I've watched this show a billion times. I'll never get sick of it. In my top 5 shows of all time, it's just the best and I tell everyone to watch it bc it's timeless.

And I always felt like Scrubs became Scrubs in season 3. It's when the show really developed its identity of goofiness mixed with drama (especially the first great emotional Cox episode is in season 3). And I still feel that way.

But rewatching now there's something about the first 2 seasons I like more. I think the characters felt like real people. It's more down to earth in general before they all kind of become flanderized

And tbf, all of scrubs is great pre season 9 (I even like season 7). But I find I like when the characters were more human than charicature. It felt like it could be a real hospital with real people, and even people you'd possibly be friends with.

But they're all just become so extreme eventually in their most comical traits that it's hard to think that any of them are actually competent doctors or staff. The first 2 seasons felt like a more mature show. The comedic nature often came across to me as more of a way to offset the intensity of working in a hospital, but it eventually reverses where the drama feels implemented as an offset to the comedy.

And before my complaints I want to make it clear the show is still amazing end to end (season 9 doesn't count), with tons of hilarious and emotional moments. This is me being pedantic of a show I've watched too many times.

I'll give some character examples. One of them, as many have put, is JD's character. I completely understand why people like JD and why girls like him early on. The first time he hooks up with Elliot, it makes sense, he has it together, he's just young and inexperienced. But eventually JD becomes this extreamly needy self absorbed clown who has the attention span of a 5 year old. The whole gag of him staring off into space became an actual thing he does when earlier on he was just a bit spacey at times.

And his effiminate aspects multiply and become the main focus of his character (my issue with this is not that he's effiminate to make that clear, it's that it's a constant joke and presented as negative where everyone ridicules him for it instead of just part of who he is). I find it hard to believe anyone would be into him or take him seriously as a doctor. And that's not mentioning a lot of his "nice guy" qualities but then treating women like sex objects or different based on their appearances or with disdain when they have basic emotions (he was kind of like this in the early seasons but with less of the over the top "nice guy" qualities).

Carla goes from a realistic portrayal of a strong Latina woman and proud nurse to a busy body stereotype and being kind of toxic as a partner. I like that Elliot developes confidence but she had that in the begining and fought back (her early seasons character I'm told is actually very relatable to young female doctors). She could be abrasive and cocky but also a very talented doctor and a product of a mysogynistic system. But eventually she somehow becomes more obsessed with how everyone sees her as the show goes on and it becomes her defining trait (so does her sex life, like to a addictive degree but it's in a way that's clearly written by men, if that makes sense).

Janitor seemed competent at his job but screwed with JD and was legitamitely menacing; which made the whole thing funnier to me bc no one would believe he was doing this and he may possibly always do something worse. But eventually seems like some weird guy who pretends to be a janitor just to mess with people all day (though Neil Flynn can make anything funny).

Dr. Cox is a jerk to everyone initially bc he's really depressed and his personal life is in shambles and everyone kind of openly dislikes him for it but later he seems to just do it for the kicks and once in awhile acts ok and gets basically everything he wants. He's actually verbally abusive and would be brought up on numerous sexual harassment charges (I'm also told by a number of doctors who've watched the show that he's extremely unrealistic bc of how overtly abusive he is). Honestly, I'd probably hate him if John McGinley wasn't such an amazing and hilarious actor who made everything Cox said quotable or tear jerking.

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON TURK... Nah Donald Faison is gold all the way through. He and the show got his character down pat day 1. He has his selfish and negative moments but it never feels out of character from who he was in the beginning for him imo.

(Also, this worked in reverse for Kelso. The show makes him more likable later when they take him less seriously and make him less menacing).

I know this is just how comedic shows go. As time goes on everything gets exaggerated, and in a 22 min runtime you need everyone to be explicit with their personalities. And some shows it actually works to its benefit for awhile, but eventually it happens to it's deteiment.

But I kind of feel like seasons 1 and 2 are my favorite for those reasons, it had more nuance in my perspective. And it's also why I really love season 8, bc it kind of goes back to feeling more like they're real people but with adult maturity and growing from their flaws.