Network TV Shows: August 2008 Archives

With its endless reruns airing several times a day, "Scrubs" sometimes seems to me to be on its way to becoming almost as ubiquitous as "I Love Lucy," the most repeated comedy in the history of television.

The two shows are so different and yet they do have one thing in common: both feature comedy teams that are the heart of the show. Where "Lucy" had best friends and neighbors played to perfection by Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance, "Scrubs" is anchored by the extremely close - and very funny - relationship of young doctors Christopher Duncan Turk and Dr. John "J.D." Dorian played by Donald Faison and Zach Braff, respectively.

Donald told me recently that the chemistry between he and Zach was instant, "from the day I met him."

"We joked around really well together," he said. "For some reason, his sense of humor was the same as mine. I think pretty much everything that you see us do together, on that show, is how we are in real life. Maybe times that by ten. In real life we're that on
steriods."
The two characters are so close (J.D. calls Turk his "brown bear") that there has been some question - and many jokes - about whether they are gay and just don't know it.

Donald said that although "I am definitely his brown bear," he believes the two are merely engaging in typical male bonding: "I think that's in all male relationships. There's always references toward one's sexuality. It's a bonding tool. I don't think you'd be
dudes if you didn't do that. How could someone be your best friend if you can't do that?"

"There's not just gay references," he's quick to add. "There's black references and white references. Everything. The fact that I'm called brown bear or chocolate bear, it's not because I have the physique of a bear. It's because my skin is brown! It's definitely fun to not have to worry about being politically correct."

Although it's never been a blockbuster in the TV ratings, "Scrubs" has quietly built-up a loyal following throughout its seven years on the air. The many reruns and popularity on DVD led ABC to pick up the show for an eighth season when NBC was ready to send it to that big operating room in the sky.

So come January, we'll get more adventures of J.D. and Turk and their friends.

"Eight years on television, you can't beat that with a baseball bat," said Donald, who previously was a regular on the "Felicity," "Clueless," and "Clone High." "When we first started the show, I was 26. So I've almost lived a decade doing this television show and I
wouldn't change that for the world."

"I dreamt of it," he added. "Watching 'Cosby' and 'A Different World' and watching 'Family Matters' and 'Family Ties' and 'Cheers'and 'Friends' and 'Frasier' and all those shows. I think everybody dreams that that will happen one day. I for sure dreamed that it would happen. And it did and it's awesome."