The debate about which Scrubs revival seemingly on the way, the cult classic will have a tough task trying to improve upon its original run, but it stands a chance of doing so if it takes its past successes into .

Every doctor in Scrubs had a variety of arcs. The show's storylines went from comical absurdity to heartfelt tearjerker in the blink of an eye, and both approaches were incredibly effective during its nine years on the air. The equal blend of sad moments and sidesplitting hilarity helped the medical sitcom stand out among its contemporaries, and few shows since have struck the balance quite so well. Although Scrubs's potential comeback is likely to replicate this formula, it should arguably focus on one more than the other.

Most Of Scrubs' Highest-Rated Episodes Are Devastatingly Sad

Ben's funeral episode is at the top of the list

Almost every one of the top 10 Scrubs episodes on IMDb is filled with emotional turmoil. While the sitcom had a sadness quota to fill due to being a medical show, the deeply emotional episodes being rated so highly suggests they were much better received than their comically-led counterparts. Most of the episodes in question involve a character's death or at least bidding farewell to them in another capacity. It's a surprising pattern given how few truly sad Scrubs episodes there are by comparison, but it's very telling.

In the top spot with 9.7/10 is Scrubs season 3, episode 14, "My Screwup." The Sixth Sense-style episode is brilliantly written and only shows its true sorrow when it's revealed Brendan Fraser's Ben Sullivan has been a projection of Dr. Cox's grieving psyche. Other characters lost in Scrubs' top 10 episodes include Jill Tracy in "My Lunch," Mrs. Tanner in "My Old Lady," and Laverne in "My Long Goodbye." However, Laverne's ing was somewhat undercut when Aloma Wright returned as Shirley in the next season.

Why "My Way Home" Is Surrounded By Sad Scrubs Episodes

Scrub's homage to The Wizard of Oz deserves to be in the top 10

In 8th place between "My Finale: Part One" and "My Occurrence" rests something of an outlier. "My Way Home" doesn't have a melancholic atmosphere like the other nine episodes, but there's a very simple explanation for why it has managed to rank so highly despite bucking the trend. "My Way Home" was made as Scrubs' 100th episode, so the installment has a unique feel that's impossible to forget. As one of the seven Scrubs episodes directed by Zach Braff, "My Way Home" is a clever homage to 1939's The Wizard of Oz, and it's deserving of its high ranking.

If "My Way Home" were to be removed from the ranking, then its place would be taken by an episode that's much more consistent with the theme of negative or unwanted emotions.

Interestingly, Scrubs season 3, episode 12, "My Catalyst" is in 11th place on IMDb's list. While it's not sad all the way though, Michael J. Fox's Scrubs character ends the episode at the mercy of his OCD symptoms, and the scene is an upsetting one to witness. So, if "My Way Home" were to be removed from the ranking, then its place would be taken by an episode that's much more consistent with the theme of negative or unwanted emotions. Similarly, "My Musical" is in 12th place, which would chalk another one up for Scrubs' brilliant gimmick episodes.

Scrubs' Saddest Episodes Being So Successful Influenced The Showrunner's Future Projects

Bill Lawrence has reworked the Scrubs formula for shows like Ted Lasso

Scrubs showrunner Bill Lawrence has continued his success in the wake of the show's ending and developed several other shows. Although Cougar Town honed in on the emotional side of the approach a little less than Scrubs, two of his Apple TV+ shows have definitely benefited from the sadder aspects of the formula. The most prominent would be the comedy-drama, Ted Lasso. The Jason Sudeikis-led show has, at times, completely dispensed with trying to make the audience laugh and instead included scenes and sometimes entire episodes that are there solely for dramatic purposes.

The Shrinking cast is also no stranger to Lawrence's propensity for brilliantly upsetting his audience. That being said, although both Ted Lasso and Shrinking can go toe-to-toe with Scrubs' sadder moments, the medical sitcom still comes away the victor when it comes to purely comedic moments due to its heightened sense of reality. If a Scrubs revival does get officially greenlit, it will be interesting to see if Bill Lawrence's more recent projects will unconsciously shift the balance between the sitcom's two sides, or whether he's able to recapture the same ratio of laughs and tears.

Source: IMDb

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