Scrubs is No Dr. Feelgood

I like Scrubs. It’s a good show with great writing, quirky characters and poignant stories. Whenever I watch it, there are always a few lines in each episode that make me laugh out loud. But after watching it tonight, I realized something.

Scrubs is emotionally draining.

That’s right. In the short 22 minutes, it takes you on an emotional rollercoaster that just leaves you emotionally exhausted when it’s all over. There are many jokes throughout each episode, but at the end of the episode, you see how all those jokes lead up to a sad ending.

Take Thursday night’s episode, for example. Doctor Kelso had a birthday coming up but he didn’t let anybody know how old he was. In fact, he had been lying about his age for the last seven years or so. It turns out that he’s 65 and the staff wanted to throw him a party. At the party, one of the higher administrators was there and found out that he’s 65. At the end of the episode, the administrator talks to Dr. Kelso and reminds him that they don’t allow their surgeons to work past the age of 65. It’s then that the viewer realizes that Dr. Kelso had a very good reason for lying about his age and the staff just ruined it.

It’s for that reason that I can’t watch the show over and over again like my other favorite shows. Scrubs has always been in my top 10 favorites, but I can only watch each episode once or, at the most, twice. My other favorite shows – Seinfeld, Reno 911, The Office, Corner Gas and others – could be on continuous repeat in my DVD player and I’d never get sick of them.

So when the series finale comes on, it’ll be a bittersweet evening. I’m excited to see how the clever writers (if they ever go back to work) decide to end such a quirky and unique show. But I know the final episode will be ten times as draining as a normal episode. I’ll have my box of tissues sitting next to me that night.

Favorite Scrubs Line of the Night:
Ted the Lawyer: Chicks, huh? They’re all soft and cuddly but ya never get to be with one.

Popularity: 3% [?]