"I'm gonna have a good year, aren't I?" J.D. (Zach Braff), now an attending physician at Sacred Heart Hospital, asks in the fifth season's opening episode. All vital signs are good (the series did receive an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Comedy), but longtime "Scrubs" fans may be forgiven a sense of déjà vu, from J.D.'s whimsical reveries to Dr. Cox's (John C. McGinley) increasingly tiresome rants. The series itself acknowledges the palpable sense of been there, seen that with the clever episode "Déjà vu, Déjà vu." But don't pronounce "Scrubs" dead just yet. Directed by Braff, "My Way Home," the series' 100th episode, is a brilliantly conceived homage to "The Wizard of Oz" with J.D. and company finding their hearts, brains, and courage. Another powerful episode that shows a welcome maturity is "My Lunch," in which J.D. at last has lunch with his reluctant mentor, Dr. Cox, in the wake of a patient's death (happily, the music rights were secured for the DVD release so that the Fray's "How to Save a Life" is playing on the soundtrack when Dr. Cox has his own tragic setback), and the follow-up episode, "My Fallen Idol."
While "Scrubs" has a tendency this season to get "more ridiculous" (in one episode, Neil Flynn's Janitor defies Ken Jenkins' Dr. Kelso to secretly keep a crow in the hospital), the scalpel-sharp writing affords Braff moments that are, in his character's own words, "classic Dorian." In the episode "My Half Acre," he mixes his sports analogies to tell Elliot (Sarah Chalke), "What's waiting for me in my room is what's known, in football terms, as a slam dunk," as he mimes hitting a tennis ball. Mandy Moore, displaying a surprising knack for physical comedy, follows Tara Reid and Heather Graham as a fleeting love interest for J.D. Other character milestones include pregnancies for Carla (Judy Reyes) and two other characters best left a surprise. Good for whatever ails season 5 are this set's extras, including an entertaining series retrospective, featuring interviews with the cast and creators, as well as commentary by Braff for an extended cut of "My Way Home." "--Donald Liebenson"