My Favorite 'Scrubs' Episodes: Season by Season, Cont'd.

In January, I looked at every season of Scrubs and put together a list of my favorite episodes.  Since Season 9 starts tomorrow, I've decided to update my list by adding my favorite Season 8 episode.

Season 1: "My Old Lady"
The whole crew learn their share about death when JD takes care of an old woman ready to die, Elliot and Carla watch over a woman who can't speak English, and Turk becomes too close with a patient (summary by IMDB).

This episode really captured the tone of the show because it was the perfect combination of laughter and emotion. You watch J.D., Elliot, and Turk handle losing their patients, but you also see them grow as doctors. If you had to pick one episode that sums up Scrubs this has to be it.

Season 2: "My Philosophy"
J.D. discusses the philosophy of death with a transplant patient. Elliot feels that having a unisex locker room at the hospital is unfair. Meanwhile, Turk proposes to Carla just before she leaves for 5 days to take care of her grieving mother, leaving him to ponder over what her answer will be (summary by IMDB).

Again, this episode toes the line between goofy comedy and heart wrenching drama. We also see how creative this show can be when they have part of the cast be a part of a musical number. This was a bold move that could have hurt the episode, but it was pulled off brilliantly.

Season 3: "My Screw Up"
It's Jack's first birthday, so Jordan's siblings Dani and Ben are in town. Dr. Cox tells JD to leave a patient for 1/2 an hour and check-up on Ben's leukemia, but when a patient dies, Dr. Cox blames JD, and takes over his patients. Carla and Turk argue about Turk getting rid of his mole and Carla taking Turk's last name. The main theme is acceptance (summary by IMDB).

The brilliance of this show is once again displayed through this episode, which is a testament to the strong writing and story telling. This episode also has a twist ending that totally floored me, and made this installment even more powerful.

Season 4: "My Cake"
J.D.'s brother Dan comes back to tell J.D. their father died (summary by IMDB).

I tend to like any episode with Tom Cavanagh, who plays J.D.'s brother, because he has good chemistry with Zach Braff. I believe them as brothers. This is also one of my favorite episodes because we finally get to see that Dr. Cox really does care about J.D.

Season 5: "My Way Home"
100th episode. As a tribute to "The Wizard of Oz", the four companions go on a similar journey. Turk needs a heart from a patient in order to be the first resident to assist performing an in-house heart transplant. Carla needs courage to have a child with Turk even though she can't stand babies, Elliot needs the brains to handle speaking in a medical seminar, and J.D, well, he just wants to get home...(summary by IMDB).

I'm also a sucker for the Braff directed eps. Sure, I'm biased, but I don't care. This episode my not be the most original, but it's just fun to watch because it's look and style is so over the top, but it works as an homage to The Wizard of Oz.

Season 6: "My Musical"
A patient (Tony award nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo) hears singing from everyone, turning Sacred Heart into a musical extravaganza. Meanwhile, Elliot determines whether or not J.D. should move in with her, and Carla determines whether or not to go back to work (summary by IMDB).

The reason I liked this episode is very similar to why I liked "My Way Home". It's just fun to watch. A musical episode cannot be pulled off by just any show, but Scrubs was able to make it work.

Season 7: "My Princess"
Dr. Cox tells his son the story about a typical day at Sacred Heart in the form of a bedtime fairy tale (summary by IMDB).

For some reason, this episode fell flat with a lot of viewers, but I thought it was one of the few highlights of a lackluster season 7. Personally, I blame NBC because they showed it out of order, thus throwing some viewers off. As an episode, it may not be the most original to date, but it was a nice little change of pace, and I enjoyed watching it. Sure, it wasn't perfect but it was better than most, if not all, of the rest of season 7.

Season 8: "My Cookie Pants"
Dr. Cox is up for the Chief of Medicine position, but he's not sure if he wants it. Meanwhile, J.D. confronts his intern about her callousness toward patients, and Eliot asks for Turk's help in her love life with J.D. (summary by IMDB).

Season 8 was such a great addition and in a lot of ways the perfect send off.  I was really close to putting "My Finale" as my S8 choice, but that would have been too easy.  The reason I really liked "My Cookie Pants" is because it really puts all of the changes into motion.  J.D. and Elliot are together once and for all, and he finally understands what a great woman he has in Elliot.  Dr. Cox finally wants to climb the ladder, with a push from Kelso.  The characters we've come to love are finally growing up, and we get to see them get ready to embrace their futures.

I'm still torn about Scrubs: The New Class, but I am kind of excited about tomorrow's one-hour premiere.