Changes: Season Eight

Revision as of 22:08, 25 February 2019

Season Eight of Scrubs originally aired between January 2009 and May 2009 on ABC in 720p High Definition. It averaged 5.61 million viewers per episode, and received one Emmy nomination. It is available on DVD in regions 1, 2, and 4; Blu-ray in region A, and episodes are syndicated in most major markets.

Story

As J.D. learns how to treat the newest batch of interns, including the harsh Denise, the suck up Katie, and lazy Ed, Sacred Heart temporarily gets used to the new Chief of Medicine Dr. Taylor Maddox. Meanwhile, Dr. Kelso gets used to retired life at Coffee Bucks.

8x1 Maddox slow mo — Dr. Taylor Maddox, the new Chief of Medicine. ("My Jerks")

On the day that Taylor Maddox the new Chief of Medicine arrives at Sacred Heart, Janitor gets fired and Elliot finally apologizes for being insensitive to Keith. ("My Jerks") J.D. and Turk set aside a tradition to help a patient who insists he doesn't need their help. ("My Last Words") The entire staff at Sacred Heart tries to get Dr. Maddox fired, but they must turn to an old employee. ("My Saving Grace") Shortly after, J.D. and Elliot rethink their relationship, and J.D. takes the initiative to start it back up despite what others might think. ("My Happy Place")

8x5 Denise Elmo — Denise and Elmo. ("My ABC's")

As the new interns start to show their true colors, the entire hospital starts to get a little nervous due to the lack of a Chief of Medicine. ("My ABC's") ("My Cookie Pants") When Dr. Cox takes the position of Chief of Medicine, at first he tries to do everything required of his new job, plus see some patients, but he soon learns that he has too much on his plate. ("My New Role") ("My Lawyer's in Love") Dr. Cox finally gets a couple of days to relax around the hospital without being bothered by J.D. ("My Absence") and when he returns, J.D. organizes a comedy sketch show which ends up making him and Turk feel self conscious. ("My Comedy Show")

8x14 Jordan Elliot in bikinis — Jordan and Elliot in the Bahamas. ("My Soul on Fire, Part 1")

Life at Sacred Heart is seemingly normal and calm, and soon both Dr. Cox's and Jordan's relationship and Janitor's and Lady's relationship flourish. ("My Nah Nah Nah") The new interns learn by trial and error that they don't know everything, but that it doesn't hurt to speak your voice and be heard. ("Their Story II") As Elliot and Turk compare the new interns experiences with those of their own, Elliot ends up making a decision that she would not remain a doctor if she got married, because the emotional toll of telling people bad news sticks with her, long after the patients move on. ("My Full Moon") When Janitor invites everyone to his wedding in the Bahamas on short notice, J.D. rallys them all to attend, but all the couples who attend end up getting in fights. ("My Soul on Fire, Part 1") The couples resolve their arguments as they witness the still unnamed Janitor get married to Lady. J.D. also professes to Elliot that he loves her over Turk. ("My Soul on Fire, Part 2") The same time that Turk gets named Sacred Heart's new Chief of Surgery, J.D. decides to move closer to his son Sam.

8x18ending — J.D. leaves Sared Heart. ("My Finale")

("My Cuz") J.D. is offered a job at Kim's hospital and decides to leave Sacred Heart, a decision which only Elliot and Carla support. ("My Chief Concern") J.D. works during his last day at Sacred Heart and expects a grand farewell from everybody. He realizes he needs to spend time looking to the future, and believes that his fantasies of love and friendship may come true. ("My Finale")

Cast

Category: Season 8 Cast

A way for ABC to cut costs for the eighth season is for the main cast to be absent in 3 episodes apiece (Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke only miss two episodes).

Main Cast:

Zach Braff as Dr. John "J.D." Dorian (16, plus one voice only episode)
Sarah Chalke as Dr. Elliot Reid (16)
Donald Faison as Dr. Christopher Turk (15)
Judy Reyes as Carla Espinosa RN (15)
John C. McGinley as Dr. Perry Cox (15)
Ken Jenkins as Dr. Robert Kelso (15)
Neil Flynn as Janitor (15)

Supporting Cast

Robert Maschio as Dr. Todd Quinlan (12)
Sam Lloyd as Ted Buckland, Esq. (10)
Eliza Coupe as Denise Mahoney (10)
Christa Miller as Jordan Sullivan (9)
Johnny Kastl as Dr. Doug Murphy (2)
Travis Schuldt as Dr. Keith Dudemeister (2)
Aloma Wright as Laverne Roberts RN (2)

Guest Cast

8x16 Sean Kim on couch — Scott Foley as Sean Kelly and Elizabeth Banks as Dr. Kim Briggs. ("My Cuz")

Courteney Cox as Taylor Maddox ("My Jerks")
Elmo, Grover, Oscar the Grouch and Ex Ray as Themselves ("My ABC's")
Kate Micucci as Stephanie Gooch ("My Lawyer's in Love")
Lee Thompson Young as Derek Hill ("Their Story II")
Bill Lawrence as Van ("My Soul on Fire, Part 2")

Awards

This season received one Emmy nomination, for the episode "My Jerks"; Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (Half-Hour) And Animation.
Writer Aseem Batra received an Humanitas Prize for the second episode of the season "My Last Words". This is the third Humanitas Prize Scrubs has won.

Episodes

Category: Season 8 Episodes

"My Jerks" January 6, 2009
Directed by: Michael Spiller - Written by: Angela Nissel

Sacred Heart welcomes Dr. Maddox, their new Chief of Medicine.
J.D. struggles with new interns.
Elliot realizes she is self involved and apologizes to Keith.
Janitor gets fired.

"My Last Words" January 6, 2009
Directed by: Bill Lawrence - Written by: Aseem Batra

J.D. and Turk set aside a tradition to comfort a dying patient.
J.D. confronts Denise about her bedside manners.
Jordan and Dr. Maddox bond.

"My Saving Grace" January 13, 2009
Directed by: Michael Spiller - Written by: Janae Bakken

J.D. and Elliot attempt to cheat the system to get a patient medications.
Dr. Cox and Janitor work to get Dr. Maddox fired, but need the help of Dr. Kelso.
Carla and Katie have a serious talk in the cafeteria.

"My Happy Place" January 13, 2009
Directed by: Ken Whittingham - Written by: Taii K. Austin

J.D. and Elliot re-evaluate their relationship yet again.
Dr. Kelso decides to not let anybody's opinion bother him.
Dr. Cox slightly overcomes trust issues with Turk.

"My ABC's" January 27, 2009
Directed by: Bill Lawrence - Written by: Bill Lawrence

J.D. works with Denise to get her to be less coarse with her patients.
Dr. Cox tries to find out why he hates Ed.
Elliot gets Katie a position on Turk's academic team.

"My Cookie Pants" January 27, 2009
Directed by: Gail Mancuso - Written by: Clarence Livingston

J.D. works with Denise again and sets out the facts about how she needs to deal with her patients.
Elliot worries about making a night special for J.D.
Turk's sweet tooth takes over when Carla is gone.

"My New Role" February 3, 2009
Directed by: Will Mackenzie - Written by: Dave Tennant

Dr. Cox has a rough first day as Chief of Medicine, and realizes he is going to have a lot on his plate.
J.D. and Carla separately try to get Dr. Cox to grant them favors.
Elliot angers the nurses, and tries to set things right again.

"My Lawyer's in Love" February 3, 2009
Directed by: Mark Stegemann - Written by: Debra Fordham

Ted falls in love with a ukulele player.
Dr. Cox juggles too many things and forgets some of his responsibilities.
J.D. and Janitor hold a truce to help Ted.

"My Absence" February 10, 2009
Directed by: John Putch - Written by: Debra Fordham & Andy Schwartz

J.D. is away on a vacation, which makes Elliot miss him and Dr. Cox happy.
Carla tells Turk that she is pregnant again, but nobody is excited except for him and Elliot.
Sonja doesn't find any help when she tries to keep a brain-dead patient alive.

"My Comedy Show" February 10, 2009
Directed by: Ted Wass - Written by: Devin Mahoney & Rego Marquiis

J.D. and Turk organize a comedy show featuring the interns which results in them feeling insecure about their friendship.
Denise and Sonja try to get Elliot to help a patient's mother let the patient be a normal teenager.
Carla disillusions the Janitor.

"My Nah Nah Nah" March 18, 2009
Directed by: John Putch - Written by: Kevin Biegel

Dr. Cox and Jordan argue when Perry starts wearing his wedding ring again.
Janitor becomes nervous when Lady doesn't want to hold his hand.
Turk trys a risky procedure on a patient after being inspired by SportsCenter.

"Their Story II" Narrated by Derek Hill, "Sunny" Dey, & Denise MahoneyMarch 25, 2009
Directed by: Michael McDonald - Written by: Andy Schwartz

The new interns have bad days.
J.D. obtains a new role around the hospital - the guy who nags Dr. Cox to get things done.
Denise makes a decision that puts Elliot in a tight spot.

"My Full Moon" April 1, 2009
Directed by: John Michel - Written by: Kevin Biegel

Elliot has to break bad news to a patient, and questions if she really wants to be a doctor forever.
The new interns run into a patch of bad luck after they get pompous about their skills.
Todd sets some ground rules with hi-fives around Sacred Heart.

"My Soul on Fire, Part 1" April 8, 2009
Directed by: Bill Lawrence - Written by: Bill Callahan

Janitor invites the Sacred Heart staff to his wedding in the Bahamas on short notice just for the gifts, and J.D. convinces everyone to attend.
All the couples who went to the Bahamas have relationship problems.

"My Soul on Fire, Part 2" April 15, 2009
Directed by: Bill Lawrence - Written by: Bill Callahan

Janitor and Lady get married.
Carla makes time for Turk, while Jordan makes a profession to Perry.
Elliot accepts J.D.'s profession of love.

"My Cuz" April 22, 2009
Directed by: Linda Mendoza - Written by: Kevin Biegel

Turk applies for and gets the Chief of Surgery position.
Kelso contracts a strain of the flu and while treating himself realizes that he misses being a doctor
J.D. realizes that he's just a part time father and thinks about moving closer to Sammy and Kim.

"My Chief Concern" May 5, 2009
Directed by: Zach Braff - Written by: Neil Goldman & Garrett Donovan

J.D. decides to leave Sacred Heart for a new job at St. Vincent's Hospital.
Turk settles into his new position at Chief of Surgery and uses the title to fight with J.D. about his decision to leave.
Elliot takes the responsibility from Dr. Cox to punish Denise when she makes a mistake.

"My Finale" May 6, 2009
Directed by: Bill Lawrence - Written by: Bill Lawrence

J.D. spends his final day at Sacred Heart Hospital.
Turk and Elliot worry over giving J.D. a proper goodbye.
J.D. finds out Janitor's "real" name and Dr. Cox's real feelings toward him.

Music

8x15 Ted sings — Ted sings "Hey Ya!" by Outkast. ("My Soul on Fire, Part 2")

Full list: List of music featured in Scrubs

The eighth season of Scrubs continued in the fashion of the previous seasons and contained new and hit songs, including works from Death Cab for Cutie, Grand Archives, Joshua Radin, Outkast, Ziggy Marley, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ben Lee, and Peter Gabriel.

The DVD & Blu-ray disc

Main article: The Complete Eighth Season DVD & The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray

The complete eighth season was released onto DVD on August 25, 2009. The three disk set includes all 18 episodes in 4:3 aspect ratio, plus the following special features:

Season8bluray — The Complete Eighth Season Blu-ray

Audio commentaries by Bill Lawrence and various cast members and production staff on 16 episodes
Scrubs: Interns webisodes
- Two new never-before-seen Scrubs: Interns webisodes, exclusive to the DVD and Blu-ray release.
Deleted Scenes, Alternate Lines and Bloopers
My Bahamas Trip - A look inside the filming of "My Soul on Fire, Part 1" and "Part 2"

The Blu-ray set was released on November 17th, 2009. The two disc set includes all 18 episodes in 16:9 aspect ratio 1080p HD, plus the special features listed above and a Blu-ray exclusive feature:

It's All In The Name - A montage of the hilariously humiliating names Dr. Cox has called J.D. during their eight years at Sacred Heart.
Season Play

Trivia

Bill Lawrence has stated that each character had to take a couple episodes off, due to the requirement to produce the show more cheaply, at ABC's request.
This is the first season in which J.D. doesn't appear in every episode.
During this season, webisodes of Scrubs: Interns premiered simultaneously online. They showed the point-of-view of the new interns.