LITTLE ROCK — Is it just me, or does it seem as if Scrubs has been on the air since the last century?
Close. NBC rolled out the hospital comedy with a serious lining on Oct. 2, 2001. The seventh and final season starts at 8:30 p.m. today.
Maybe it seems we've seen so much Scrubs because it's in syndication and running somewhere 24/7.
Scrubs follows the antics of Dr. John "J.D." Dorian (Zach Braff) through lots of goofy sight gags, slapstick, fantasy cutaways, internal dialogue and narration.
One of Scrubs' most appealing strengths is the talented ensemble populating Sacred Heart Hospital.
Donald Faison plays J.D.'s best friend since college, Dr. Chris Turk. Sarah Chalke (one of the brace of Beckys on Roseanne) portrays the fetching but gawky Dr. Elliot Reid.
Aside: Whatever happened to Lecy Goranson, the other actress who played Becky on Roseanne? She'd be 33 these days. She was on an episode of Law & Order:SVU three years ago, but that's about it.
The hospital crew also contains Ken Jenkins as bitter and abrasive Dr. Bob Kelso, John C. McGinley as snide and acerbic Dr. Perry Cox and Judy Reyes as Turk's wife, no-nonsense nurse Carla Espinosa.
Then there's my favorite character, Neil Flynn as the hospital janitor with no name. Maybe on the last episode we'll learn what his name is. Maybe not.
That would sort of be like Wilson (Earl Hindman) on Home Improvement. From 1991 to 1999 we never saw the wise neighbor's complete face until the last episode was over and the cast came out for a finalbow. It was the show's running gag.
When last we saw J.D. and Elliot, they were in bed at the hospital and entertaining carnal thoughts, pondering if they were meant to be together after all.
Did they or didn't they? I know you've been losing sleep over it since May. I've seen the episode and NBC swore me to secrecy.
But don't forget, Elliot is engaged to be married to Keith and J.D. has a very pregnant girlfriend Kim at home. What will they do? What will they do?
Find out tonight.
A moment of silence
. How bad does a show have to be to be canceled by The CW? Really, really bad.
The network has canned Online Nation after three poorly attended episodes.
The show aired at 6:30 p.m. Sundays and featured content gleaned from the Internet, including online videos and blogs.
Nobody cared. The last episode only attracted 580,000 You-Tube diehards. Evidently everyone else was busy with their own blogs and pages, convinced the world is as fascinated with their lives as they are.
Aliens in America reruns will fill the void.
Getting the buzz
. If Online Nation was the anti-buzz poster child, what new shows are getting the positive vibes?
Yahoo keeps track of which programs viewers want to know about and has released a top five list and speculation behind the buzz.
Here it is:
1. Private Practice (ABC). Grey's Anatomy spinoff afterglow, and premiere ratings were good.
2. Pushing Daisies (ABC). Critics love the show and it's packed with Broadway stars.
3. Moonlight (CBS). Ratings are slipping, but vampires are always popular on the Web.
4. Dirty Sexy Money (ABC). A Baldwin brother, any Baldwin brother, will pique interest for a while.
5. The Big Bang Theory (CBS). The cast is surprisingly charming.
Terminator
date
. Fox has given a premiere date for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The new drama will kick off at 7 p.m. Jan. 14.
The series will pick up where the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day left off.
Just to be clear, creator Josh Friedman told critics in California last summer that the series will pretend that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, never happened.
In the series, Sarah (Lena Headey) and her son, 15-yearold John (Thomas Dekker), are fugitives.
Firefly fans will be pleased that Summer Glau is in the show as their protector.
The series will be paired with 24.
Prison Break
break
. Fox's Prison Break will have its fall finale Dec. 17 and be on vacation until April 14. I must confess that I haven't followed this season's action as closely as last year's. I don't know what the missing element is.
Back for more
. ABC Familyhas ordered a third 10-episode season for its drama Kyle XY. The show is in its second year and is currently on midseason hiatus.
More back for more
. Regis Philbin will be the host for CBS' Million Dollar Password. The six episodes will test the waters on whether viewers want the venerable game show revived. Watch for it at midseason.
More Messing
. USA has ordered 10 episodes of The Starter Wife starring Debra Messing. This offering will be a series. What we saw during the summer was a Starter Wife miniseries. See the difference?
Whatever it was, it was nominated for 10 Emmys and averaged a cable-impressive 5.4 million viewers.
The miniseries followed Molly Kagan (Messing) as she divorced her cheating film mogul husband. The series will follow Molly's post-divorce adventures.
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Style, Pages 37 on 10/25/2007