In Scrubs' presumed final season, which begins with two new episodes Tuesday at 9 eastern on ABC, three unknowns remain:1. How will the show conclude J.D.'s arc? Will he finally grow up? Will he step out of Dr. Cox's shadow? Will he and Elliott end up together...again?
2. Will we find out The Janitor's name?
3. How will Courtney Cox, who's playing Dr. Kelso's replacement, Dr. Maddox, fit in?
Regarding No. 3, since I avoid season previews because of their spoiler potential, it's impossible for me to say what her role will be and how the other characters will respond to Maddox. Clearly, adding Cox to the cast is somewhat of a publicity stunt. ABC, which has seemingly promoted the show more in the past month than NBC did in its previous seven seasons, wants to get a lot of bang for its buck. Anytime a show tries a publicity stunt, the jaded will declare the show has "jumped the shark."
However, if I were a betting man, I'd say that no matter what kind of character Maddox is, it will work. Scrubs had numerous guest stars in previous seasons, many of whom had less comedic experience than Cox, and they almost always worked. Heather Locklear, Colin Farrell, Heather Graham, and even Tara Reid had successful appearances despite their lack of comedic chops. Cox, on the other hand, was one of the stars of Friends, one of the most successful comedies of the past 20 years. Until I see otherwise, I'm assuming Cox will fit in well. Bill Lawrence and the rest of Scrubs' writers deserve the benefit of the doubt.
I'm just hoping Maddox's presence doesn't mean we've seen the last of Kelso. He got his big send off last season and is retired, but they could easily write him into an episode or two. (What has two thumbs and loves Bob Kelso? The Mayor! I thought we'd met?)
