Since it was announced that Scrubs would be getting a ninth season despite a completely satisfying and adequate finale for season 8 that wrapped up so many of the continuing threads, a lot or people were weary.  When it was suggested that most of the cast would not be returning (only Donald Faison, John C. McGinley, and Ken Jenkins) as regulars, and only a few would be featured in cameos, it seemed like they were completely ruining the concept.  A lot of people were very vocal in opposition to the changes.

But I’ve always preferred to think of the ninth season as something of a sequal or spin-off: same writing, similar characters, but new ideas, new location, and new people taking the lead.  Indeed that’s essentially what its become and apparently what the creators of the series wanted it to be.  ABC however was nervous about calling it a spin-off, and preferred to keep the title as is. Which frankly I don’t have a problem with.

While this isn’t the same Scrubs, it really is in the end.  Ok so much of the cast is gone or relegated to cameos, and there are new dynamics and characters to deal with, so in a sense it feels like we are starting over.  But its not inaccessible to Scrubs fans.  Unlike Frasier or Joey, two extremes of the Spin-off spectrum, Scrubs hasn’t really undergone the same stylistic change to differentiate it from it previous series.  Its writing and character types are familiar.  Its a nice safety net to fall into for old fans where it doesn’t feel like a completely different show.  And much of the new cast is interesting.

Many people lamented the changes stating outright they wouldn’t watch as a manner of protest.  But I don’t see the big deal.  If the new series wasn’t to their liking, they can pretend it doesn’t exist, and they were given a decent conclusion for Scrubs that was completely satisfying. Worse case scenario, they stop watching and have lost nothing for it.  Meanwhile, those of us with an open mind get to enjoy new episodes with new people and a handful of familiar faces, in a similar style.  Either way, nothing is lost, everything is gained.

The only issue I can see people having is that the new series bears the same name as the original, but that seems remarkably superficial to me.

Frankly I am grateful for the way Scrubs has progressed from season 8 to season 9.  Again I got my conclusion.  I can see JD leave and not feel the sense of loss as to what might have been that I get from so many other series I have watched over the years. And now I have a new show. And a decent one at that.

I realize I am being vague about what takes place within the episode, but that’s deliberate.  The purpose of this review is not to directly analyze every facet of the new episodes but rather to give an over view about why I feel the new series is a good thing.  I see far too many people who view themselves as arm chair critics get irritated and upset over every bit of news that comes down the pipeline. It seems like they feel the only way to be a real critic is to focus entirely on the negative. I beg to differ.  While its certainly a critic’s job to establish the flaws of something, I think its equally their job to illustrate what is good about a series or movie.  I prefer to wait until I see something before shaping an opinion rather than reacting to every element of news. I might, from time to time, decide not to participate in something if enough of the news doesn’t seem favourable, or if the marketing for something doesn’t appeal to me, but I am not one to dismiss the possibility of something being enjoyable because I feel the wrong person has been cast, and it bothers me that so many do feel so dismissive.  More to the point, I wasn’t ready to brush off Scrubs because the series had ended so well last season and this thing calling itself Scrubs isn’t the Scrubs I know.

After having seen the first two episodes I realize its familiar enough that I can enjoy it, new enough that it doesn’t feel like the same old idea rehashed, and balanced enough that the old and new don’t feel in conflict to me.  It has its issues I freely admit, but in this instance what I love about the series is largely still there, so at the very least I have the familiar to enjoy.

Bottom line: its worth watching in my opinion.  And if you feel it isn’t, don’t feel slighted because the Scrubs you loved had a conclusion.  Be happy with that, because its more than a lot of shows get.

Oh and to top it all off, the cameo and series exit for the Janitor is so wonderfully perfect and hilarious, I couldn’t possibly ask for more.  That alone made the premiere episodes worth watching, never mind all the other good stuff.

  So the ninth season of Scrubs premiered tonight and I will admit I am skeptical of the validity of TPTB decision to keep this show going.  After years of it being shuffled around the NBC schedule like that gift you got from your mom and only bring it out when she comes to visit the gang from Sacred Heart (well some of them anyways) finally seem to have found a home that accepts them.  For now.  I wonder if ABC will be so Scrubs happy if the show doesn’t perform well.  Will they stand by it for a 10th season or will they watch it wither away and die a needless death?  Now don’t get me wrong I quite enjoyed Scrubs 2.0.  It was nice dipping back into the insanity pool with our gang of misfits.  But it just seemed too little too late.  It was as though you could feel their time had come and gone.  What mad it even sadder is that what should have been the finale was so fitting for one of mine and many other’s favorite comedies. 

Scrubs 2.0 brings us to Winston University which if we believe Dr. Cox is one of the more pathetic schools and all the doctors that come out of there are all murders.  That’s definitly something all young minds want to hear right before they begin learning how to save lives.  Apparently 2.0 Dr. Cox is an even bigger jerk now.  Not once during the whole hour did you get the impression that deep down he was a good guy.  Instead they made him into a person that med students brake their necks trying to hide from him.  The one thing I loved about Scrubs back from the very beginning is that they never made Dr. Cox out to be mean for the sake of being mean.  Sure his ways of teaching could be considered callous but it was only because he knew that there was a fine line between tough love and a pat on the back.  I get that they are trying to make it seem as though JD is now the teacher, but frankly seeing Dr. Cox as a one dimentional character was simply disheartning.

But Guy Love is flourshing and is stronger than ever.  Thankfully they didn’t try to retouch that golden treasure.  The chemistry between Zach and Donald is as good as ever.   You can really tell that these two are best friends on or off the show.  Albiet I can not stand it when JD schreeches “Eagle.”  It grates my ears, but oh well it is a small price to pay for a little bromance.  Is it weird that there was absolutely no mention of Carla?  I know she isn’t on the show any more but they could atleast have mentioned her and hell even Jordan in passing.  But nope, notta word was whispered.  But we did learn that poor Enid had passed and Dr. Kelso was doing his best to move on with his life.  Hell 2 days to get over a loved one seems like enough to me too.  How great was it to see Neil Flynn as the Janitor one more time?  Even though he has his own new show, The Middle, he still came back to do a cameo to say goodbye in such a fitting way.  It seemed a perfect ending for their Wile Coyote vs. Road Runner relationship.

So we know how I feel about the professional Scrubbers, but the new ones?  Truthfully I am not sure.  After 2 episodes the only thing nice I can say about Lucy, oh who am I kidding she irritates the hell out of me.  Do we really need another voice over?  Was it pertinent to the tone of the show?  It was fine when JD was doing it, but a new person?  Um no.  I know they should just see if ZB would tape the voice over like Kristen Bell does on Gossip Girl.  Wait nevermind it would probably just make me miss JD more.   Hopefully in the coming episodes Lucy won’t grate me so much, but honestly I doubt it.  I wonder if I am the only who who thinks she looks alot like Leighton Meester.  Hey cool that was not only my second Gossip Girl reference, but even better it was my second Veronica Mars reference.  I am thinking about starting a 6 degrees of VM game. 

Slightly better, but not much, would be Cole Aaronson played by Dave Franco.  Oh yeah you know the last name.  And I did notice one thing about Mr. DF and that is he squints just like his not quite as famous brother (I kid, I kid).  Now fortunately for DF it isn’t him who makes me cringe.  It isn’t even his character, a young Todd in the making or possibly Bob Kelso considering his family money.  Nope what made me cringe was that horrible dialogue.  Do people really talk like that?  No really I want to know.  Luckily for DF he managed to pull off that crap, but I wonder how long he can keep it up.

My two favorites of the night were Drew Suffin, played by Michael Mosley, and Denise Mahoney (Images of Police Academy are playing on the TV set in my mind right now) played by Eliza Coupe.  I will say this to TPTB and that is good choice keeping Eliza on.  So far they seem the most three dimensional.  And I mean out of all of them.  In all fairness I don’t think I could ever get too much of The Todd though.  I have a feeling that these two are ging to be the go to people of the show now.  I realize that Lucy is supposed to be the heart of the show now but MM & EC stole the show out from under the rest of them. 

“Our First Day of School”/”Our Drunk Friend”

December 1st, 2009

“Everything’s new, except for the title.”

When Scrubs returned for an eighth season on ABC last year, I was a naysayer.

In my eyes, the show had worn out its welcome with a number of problematic seasons that became problematically silly in a way that ruined the heart that made the show so compelling in earlier seasons. I got to the point where I felt the show did not even deserve the chance for closure: no matter what I once felt for these characters, I had no desire to see them continue on thier problematic path.

And then season eight happened, and my point of view changed. The show literally went back to basics, rewinding back into the earlier seasons and starting to tell stories about our beloved characters maturing and a new crop of interns learning the ropes and in need of mentors. The show was breaking no new ground, relying on the same combination of cutaway humour/blind sentimentalism that defined seasons one and two, but it grounded the show to a sense of identity that reminded me what I missed during the dark years. So when it had its beautifully executed finale, season eight proved itself to be the perfect endnote on these characters’ journey.

And then ABC renewed the show. And all over again, it felt like everything was wrong: this was a show that had a chance to leave on a high note after most of us had written it off, and now it’s risking everything to return. And so we had another summer/fall of Bill Lawrence assuring us that the show would be different, this time a distinct enough entity from the Scrubs we knew (he wanted to call it Scrubs Med) to justify returning even after J.D.’s emotional departure.

Watching the ninth season premiere, I’ve realized that the problem is less that this is inherently bad (in fact, it’s quite good) and more that this is absolutely exactly what happened last season. The show presents a new set of med students looking for mentors, and keeps the older doctors around to serve as those mentors, resulting in a show that isn’t actually that different from what they did a year ago.

Which makes it solidly engaging, if not nearly the sort of reboot that it might have been a year ago.

The one thing about this new version of Scrubs is that it is substantially more future proof: if, for some reason, the show emerges as a comic hit this season, there is actually a show here that could logically continue. The same couldn’t be said last season, which felt more substantially like an ending. However, the seasons basically follow the same principle in the early going, as many of the big changes (like Zach Braff’s inevitable departure) have been delayed in order to help viewers transition into the new structure. However, none of them are actually given storylines: outside of the bromance between Turk and J.D., and Dr. Cox’s relationship with J.D., the show is treating its long-term characters as tools to help shape the journeys of its new characters.

This is inherently smart, but it actually sort of handicaps the season early on because the new characters aren’t well-developed enough to really carry these types of storylines. Lucy is officially the new J.D. in terms of the alternate narrative perspective (sharing with J.D., hence the “Our” in the title), but she is simultaneously too similar (with the same kind of elaborate dream sequences) and too different (in terms of having no history for us to really relate to). Last season, while they had new interns like Denise, they largely used them as teaching tools for the older doctors, so the show hasn’t yet gotten used to having other characters become the new J.D., Turk, Elliot, etc. The result is that Lucy speaks and acts like J.D. in a way that works with the rhythm of the show but does very little to establish her own sense of identity.

If you go back to the show’s pilot (which is actually where I’m headed after I finish this review), it’s true that J.D. wasn’t yet a fully formed character, so to expect the same here is perhaps unfair. However, the problem is that the show has in some ways fully formed a character for her in that she is the new J.D. And while those traits developed organically in Braff’s performance (before overpowering it entirely), they’ve been transplanted onto Lucy in a way that Kerry Bishé can’t really give any nuance while having to share screentime with the returning characters and their quirks. The show runs her through the paces, teaching her a lesson about addicts and the futility of trying to fix their problems (a lesson that nearly every character in the show’s history has learned at some point), and it isn’t unentertaining so much as it is less effective than it was in the past.

The other character to get some substantial development here is the one younger holdover from last season, as Eliza Coupe is back as the acerbic Denise. The show is smart in how it folds her into the series, pairing her off with the age-appropriate med school dropout Drew and turning her into the unattainable superior for the cocky and entitled Cole. And whereas Lucy hooking up with Cole feels pointless and rushed, never connecting with any sense of character, Denise is the perfect foil to these new characters in that we more carefully understand her point of view, and because she is in a unique position as an intermediary between Cox/J.D.

Now, I do think that they moved a bit too quickly in terms of humanizing the character, as Denise from last season was mean and emotionless to the point where her sudden shift to the sentimental here (as she realizes after a single conversation with J.D. and Turk that she doesn’t, in fact, want to be alone forever on her island with her turtles). However, I think that it was the one shift that felt like it wasn’t inherently reductive of previous seasons. Drew’s med school burnout story (and his position as Dr. Cox’s #1) is similarly unique, and while his relationship with Denise is very simple it feels like something that could grow and develop in a different way than the relationships which came before it (Elliot/J.D., Turk/Carla, etc.). While Denise’s character has been softened, I don’t think it’s a problematic softening in the long run.

And as for Dave Franco’s Cole, I think it’s an example of my appreciation for the performer outweighing the limited capacity of the character. In context, he’s barely more developed than the hot Australian doctor (who is little else than that, really), playing a delightfully douchey and entitled student, which is not actually in itself that unique. After all, early in the series, the show did a similar storyline with a trustee’s son tormenting Elliot when he’s assigned to her care. What makes it work for me, though, is that Franco has most often been playing either stoners or geeks who talk like stoners (most recently on The CW’s Privileged), and it’s kind of great to see him play someone with a more brash personality. While Lucy is the new J.D., and Drew has his own quirks (like this use of “whore” in stressful situations), Cole is the character who feels the most like a caricature (shortens words, has a wingmom) but yet Franco’s performance helped elevate to something that grew on me as the episodes went on.

And yet, in the two episodes, I’m not sure the show really did enough with any of this to convince me that it’s all going to work out if I wasn’t a returning viewer who understood the show’s patterns. It’s a weird position to be in, as for me the show is problematically familiar and for new viewers the show is likely problematically unfamiliar in terms of the leaps and shortcuts it makes to try to replace an outgoing cast with an incoming one. When the show went back to basics last year, it was repetitive in a way that felt like the show coming full circle: now, the show is trying to use the same tricks to start something entirely new, and in the process leaning on old material (and old characters, like the superfluous Dr. Kelso) in a way that is actually slowing down any sort of progress.

Neither of the two episodes were bad, and in fact I’d say that “Our First Day of School” probably did as good a job as it possibly could trying to explain away the show’s new premise (old hospital torn down, new hospital built on university campus, Elliot is seven months pregnant, etc.) and introduce these new characters. “Our Drunk Friend” had less of a narratological burden which meant that its problems were somewhat more apparent, but overall the episodes tread closely to Scrubs’ ongoing tradition and represented nothing close to a departure for Bill Lawrence and company.

As such, my true verdict on the new Scrubs waits until the departures actually happen, and when most of the returning characters outside of Turk and Dr. Cox leave and allow the show to get on with its new existence. The transition period exists for a number of reasons, many of them relating to promotion (Braff’s cache is way down, but still exists), but at this point it’s keeping the show from defining itself as anything but the exact same show with the exact same storylines but with new characters who are forced to fight over screen time with characters we love but who no longer have any sort of narrative arc. And while that’s charming, and on occasion very funny, it’s not a sustainable television model and, perhaps more problematically, it’s the same thing the show did last year just with different characters at the forefront. If this was Season 8, I’d view it as a fresh new start: as Season 9, it’s a weird transition phase that could go in any number of directions.

Cultural Observations

• I think the one lingering question for me is what happened to Carla: Judy Reyes is one of the missing actors who didn’t get another job (Neil Flynn, the Janitor, is of course on ABC’s The Middle), and yet she hasn’t been confirmed to be stopping by that often. This is largely because the show doesn’t seem to have any major storyline plans for Turk and Dr. Cox (Christa Miller is over on her husband’s other show, after all), but it’s interesting we didn’t get a mention of it.
• While the ratings aren’t of huge importance for the show, as in many ways it was brought onto the schedule in order to kill time between Dancing with the Stars seasons, I really hope the show maintains some momentum so that it can help launch Better Off Ted: that’s a show that deserves a few more seasons, and if a zombified Scrubs can make that happen I’ll be most pleased.
• While J.D.’s antics were tiresome throughout the two episodes (and remain the show’s lowpoint), I thought Dr. Cox worked well in a largely supporting role and as a teacher: we know from experience that he’s a great teacher when he wants to be, and it’s great to have John C. McGinley remain on my television.

Das lange Warten hat ein Ende. Nächste Woche Dienstag (01.12) ist es endlich soweit. Eine brandneue Scrubs-Folge wird in den USA ausgestrahlt.

Scrubs die 9te…Neue Informationen zur neunten Staffel der Scrubs, zu den alten und neuen Schauspielern, zum Ort des Geschehens, und das ganze drum und dran…gibt es heute…Scrubs-Day sozusagen
Freut euch drauf…immer mal wieder in kleinen Häppchen, leicht zu verdauen und zum drauf freuen: Trailer, Berichte, Infos, Bilder…

Zur Einstimmung: Was wird sich in der neuen Staffel am Cast ändern?

Fakt ist, dass J.D (Zach Braff) und Elliot (Sarah Chalke) vorerst nur in den ersten sechs Folgen der Neuauflage von Scrubs zu sehen sein werden.
Als bekannte Hauptdarsteller agieren weiterhin John C. McGinley (Dr. Cox) und Donald Faison (Turk).
Und um die Stimmung noch etwas mehr anzuheizen gleich noch der erste Trailer hinterher:

Pocas semanas después de confirmar su fecha de estreno para el primero de diciembre, la cadena ABC sorprendió a todos los fanáticos al presentar las primeras imágenes oficiales de la novena temporada de Scrubs.

Como todos saben, esta temporada presentará un reparto renovado, por lo que varias de las imágenes presentan imágenes que todavía no conocemos o de personajes que estarán solo en algunos episodios, como es el caso de JD (Zach Braff).

Se estima que la presencia de Braff en las imágenes promocionales se debe a que será una parte muy importante en la primera parte de la temporada, con el objetivo de hacer una transición más simple con el nuevo reparto.

Descripción oficial de ABC:

La nueva temporada comienza cuando JD decide regresar a Sacred Heart para servir como profesor en la escuela medica junto a Chris Turk (Donald Faison), Perry Cox (John C. McGinley), Denise (Eliza Coupe) y Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins).

Como es de esperar, juntos servirán como profesores y mentores para una nueva clase de estudiantes, incluyendo a la impresionable Lucy (Kerry Bishe), el ex-estudiante Drew (Michael Mosley), y el egocéntrico Cole (Dave Franco).

En su vida personal, JD esta casado con Elliot (Sarah Chalke) y están esperando su primer hijo.

La temporada 9 de Scrubs comienza el 1 de diciembre con dos episodios consecutivos.

A nona temporada de Scrubs já tem data para estrear, a série retornará ao ar no dia 8 dezembro nos EUA. Todos esperavam que ABC estreasse a nova temporada da série em 2010, mas felizmente a rede americana mudou de ideeia.

Com a saída do ator Zach Braff (J.D) do elenco de Scrubs, a série terá uma grande mudança na sua história. Os personagens Dr Cox (John C. McGinley) e Turk (Donald Faison) serão os protagonistas e a ação mudará do hospital para as salas de aula. Dr. Cox e Turk serão professores e por isso metade do elenco será composto por novos atores e atrizes, claro que serão frequentes as visitas ao hospital Sacred Heart e com isso alguns personagens retornam, além de participações especias de Zack Braff.

Scrubs sempre foi uma das minha séries prediletas, mas dúvido que essa nova formúla funcione, não consigo imaginar Scrubs sem o J.D.

A série é transmitida no Brasil pelo canal Sony e ainda não há previsão de estreia da nova temporada de Scrubs.

Por tercera vez Michael Bay viene a engrosar esta sección (tras la infumable Pearl Harbor y la estrepitosamente fallida La isla) con un nuevo despropósito orgiástico de chapa, cristal y pintura hechos añicos para disfrute del personal, puro escaparatismo pirotécnico que envuelve una historia tan gratuita como absurda a la medida del más rancio y conservador patrioterismo de una sociedad esquizofrénica como la norteamericana y con los consabidos “héroes” de cartón piedra que son tan de gusto de Bay como protagonistas absolutos de un pestiño que los seguidores del cine de acción no vacilan en calificar de “obra maestra” (no reírse, que lo dicen en serio).

Revestida, una vez más, de la épica de andar por casa que imprimen Bay y el productor Jerry Bruckheimer a todas sus historias, nos encontramos con una narración sonrojante, no sólo por la, una vez más, histriónica, histérica, autoparódica, ridícula y peripatética interpretación de Nicolas Cage, sino por las incongruencias y tonterías que el guión va soltando aquí y allá sin orden ni concierto y sin que se moleste en ocultar el plagio argumental de Harry, el ejecutor (The enforcer, 1976), película de James Fargo en la que Clint Eastwood y su compañera se enfrentan a un grupo terrorista que amenaza a la ciudad de San Francisco. Nos encontramos con un prólogo típico “de soldaditos”: el coronel Hummel (Ed Harris, probablemente el mejor actor norteamericano vivo en su personaje más incomprensible, más lamentable, más horripilante, pero Dios, ¿cómo es posible que cayera aquí?) es un veterano de los Marines, múltiples veces condecorado, Estrella de Plata, Medalla del Congreso, etiqueta de anís del Mono…, que, no obstante, se encuentra resentido con el maltrato que los politicos y burócratas infligen a los veteranos de guerra que no disfrutan de su grado militar y, sobre todo, hacia la memoria, el recuerdo y las compensaciones económicas a los familiares de quienes perdieron la vida en misiones militares, muchas de ellas ilegales, al servicio del imperialismo norteamericano derrocando gobiernos o apoyando golpes de Estado. Así que al bueno de Hummel y otros patriotas de su mismo cuerpo se les ocurre una genial idea para protestar y hacer que el Gobierno tome conciencia de tan tremenda injusticia: ¿una huelga de hambre? ¿Una manifestación? ¿La denuncia en los medios de comunicación? ¿Un calendario todos en bolas? Nooorl. Nada menos que el robo, el secuestro y el chantaje.

Así las cosas, un grupito de marines mentalizados todos, oficiales y soldados, de la necesidad de hacer justicia a sus camaradas desaparecidos, asaltan una base militar americana (vigilada por lo que parece ser un grupo de boy-scouts incompetentes y torpes, hay que ver cómo vigilan las bases en América, para echarse a temblar) y roban dieciséis (no uno ni dos) misiles cuyas cabezas están dotadas de un gas letal, venenosísimo y fosforescente que viaja en pelotas de cristal hiperfrágil. Pero ojo, como son soldaditos leales a sus camaradas, sólo hieren a los guardias, dejándoles dormidos con dardos cargados de un potente somnífero. Eso sí, la vida de los civiles se la trae floja, porque amenazan al Gobierno con disparar los misiles sobre la ciudad de San Francisco si no aceptan sus demandas una vez que se establecen en la antigua prisión de Alcatraz y secuestran al grupo de visitantes que a esa hora hace el recorrido guiado por esa antigua prisión española. Eso es el prólogo, y de él pueden sacarse dos conclusiones que rayan el absurdo: en primer lugar, el hecho de que no elminen a los guardias en el asalto pero que no les importe intoxicar y matar a toda la ciudad de San Francisco, militares incluidos, algunos de ellos los mismos a los que acaban de salvar, y en segundo, el detallito consistente en que los militares no utilizan sus uniformes reglamentarios, sino que los sustituyen por un sucedáneo de centro comercial; la importancia de esta nimiedad es extrema, dado que responde al tacto de cierto cine de Hollywood (y de ciertos Gobiernos) a la hora de hacer ficción con las sediciones, golpes de Estado ficticios y demás, sobre todo si los asesinos y terroristas visten uniforme americano. Las películas que recogen este tipo de historias han de pasar controles muy férreos de guión y producción para ser vistas con buenos ojos, y de ahí que la trama tome las derivas que toma.

El caso es que a las autoridades no se les ocurre otra cosa que asaltar la prisión para rescatar a los rehenes y eliminar la amenaza de los misiles. Para ello, escogen un grupo de comandos de lo más experto (exterminado a la primera ocasión, no es de extrañar que las cosas vayan como van en Iraq o Afganistán) y a dos asesores cuyo concurso es imprescindible para el éxito de la misión: un especialista en armamento biológico (Cage) que pueda desactivar los chismes, y el único (que insulto a la desmemoria del cinéfilo, que sabe perfectamente que han sido varios los fugados de Alcatraz, cinematográficamente hablando) fugado de la prisión que (nuevo absurdo), a pesar de haber vivido allí recluido en su celda y de haber transitado una única vez por los lugares que atravesó para salir de ella al mar, se conoce la edificación como si la hubiera diseñado él mismo. Quiere la cosa que el preso sea un antiguo agente secreto británico (Sean Connery) enemistado con el director del F.B.I. y que accede a ayudar porque su hija vive, mira tú qué casualidad, en San Francisco y es una víctima potencial de la amenaza.

Y a partir de ahí, ¿qué? Pues eso, incongruencias argumentales de primera clase, testosterona a chorros, acción, persecuciones (muy bien rodadas, eso sí), tiros, diálogos fatuos y grandilocuentes, música apabullante, militarismo de cartón, épica de baratillo, una ironía de parvulario en ciertos diálogos y mujeres reducidas al papel de florero (la novia de Cage, que se plantifica también en San Francisco, embarazada y deseando que su chico la pida en matrimonio) o de tópico (la hija desasistida de Connery, el cual espera recuperar el tiempo perdido junto a ella). Es decir, más espectacularidad vacía en la que la deriva de la trama tiene que reconduciirse hacia el patrioterismo chufletero y por lo tanto el papel de villano termina recayendo sobre dos subalternos, dos cabezas de turco indignos de llamarse Marines, rescatándose en última instancia la memoria de los héroes para el honor y la patria, haciendo inútil, absurdo, estúpido, todo lo anterior que hemos visto y convirtiendo al delincuente y asesino potencial en honorable víctima de la corrupción política. Un asco aderezado con los habituales tics de Bay, sobre todo esas escenas ridículas de ese héroe incorporándose a cámara lenta mirando hacia el horizonte mientras a sus espaldas encontramos un paisaje de desolación… Estupidez supina ante la que hay que dejarse llevar sin hacerse preguntas. Lo contrario nos expone al riesgo de un cortocircuito cerebral severo.

Acusados: todos
Agravantes: Cage, beattlemaníaco en la cinta, para más señas, está más odioso que nunca
Atenuantes: la escena de persecución está bien, entretenida y ocurrente; sólo tiene una pega: que argumentalmente es absurda
Sentencia: culpables
Condena: sin excepción, encierro en Alcatraz a pan y agua a perpetuidad, excepto Harris, con condena revisable; Cage, Bay y Bruckheimer, sin celda, encerrados directamente en las duchas con el jabón clavado al suelo

Dr. Cox Making alcoholism and narcissism funny since 2001

(John C. McGinley)

I can think of someone who does it better …

Picture by: dunno source Caption by: SaintSac via Our LOL Builder

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I was told that I could listen to the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven, I told Bill that if Sandra is going to listen to her headphones while she’s filing then I should be able to listen to the radio while I’m collating so I don’t see why I should have to turn down the radio because I enjoy listening at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven.

– Milton Waddams

Mike Judge’s cult classic Office Space is a contemporary look at what the corporate infrastructure is at this point. Ten years later, the movie is still as relevant as it was when it was released in 1999. Except, for the whole Y2K-the whole world is going to end-thing.

Based on his animated short series, Milton, this live adaptation delves into the mundane interworkings at a computer Company, Initech. The action follows Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) on the atypical day as a software developer. Two of his eight bosses, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole) and Dom (Joe Bays) lecture him about TPS reports.

Two follow software workers, Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir (Ajay Naidu) are on the same page with Peter. They don’t want to be there dealing with the droning of the receptionist, Nina (Kinna McInroe), staring at their steel gray cubicle walls and getting eye strain from mindlessly pounding the keyboard preparing the company for Y2K switch.. They dread everyday that they have to step foot in the Ninth Circle of Hell.

Their paranoid co-worker, Tom (Richard Reihle) is on high alert that the company has hired efficiency experts to see who could be fired, the Bobs (John C. McGinley, Paul Willson).

Peter’s cheating girlfriend, Anne (Alexandra Wentworth) wants him to see an occupational hypnotherapist, Dr. Swanson (Michael McShane) to help him out his stupor. During the session, the therapist has a heart attack and dies before Peter could snap out of his hypnotic state.

This leaves Peter in a relaxed state that he could ask out the cute waitress from Chotchkie’s, Joanna (Jennifer Aniston), who bound over hating their jobs and their love of kung fu. Peter starts missing work. Without Peter to boss around, Lumbergh sets his sights on the wimpy mumbler, Milton (Stephen Root).

During the course of the firings, Peter carefree attitude with the Bobs granted him a promotion and firing Michael and Samir. That does not sit too well the trio.

I worked in a couple of cubicle in my days. I could relate to the workers at Initech. Sometimes I did have the case of the Mondays, sometimes you daydream that the building would disappear or that you would stick it to the corporate ass kickers that are profiting on your hard work. This is like Norma Rae for the new millennium

Being that this movie is ten years old, it’s a little dated with the hoopla from the Y2K panic at this. There is nothing else negative to say about this movie. The rap music soundtrack strangely fits here. The scenes with the malfunctioning printer are classic.

Judgment: This movie is a battle cry to rise up against the greedy pigs running the corporate world. Just kidding.

Rating: ****1/2

What’s happening? Yeaaaah, I’m gonna have to go ahead and ask you to watch this great scene from this great movie. If you could just go ahead and do that, that’d be greaaat.

Picking a favourite scene from Office Space is a little like picking your favourite Pixar film – it’s just too damn hard. But for me, it’s all about Bobs. Cinema is jam packed with great duos, but Bob Slydell (John C McGinley) and Bob Porter (Paul Willson) are two of the very, very best. Charged with cutting out the deadwood at IT firm Initech, the pair finally get round to sitting down with one Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), a straight shooter with upper management written all over him. 

The following scene, which gets underway at about 0m50, is everyone’s interview fantasy. Who wouldn’t want to go into a room and tell two strangers how little work they do and be rewarded for it? Gibbons, still feeling the effects of some relaxing hypnotherapy, has decided to change his life for the better. The result is a candour which shocks, then charms, the two Bobs, who before long are hanging on his every word.

Livingston really shines here - from his nonchalant pouring of a glass of water to his repetition of the word ‘Bob’ - it’s a crying shame he’s never been used to such good effect since. But this isn’t a one-man show. Willson’s fantastic ‘Bahoo?!’ at 1m38 is so funny you forget he has uttered a word that didn’t exist, while McGinley’s face of indignation upon hearing that Peter has eight different bosses is priceless. ‘The pleasure’s all on this side of the table,’ he says. But, of course, he’s wrong: the pleasure’s all on this side of the TV screen. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SCENE FROM OFFICE SPACE?

GREAT SCENES ARCHIVE

When Lex Luthor becomes President, he begins a campaign to frame Superman for murder in another attempt to bring down the Man of Steel.

Directed by – Sam Liu

Written by – Stan Berkowitz, Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness

Starring – Eric Bauza, Xander Berkeley, Clancy Brown, Corey Burton, Levar Burton, Ricardo Chavira, Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly, Grey DeLisle, Michael Dorn, Hector Elizondo, Jennifer Hale, Allison Mack, John C. McGinley, Jerry O’Connell, Robert Patrick, CCH Pounder, Susan Roman, Fred Tatasciore, Tony Todd, Thomas F. Wilson, Chiara Zanni

Oh DC, where have I gone wrong with you? You were making these great animated movies with a slight adult slant and now you’ve reverted back to general kiddie fare! I thought we had a good thing going.

Yes, unfortunately, Superman/Batman doesn’t live up to all the previous movies that fall under the direct to DVD market that DC has ventured into. It’s not bad by any means, but it’s lacking something that made Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and especially Justice League, so great. The animation is well done and really holds true to the comic interpretation this story is based on. There’s a couple of moments where CG for the background really clashes with the animated characters in the foreground but beyond that it’s well done.

Even Batman has to unwind now and again.

The plot goes like this, Lex Luthor has become the President and is trying to get costumed heroes to fight for him. One way to hold his power over them, and he wants nothing more than to have Superman under his control. Superman isn’t having any of that of course, so Lex Luthor frames him for murder. At the same time, there’s a giant meteorite made of kryptonite hurtling towards Earth. Lex Luthor plans to destroy it to show the public what a great hero he is and is hoping that it will help him gain control over Superman, since Superman can’t destroy it himself.

His whole plan goes down the crapper and he ends up reverting back to the psychotic villain that he is. And we all live happily ever after. I guess that’s typical comic book action anyway so I won’t knock the plot. I just really hoped for something more out of this. There is plenty of action though, with Superman and Batman having to stand against hero and villain alike. Lex Luthor has put a 1 billion dollar bounty on Superman and that gets all the villains to crawl out of the sewers and try to take him on. On top of that, the heros that work with Luthor are trying to bring Superman to justice.

It's a bad day when even the heroes are against you.

This means about the last half of the movie, maybe even more actually, is one fight after another. That works out well because that’s what I was really hoping to see. And while that’s all good, I still couldn’t figure out what was missing from this one that left me wanting more. Maybe it’s the fact that the film doesn’t challenge how we think about Superman and Batman. They do exactly what they always do, stand for justice in the world, and that’s kinda boring. Green Lantern had a humour to it, Wonder Woman had plenty of violence (they are Amazons ya know!) and Justice League was a different look at the history of the DC Universe. Superman/Batman is just another animated movie featuring DC Characters. At least they managed to fit a ton of characters in there.

Under the marquee – Will

O ator John C. McGinley, que interpreta o Dr. Cox no seriado Scrubs do canal Sony, reduziu a pensão de seu filho pela metade, fato que deixou sua ex-mulher furiosa.

“Como é possível que me diga que não ter dinheiro para pagar a pensão de seu filho, enquanto ele tem para manter uma grande mansão em Malibu?”, reclamou a ex-mulher do ator.

McGinley paga normalmente US$9 mil ao seu filho de 10 anos, que sofre de Síndrome de Down, porém, uma decisão judicial lhe permitiu reduzir o valor pela metade ,enquanto a série não está sendo filmada, devido à greve de escritores em Hollywood.

John C. McGinley

John C. McGinley will lead the New York 2009 National Buddy Walk for the National Down Syndrome Society.

About 4000 people are expected to take to the streets to show their support for the charity.

‘I’m proud to be part of the National Down Syndrome Society’s Buddy Walk program because it’s meant so much to me and my son, Max. Max is fun, smart and silly. He loves to play with his friends, draw pictures, and go to school. And he also happens to have Down syndrome’, John C. McGinley says for the Buddy Walk, on 26 September.

John C. McGinley, most widely known for his absolutely remarkable performance in the NBC medical comedy drama ‘Scrubs,’ took to some very amazing advertising, and said advertisements unfortunately did not get publicised so much. After watching these however, I think you will find that you will agree with me when I said they should have been.

It’s easy in saying that the british never get amazing advertisements such as this. Yes, before you mention it. The brunette referees are attractive. In fact, a challenge to the readers, if you know of any hilarious advertisements.. I would be glad to show them!

A nova fase da série Scrubs ganhou o seu primeiro novo integrante no elenco, o escolhido foi o ator pouco conhecido Dave Franco (Greek), ele interpretará Cole, estudante de medicina, que vai fazer aquele tipo de médico que pensa que sabe tudo mas ao mesmo tempo é meio bobo. Lembrando que agora a série vai se passar em um hospital escola, que terá entre os professores Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) e Turk (Donald Faison), agora protagonistas da série.

A temporada passada foi uma das melhores da série, principalmente porque os roteristas souberam dar um destino para cada personagem, principalmente para J.D (Zach Braff) que deu um show no emocionante episódio final da temporada. Acho difícil dar certo essa nova fase, mas não custa dar uma chance para essa maravilhosa série.

With a title like that, I suppose you’d assume that I acquired a Ric Flair autograph from Donruss Americana but that isn’t the case. However, I did acquire my first-ever autograph from the Americana line, a Private Signings card of John C. McGinley numbered to 50.

McGinley, a veteran of film, TV, and Broadway has been one of my favorite actors for a long time. He has appeared in tons of films such as Platoon, Wall Street, Se7en, The Rock, and Office Space but younger fans would immediately recognize him as Dr. Perry Cox from the hit show, Scrubs. Check out Mr. McGinley’s impressive resume at the IMDb.

The second part of this mailday features a pair of cards from a set I’ve been chasing for well over a year (closer to two actually). Those that have been paying attention to this blog know what I’m talking about…

With only 250 possible sets available, completing the Row 0 set from 1998 Flair Showcase has certainly been quite the challenge! With the acquisitions of two of the higher-tiered cards: Nomar Garciaparra (126/250) and Scott Rolen (184/250), I am now only three cards away from completion.

The three that I am missing are Mark McGwire, Frank Thomas, and Livan Hernandez.

Friday Night Lights

Here are the confirmed names for the best show on television’s new season: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Jesse Plemons, Taylor Kitsch, Aimee Teegarden and Jeremy Sumpter. Plus, expect Adrianne Palicki, Minka Kelly and Zach Gilford to be back for their farewell arcs like Gaius Charles’ and Scott Porter’s last season.

Scrubs

As you should know by now, next season will transfer to med school, making teachers out of John C. McGinley’s Dr. Cox and Donald Faison’s Turk. And, as you probably also know, a quartet of med students will be the new cast additions, and while three of them are to be relatively unknown-ish actors, producers wanted a big name for the fourth one… and the name being thrown around is…

LAUREN GRAHAM! Yes, I died with joy when I first heard it, too.

Ugly Betty

Daniel Eric Gold, who plays Betty’s Matt, will indeed be returning next season, and as a series regular at that. However, don’t expect the two to get back together immediately, cause producers are getting someone lovable and blue collarish to be Matt’s newest obstacle.

O produtor e roteirista de “Scrubs” desmentiu o rumor de que a série será cancelada. Mas, antes de comemorar, pega isso: Zach Braff, o J.D., não vai estar mais no elenco!

O seriado agora vai ser focado em John C. McGinley (Dr. Cox) e Donald Faison (Turk). Metade do elenco será novo. “Se fosse a mesma série com outra pessoa no lugar de J.D. as pessoas ficariam loucas e seria um desastre. A ação mudará do hospital para as salas de aula, com o Dr. Cox e Turk como professores”.

A série não tem uma audiência tão expressiva mas tem uma boa base de fãs. Apesar de participações especiais de Braff não serem descartadas, na real, será que esse novo modelo de programa vai segurar esse povo?

Plans for how they’ll handle Season 9 without Zach Braff and other main characters have been announced. The show will now focus on Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) and Turk (Donald Faison) as med-school professors.

I don’t know that I have any interest in the show with these new changes….in fact, I feel like I lost most of my interest last season. Once the show went on hiatus and then was cancelled and then came back on ABC, it just seemed like it lost its steam. I’ll probably check it out, if nothing else, out of pure curiosity!

Read more about the changes.