Tagged: Scrubs

V renewed!

After back-to-back weeks of improving ratings, ABC has granted sci-fi thriller V a second-season renewal. That means more lizardy goodness in store for fans next fall, and a guaranteed post-LOST life for series star Elizabeth Mitchell.

In the meantime, the alphabet network isn’t sending out any high-hopes vitamins to the show they bet on to replace LOST, FlashForward. Ratings have been dismal and sinking, rather than rising, but ABC remains firm in their stance that they’ve not decided on the show’s cancellation just left.

Another presumed-dead series, Scrubs, apparently still has the slimmest of slim chances at renewal, though Twitter posts by former series star Zach Braff have indicated the prospects are less than zero for renewal. Still, with most of the expensive stars now gone, Scrubs was a half-decent performer in the ratings and less expensive than it had been to produce.

Better Off Ted, unfortunately, is dead.

New Scrubs starts on December 1

The new, recast version of Scrubs will arrive on ABC starting December 1, so someone tell Donald Faison to hold off on that bulk order of hair vitamins; he’ll continue playing the hairless Doctor Turk for at least another season.

Beyond Doctor Turk, John C. McGinley’s Docter Cox will also appear on the series, but the rest of the original cast will, at best, be only occasional guest stars. The new Scrubs will feature the work of Eliza Coupe, Michael Mosley, Kerry Bishe and Dave Franco as the new emotional centers of the show.

The latest “Dumb Decisions By NBC” moments…

Welcome to the latest episode of “Dumb Decisions by NBC.” I’m your host, HollywoodIdiocy.com.

Clearly, NBC didn’t learn this past season when it canceled Scrubs a year ago, only to have ABC pick it up off the scrap heap and pair it with Better Off Ted, the best new workplace comedy since The Office. The strategy worked so well for the Alphabet Network that Scrubs has been renewed for yet another season, even though Zach Braff will only appear in six episodes next year.

Undeterred, NBC has made even more Dumb Decisions this year, just to prove that the network could be better-managed by computer memory than the current Entertainment Chief. Heck, forget computer memory, just put Tina Fey in charge and triple the NBC executive collective IQ in one fell swoop!

Here’s a list of this season’s crop of Dumb Decisions by NBC:

1) Turning over five hours a week of prime time programming to “Leno In Prime Time,” rather than, you know, actual entertainment. I predict Leno’s new prime time gig will die in the ratings, but NBC won’t care until a new administration takes over.

2) After ordering a super-sized season of My Name Is Earl, NBC cancels the four-year-old comedy at a time when there’s still plenty of life in it. Word is the blue collar comedy didn’t fit in with the new lineup of white collar workplace comedies NBC is favoring on Thursday nights. ABC and Fox are both reportedly interested, so My Name Is Earl is destined to become the next Scrubs debacle for NBC.

3) After Medium became the best-performing show on Monday nights for NBC during May sweeps (the net didn’t even test Heroes or Chuck in May, ending their seasons early), the network decided to forgo a fifth season of the psychic crime drama; word is CBS, which owns the show, will sandwich Medium right between Ghost Whisperer and Numbers on Friday nights next season, where it’s likely to prosper.

At least NBC renewed Chuck and Heroes, but with Leno taking over so much prime time real estate, will the Peacock even be considered a “Big Four” network anymore? Blame a bad economy all you want… there’s no excuse for such lame-brain decisions.

Scrubs renewal possible?

Although many of its familiar cast members may move on, ABC is seriously considering picking up Bill Lawrence’s comedy, Scrubs, for a ninth season – a possible second season on ABC after seven seasons on NBC. The network’s in-house studio, ABC Studios, produces the veteran comedy and with the likely exits of Zach Braff, Judy Reyes and probably more, the costs of production are sure to go down.

Of course, a renewed Scrubs could benefit from its new lease on life by focusing on the inexperienced interns introduced this season, which would return the show back to the roots of its comedy core: inexperienced doctors learning what medicine is all about. While the cast exit could make Scrubs: The Next Generation seem like a comedy on the best diet pills, it could also move on to produce a second generation of stars.

The real question is whether the show can hold its core audience without Braff and company around to anchor it.

My Top 5 comedies of 2007

Next on my list of year-in-review posts is comedy shows. As more and more shows begin mixing comedy and drama, this becomes a harder category to handle. Is House a drama or a comedy? What about Pushing Daisies? Or Chuck? Anyone who’s used Cisco knows what I mean.

So here they are, my Top 5 comedies of 2007, with my best guesses as to whether the shows I’m praising are comedies or not.

5. Pushing Daisies (ABC)

There were a lot of shows vying for the fifth spot. CBS’s The Big Bang Theory was an early favorite. So was another Monday Night on CBS show, How I Met Your Mother. I like Tina Fey’s 30 Rock even though I can’t stand Alec Baldwin. And The CW’s Reaper was, at times, hilarious. However, even though I was a late-comer to ABC’s Pushing Daisies, it immediately became a favorite for its dark theme yet wonderfully loony cast of characters. Reminds me a bit of other short-lived favorites like Fox’s Wonderfalls and Showtime’s Dead Like Me. Creator Bryan Fuller is the reason for that; he was involved in all three shows and still makes wonderful television. He has the feel of a young Glen Gordon Caron. Here’s hoping Pushing Daisies lasts longer!

4. Extras (HBO)

Ricky Gervais is a dark comedy genius and Extras gave me a lot of laughs this year. The series-capping Christmas special was the perfect way to fill out the characters. Here’s hoping NBC doesn’t try to snog this one into their lineup with a less-talented American cast. (Yes, The Office rebounded after a dreadful first season, but still…)

3. Chuck (NBC)

Sure, it’s frothy and not very deep, but it’s fun and that’s what counts. NBC’s spy comedy was a fun way to warm up for Heroes every Monday night, and fully enjoyable in its own right. With an appealing cast, Chuck looks like a keeper.

2. Psych (USA)

Aging well in its second season, USA’s dramady is still one of the fresher, more appealing shows on non-network television, and full of gentle laughs and good mysteries. A perfect companion to Monk.

1. Scrubs (NBC)

In their final season, Bill Lawrence is pulling out all the stops and it’s just too bad the series may not get the ending he envisioned thanks to the writer’s strike. The tales of JD and his many cohorts has always been a personal favorite, and this one will be missed when it disappears for good.