Good medicine

Two thousand zero six, party over, oops, out of time... doesn't have quite the ring, does it?

So what does a TV critic do during the last week of the calendar year, when there's nothing new to watch and no news to report because Hollywood is on vacation? Take some vacation time of my own, of course -- which ended up being half-vacation, half sick time, as the daycare germ factory struck our family once again.

When I wasn't taking temperatures or hacking up phlegm, I spent a whole lot of time watching "Scrubs." NBC sent me the new season's first four episodes (my review is here), and boy howdy are they great. Just absurdly wacky stuff. Between them and the first two season boxed sets I dove through during this week, I've almost developed a new appreciation for a show I already loved. It could be absence making the heart grow fonder, or it could be the realization that, with "Arrested Development" pretty much doomed, this is again the standard-bearer for network comedy.

And speaking of "Arrested," they sure went out with a blaze of in-jokes last night, didn't they? Fox originally planned to show the Justine Bateman episode next week, but they've since replaced it with a "House" repeat. That's probably for the best; we'll get to see the last four episodes on DVD, and thematically this was the perfect finale, parodying all the reasons the show hasn't been able to catch on, sweeps gimmicks (gratuitous guest stars, 3D episodes, live episodes), etc., etc., etc. Bonus points to anyone who recognized "Head of the Class" alum Tannis Vallely (daughter of "Arrested" writer/producer Jim) as the casting director who got assaulted by Tobias' glitter package. So funny, so depressing -- especially now that I'm hearing rumors that Fox the TV studio doesn't want to save the show because it might make Fox the TV network look bad. Boo to synergy!

More later today on my end of the year movie and DVD binge.