That's one of the things that makes sightseeing in Washington, DC, so much fun. A cacophony of other languages often surround you. Sometimes, though, it is a soft, melodious sound. I like to just stop and listen.
-New Madmen episodes on Netflix! I think it's season five. It's actually been pretty underwhelming for the most part, but we just saw an episode called something like "At the Codfish Ball," which may have had a few of the most funny scenes in the show's history (and displayed a return to form for the show).
Roger - "His name is Ed. He's at Dow-Corning. They make beautiful dishes, glassware. Napalm."
Megan's dad, referring to Don's little daughter Sally in broken english (and getting confused between legs and wings)... "Don, there is nothing you can do. No matter what, one day your little girl will spread her legs and fly away."
Oh man. We've only got a few more episodes of season five to watch, and we'll probably finish them off today. Gotta say, this whole 13 episodes a season thing is a bit of a rip. I want more.
We finished off the available Wallander. And, actually, Netflix recommended a bunch of other BBC-type shows of detectives in Norway and such, but I forgot to instant queue them, and now they're off the rec-screen. If anyone can recommend other detective thriller TV shows that take place in ECM-land, shout 'em out.
We watched something called The Midwife or The Midwives. It's like a 8 episode BBC period piece about midwives in the 1960s in England in some crappy part of town. Aside from the mental exhaustion of watching women scream out labor pains in abject squalor for an hour each episode, it's a pretty entertaining show. We're gonna watch ep.2 before long.
On the movie front, I said I'd catch up on some of those superhero flicks when I got real sick next time. I have the flu. I watched Captain America, and enjoyed it and thought it was real well done. I tried to watch Thor, but just couldn't do it. It was so awful. I stopped, I dunno, maybe a third of the way in. Thor tried to reclaim his hammer, couldn't.
Midwife is now on series 2 here - maybe ended last Sunday. We are probably amongst the few people in the UK not watching it - we saw the very first episode and gave up! I admit though that Miranda Hart is a good actress as well as an amazing comedian - very popular here is probably an underestimate. Sorry I cannot help with the Norwegian crime programmes. BBC have been showing several series of The Killing, and the Bridge but they are both Danish series with subtitles. Jo Nesbo, a Norwegian crime writer, has written several top selling books, but so far they have not been televised.
We've gotten hooked on the 7up series - the director filmed 7 year old kids in 1963, and then every 7 years makes a new movie about the same 14 people and its fascinating. We're currently halfway through 28up.
Spoiler alert, but for anybody who's seen it
Love Tony, identify with Neil, and at 28, Suzy gets points for most improved.
Happy there's more Mad-Men. Are the new funny parts lawn mower funny? Or was that not really funny?
jonah - You are in for a treat with the last few episodes of season 5. I was able to realize what was about to happen in a couple instances, but they still ended up being jaw dropping.
amclark2 - There is one scene particular where a character experiences a substance of the 60s that is seriously, seriously funny. The lawn mower was pretty hilarious too, though.
Game of Thrones is back on Sunday!!! This season includes the amazing incident in Storm of Swords.
I watched Captain America, and enjoyed it and thought it was real well done
Lol, this actually made me glad that tastes differ and it pleased someone - there have been few movies recently that I enjoyed less.
And on the topic of my continuing induction into American culture, I just watched East of Eden for the first time, on a plane. Interesting film. Saw Hitchcock too, which I thought was OK, no more, no less.
Watched the 40-minute delayed The Good Wife tonight. As the show was ending, a haunting song was a remarkable fit for what was happening on the screen. I googled the lyrics. Someone I hadn't heard of. Tell me, guys, is the album worth buying?.
Lykke Li - Unrequited Love from the album Wounded Rhymes.
Just watched the season finale of The Walking Dead, which may be why this list of "42 Things You might Find Funny if You Watch The Walking Dead" seems so funny.
So, no one has broached Season Three of Game Of Thrones yet - no spoilers here, I just want to say for the record that I have made my peace with the variances Season 2, and now 3, have taken from the story lines of the books. Whatever. The TV show is none the less one of the more entertaining and well made things to be seen out there, and I have watched every episode numerous times, and will continue to, as it is impossible to have too much of direwolves or dragons. The season seems a little slow taking off but there are so many characters and situations to catch up with before the action gets hot.
Anyone watch Hannibal? As a fan of the books, I am sufficiently intrigued by the first episode to continue. Will Graham seems to be a little more out there than I tend to imagine, but I'm curious. For the record, despite Ralph Fiennes portraying the title character rather well, Red Dragon, the movie, did not succeed for me because, one, Anthony Hopkins looked twenty years older in what was supposed to be a prequel, and two, mostly because Edward Norton did not work as Will Graham for me at all. Too young and not crispy enough - this guy is crispy but he's a little youngish too.
For me, I haven't had much to say on Season 3 of GoT yet because it's all been about getting the chess pieces in place for the mind blowing stuff to come. Plus, this is the first season where I've read the book before the season, and I've found it hard to talk about the show without spoilers. It has been really good though. I always find myself looking at my wife when an episode ends and saying, "that can't really have been an hour, could it?" The pacing is just so fantastic on that show.
I didn't watch Hannibal, just because I'm having trouble keeping up with the stuff I already watch (still haven't seen Sunday's Mad Men premiere, although that will be corrected tonight). If it survives, though, it's the type of show that I'll likely catch up on over the summer.
There are just so many threads to juggle in GoT that it's obviously very hard work to make each episode invigorating. I thought they failed with the premiere, which felt workmanlike to me, but I did like ep 2 more. Yes, it's a lot of great story, but man, with too much, how can you make entertaining television? It's a tough task - sometimes I wonder if it's simply too much source material to really succeed without changes even more significant than they've adopted. There's not a lot of room for artful drama with so much to tell, so many characters to juggle. I'm inclined to think they'll have to at least occasionally use episodes to focus on only a few threads at one time to build some narrative momentum, but we'll see.
We need more Jaime, and I look forward to his increased profile in the story.
I've seen the first two episodes of GoT, too. I agree the first episode just seemed like catch up from season 2. I thought I heard that Season 3 is only going to be the first half of book 3.
On another note, my wife has gotten into Bates Motel, which looks at the childhood of Norman Bates and his Mom, even though she has yet to see the original Pyscho movie, something I hope to rectify soon.
It seems to me with GoT that we might be getting a single 10-hour TV show rather than 10 individual episodes. This matches the style of the books - a whole bunch of often unrelated stories, with occasional sudden climaxes - but whether it makes great television is arguable. It's possible that at the end of it all we'll look back at how GoT changed the rules about how you tell a story on television. Actually I have to say that the main thing that's stopped me from enjoying The Borgias (we're about 6 or 7 episodes in) is the way that each scheme/crisis has to be resolved by the end of the episode. So the lack of dramatic unity in GoT so far hasn't troubled me at all.
GoT certainly wouldn't be the one to change that rule. The Wire did that (can't think of an earlier, more pure example of "novel in a season" television, though maybe a British show did it). And The Wire managed to be great, artful drama most episodes, way moreso than GoT manages. But not much can measure up to The Wire.
Are there any House of Cards fans here. Did I miss the discussion?
This has got to be the single greatest television program ever recorded in no small part due to its central character, Kevin Spacey. They break the third wall with regularity and you can watch the entire 13 episode first season in one sitting if you want. Only available on Netflix as an original series. What is not to love?
This single program renews my faith in the viability of Netflix. If they can pull another couple of these series out of there, um, hat, they can give the broadcast networks a run for their money.
I don't know if anybody's watching Netflix's "other" original program, Hemlock Grove, but I'm here to warn you, don't. Don't even think about it.
Hemlock Grove may be the worst thing I've ever seen on tv. It has only two redeeming qualities. One, beautiful b-roll shots of small mountain town Pennsylvania (or wherever they shot the show) and, two, a script/acting so bad, it inevitably makes us laugh several times each episode.
For a long time, we thought it was a parody of those vampire/werewolf shows. And while I've come to learn that the show takes itself quite seriously, I'm still not convinced it's not a parody. It's just that bad.
Acting... awful. There are a few actors in particular who absolutely enrage me by how bad they are. I mean, seriously seriously awful, as in should never be allowed in front of a camera again. Two Battlestar Galactica actors have parts in Hemlock Grove... Chief Tyrol and Officer Duala. I think the dude that plays Tyrol probably plays that same character in every role he takes on. In fact, I'm starting to get suspicious that the police force of Hemlock Grove may, in fact, be overrun with cylons. Can cylons also be werewolves? I'm hoping to find the answer to this pressing question. Despite the participation of two solid BSG actors, this show proves that only the great actors are able to overcome a bad bad bad script. Also, Lili Taylor plays a passable role as the mother of a main character. She's not in it much. Also, the chick that plays Jean Grey in the X-men movie is the mother of the other main character.
The writing may be the only thing worse than the acting. Phrases like "dirty gypsy" and "gypsy punk" get used a ton throughout the show (one character, who people suspect of being a werewolf, is, of course, a gypsy). I mean, people pick on him, beat him up, mock him in high school, just for being a dirty gypsy. Are teenagers even aware of the word gypsy anymore? Who the fuck even says stuff like that? Has the phrase "dirty gypsy" even been muttered by anyone born later than the 17th century? Apparently, in the small PA town of Hemlock Grove, gypsies are a serious problem. But gypsies are the only minorities plaguing Hemlock Grove, because no other minorities, other than a doctor of (maybe) Japanese descent, appear on the show (oh, wait, I forgot about the Hispanic wait staffs, and then, there's also Duala, who shows up for a few episodes). But then again, maybe that's how small town PA is... 99% Anglo and a handful of dirty gypsies.
I'm pretty sure a seventh grader wrote the script, perhaps a son or daughter of the show's producer. Lots of profanities delivered in awkward and nonsensical moments. Tons of sex, including a focus on Hemlock Grove's thriving lesbian community. Even the werewolf gets a little bit on the side, but, y'know, in the way that they do... violently. One of the two main characters... a supposed "good guy"... rapes a fellow classmate. Also, lots of superficial references to the occult, and plenty of lines that are supposed to be profound, but lack the substance of a good fortune cookie message. Oh, right, and if anyone drinks liquor, they often do it from the largest bottle available. If you're looking for the show's scriptwriters, I would keep an eye out for a teenager, going through puberty but convinced that they know everything they need to know about adulthood, and who doesn't really think learning stuff like, y'know, grammar and language stuff is, y'know, important. Two characters like to say 'Sheeee-iiiittt' with a clumsy delivery, while smiling; I have no doubt that the writers find this behavior endearing. They are, however, flat wrong.
In the most recent episode we've seen, a mother passed down the family battle axe to her son. It's also been made very clear to us that he likes to snort coke.
Apparently nobody in town thinks it's weird when a teenage girl's hair goes completely white in a matter of days or that she mysteriously disappears out of sight if a person glances away for even a second or that she makes mysterious statements of an inauspicious nature or that she keeps showing up at weird moments while making evil faces. We are supposed to be surprised, I guess, that she is "more than she seems."
There's a cat who gets a couple meows in from episode to episode. This cat is the only likable character on the show.
All stores are shut down and boarded up because of the upcoming full moon. The school is open for business, however, so don't forget to do your homework!
Don't worry if you miss something important by falling asleep during an episode or going into the kitchen to pour yourself another badly needed drink... this show is very generous with its use of flashbacks... just in case you might've forgotten the tragically unsubtle "hints" the writers are fearful you may have forgotten in the time that has passed since the previous episode.
We're a little uncertain who the fathers and mothers are of various characters. This doesn't lend the show intrigue. It just makes everybody look even more like perverts. Not sure this was the creepy vibe the show's creators were going for.
Did I mention the battle axe?
A girl has been impregnated by an angel or, at least, that's what she tells us, both in words and a series of flashbacks. I guess since "Touched by an Angel" has already been used, they had to go with "Hemlock Grove."
They dug up one of the werewolf victims and brought her back from the dead via a complicated ritual. They got lots of information from her, but neglected to press her on the subject of who killed her. But that's okay... I guessed who the mystery "evil" werewolf was by the fourth episode. And so will you. Only the characters are shocked by the revelation.
We've got one more episode to watch before we can wash our hands of this awful awful tv show. Apparently we will learn who the father/angel of the baby is. I can only assume it will be a barrel of laughs.
This is a bad awful dumb stupid stupidly stupid dumb show. Don't watch it.
We enjoyed one episode of Netflix's other other original series; Lillyhammer; it's pretty good. Silvio, from the Sopranoes, (aka the guy from Bruce Springsteen's band) plays a character very much like Silvio, from the Sopranoes, who gets relocated to Lillehammer, Norway as part of the witness relocation program. LIttle Steven's great, and everybody else is Norwegian. Never got past episode 1 though.
But way more importantly, in looking up info on Netflix shows, I found that new episodes of Arrested Development are scheduled for release on May 26!!!!!!!
I hope they don't screw it up. But I have to think that anybody intelligent enough to put the show back on the air is intelligent enough to do it right.
But ... did anybody ever watch Scrubs? It was ok; I admit I liked it. But did you ever watch any of it after NBC dropped it and ABC tried to pick it up? Yuck.
Wow, I didn't realize Netflix had so many original shows. They have definitely helped some indie films make it to DVD, etc. I just hope the new episodes of Arrested Development and House of Cards make it to DVD. Maybe I will pick up streaming again just long enough..
Edit: looks like House of Cards will come out on DVD in June. At least according to my Netflix Queue.
Lillyhammer; it's pretty good. Silvio, from the Sopranoes, (aka the guy from Bruce Springsteen's band) plays a character very much like Silvio, from the Sopranoes, who gets relocated to Lillehammer, Norway as part of the witness relocation program. LIttle Steven's great, and everybody else is Norwegian
Thanks for the heads-up. It'll be the next show we pick up. Cheers.
The first 4 seasons of Scrubs were fantastic. One of my favorite shows of all time. After that...not so much.
The interesting thing about the Arrested Development episodes is that due to scheduling issues, Jason Bateman is the only actor who appears in each new one. From the little bits that have come out, though, it sounds like it's still going to be awesome.
I just watched a clip from one of the new episodes of Arrested Development. Barely any talking and it's still frickin' brilliant.
As for Scrubs - Seasons 1-4 was some of the best TV of the past decade (seriously, I watched them all in rerun like 10 times). Season 5-7 were still good but suffered from the usual sitcom problems (e.g. J.D. becoming more and more pathetic). Season 8 was barely tolerable as a fan - I just wanted to see some story lines tied up. Season 9 would have worked if they just changed the name to Scrubs: Med School or whatever they originally wanted to and didn't try to force plots with the old cast. The new interns almost started to grow on me, but the old cast had turned into crappy parodies of themselves.
@jonah - Thanks for that write-up. Hysterical. I know where I grew up we were always going on about beating up teetotalers...
@everyone... please plan on catching my new band at all the summer festivals a couple years from now... we'll probably end up getting billing right after "Your Friend's Cousin Is Apparently In This Band" on all the concert adverts.
Oh.. our new, soon-to-be band name? "99% Anglo and a Handful of Dirty Gypsies"
Lillyhammer was somewhat amusing but I will always hate it now because when Bruce and E Street Band toured Australia last month for the first time in 10 years Steven wasn't there because he was in Norway shooting it. Lillyhammer is now my eternal nemesis. *shakes fist at Lillyhammer*
(Sure, was replaced on the tour by Tom Morello who was amazing, BUT STILL NOT THE SAME)
Comments
What a surprise to find this on the DVR this morning! I guess my wife remembered how much I like this series. I'm it's being rebroadcast.
-New Madmen episodes on Netflix! I think it's season five. It's actually been pretty underwhelming for the most part, but we just saw an episode called something like "At the Codfish Ball," which may have had a few of the most funny scenes in the show's history (and displayed a return to form for the show).
Roger - "His name is Ed. He's at Dow-Corning. They make beautiful dishes, glassware. Napalm."
Megan's dad, referring to Don's little daughter Sally in broken english (and getting confused between legs and wings)... "Don, there is nothing you can do. No matter what, one day your little girl will spread her legs and fly away."
Oh man. We've only got a few more episodes of season five to watch, and we'll probably finish them off today. Gotta say, this whole 13 episodes a season thing is a bit of a rip. I want more.
We finished off the available Wallander. And, actually, Netflix recommended a bunch of other BBC-type shows of detectives in Norway and such, but I forgot to instant queue them, and now they're off the rec-screen. If anyone can recommend other detective thriller TV shows that take place in ECM-land, shout 'em out.
We watched something called The Midwife or The Midwives. It's like a 8 episode BBC period piece about midwives in the 1960s in England in some crappy part of town. Aside from the mental exhaustion of watching women scream out labor pains in abject squalor for an hour each episode, it's a pretty entertaining show. We're gonna watch ep.2 before long.
On the movie front, I said I'd catch up on some of those superhero flicks when I got real sick next time. I have the flu. I watched Captain America, and enjoyed it and thought it was real well done. I tried to watch Thor, but just couldn't do it. It was so awful. I stopped, I dunno, maybe a third of the way in. Thor tried to reclaim his hammer, couldn't.
Spoiler alert, but for anybody who's seen it
Love Tony, identify with Neil, and at 28, Suzy gets points for most improved.
Happy there's more Mad-Men. Are the new funny parts lawn mower funny? Or was that not really funny?
amclark2 - There is one scene particular where a character experiences a substance of the 60s that is seriously, seriously funny. The lawn mower was pretty hilarious too, though.
Game of Thrones is back on Sunday!!! This season includes the amazing incident in Storm of Swords.
Craig
And on the topic of my continuing induction into American culture, I just watched East of Eden for the first time, on a plane. Interesting film. Saw Hitchcock too, which I thought was OK, no more, no less.
Lykke Li - Unrequited Love from the album Wounded Rhymes.
Craig
Anyone watch Hannibal? As a fan of the books, I am sufficiently intrigued by the first episode to continue. Will Graham seems to be a little more out there than I tend to imagine, but I'm curious. For the record, despite Ralph Fiennes portraying the title character rather well, Red Dragon, the movie, did not succeed for me because, one, Anthony Hopkins looked twenty years older in what was supposed to be a prequel, and two, mostly because Edward Norton did not work as Will Graham for me at all. Too young and not crispy enough - this guy is crispy but he's a little youngish too.
I didn't watch Hannibal, just because I'm having trouble keeping up with the stuff I already watch (still haven't seen Sunday's Mad Men premiere, although that will be corrected tonight). If it survives, though, it's the type of show that I'll likely catch up on over the summer.
Craig
We need more Jaime, and I look forward to his increased profile in the story.
On another note, my wife has gotten into Bates Motel, which looks at the childhood of Norman Bates and his Mom, even though she has yet to see the original Pyscho movie, something I hope to rectify soon.
Are there any House of Cards fans here. Did I miss the discussion?
This has got to be the single greatest television program ever recorded in no small part due to its central character, Kevin Spacey. They break the third wall with regularity and you can watch the entire 13 episode first season in one sitting if you want. Only available on Netflix as an original series. What is not to love?
This single program renews my faith in the viability of Netflix. If they can pull another couple of these series out of there, um, hat, they can give the broadcast networks a run for their money.
Go watch it now!
I'm with you, Ron. I hate bananas.
Craig
Ooooh, Mad Men spoiler alert.
Gentleman Reg - Oh My God
Hemlock Grove may be the worst thing I've ever seen on tv. It has only two redeeming qualities. One, beautiful b-roll shots of small mountain town Pennsylvania (or wherever they shot the show) and, two, a script/acting so bad, it inevitably makes us laugh several times each episode.
For a long time, we thought it was a parody of those vampire/werewolf shows. And while I've come to learn that the show takes itself quite seriously, I'm still not convinced it's not a parody. It's just that bad.
Acting... awful. There are a few actors in particular who absolutely enrage me by how bad they are. I mean, seriously seriously awful, as in should never be allowed in front of a camera again. Two Battlestar Galactica actors have parts in Hemlock Grove... Chief Tyrol and Officer Duala. I think the dude that plays Tyrol probably plays that same character in every role he takes on. In fact, I'm starting to get suspicious that the police force of Hemlock Grove may, in fact, be overrun with cylons. Can cylons also be werewolves? I'm hoping to find the answer to this pressing question. Despite the participation of two solid BSG actors, this show proves that only the great actors are able to overcome a bad bad bad script. Also, Lili Taylor plays a passable role as the mother of a main character. She's not in it much. Also, the chick that plays Jean Grey in the X-men movie is the mother of the other main character.
The writing may be the only thing worse than the acting. Phrases like "dirty gypsy" and "gypsy punk" get used a ton throughout the show (one character, who people suspect of being a werewolf, is, of course, a gypsy). I mean, people pick on him, beat him up, mock him in high school, just for being a dirty gypsy. Are teenagers even aware of the word gypsy anymore? Who the fuck even says stuff like that? Has the phrase "dirty gypsy" even been muttered by anyone born later than the 17th century? Apparently, in the small PA town of Hemlock Grove, gypsies are a serious problem. But gypsies are the only minorities plaguing Hemlock Grove, because no other minorities, other than a doctor of (maybe) Japanese descent, appear on the show (oh, wait, I forgot about the Hispanic wait staffs, and then, there's also Duala, who shows up for a few episodes). But then again, maybe that's how small town PA is... 99% Anglo and a handful of dirty gypsies.
I'm pretty sure a seventh grader wrote the script, perhaps a son or daughter of the show's producer. Lots of profanities delivered in awkward and nonsensical moments. Tons of sex, including a focus on Hemlock Grove's thriving lesbian community. Even the werewolf gets a little bit on the side, but, y'know, in the way that they do... violently. One of the two main characters... a supposed "good guy"... rapes a fellow classmate. Also, lots of superficial references to the occult, and plenty of lines that are supposed to be profound, but lack the substance of a good fortune cookie message. Oh, right, and if anyone drinks liquor, they often do it from the largest bottle available. If you're looking for the show's scriptwriters, I would keep an eye out for a teenager, going through puberty but convinced that they know everything they need to know about adulthood, and who doesn't really think learning stuff like, y'know, grammar and language stuff is, y'know, important. Two characters like to say 'Sheeee-iiiittt' with a clumsy delivery, while smiling; I have no doubt that the writers find this behavior endearing. They are, however, flat wrong.
In the most recent episode we've seen, a mother passed down the family battle axe to her son. It's also been made very clear to us that he likes to snort coke.
Apparently nobody in town thinks it's weird when a teenage girl's hair goes completely white in a matter of days or that she mysteriously disappears out of sight if a person glances away for even a second or that she makes mysterious statements of an inauspicious nature or that she keeps showing up at weird moments while making evil faces. We are supposed to be surprised, I guess, that she is "more than she seems."
There's a cat who gets a couple meows in from episode to episode. This cat is the only likable character on the show.
All stores are shut down and boarded up because of the upcoming full moon. The school is open for business, however, so don't forget to do your homework!
Don't worry if you miss something important by falling asleep during an episode or going into the kitchen to pour yourself another badly needed drink... this show is very generous with its use of flashbacks... just in case you might've forgotten the tragically unsubtle "hints" the writers are fearful you may have forgotten in the time that has passed since the previous episode.
We're a little uncertain who the fathers and mothers are of various characters. This doesn't lend the show intrigue. It just makes everybody look even more like perverts. Not sure this was the creepy vibe the show's creators were going for.
Did I mention the battle axe?
A girl has been impregnated by an angel or, at least, that's what she tells us, both in words and a series of flashbacks. I guess since "Touched by an Angel" has already been used, they had to go with "Hemlock Grove."
They dug up one of the werewolf victims and brought her back from the dead via a complicated ritual. They got lots of information from her, but neglected to press her on the subject of who killed her. But that's okay... I guessed who the mystery "evil" werewolf was by the fourth episode. And so will you. Only the characters are shocked by the revelation.
We've got one more episode to watch before we can wash our hands of this awful awful tv show. Apparently we will learn who the father/angel of the baby is. I can only assume it will be a barrel of laughs.
This is a bad awful dumb stupid stupidly stupid dumb show. Don't watch it.
But way more importantly, in looking up info on Netflix shows, I found that new episodes of Arrested Development are scheduled for release on May 26!!!!!!!
I hope they don't screw it up. But I have to think that anybody intelligent enough to put the show back on the air is intelligent enough to do it right.
But ... did anybody ever watch Scrubs? It was ok; I admit I liked it. But did you ever watch any of it after NBC dropped it and ABC tried to pick it up? Yuck.
Edit: looks like House of Cards will come out on DVD in June. At least according to my Netflix Queue.
Lol!
Thanks for the heads-up. It'll be the next show we pick up. Cheers.
The interesting thing about the Arrested Development episodes is that due to scheduling issues, Jason Bateman is the only actor who appears in each new one. From the little bits that have come out, though, it sounds like it's still going to be awesome.
Craig
As for Scrubs - Seasons 1-4 was some of the best TV of the past decade (seriously, I watched them all in rerun like 10 times). Season 5-7 were still good but suffered from the usual sitcom problems (e.g. J.D. becoming more and more pathetic). Season 8 was barely tolerable as a fan - I just wanted to see some story lines tied up. Season 9 would have worked if they just changed the name to Scrubs: Med School or whatever they originally wanted to and didn't try to force plots with the old cast. The new interns almost started to grow on me, but the old cast had turned into crappy parodies of themselves.
@jonah - Thanks for that write-up. Hysterical. I know where I grew up we were always going on about beating up teetotalers...
Oh.. our new, soon-to-be band name? "99% Anglo and a Handful of Dirty Gypsies"
(Sure, was replaced on the tour by Tom Morello who was amazing, BUT STILL NOT THE SAME)