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TV Tonight: The Scrubs Finale

BuzzSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:30:00 -0700

It's hard to know what exactly to call tonight's episode of Scrubs. Series finale? Season finale? The Last Time You'll See Zach Braff On Scrubs Except Maybe That's Not Even True?

This was all a bit more clear-cut a year ago, when Scrubs made the leap from NBC to ABC for what was supposed to be its final season. Braff said he was done (though he's said he'd be willing to drop by again), and creator Bill Lawrence started working on another show. But within the past few months, there have been rumblings that Scrubs could keep going, even without Braff, Lawrence, or any of the other original cast members who move on to other jobs.

So maybe we should just call tonight JD's big farewell and leave it at that? The episode takes place during his final shift at Sacred Heart, and it's designed to give closure to a number of storylines. Whether we need that closure or not remains to be seen, but it looks like it should be a sweet reward for Scrubs fans who have stuck by the show for all these years. Will you be watching the finale - and do you think it should be the last episode of Scrubs ever? To check out a couple of clips, just read more.

TV Tonight: How I Met Your Mother

BuzzSugar — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:30:37 -0700

The end of the Emmys means the true start of the TV season, as networks start rolling out new episodes left and right (are you using my Fall TV calendar to keep track?). Up tonight: the CBS comedy block, which includes newcomer Worst Week and the delightful How I Met Your Mother.

A brief note about Worst Week: I didn't like the pilot very much, mostly because I found the main character unsympathetic and the pratfalls predictable. It's an interesting concept, though, and pretty different for CBS, so I'm curious to see how it does.

Meanwhile, How I Met Your Mother starts its fourth season by resolving the legendary (sorry, couldn't help it) cliffhanger of Ted's proposal to Stella. The show doesn't keep us waiting long for Stella's answer: After a montage of several possible reactions (played perfectly by Sarah Chalke), we see her real response within the first few minutes of the episode. Other things we see over the following 20 minutes or so: Star Wars references, Barney's struggle with having actual feelings for Robin (er, well, having actual feelings at all), a bored and troublemaking Marshall, and a rather amusing exploration of the art of the late-night hookup call. I'm just going to leave it there because anything else would spoil the fun. To check out a clip from tonight's episode, just read more.

Photo courtesy of CBS

Buzz In: What Are Your Favorite Made-for-TV Movies?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:00:10 -0700

Made-for-TV-movies get a pretty bad rap, don't they? For many of us, that term makes us think of something completely melodramatic that has to do with modern damsels in distress. Many of them are like the TV version of those hilarious romance novels you see at the grocery store. But there are actually some great movies that fall into this category that I know lots of people love - even if they won't readily admit it.

For example, I was impressed with Lifetime's TV movie, Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy, which starred Sarah Chalke and was based on Geralyn Lucas's true story of her battle with breast cancer. The movie is pretty solid entertainment, and inspiring to boot. I also really liked Iron Jawed Angels, about suffragettes in America, as well as Angels in America (that cast!).

Of course, let's not forget that the High School Musical phenomenon started, for better of for worse, on the old tube as well.

What are your favorite made-for-TV-movies?

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Sarah Chalke on Britney, the Bahamas, and Braff in a Speedo

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:30:15 -0700

As funny as the Scrubs panel was at the TCA press tour, it would have been even better if we'd gotten to hear more from Sarah Chalke. So after the panel, I was one of a few reporters who chatted with Chalke about the future of Elliot, the joys of being back at work, losing co-star Zach Braff after this season, and filming in the Bahamas. Here's how the conversation went:

What was it like working with Courteney Cox?
We had such a good time. Courteney - I was very excited, cause she's playing a chief of medicine, and she's in a little black skirt, four-inch heels - we actually took a tape measure and measured both of our heels and they were both four inches. I was like, "You see, Bill [Lawrence, the executive producer]? Doctors, this is how they have to dress!" She's hysterical. We are so lucky to get to have her for three episodes and I hope she comes back and does more.

How was your experience working on How I Met Your Mother?
It was kind of last-minute. They called, like, on a Monday night - they said "Do you watch How I Met Your Mother"? I said, "Yeah, I love that show, it's hysterical." They're like, "Can you be here tomorrow morning?" They were like, "You're going to be playing a doctor, again," and I was like, "Great, can I bring my lab coat as my blankie?" And then - it's the nicest group. What a fun cast. You can tell they all really genuinely love each other, get along and have a great time working together.

And working with Britney Spears?
She was great. I mean, she played such a fun, quirky character, and she came in there and did her job.

Do you want to be the mother?
Who could hope for that? That's crazy!

For a hint from Chalke about a possible "something-or-other" between Elliot and JD, read more.

What's it been like working on this season of Scrubs?
Because of the writers' strike, we started shooting in March, and we're going to be finished shooting Scrubs the last week of August. We've never done that before. We just had the most ridiculous week in the Bahamas. It's like, going with 100 people you've worked with for seven and a half years to this gorgeous, tiny, remote island where there's like, no phones, no roads, people drive around in little golf carts, spotty internet, and rolling blackouts, so you just try to make a TV show there.

What's Zach Braff look like in a Speedo?
A-plus.

What will it be like when the show does end?
I moved to Los Angeles two months before I got Scrubs. Really, my entire life living in Los Angeles has been Scrubs, my whole adult life has been on that show. We could not have asked for a better experience - I got so lucky. You talk to so many people who work on a show for a couple of years, and nobody talks anymore, they only talk during scenes, and I can't imagine, A, any worse way to spend the day, and B, especially comedy, I think you need to be able to feel comfortable in your environment so you can try something and make a complete fool of yourself and then get up and try something different.

We actually have thought for the last five years, "ohmigod [it's over]." Every year. So in that way I think it's kind of cool, cause you go, "OK, guys, this is it, let's have a good time." It keeps everybody grateful, and I think that's the most important thing.

What's up with Elliot this year?
Everyone sort of develops this relationship with the newbies. I grab the one that I think is just cute as a button, and I want her to be mine, and then I realize she's playing me a little. JD and Eliot form a relationship, a sort of comfortable, healthy something-or-other, which I will not elaborate on, but they kind of figure out their situation for good.

Can you imagine Elliot without JD?
No! It will be so interesting to see what happens over the next few months. That would be a huge loss.

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Scrubs Sparks a Laugh Riot at TCA

BuzzSugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:37:12 -0700

The cast of Scrubs just got offstage a few minutes ago at the TCA press tour, and my stomach still hurts from laughing. The Sacred Heart crew seems so grateful to have what Zach Braff called "a bonus year" to work together after narrowly escaping cancellation (well, several times) at the hands of NBC. Now on ABC, whose studio arm has produced the show since the start, Scrubs seems creatively refreshed - I'll say that I personally laughed harder at the brief trailer for the new season than I have at any episode in years. There was enough material in their 45-minute session to fuel several posts (and probably a stand-up special for executive producer Bill Lawrence), but I'll just share a few of the best tidbits now:

The million-dollar question: Is this the last year of Scrubs? "It is most likely Zach Braff's final year on the show," Lawrence said. But he said he's always thought the show could be like the comedy version of ER, with new actors coming in. We'll see new interns this Fall, including the hilarious Aziz Ansari. Regardless of whether ABC decides to bring the show back for another year, "We're certainly going to film the last one like it's young Zach Braff's exit and make a big deal out of it," Lawrence said.
For Braff's part, he said he does have the sense that it's his last year - but he "would love to come back and visit, direct some, do craft service if they need some . . . "
Lawrence said the characters will change a little bit this year (partially because now they'll be the bosses of a whole new group of young doctors). "One of the things that sometimes bums me about television as a TV fan is, we like continuity. We don't want our characters to change," Lawrence said. "At the same time, once you reach the seven- or eight-year mark, you're like, when the hell are these people going to change?"

To hear a little bit about some of the new episodes - which Lawrence said are "as good as anything we've done" - and see what's taking the cast to the Bahamas, just read more.

Ken Jenkins (Dr. Kelso) is still a regular on the show, so we'll definitely see him next year.
Lawrence said that because of the uncertain status of Scrubs for the past several seasons, the finale has been written for "about four and a half years - we just have to change some pop culture references." Lawrence would only offer that the end would be JD leaving the hospital, with a sense that the theme would be about "when you leave, whether you can hold on to your relationships or not."
He also said that the show will be over when we learn the Janitor's name - but Neil Flynn offered up his own suggestion in the session: "Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFake" (or possibly McFate; it was hard to tell).
Lawrence on Courteney Cox's appearance: "She is what we call a gamer. She is up for anything. I don't think you get that all the time with high-profile actresses." He said while the main cast was at the TCA panel, Cox was back on set "with her face jammed into some guy's bloody corpse," filming a fantasy sequence.
The cast spent a week filming in the Bahamas, which Lawrence called "one of the best experiences I've had." The plot: The Janitor is getting married, and he invites 700 people to the Bahamas on short notice to get the gifts. JD tries to convince people to show up and ruin his wedding.
Fun fact: Lawrence himself will play the minister who marries the Janitor and his wife-to-be.

Buzz News Roundup, 4/21

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:30:37 -0700

It'll be back: Fox has renewed Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles for a second season, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
One of James Bond's iconic cars plunged into a lake in Italy while shooting a scene, the AP reports.
Jordin Sparks is suffering from a vocal cord hemorrhage and has dropped out of the Alicia Keys tour, writes Billboard.
It's not just Britney - TV Guide reports that Sarah Chalke is also returning to How I Met Your Mother.
Just in time for Earth Day, the LA Times reports that Disney has launched a new unit to make environmental and nature films.
Variety reports that the Crank sequel has found its lead actors: Amy Smart and Clifton Collins, Jr. Bai Ling will also have a role in the movie.
According to ABC News, President Bush will send an on-air good luck message to a contestant on Deal or No Deal tonight.
Carnie Wilson and "Kid" from Kid 'N Play are among the "celebrities" who will be competing on a celebrity magic reality show on VH1; details are at The Futon Critic.

Photo courtesy of Fox

Britney on How I Met Your Mother: Yay or Nay?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:29:49 -0700

So last night was Britney Spears' big acting comeback on How I Met Your Mother, and if the goal was to get some big ratings for the on-the-bubble comedy, it worked: The show pulled in 10.6 million viewers and hit its highest ratings ever in the key 18-49 demographic. Coupled with the better than average 9.7 million viewers the show got last week, I have to think things are looking pretty good for a season four.

Personally, I thought the best part of the episode was Ted's two-minute date (watch it here), and I definitely think Stella was supposed to be the mother - had that whole Alicia Silverstone/Britney/Sarah Chalke thing not happened, that is. So, was having Britney on the show worth it? What did you make of her performance?

Photo courtesy of CBS

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Spotlight On: Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy

BuzzSugar — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:38:05 -0700

As today is the final day of October, I'm wrapping up my Breast Cancer Awareness series with a spotlight on the Lifetime television movie Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy. Based on the Geralyn Lucas' 2004 memoir by the same name, the movie stars Sarah Chalke as the 27-year-old Manhattan-dwelling Lucas who finds herself living "the life" with a dream job and dreamier doctor husband - and a lump in her breast.

She goes through a mastectomy and the subsequent chemotherapy, all the while struggling to maintain a sense of confidence and femininity. Her high-end New York lifestyle, loving family, understanding boss and supportive friends all help her through the experience, but nothing can truly make her feel better about being unusually young for a breast cancer patient. She fiercely insists on wearing red lipstick whenever she can, her "war paint" in the battle against the disease.

I'm a huge Sarah Chalke fan, and while the story is, in true Lifetime fashion, slightly glossy and vanilla, Chalke does a magnificent job portraying the defiantly feminine Lucas. Her determination to live a beautiful life in the midst of such an ugly experience is inspiring. The movie is currently available on iTunes for $4.

Recast "Roseanne" and Win a Prize!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 14:32:09 -0700

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

For this week's challenge, let's take a look at "Roseanne," a TV family that got much closer than most to portraying real life. If you could recast this lovable, working class family with new actors, who would you choose to play snarky Roseanne and her crew of kids? What about Roseanne's husband Dan and her sister Jackie?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, August 7, complete with a "new" cast photo. To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Characters to recast:
Roseanne (Roseanne Barr)
Dan (John Goodman)
D.J. (Michael Fishman)
Darlene (Sara Gilbert)
Becky (Alicia Goranson/Sarah Chalke)
Jackie (Laurie Metcalf)

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

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