Tonight on ABC, you’ll catch your first glimpse of the re-invented SCRUBS ([Medical School] as Bill Lawrence wants it to be known).  The old Sacred Heart Hospital is gone, and our favorite doctors are now teaching at the conveniently located medical school down the street. Drs. Turk and Cox are there to provide wisdom, along with, for a short time, Dr. John Dorian, who tries so desperately, as you might imagine, to be the cool teacher that everyone adores.  It’s great to see other familiar faces, like The Todd, still traipsing the hallways.  Remember Intern Denise?  The angry one?  She’s still around, too, and is a much needed gap between the new, fresh faced med students (read: new cast members) and the old group of folks we’ve come to love over the years (read: Turk, JD, Dr. Cox, Elliot, Kelso, etc.).  I had a chance to chat with Donald Faison (Turk) and Dave Franco (spoiled rich kid Cole) for some insight on what it was like going back to work with the old team, joining a show so late in its lifespan, and what the future holds for this series.

Donald: Amrie!

How are you guys?
Donald:  Chillin
Dave: Good, how you doin?

I’m good – so excited to talk to you both – SCRUBS remains one of my top ten shows.  I can’t seem to let it go!
Donald:  You know what’s crazy, is that the network can’t seem to let it go either! [laughs] And I’m really happy about that!

That’s one of the big questions I had for you – was there a moment when you said “oh I am ready to be done” or was it always “I’m in it for the long haul?”
Donald:  You know what, I never understood why actors left television shows.  I’m a firm  believer that you take it all the way until it’s dead, and I intend to do that with SCRUBS.  It helps that it’s on a great network like ABC.

That is definitely true!  I’ve seen so much promotion for this show that we didn’t necessarily get before.  It’s everywhere!
Donald:  It’s everywhere, and that’s always a good thing.  People get to find, or rediscover, or find something that they never really watched.  The show’s been on for 9 years, and there are a lot of people out there who haven’t seen an episode of SCRUBS.   Now is the time.  If we could invite some of your viewers to please check it out, it’s a lot of fun!

For both of you, what are you saying to people about why now is a good time to tune in?
Dave:  It’s a whole new twist this year!  There are four new characters, and you’ve got the returning cast that everyone’s grown to love.  There’s all these new storylines, and new relationships, and at the same time, the wacky humor and everything is still there.  There’s the same feeling to it, but new characters, which is always great.

I noticed that, too, watching the first two episodes.  It’s definitely part old SCRUBS, but at the same time, it’s a new SCRUBS, and it’s something that both new and old viewers can love.
Donald:  What helps it out is that Zach comes back for the first 6 episodes to kind of build the bridge from old to new.  I think that’s key.  I think it’s very important, and I think it works out, I think it’s the right way to do it.  It would be…
Dave: …a little jarring if it wasn’t.
Donald:  Right, it would be weird if all of a sudden out of nowhere, there was just somebody else doing a voiceover and you really didn’t hear from JD anymore.

Right, and I think that they way they did it is kind of seamless, you spend less time explaining why he’s not there as much, and you can move on with something new!
Donaldand Dave:  Exactly!

I do want to talk about the Season 8 DVD for a minute, since that just came out (got myself a copy and watched it straight through, crying at the end of the finale, again, like a crazy person).  Talk about the extras on this set!
Donald:  Well you know, there’s bloopers, there are some deleted scenes, there are some alternate lines [laughs out loud].  It’s all of Season 8 on DVD, with all of the behind the scenes things that people missed.

And Dave, with you coming into a show that has been on the air forever, is it hard coming in as a new cast member?
Dave:  It wasn’t too bad.  Especially at first, all of the returning cast members made it so easy for us, and they were so welcoming.  When the first few episodes, when we’re trying to get comfortable, they have been doing this for so long, and they’re so free with the words, so comfortable on set, we can’t help but be comfortable around them, and it really puts us at ease.  They made it really seamless for us!

I love the show, I’m going to watch until it’s over, so you can count on me!
Donald:  RIDE UNTIL THE WHEELS COME OFF!