Morrow: Retooled 'Scrubs' doesn't work

ABC should have signed a do-not-resuscitate order on "Scrubs" this season.

The once-brilliant comedy, which was treated so poorly by NBC scheduling folks but saved by ABC executives, is back in a retooled fashion this time around (beginning 9 p.m. Tuesday, WATE, Channel 6). Zach Braff returns as the awkward J.D., but Sacred Heart Hospital is gone, replaced by a medical school.

The focus is just as much on the first-year medical students as it is the shell of "Scrubs" regulars who agreed to be a part of this mess. (Anyone recall "AfterM*A*S*H," the follow-up to "M*A*S*H"? Well, this is the same stylistic rub.)

What we get is a lesser version of the original "Scrubs" with new characters who are carbon copies of personalities we've seen before. With that, this new "Scrubs" is a tired retread of old jokes, worn-out journeys and too much familiarity.

Since the hospital has been torn down, J.D., Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) and Turk (Donald Faison) go to work as professors. J.D., of course, tries too hard to change their lives; Turk struts around as their hero; and Dr. Cox would rather insult them than teach them.

Dr. Denise Mahoney (Eliza Coupe), a holdover from characters introduced last season, is nothing more than a female version of Cox, except she's more hard-hearted and less sympathetic.

While J.D.'s narration is still the heart of the show's point of view, we also hear life from the angle of new student Lucy (Kerry Bishe), sort of a female J.D. Her fellow students are Cole (Dave Franco), a cocky rich guy, and Drew (Michael Mosley), a slightly older medical student who is a thorn in Cox's side.

The mash up of old "Scrubs" characters as authority figures together with this new class is odd and uncomfortable. It's too little of the best of what made "Scrubs" work previously - the great blending of outrageousness with pathos - and too much of seeing these newbies go through experiences we saw in the series' first few seasons.

Unfortunately, the best days of "Scrubs" is behind it. Best you walk away now while you still have fond memories. This is a second-rate take on what we've already seen.

Score: ** (out of five)

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