Good Question

'Scrubs' stays an inventive operation
Among the countless perversities and mysteries of TV, the slighting of ''Scrubs" has been notable. Why hasn't this sly sitcom been an Emmy magnet during its four seasons? How come viewers haven't made it a Nielsen hit, or at least a cult sensation that gets fetish pieces in Entertainment Weekly? Why does NBC shuffle it around the schedule every year like a dung-puck, withholding season five until a gap happened to open up in the Tuesday lineup?


I love this show, and I wonder why nobody else watches it (at least not enough Nielsen viewers). When I heard NBC promote it's new Thursday lineup, touting My Name is Earl and The Office as TV's most inventive comedies, I had to wonder. Both of those shows are funny, I agree, and Earl is pretty original. But The Office is a remake of a British sitcom! The pilot episode, at least, used the same script word-for-word. How does that qualify as inventive?

Anyway I digress. Everyone should be watching Scrubs. Unless you're not watching TV at all. That's okay too.

Note #1: And no one (including me) will be watching the premier tonight during the Orange Bowl. Nice programming, NBC. Are you deliberately setting up Scrubs to fail?

Note #2: How obsolete are Nielsen ratings anyway? I actually have no idea how that works nowadays. I will record Scrubs and watch it later. Does Nielsen account for timeshifting?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I believe Neilsen d/n take into account if you record it and watch it later - but you're right, why put a decent show up against a major sporting event?
9:33 AM, January 04, 2006
Patterson said…
Nielsen takes into account DVR/Tivo recordings; they're the only ones that can be accounted for, from a technical perspective.

http://www.gadgetopia.com/post/4768
12:54 PM, January 04, 2006
Patterson said…
...and Scrubs is one of those shows I wish I could watch, but since its never on a regular schedule, I never know when its on.

But come on, dis The Office? That's just wrong. That show is hysterical...you can't just sit down & watch one episode - you have to get to know the characters to really "get" the funny.
12:57 PM, January 04, 2006
Andy said…
"dis The Office" huh? I said it was funny.
1:14 PM, January 04, 2006
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