So long, Scrubs?

In the "that sure came up quick" department, the end is nigh.

The end of Scrubs, that is.

There's an episode tonight at 8, followed by the possible (more on that later) series finale tomorrow at 8 (it's an hour long).

The most recent episode - you're forgiven if you've forgotten due to all the times Obama has pre-empted the show - ended with JD deciding he wanted to move to Seattle so he could be around his kid.

Of course, JD has conveniently forgotten that he only knows two people in Seattle, doesn't particularly like either of them, would be moving away from everybody he does know, and would have no job. And yet, we're supposed to like him because of his motivation - which, really, is out of jealousy over the amount of time Sean spends with the kid.

One of the great mysteries of Scrubs, at least to me, is how JD has remained so lovable to the show's fans despite the fact that he is petty, jealous, annoying, controlling, insecure, and selfish all at once. I don't expect this mystery to be unraveled by tomorrow night.

One mystery which will be solved, however, is reportedly that of the Janitor's real name. Yet again, I'm not happy. The Janitor's entire character - at least up until the introduction of his now-wife - was that he'd show up, mock people, and you'd never really have any idea if whatever he was telling you was true or not. The only way I would be satisfied with Janitor revealing his real name would be if it turned out to be John Dorian, and there was still that sizable doubt as to whether this time he's telling the truth.

Plus Elliot will have to decide if she wants to go to Seattle with JD, Carla and Turk will become the hospital's new power couple, Ted will look like a loser, Cox will show that he has a heart, Kelso won't. Yadda yadda yadda.

The interesting part is that this might not be the end of the line for Scrubs. There's been rumours off-and-on over the last year that ABC will bring the show back for another season, even if Zach Braff and more of the main cast don't want to come back. A lot of people are opposed to this move, but I think it could work, and here's how:

(I've run this idea by Dan and he disagrees. So maybe I'm out to lunch.)

Obviously the show won't be the same without JD. Every episode starts and ends with him monologuing. Eliminating the monologue, or handing it off to different characters based on the episode, would seem hokey.

Instead, introduce a new character. A new intern, just starting off at Sacred Heart. Make the guy a lot like JD (it's okay for viewers to see him as a poor excuse for a replacement JD), at least in that he cares about his patients and has that off-the-wall sense of humour. But at the same time, make him not like JD - make him the genuinely good person everybody seems to see JD as even though he's nowhere close. Don't give us a single reason to dislike the new guy.

Whatever main actors want to stick around, can, as frequently or infrequently as they wish. The show can survive with some main characters gone completely, and otheres barely around. I wouldn't have said that even a year ago, but there's one significant change now - a cast of interns who have actually had their characters fleshed out beyond one-joke stereotypes. Can Unemotional Female Intern (I'm bad with the names) summon the compassion to deal with New Guy and his class? Would Always Happy Intern be able to maintain her smile through deaths and other trials? Would Cocky Black Intern have any desire at all to be a mentor? Would Kid From Little Giants Intern...well, you get the point.

It will be a little unsettling at first, seeing the show in something closer to its first couple of seasons - actually dealing with life inside a hospital, rather than being about a group of main characters who happen to work in a hospital - but I think it can work. There can be plenty of callbacks to JD's first year as well - does Cox give the same sunny speech to first-day interns that Kelso always did?, that sort of thing.

It won't be the same, obviously, It won't be as good. But I have faith that the Scrubs production team can pull off a good show with new characters, and occasional reappearances by the main cast will keep the diehard fans satisfied.

--Ryan