pants. Meanwhile, J.D. has a problem with Denise (who he calls "Jo" - 'Facts of Life' TV reference) with her lack of compassion with the patients.
* EPISODE 157 - My New Role - Dr. Cox becomes the new Chief of Medicine at Sacred Heart and J.D. is also promoted.
* EPISODE 158 - My Lawyer's In Love - Ted falls for a hospital ukulele player. Meanwhile, Dr. Cox's agitation towards his intern Ed, continues to grow.
* EPISODE 159 - My Absence - Carla is 2 weeks pregnant and both Turk and Elliot feel empty without J.D. (who is taking a short break).
* EPISODE 160 - My Comedy Show - J.D. and Turk put on a comedy show but people have the impression the two may be gay.

DISC 2:

* EPISODE 161 - My Nah Nah Nah - Turk is inspired by a risky medical procedure that he watched on "SportsCenter" and now wants to try it on one of his patients.
* EPISODE 162 - Their Story II - An intriguing episode as it is a story about the interns perspective at the hospital.
* EPISODE 163 - My Full moon - Turk reminisces about when he and J.D. were interns at the hospital.
* EPISODE 164 - My Soul on Fire, Part 1 - Elliot is not thrilled that the janitor is getting married before she is. Meanwhile, the group goes to the Bahamas for the janitor's wedding.
* EPISODE 165 - My Soul on Fire, Part 2 - Each of the couples are not having a great time at the Bahamas.
* EPISODE 166 - My Cuz - J.D. wants to become closer with his son Sam and tries to make peace with Kim.
* EPISODE 167 - My Chief Concern - J.D. makes a major decision in his life and that is to move closer to his son.
* EPISODE 168 - My Finale, Part 1 - It's J.D.'s final day at the hospital and he's upset that no one seems like they are missing him (except Elliot and Turk).
* EPISODE 169 - My Finale, Part 2 - It's the final goodbye's, J.D. last hours on the job at Sacred Heart Hospital.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Scrubs" is presented in 1080p with an aspect ratio of 1:33:1. The series is pretty much shot in a hospital but lighting is well-done and there are occasional outdoor scenes. For this season, it's the first to feature the cast outdoors ala another country. The two episodes "My Soul on Fire" is filmed at the Bahamas (Abacos) and definitely is a major change in pace for the series. Of course, picture quality for those two episodes alone are quite different as you see the beautiful ocean and scenery of Hopetown. Otherwise the series looks good and doesn't looked aged or overly compressed.

The series is not exactly "LOST" on BD type of quality but for the most part, it's a good video transfer for this series. Especially since it's shot mostly indoors.

Audio for "Scrubs" is in in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit). For the most part, the series is a dialogue-driven series. So, most of the audio is front and center channel driven. Dialogue is crystal clear but I did notice the difference in how the music comes out of my system compared to the DVD release. But overall, dialogue is understandable and very clear.

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Scrubs - The Complete Eighth Seasons" is absolutely loaded with a ton of special features in 1080p High Definition and in English 2.0 Dolby Digital (with English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles):

DISC 1:

* It's All in the Name - (2:48) An exclusive to the Blu-ray release, a short featurette of Dr. Cox calling J.D. many girl names.
* Audio Commentary for "My Jerks" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and writer/producer Kevin Biegel.
* Audio Commentary for "My Last Words" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actor Zach Braff.
* Audio Commentary for "My Saving Grace" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and writer/producer Kevin Biegel.
* Audio Commentary for "My Happy Place" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actor Robert Maschio.
* Audio Commentary for "My ABC's" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence, producer Randal Winston and actress Sonal Shah and Eliza Coupe.
* Audio Commentary for "My Cookie Pants" with audio commentary by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actor John C. McGinley.
* Audio Commentary for "My New Role" with audio commentary by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actor Ken Jenkins.
* Audio Commentary for "My Lawyers in Love" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actor Neil Flynn
* Audio Commentary for "My Absence" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence, Producer Randall Winston, Writer/Producer Kevin Biegel and actresses Sonal Shah and Eliza Coupe.
* Audio Commentary for "My Comedy Show" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and Actress Sonal Shah and Eliza Coupe.

DISC 2:

* Audio Commentary for "My Nah Nah Nah" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and Actors Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison.
* Audio Commentary for "Their Story II" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence, Producer Randall Winston and Actor Neil Flynn.
* Audio Commentary for "My Full Moon" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actors Sarah Chalke and Donald Faison.
* Audio Commentary for "My Soul on Fire (Part 1)" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actress Christa Miller.
* Audio Commentary for "My Soul on Fire (Part 2)" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actress Christa Miller.
* Audio Commentary for "My Chief Concern" by Executive Producer Bill Lawrence and actor Zach Braff.
* My Bahamas Vacation - (20:13) A featurette with interviews with the cast and crew in the Bahamas filming "My Soul on Fire". Featuring the cast and crew having fun paddle boarding, lounging by the beach and behind-the-scenes filming. Also, the group wanting to film and get it all done so they can have some fun. Also, discussing of the challenges of filming in the Bahamas and more. An enjoyable featurette!
* Deleted Scenes - 16 deleted scenes. Showing the originally aired scene and the deleted scene.
* Alternate Lines - 17 alternate lines. Showing the originally aired scene and then various clips of the alternate lines.
* Bloopers - (3:12) A blooper reel featuring the cast and crew and the various hijinks on the set.
* Scrubs Intern Webisodes - All twelve "Scrubs: Interns" web episodes (that were originally featured on [...]). The episodes features the intern Sunny Shah who is making an online video diary of her first year as an intern. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

- EPISODE 1 - Our Intern Class - (5:07) Intern Sunny makes a video diary of her first year as an intern and introduces us to other interns.

- EPISODE 2 - Our Meeting with JD - (4:21) Intern Sunny's video diary features cameras set up all over a classroom and feature a class which will be taught by Dr. John "JD" Dorian.

- EPISODE 3 - Our Meeting in the Broom Closet - (3:01) Intern Sunny's video diary features the interns having a meeting with the janitor inside the broom closet.

- EPISODE 4 - Screw Yo with Ted and the Gooch - (2:35) Intern Sunny's video diary features Sunny shooting video of Ted and the ukulele player together.

- EPISODE 5 - The Late Night with Jimmy Show - (4:28) Intern Sunny's video diary features Jimmy the massaging orderly.

- EPISODE 6 - Our Meeting with the Braintrus - (3:06) Intern Sunny's video diary features a meeting with Sunny and the janitor, The Todd and Ted the lawyer.

- EPISODE 7 - Legal Custodian Outtakes - (3:46) Intern Sunny's video diary features outtakes from "Legal Custodians", a show starring Ted and the janitor.

- EPISODE 8 - Our Bedside Manner - (2:41) Intern Sunny's video diary features features how to talk to patients with help from Dr. Elliot Reed.

- EPISODE 9 - Our Meeting with Turk and the Todd - (2:32) Intern Sunny's video diary features Dr. Turk and the Todd teaching the interns of a relationship between surgical and medical.

- EPISODE 10 - Our Final Advice - (4:22) Intern Sunny's video diary features Sunny interview former Chief of Medicine, Dr. Kelso.

- EPISODE 11 - Our Meeting with Carla (Exclusive) - (3:09) Intern Sunny's video diary features Nurse Carla Espinosa talking about the relationship with the nurses and the interns.

- EPISODE 12 - Legal Custodians Episode (Exclusive) - (4:21) Intern Sunny's video diary features the first episode of "Legal Custodians".

JUDGMENT CALL:

I personally feel that it was a blessing for ABC to pick up "Scrubs". With NBC struggling in the past few years with its sitcoms or comedy shows, the move to ABC definitely gave "Scrubs" that synergy. The move to the new network felt right and courtesy of Disney, episodes such as "My Soul on Fire" which was shot in the Bahamas would have never happened in the past. So, it was definitely fun to watch the eighth season.

I think that the season was created with the thought that there would be no ninth season and thus the episodes were created as if it was a final farewell and a nod to dedicated fans who have watched every season of the comedy series. "Scrubs" definitely was a series that will always be remembered, especially as more and more medical dramas continue to air on television, it was nice to see a show parody that and characters that remain as hilarious as they were when the series first started.

With the addition of the interns, it definitely brought something new to the series and I think with [...] trying to create that viral promotion with "Scrubs: Interns" was also good planning and helped viewers enjoy these new characters along with the characters that we have watched for nearly a decade.

As for the Blu-ray, "Scrubs - The Complete Eighth Season" is magnificent. Not only were all episodes just hilarious and fun, they really went all out in providing a ton of special features. I wasn't expecting 16 audio commentaries and the "Scrubs: Interns" inclusion on the Blu-ray was awesome.

Personally, I felt that they were expecting this final season to be the last and so, they went all out with the special features. So, this season's Blu-ray set will definitely keep "Scrubs" fans busy for many hours and suffice to say, fans will get their money's worth with this release. Absolutely awesome!

As for the Blu-ray versus its DVD counterpart, "Scrubs" is presented in 1080p High Definition and an English 5.1 DTS Master Audio lossless soundtrack. Audio is much clearer and more defined over its DVD counterpart, also you get the SeasonPlay and "It's All In the Name" Blu-ray exclusive feature along with all the special features the DVD came with.

With the news that there will be a ninth season of "Scrubs", It will be interesting to see what direction the series will go. Will it show focus on the interns or a new hospital? What is known for now is Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke will be in six episodes, while other cast members Donald Faison, Neil Flynn and John C. McGinley await word if their pilots on shows that they have filmed will be picked up by a network. But if anything, season eight of "Scrubs" did a good job of showcasing the interns and with the web episodes, giving us an even more in-depth look at the characters personalities. All this is included on this Blu-ray release.

For fans of "Scrubs", this one is a no-brainer. A must buy and most definitely, highly recommended!