The End of 2 Eras

The first episode of Scrubs that I ever saw was the beginning of Season 2, which was the Colin Hay acoustic Overkill beginning. I downloaded that song and it has become a part of my life ever since. It's not a big surprise since Scrubs was a mix of music, culture, and sitcom ever since it began.

I didn't watch the show until my friend Pete hooked me on it after he lent me the first season on DVD. Throughout the years, I got the first 5 seasons on DVD, and then it started to lose something as it became a staple of Comedy Central that played almost as much as The Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Office Space, Legally Blonde, and Joe Dirt. Never did the series get as good as its apex with Tara Reid and the whole lead into Turk and Carla's wedding. Not that the series ever was bad, but there was just a feeling of running out of steam that happened as the show left NBC, went to ABC, and seemed to become a question of when Turk and JD would get busy (not that there's anything wrong with that, but they were both in other relationships and it just made the show kind of stupid).

Throughout the years, there were a lot of really great episodes, and perhaps no episodes that stood alone were as good as the Brendan Fraser death episodes, which made me tear up. There's something about a show that can do that.

There are a lot of really great shows and movies over the years (and even He Got Game, which is kind of dumb, but still) that made me tear up. Most recently, we watched Marley and Me, which I have been heard to know that the last 15 minutes makes the whole movie unwatchable for the 2nd time. Perhaps, that's true, but there's something about a movie that connects you with its characters in such a way that you feel a part of the family.

The last episode of Scrubs was about 3/4 of typical last episode wrap ups, and then they went into a cover of Magnetic Fields' Book of Love done by Peter Gabriel, which followed JD's walk down the hallway while passing all of the old characters that were bit players, several episode players, and past stars. The montage of what could be of he and Elliot, Turk, Carla, Dr. Cox, and Jordan as well as their kids was pretty intense stuff for a show that was without a doubt, one of three current shows that I've been attached to in the last 10 years (24 and South Park being the other 2).



And for this, it redeemed the last 3 years of a show that became more about guest stars and former glory (the Simpsons, anyone?).

+++++

On the other hand, as I waited for class to begin yesterday, I popped up ESPN and saw the Manny Ramirez (sexual) performance enhancing drug charges, 50-game suspension, and overall feeling of baseball players did it again, and I didn't even bat an eye.

Bill Simmons wrote it best. I don't need to say it better, but I will say that I thinking about David Ortiz potentially not being the "Big Papi" guy that we all hoped he was on the way home last night (before I read Simmons' words). Even scaried, he was benched in favor of Julio Lugo as DH - something that reminds me of Mark Mcgwire being benched for Kerry Robinson in the 2001 NL division playoffs final game. I still believe, and every once in a while, some happy thoughts of Big Mac - such as his teaching players to hit well - comes along and makes me long for those days, but I know that I'll never see a Cooperstown placque.

And maybe we've come to a weird place in baseball. Somewhere before A-Rod's biography and Mark Mcgwire's brother tried to sell a book on his steroid use, there was a place that made baseball fun. Maybe it was those homeruns, those nasty pitches, or something in the game, but alas, it was a different game. I'm not feeling it this year. I still think players like Albert Pujols are incredible, but I just don't feel attached to it in the same way. I guess you can say that's why I abandoned my fantasy teams. I can't say that's the steroids, but somewhere in this summer 11 years out from that great summer of 1998, I don't root for favorites in quite the same way (even if I still get geeked on a steal of home or a nasty curve ball that drops from 12 to 6 like a brick).

With A-Rod, it was a spectacle. With Manny, it was just another day at the office that was momentarily hiccuped with the news of a once great going to Hell in a bucket.

At least I won't be paying his $25million salary (now $17million after the money he'll lose from a 50-game suspension).