PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: MEDIA AS ENTERTAINMENT: SCRUBS: THE FAREWELL TOUR {LOS ANGELES} {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in this series of seminars conducted by The Paley Center for Media which celebrate media as entertainment. Held at the Paley Center in Los Angeles, and moderated by Stuart Levine, managing editor at Daily Variety, this seminar celebrates "Scrubs," the comedy series about hospital intern J.D. Dorian, his peers, and the doctors and nurses with whom they work. Rebecca Faez, director of administration at The Paley Center in Los Angeles, offers opening comments before bringing Levine to the stage. Levine tells how "Scrubs" is completing its seventh season, which is scheduled to be its last. He then introduces executive producer/director/creator/writer Bill Lawrence.
Lawrence introduces a clip from the "Scrubs" episode "My Musical," in which a patient sees everything around her as a musical, with J.D., Elliot, Turk, Dr. Kelso, Dr. Cox, and The Janitor appearing to serenade her.
Levine then introduces the panelists: Lawrence; and cast members Christa Miller (Jordan Sullivan); Neil Flynn (The Janitor); Ken Jenkins (Bob Kelso); John C. McGinley (Perry Cox); Judy Reyes (Carla Espinosa); Donald Faison (Christopher Turk); Zach Braff (John "J.D." Dorian); Robert Maschio (Todd Quinlan); Johnny Kastl (Doug Murphy); Aloma Wright (Laverne Roberts); and Sam Lloyd (Ted Buckland). Cast member Sarah Chalke (Elliot Reid) was scheduled to appear but was unable to attend.
Panelists touch on such topics as: if the show was a tough sell to NBC since there were no single-camera comedies on TV at the time; why the program is owned by ABC by airs on NBC: how Braff's role as a gay party boy in "The Broken Hearts Club" led to his getting the lead in "Scrubs"; finding a balance between comedy and drama; how many of the medical cases are based on fact; the episode in the first year that "changed the show and shocked the network"; putting a comic slant on ethnicity; storylines that NBC deemed too controversial; favorite scenes; the effects of the writers' strike on the show; if the final episode has been written; if most fans think J.D. and Elliot should end up together; how the show has affected the actors' careers; if "The Janitor" has a name; if Braff fears being typecast as "J.D."; frustrations over the show's time slot getting frequently changed; and the importance of comic contributions from supporting players.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics: why Hugh Jackman has been a target in scripts; similarities between the actors and their characters; if the actors are allowed to hone the scripts; producers' conflicts with NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker; if the network is forcing the show to conclude with its seventh season; why a "creepy, deserted hospital" was chosen as the stand-in for Sacred Heart; and fans' reaction to the show's "snarky" humor.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: December 13, 2007 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:36:34
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:91971
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Rebecca Faez … Host
- Stuart Levine … Moderator
- Bill Lawrence … Panelist
- Christa Miller … Panelist
- Neil Flynn … Panelist
- Ken Jenkins … Panelist
- John C. McGinley … Panelist
- Judy Reyes … Panelist
- Donald Faison … Panelist
- Zach Braff … Panelist
- Robert Maschio … Panelist
- Johnny Kastl … Panelist
- Aloma Wright … Panelist
- Sam Lloyd … Panelist
- Sarah Chalke
- Hugh Jackman
- Jeff Zucker