ABC is in negotiations to air a full 18 episode season next fall

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i492e5ae858955bfeb599f446da50b913

I wonder if it will be in HD?

ABC is in negotiations to air a full 18 episode season next fall

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i492e5ae858955bfeb599f446da50b913

I wonder if it will be in HD?
Absolutely love the show. The director said he didn't like how the show looked in HD, so unless he changed his mind I doubt it.

Why the hell would he not like the show in HD? :confused:

I was kind of hoping the creator only said that because NBC was trying to keep costs down and he was covering for them... either way, SCRUBS IS BACK!

At its peak, Scrubs was brilliant. It's still OK. But, the show should have been properly wound down and given an ending.

Scrubs is way past the shark.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The show needs to end.

I am one of the biggest fans of the show... but it's not what is used to be... I was happy that this was supposed to be the last season.

As for HD - not gonna happen. Production of the show isn't changing in any way... the lack of HD wasn't a $$$ issue... it was 'artistic'. They tried it once and didn't like the results.

the lack of HD wasn't a $$$ issue... it was 'artistic'. They tried it once and didn't like the results.
If I were ABC, I would tell them to shove their 'artistry' right up their behinds and do the show in HD, or I won't pick it up. Very simple.

"Artistic"? How are 4:3 sidebars "artistic"? I think it's awful. Scrubs deserves HD.

If I remember correctly, the reason he didn't like filming it in HD, was because the show is a shot in an actual former hospital, and he said it was too difficult to frame it for wide screen, due to the narrow hallways.

If I remember correctly, the reason he didn't like filming it in HD, was because the show is a shot in an actual former hospital, and he said it was too difficult to frame it for wide screen, due to the narrow hallways.

Framing was a big part of it - yes.

The 'extra resolution' was also bad on the current sets... and there was no desire to redo everything - especially considering each season has potentially been the final season (since they did the one HD episode)

If I were ABC, I would tell them to shove their 'artistry' right up their behinds and do the show in HD, or I won't pick it up. Very simple.

This is kind of ironic in that it's ABC Studios/Touchstone Television that produces the show. I suspect that if it moves to the ABC network it will get made however ABC wants it, and if they want HD, that's how it will be done.

Theyve did seasons in the past thinking it might be the last, but they went into this season knowing it would be the last. Let it end as planned. I cant imagine an extra, unplanned season being anything better than suck.

I think it is a little premature to say Scrubs is going to ABC... According to the article you linked, NBC is still in exclusive negotiations for the show.

Even if Scrubs went to ABC, there is no more chance of it being in HD than if it's on NBC. If the people producing Scrubs want a 4:3 aspect ratio, what's wrong with that? They have a right to chose 4:3 just as much as a movie producer can choose 1.85:1 or 2.39:1. Given the type of film used on Scrubs as well, the quality of Scrubs film transfer on NBC digital feed is very good, much better than any other SD shows out there.

They have a right to chose 4:3 just as much as a movie producer can choose 1.85:1 or 2.39:1.

TV producers really have no rights at all in terms of the delivery format. They can request or make a case for a variance (like when ER started airing letterboxed in SD), but the network makes the rules and has the final call.

TV producers really have no rights at all in terms of the delivery format. They can request or make a case for a variance (like when ER started airing letterboxed in SD), but the network makes the rules and has the final call.I suppose you could say the same thing about movies that air on TV as well (movies aren't always--actually aren't usually-- aired in original aspect ratio). The point is, they have the right to make a show in 4:3 aspect ratio, and there's nothing "wrong" with it.

And if they insist that 4x3 their "artistic option" they need to be aware that the network will, in the vast majority of cases, refuse to air their show.

This is a show that started pre-HD (HD in wide use, anyway). It makes sense that the location and shooting areas already in use on the show are not setup in a way that would make filming for widescreen easy. They may have also found that makeup and other cleaning up of the sets was harder to do for an HD broadcast.

And if they insist that 4x3 their "artistic option" they need to be aware that the network will, in the vast majority of cases, refuse to air their show.


Scrubs and Curb Your Enthusiasm are the only 2 comedies still on the air that stated in the pre-HD days... Neither made the switch... nor will they. (at least Scrubs tested it out... gave it a shot)

It's unfair to expect a show already in production for a few years to make the switch - especially those that don't expect to be around much longer...

So why can't they make the show 4:3 HD?

TV producers really have no rights at all in terms of the delivery format. They can request or make a case for a variance (like when ER started airing letterboxed in SD), but the network makes the rules and has the final call.

Especially for this show as it's ABC/Touchstone produced, and is distributed by an ABC/Disney company just about anywhere else in the world, the USA being the exception, where NBC is the current distributor.

So why can't they make the show 4:3 HD?

4:3 HD would confuse people....

But the quality of the SD Scrubs on the NBCHD channel happens to be the best SD out there.

I don't mind the 4:3 for scrubs

I thought Zach Braff said he wouldn't come back after this season?

Framing was a big part of it - yes.

The 'extra resolution' was also bad on the current sets... and there was no desire to redo everything - especially considering each season has potentially been the final season (since they did the one HD episode)

I've never seen the one HD episode, but I like the current sets. Part of the appeal of Scrubs is it's very realistic. The sets on "House" or "Grey's Anatomy" look over the top and overdone for HD. The hospitals I've been to look alot more like "Scrubs" than "House".

I think they could pull it off. "ER" has done a good job with their sets and their 360 camera angles. Hell, I'd even be happy with a 16:9 SD Scrubs.

4:3 HD would confuse people....

But the quality of the SD Scrubs on the NBCHD channel happens to be the best SD out there.

Confuse people? The only thing switching to 4:3 HD would do is make people think "wow, does this show look a lot better, or is it just me?"

I see absolutely no reason why this wouldn't work.

The one episode they aired in HD didn't look all that great. Be careful of what you wish for.

The show is just not the same with everyone being an attending physician now.

I don't mind the 4:3 for scrubs

I thought Zach Braff said he wouldn't come back after this season?

$$ talks.

Didn't Joss Whedon also want Buffy in 4:3? I recall hearing he wasn't pleased that they released one of the season on DVD in 16:9 when he didn't want it shown that way.

Either way, Scrubs has run its course. I stopped watching when the local broadcaster messed around playing it late night and months behind the US airing.

Didn't Joss Whedon also want Buffy in 4:3? I recall hearing he wasn't pleased that they released one of the season on DVD in 16:9 when he didn't want it shown that way.

Either way, Scrubs has run its course. I stopped watching when the local broadcaster messed around playing it late night and months behind the US airing.
Buffy started airing in early 1997, a time when most folks didn’t know what HDTV was, much less own a set capable of HD reception. Scrubs didn’t begin until the fall of 2001, so there is less excuse for their having avoided HD. Scrubs’ creator can talk about “artistic choice” as a reason for avoiding HD all he wants but I don’t have to buy it. A choice to avoid HD is always about money, not art, it seems to me. Except for the musical episode, which I loved and have retained a copy of on my DVR, I have never watched scrubs because it was in SD.

Buffy started airing in early 1997, a time when most folks didn’t know what HDTV was, much less own a set capable of HD reception. Scrubs didn’t begin until the fall of 2001, so there is less excuse for their having avoided HD. Scrubs’ creator can talk about “artistic choice” as a reason for avoiding HD all he wants but I don’t have to buy it. A choice to avoid HD is always about money, not art, it seems to me. Except for the musical episode, which I loved and have retained a copy of on my DVR, I have never watched scrubs because it was in SD.

Um... are you rewriting history now? "Less excuse"?

What other comedy shows were HD in the fall of 2001?

none.....

I've been a devoted "Scrubs" watcher since Day 1. I still DVR the repeats on my local FOX station, even though I've seen every episode numerous times.

That being said, it's time has come. The few episodes this season (and many last season) were beyond weak. I hope this doesn't happen. Be like when Willie Mays played that last sad season when the Mets when he should have been retired to Boca.

I love the show, and always have, but it's time to go. A few years of NBC putting it in pathetic time slots, jerking the show around to cut it basically into half a season, and outright skipping around the show many times have completely killed potential ratings ABC could look for.

I say to hell with NBC. Bill Lawrence should just create the rest of the season that NBC hasn't purchased and send it straight to DVD.

Maybe a spin-off would be a better idea for ABC. Quite frankly, while the show has made a star of Zack Braff, he's now making a joke out of the show. Maybe it's not his direction, but the acting of the "J.D." character has gone completely downhill during the last 2 seasons.

Um... are you rewriting history now? "Less excuse"?

What other comedy shows were HD in the fall of 2001?

none.....
Note that I said that I didn't have to like it, and I don't. That's a matter of personal opinion. Live with it. After all, without differences of opinion, what would become of horse racing and betting of sports. :)

http://blog.zap2it.com/korbitv/2008/06/scrubs-scoop-st.html

Will Scrubs start airing in HD?
It will. When the show bows on ABC, it will be available in HD!

lots of other questions answered. mild spoilers as well as many rumors

spongyfunny -- Thanks for the update. I will probably watch regularly, now that Scrubs will be in HD. And, by the way, so much for the show's creators' incredible claim that the reason for filming the show in SD was "artistic choice." Ha!

Isn't this the last scripted network show, comedy or drama, to go HD? (I've never seen it - and lack of HD is one reason why.)

spongyfunny -- Thanks for the update. I will probably watch regularly, now that Scrubs will be in HD. And, by the way, so much for the show's creators' incredible claim that the reason for filming the show in SD was "artistic choice." Ha!

Here's bill lawrence's answer : Scrubs isn't in HD because, eventhough it's on NBC, it's owned by ABC and nobody wants to pay for it. I would ask you to send cash in and cover it, but I think I would just blow it on a road trip or something.

http://blog.nbc.com/scrubs/2006/11/scrubs_in_hd.php#

One SCRUBS ep did run in HD a couple of seasons back. I believe it may have been a season finale. I remember it only 'cause the show started out in pillarbox form, as per usual, then switched to 16x9 a few minutes in (may have been a local station, not a network, issue) during a scene of yet another Dr Cox rant. But it was the 1st & last time that ever happened.

As to the blog link from SpongyFungy.....hmmm, SCRUBS w/o Bil Lawrence, or more importantly, w/o Zach Braff......could be done, but why? I know they have often shifted focus off of JD & onto other characters recently, but SCRUBS "center" if you will is & always has been Dr Dorian & his whacked out imagination. Despite the other talent involved, A Braff-less SCRUBS is hard to visualize.

One SCRUBS ep did run in HD a couple of seasons back. I believe it may have been a season finale. I remember it only 'cause the show started out in pillarbox form, as per usual, then switched to 16x9 a few minutes in (may have been a local station, not a network, issue) during a scene of yet another Dr Cox rant. But it was the 1st & last time that ever happened.

As to the blog link from SpongyFungy.....hmmm, SCRUBS w/o Bil Lawrence, or more importantly, w/o Zach Braff......could be done, but why? I know they have often shifted focus off of JD & onto other characters recently, but SCRUBS "center" if you will is & always has been Dr Dorian & his whacked out imagination. Despite the other talent involved, A Braff-less SCRUBS is hard to visualize.

Agreed. Sounds like a recipe for guaranteed failure (i.e., cancellation).

Agreed. Sounds like a recipe for guaranteed failure (i.e., cancellation).


I see SCRUBS as a show following the M*A*S*H formula, sort of. And not because of the backdrop of doctors & nurses.

Various characters could come & go, but SCRUBS needs it's central character (Braff being the show's "Alan Alda/Hawkeye", if you will) to even attempt to go on.

ABC may find new docs for "Scrubs"

By James Hibberd

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - ABC is giving "Scrubs" the sort of heavy network support that its creator says was missing during the show's seven years on NBC.

The comedy's production will be upgraded to HD (high-definition) for its eighth-season premiere on ABC, and the network has commissioned six two- to four-minute webisodes to give the show extra promotional heft.

"It was a pleasant surprise to have people from the network visit the set, because nobody has done that in six or seven years," creator/showrunner Bill Lawrence said at the Television Critics Assn. press tour Wednesday. "I don't think that's NBC dropping the ball; I think it's the difference of doing a show for a network that also produces you."

"Scrubs," produced by ABC Studios, is set to premiere midseason. Some have suspected it will be the show's final season, and star Zach Braff in particular says he's likely headed for an exit.

"My sense is this is my last year," Braff said.

Yet Lawrence and ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson indicated there might be a way to keep the comedy going with new cast members, a la NBC's revolving-door medical drama "ER."

"We do think that it will not hopefully be a one-season situation," McPherson said. "We do think there's an opportunity after that -- talking to Zach, talking to Bill -- and whether all of the cast is a part of that, I still think there's a great amount of growth there."

Added Lawrence: "McPherson was supportive of the idea that it's like 'ER' as a comedy. We brought in some younger people into the show."

Still, Lawrence has the finale -- which he'd written about four years ago -- ready to go, and it might finally reveal the name of the janitor (Neil Flynn).

"We just have to change some pop culture references," he said. "When you hear the janitor's name, the show's over."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Isn't this the last scripted network show, comedy or drama, to go HD? (I've never seen it - and lack of HD is one reason why.)

Yes, I think it is. I think it shows how little support NBC had for the show by not going to HD when all other scripted network shows were in HD.

Yes, I think it is. I think it shows how little support NBC had for the show by not going to HD when all other scripted network shows were in HD.
The producer or director of the show didn't like the look of the show in HD.

The producer or director of the show didn't like the look of the show in HD.

Good thing it's moving to a network that's requiring HD.

The producer or director of the show didn't like the look of the show in HD.


Bill Lawrence was not so much against going HD (just one episode--the season finale--2 seasons or so back WAS broadcast in 16x9 HD on NBC), it was just that he thought the show did not necessarily benefit from it. Plus, it was never part of the show budget to upgrade full-time.

Being on the network that actually owns the show must have freed up some budget for the switch.

Sarah Chalke belongs in high-def, IMO!

Scrubs shot on Super16 (majority shot on Kodak Vision2 250D 7205, 50D 7201, and 200T 7217 color negative film.
composed in 4:3, while protected for 16:9 so episodes could be aired in HD.
The DP John Inwood has shot 150 episodes of Scrubs and says, "I believe that older episodes will continue to air long into the future on HD television"

For the 9th Season
The 16mm film was telecined on a Spirit DataCine


The last episode of the 2008 season "My Princess" (half episode in Medieval times) the fantasy elements shot on color reversal film (Kodak Ektachrome 100D 7285) with warm filter on the camera lens and a stocking behind.

high def magazine Nov/Dec.2008
try back in a couple weeks to read the issue in PDF form.
http://www.highdef.com/magazine/index.htm

The one episode they aired in HD didn't look all that great. Be careful of what you wish for.


For the most part this is true. I can post my old caps when I find them. Most of it was very grainy. That episode had a dream sequence on the beach and it actually showed promise. Nevertheless it didn't look any worse than CW's/UPN "HD" shows from years past. :D