The first episode of "Scrubs"' final season ends with a sly kicker in which Zach Braff's J.D. rallies his colleagues as they enter their eighth year at Sacred Heart. "It's tempting to just mail it in," he states, "but there are still a lot of people who rely on us week to week. I think we owe it to them to be as inspired as we were in our first few years. I still think we're as good as anybody else out there." Indeed, "Scrubs" goes out at the top of its game. "People don't change, relationships don't change," the super-friendly but soulless new Chief of Medicine Taylor Maddox (a game Courteney Cox) proclaims at the end of her all-too-brief three-episode arc. How wrong she is. J.D. and Elliott (Sarah Chalke) become a couple again without too much drama. Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) and his dread ex-wife (Christa Miller) likewise declare their love for each other. Cox even forms a grudging friendship with his former nemesis Dr Kelso (Ken Jenkins), who in retirement has become a fixture in the hospital cafeteria where he takes full advantage of free muffins for life. Sad sack lawyer Ted (Sam Lloyd) and J.D.'s enigmatic tormentor Janitor (Neil Flynn) find someone to love, and Turk (Donald Faison) and Carla (Judy Reyes) prepare for their second child.
Things are different on the job front as well. Dr. Cox assumes the mantle of Chief of Medicine and struggles not to be overwhelmed by the bureaucracy. Bringing the show full circle, there is the next generation of interns (spin-off, anyone?) who test their mentors' patience. Eliza Coupe is a standout as Denise, who has a problem with compassion ("It's ironic that cancer starts with 'can'," she tells one patient). J.D.'s signature reveries aside, the final season goes easy on the fantasy. This season's Very Special Episode is a two-parter that takes the cast to the Bahamas for Janitor's wedding. Will Janitor finally reveal his name? Will Dr. Cox express his true feelings for J.D.? "Endings are never easy," J.D. muses in the finale. "I always build them up so much in my head, they can't possibly live up to my expectations, and I just end up disappointed." That will not be the case for loyal viewers who have stuck with "Scrubs" through thick and thin, NBC and ABC. If you're not moved by J.D.'s final walk through the halls of Sacred Heart or his home-movie vision of the future, then get yourself a heart transplant stat! "--Donald Liebenson"