TV Review: The Big Bang Theory The Complete First Season

I have a thing for dorks. That dictated my desire, no my need, to watch The Big Bang Theory. I quickly fell in love with Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki). The two are roommates and physicists; they know everything about integrals and black holes but have little to no knowledge of women. That is plenty apparent when the blonde bombshell Penny moves into the apartment across the hall and Leonard makes a bumbling idiot of himself and Sheldon is more interested in watching Battlestar and mentions that they tried masturbating for money.

Joined by Raj and Wolowitz, they make a 30-minute sitcom that easily found its way on my Must-See list. Everyone quickly learns to head for the hills when Sheldon gets sick because he’s easily the neediest person alive. Tempers flare when Sheldon and Leonard present a paper at a symposium, but luckily Wolowitz videotapes the entire thing so the dork fight can be viewed over and over on YouTube. Leonard has a semblance of social skills but Sheldon prides himself on one thing – being the smartest person around and even that gets fractured when a child prodigy tours the university where our favorite geeks work.

As far as special features go, The Big Bang Theory is short on special features, but honestly who watches those all that much? The only feature is a behind the scenes look at the creation of the show called “Quantum Mechanics of The Big Bang Theory.” However, the show’s creators do have some help of actual physicists to help the jargon and information be accurate to allow Big Bang to be a genuinely smart show. Now no one can say intelligence isn’t entertaining. Plus, it is sort of nice to see the nerd cast as the hero instead of a sidekick who gets a few chuckles. Maybe it can prove that the nice guy really does get the girl, even if the plot of a beauty among beasts isn’t something new.

Luckily, the ensemble cast works well together with each individual bringing something to the table – from comical timing to a simply refreshing presence. And let’s face it; the casting is what makes the show a hit. The wrong group of actors could have seen Big Bang fall flat very quickly. I enjoy the show a great deal, but there isn’t much a show can accomplish in a 30-minute time slot that could be considered revolutionary. But in a world of hour-long dramas, it’s good to have a witty sitcom that hits the spot.

DVD Review: Scrubs - The Complete Sixth Season

Scrubs is one of the plethora of hospital shows on television. But unlike the rest, it is a 30-minute sitcom. Sure the show deals with some less-than-happy subject matter, but each episode has its funny moments that endear the series. It is also one of those rare shows where the reruns are just as funny as they were when they originally aired. While I have to say the first two seasons were pure gold, season six is still full of great television.

The sixth season of Scrubs had some interesting storylines. JD gets his doctor girlfriend Kim pregnant, Dr. Cox’s wife is pregnant, Carla and Turk have their baby, and Elliot gets engaged to Keith. The season also dealt with more serious issues than previous seasons seem to have touched on. Carla deals with postpartum depression. Nurse Roberts not only winds up in the hospital but also dies. JD has to deal with his thoughts on becoming a father when his girlfriend moves away and breaks up with him. Sure, this season focuses a lot more on the serious aspects of relationships than the first five seasons, but Scrubs hasn’t lost its focus of being a hospital comedy. Dr. Kelso, Janitor, and Ted continue to bring their humorous touches to the life at Sacred Heart Hospital.

Discussion of the sixth season cannot be complete without a mention of “My Musical,” the musical episode of Scrubs. The song and dance routines embrace the spirit of the show by having the serious up against the humorous. Personally, my favorite songs were “Guy Love” and “Everything Comes Down To Poo.” Obviously I am not the only one who enjoyed those songs, as they were one of the multiple Emmy nominations the episode received. Another new thing worth mentioning about the sixth season is characters other than JD narrated a few episodes; in fact some of the more minor characters took over.

Many feel this season stumbled to a point that wasn’t at the standard previous seasons had set. Luckily, Scrubs regained its footing before the end of the season, which had been hinted at being the final season. The creators of the show have agreed to a seventh season, but it is coming to an end. I appreciate ending the show before it goes to utter crap and there really is no reason a television series needs to be around for a decade or more. Unfortunately, the current WGA writers strike threatens Scrubs from airing a complete final season. In fact, it is rumored that the finale may not be shown until it is released on DVD.

The special features include a making of the musical episode. It includes glimpses at why they made the episode, how the cast and crew felt about it, and the special people they brought in to make it perfect. The next one is called “Judy Reyes Keep Talking” which looks at everything Carla – from auditioning, to her relationships with the other characters, to struggles Carla faced on the series, and what is up next. Naturally, a collection of deleted scenes is included but it takes on a different approach than most by showing the scene as aired before the deleted version is shown. Similarly, there is a feature showing alternate lines than the ones used in the show. “The Third Tier” is the next featurette and it is about characters that were initially meant for one joke and ended up with a recurring role. Following is “The Debra and Stephanie Show” which is another look at the musical episode. There are the commentary tracks for each episode and an Easter Egg — if you don't want spoilers for the seventh season, I recommend you not try to find this.

Overall, the sixth season of Scrubs is chock full of scalpel sharp wit and unforgettable characters with their quirks. Like the first five seasons, Scrubs - The Complete Six Season DVD is a must-have set for your television DVD collection.