Grade: A+ | Genre: Comedy Summary: I have to say my expectations were surfing the stratosphere awaiting the release of this box set, and damn it newbie if this collection didn't totally obliterate those meager thoughts. Do you ever wonder how breakthrough comedies come to whittle their way onto that little glowing friend in your living room? Say we took a washed up ballplayer then made him into a bartender lording over a bunch of zeroes whose asses are glued to the bar stools. What if we took six single twentysomethings and brought them together in affluent New York City. They wouldn't have jobs. Instead, they would simply hang out at the neighborhood coffee shop at 2pm on a Tuesday. How about we go one better and have a show about nothing. Seinfeld even saw fit to lampoon it's own existence when Jerry and George go pitch the sitcom idea to the NBC exec. Scrubs is this grade of revolutionary comedy. They took the tense life and death setting of a hospital and injected a healthy dose of humor, complete with J.D.'s wacky daydreams and runaway inner monologue. How do you sell a show like this to a studio exec in a world of cookie cutter comedies?

As a fan of the show who regrettably didn't get in on the fun until the second season, I have to say that I've been awaiting the release of this box set like parents do their first born. I mean I knew there would be some throw-up and a little poop to clean up seeing as how the series probably wouldn't be as razor sharp until it found its footing, but darn it all if watching this series at its infancy wasn't worth it. Though there was plenty of pooh on Eliot's face and J.D. does up chuck on a girl he was trying to impress, you don't have to spot this budding new comedy any points. It showed up ready to play. Scrubs is the wackiest pile of quirk on television.

The comedy here secures its destined spot among televisions best and brightest of all time. What other show would you have elderly patients wheeled around in grocery carts, scanning their hienies or have a character that is in the hospital because he told a woman she "smelled like wet ass?" The series writers are dangerously inventive and really cater to the actor's unique strengths. Can you imagine another actor even touching the manic passion and intensity of John McGinley's Dr. Cox? What about Neil Flynn's strangely interesting Janitor? The synergy between these talented actors and the rich material that the writers spin for them creates an irresistible combination that establishes characters we love, love to hate, and maybe get just want to get a little nookie from.

Scrubs Starring: Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, John McGinley, Ken Jenkins and Neil Flynn BUY OR RENT IT NOW! You may also like... Garden State Arrested Development : Season 1 Seinfeld : Season 4 Email this article to a friend

In talking with friends in the medical field, they all say that Scrubs comes closer to capturing the actual hospital experience than the tense and uptight E.R. It makes sense because if you didn't laugh and carry on in heavy situations like they are faced with on a daily basis, you'd probably crack under the intense pressure. Interestingly, the most powerful moments of the series are the dramatic ones. The show is so spastically funny that the dramatic efforts are often overlooked. They deal with real issues like losing your first patient, hitting those sticky spots in a relationship and just the general awkwardness of not fitting in and feeling inadequate. These elements are vastly understated and their subtlety provides so much depth and emotion to the series.

The first season featured an endless buffet of great guest stars popping their head in on our fruity crew. John Ritter showed up as J.D.'s flaky dad, Brendan Fraiser nailed himself into the picture as Jordon's brother and Cox's best friend, Scott Foley as Eliot's equally neurotic boyfriend and even Jimmy Walker shows up as the head of J.D's MRI tube girl. On any other show, your face would be frozen in a perplexed "Huh?" But the way J.D.'s inner monologue spins out of control -- really nothing can be considered out of the ordinary. From the literal spelling out what exactly is means to get hit with a ton of bricks to the over-the-top goodness of Braff taking on Rowdy Roddy Piper, J.D. has a three-ring circus sealed up in his head.

The smaller background elements of the show really add the finishing touches to be savored. The running soundtrack of the Scrubs life is second to none. We find cuts by David Grey, Jeremy Kay, Colin Hay and Leonard Cohen among other greats. Braff, of course, assembled last year's most popular film soundtrack to accompany his brilliant indie flick Garden State, and there is cause to believe that he has a hand in influencing the tracks chosen for Scrubs. His favorite up and coming artists (Joshua Radin, the Cary Brothers) seem to find their tunes smuggled into the background on a regular basis.

Each disk contains a bevy of extras ranging from how the idea of Scrubs first came to Bill Lawrence and how the unknown Zach Braff came to be doctor John Dorian to the hilarious outtakes and deleted scenes. It's hard to believe that there are any outtakes left since the entire series seems to be one big side splitting outtake reel, but they found a couple choice moments to relentlessly tickle our funny bone.

I have to say my expectations were surfing the stratosphere awaiting the release of this box set, and damn it newbie if this collection didn't totally obliterate those meager thoughts. The first season is a comic masterpiece that begs to be seen. The humor is definitely off kilter and takes a discerning eye, but once it hooks you watch out because the kind doctors of Sacred Heart will have just bumped your favorite TV show out of its comfortable chair.