The next two 9:30pm ET/PT repeat episodes will be accompanied by cast commentaries on NBC.com:

Tuesday, March 14th: "My Life In Four Cameras" (commentary by Sarah Chalke, Ken Jenkins and Judy Reyes)
Tuesday, March 21st: "My Lucky Night" (commentary by Donald Faison, Neil Flynn and John C. McGinley)

From mediaweek:

From Media week.

How do these numbers compare with previous seasons?

They're very bad compared to previous seasons. When it was on Thursdays it would get well over 10 million viewers. I realize that Friends was on the air then but I bet if it were to air after My Name is Earl the ratings would be a lot better than they are now.

Is 4 kings cancelled yet? Maybe it can take that spot.

"Overrated"? Bite me, Mediabitchyweek.

What the hell do they mean by overrated? Doesn't that mean that they have a lot of ratings (well one meaning) and obviously the show doesn't?

Seriously, when you think overrated you think of shows that typically garner high ratings just because of it's popularity but isn't good in quality [editorial]Desperate Housewives[/editorial]. Obviously Scrubs is loved by many, just that it's lost in the shuffle most of the time.

Yeah I don't get that overrated reference either. It's more like underrated to me. And currently on life support.

In May we'll know if we get a season 6 or not.

Perhaps I jumped the gun and "overrated" has some technical meaning for the editorial staff of Mediaweek, having to with, well, actual ratings?

On second thought, Nah.

Well, if NBC continues in its moronic scheduling habits and cancels Scrubs, there is always the hope that ABC may pick it up for a sixth season, as the rumor goes.

But NBC struggling lately is good for Scrubs, right? The only good new show they had this year was Earl. Plus they have several solid shows ending. I think It'd be crazy for them to give themselves another empty space to fill with new programing. Scrubs may not do well, but at this point you'd think they'd rather hold at ok than gamble. Plus I think almost everyone would agree Scrubs would do better during its newly reenergized Thurdays.

And, I believe that this was mentioned on the old thread, but Comedy Central purchased the syndication rights starting next year. I think that I phrased that right, they are going to show reruns!

ETA: Here is an article with a few more specifics: Comedy Central Scrubs up

That's awesome, finally reruns! Too bad I'm in Canada, I don't get CC, but still happy for them.

According to Scrubs.mopnt.com here's the scheduling from now on:
Even though no more reruns along new eps, it's good that they settled with a schedule that's easy to follow and consistent.

NBC changed it again. The schedule is still the same for next week (a new and old one) and then on March 28th there's an episode at 8:30 (a repeat probably) followed by a new one.

http://nbcumv.com/entertainment/release_de...dditionsto.html

Apparently Four Kings has been canceled, yet NBC still won't give Scrubs a Thursday slot.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/newswire.cgi?id=7114

NBC would kill on Thursday nights if they just switched Scrubs over. I understand that they want to spread out their quality maybe (or at least that is the best answer they can give) but really, why not work to really publicize and really dominate one night? The success there might lay over to other nights on the network, or at least get them some great press and attention again. LAME!

Well, this way, I'm watching NBC at least three nights a week (M - The Apprentice, Tu - Scrubs, Th - W&G, Four Kings). If I'm home on Friday nights, I might watch DOND or Conviction. I can't help it; they've got me sucked in!

I don't mind Scrubs being on Tuesday nights -- Frasier did just fine here. Now, if we can just get eleven seasons out of Scrubs... ;)

Four Kings was cancelled and NBC still won't put Scrubs on Thursdays? Assholes.

I meant it when I said once this show is gone my days of watching NBC are done too.

You can get commentary from Sarah for the whole episode. NBC.com has short video clips of all three of them talking about the episode. Ken's is the most interesting, IMO - he tells a good story.

From mediaweek.com:

I think Scrubs would do well on Thursday, in "4 Kings" slot. That's in between "Will & Grace" and "My Name Is Earl". And with "The Office" on after that, Thursday would become Must-See-TV for me again! Honestly, look what happened to "The Office" and "My Name Is Earl" when they moved to Thursday. Ratings increased for both shows. Although, as long as it's on the air, I don't care when it's on.

Okay at first I don't really want Scrubs to be on Thursday's supposed Must See TV night only because I feel it just puts extra pressure on the show where there doesn't need any. Like non-Scrubs watchers are expecting Seinfeld or something, I dunno, my weird logic.

Buuut, now, from what I've been seeing on the VM Scheduling Thread it looks like getting away from Tuesdays at 9pm is a good idea. Having Veronica Mars take that spot only thins an already short supply of viewers IMO. Add that to the fact that Sons & Daughters seem to be attracting the exact same type of 'smart jokes' kind of audience. This does not bode well for Scrubs.

Of course all my negativity may be moot if they just sell Scrubs on iTunes as soon as humanly possible for darn's sakes!

Her who with the what now? Is this wishful thinking, or did I miss a memo? Again?

I like Scrubs on Tuesdays. IMO, it's a little too "adult" for the pre-9:00 hour, but if NBC wants to move it, I'll be there. :)

At least American Idol isn't on Thursdays! That's probably one reason the ratings are so bad.

How much longer is AI going up against Scrubs? Anyone know?

Sandman, I don't know for sure sure, but I got the info over at the Media Thread. The link for Variety isn't working for me so I don't know what to think now..

The iTunes thing was banner advertized during last night's episode, so I guess it's true.

Does anyone know how many episodes there are this season? Don't we get 24 some years, instead of the typical 22?

I started watching (and re-watching, in some cases) some of those video Scrubs blogs IGN has been doing, and I seem to recall Bill Lawrence said in the first one that this would be a 24 ep season.

Of course, back then they thought they'd be starting in November, but I prefer to think positive. NBC's midseason launches of new comedies hasn't been great, if memory serves.

I am very happy that Scrubs is on iTunes now. But being the caveman that am I using the lowly PC, how does it work with XP? And I'm guessing they make the videos very hard to copy? Because I might like to import the episodes on my laptop seeing that I'm at school most of my time. Anyone care to share? Thanks!

Ratings for Tuesday's episode from mediaweek.

Good grief, where have I been? I hope this is a good sign. I'm downloading right now.

I took this as a good sign: during the much hyped election episode of West Wing last night, they showed a Scrubs/Teachers promo that called it "Scrubs's best season ever". I don't know how I feel about Teachers, but they've been acting like Scrubs is a solid show they can hitch things to.

Itunes works fine with XP. I have XP and I've never had a problem. If you want to import it to another computer, Itunes does let you make data copies of everything.

I really encourage everyone to download from itunes. It adds to the show's value and downloading shows is part of the reason NBC is so high on the office.

Copying the files is as easy as copying any other 200 MB file. They limit it to the total number of machines you can copy them to. (5 machines) And you can't play them outside of iTunes because of the copy protection.

Deleted because I am blind

With AD dead and The Office safe, time to turn my attention to Scrubs.

1) Is there a concensus on what helps the shows cause more, DVD or iTunes sales?
2) With Sons & Daughters coming out has Scrubs taken a hit at all in the Nielsen's?
3) Is there a reason that ABC scheduled one of the "renaissance comedies" up against another one? We've got AD (or had), The Office, MNIE, Scrubs and S&D on network TV. Two of them are going up against each other. Why?

Funbox,
1. It seems to me that iTunes helps spread the word about a show faster. I'm just looking at this in terms of Arrested Development vs The Office (although they are most likely other factors involved, as well)- AD: was never on iTunes, DVD sales were fairly good, the show had low Nielson ratings- it's gonna get cancelled; The Office- the media at least is attributing the show's success to a. the move to Thursday night, and b. iTunes. The fact that the media is making a big deal about the Scrubs iTunes deal leads me to believe that they think that iTunes will boost viewership (and I think a move to Thursday night might help, too- hint, hint). Also, DVDs come out after the season has aired- iTunes are a way to keep up with the season as it airs- it seems that iTunes could contribute to a more immediate success.
2. The articles that have been posted seem to suggest that Scrubs has kept its audience against American Idol- there is no mention of S&D actually taking the audience away- if anything, I'll bet Scrubs is taking the potential S&D audience. Which is unfortunate because S&D deserves to be watched, too- it's a good show. There are people on the S & D board saying that they've switched to S&D, though- which sucks- they shouldn't have to make that choice.
3. Programming is really weird sometimes- networks like to pit things that are similar to see which one wins out. ABC may also have just not thought about it when making the schedule. I dunno.

All in all, though, I don't think we have anything to worry about with Scrubs- it actually seems to be getting some buzz (something that it really hasn't had before) and it all seems like good buzz. Bill Lawrence has said he's 100% positive that it will be coming back, so I take that as a good sign.

I'm just glad I no loger have to choose between 1st half of Amazing Race and Scrubs. AR won out too many times and season 4 is a big blur to me.

Today's Ask Matt reiterates what we've heard before: If NBC doesn't renew Scrubs, there is a good chance ABC will pick it up.

Can the show do better on ABC? Or does ABC's largely stinky comedy lineup mean there's nothing to pair it with (especially since Sons & Daughters sounds doomed)? Will NBC renew the show just to spite ABC and keep killing it with neglect? Stay tuned.

I think it'll do better on ABC. It's clear NBC doesn't give a shit about Scrubs anymore. That was proven by them leaving Scrubs on Tuesdays where it got killed by American Idol ratings wise. If they really cared they would have moved it to Thursdays. I'll be very surprised if NBC doesn't cancel the show.

From AM article:

I hope NBC wouldn't stoop that low but I've learned never to put anything past them so we'll see.

As far as I dimly understand the business, TV is absolutely full of executives who'll hold on to ratings dogs just to make sure another network doesn't make gold out of their dross, and conversely will cancel promising shows championed by the former regime so the credit for making a hit show doesn't accrue to the now-departed execs.

I fear ABC would cancel it quickly, even with good DVD sales.

NBC as I see it will renew it, its 4-6 million viewers who they would loose and when they only have 2 hit comedies - and 1 sitcom leaving, they don't have a good sitcom roster.

Honestly, after the torture I and many other Arrested Development fans suffered at the hands of FOX, I am starting to actually appreciate NBC's handling of Scrubs. They easily could have cancelled Scrubs after last season, or after the 3rd season. Yes, they moved it to Tuesdays when it was doing well on Thursdays, but I think they only made that move because they thought it was strong enough to stand alone and be a lead-in to other shows. And yeah, I was pissed that it wasn't put on the air until January, but they made up for it by airing back to back new episodes for weeks. If NBC really wanted to be dicks and really didn't give a shit about Scrubs, they easily could have reduced the order down to 13 and aired only one new episode per week from January to May. NBC knows Scrubs isn't a ratings powerhouse, yet they aired a full hour of the show for nearly two months. The only complaint I have right now is that they are keeping it on Tuesdays, when it clearly deserves to be brought back to Thursday nights, especially if it could be paired up with My Name Is Earl and The Office. But honestly, as long as it's on the air, I don't care what night it's on, because I'll watch it no matter what. I happen to be shamelessly addicted to American Idol, but on the nights when AI was airing from 8-10 and Scrubs was on from 9-10, I switched to NBC at 9pm with no problems. I'd rather Scrubs stay on NBC because I feel like it's safe on NBC, weird as that sounds. It's already in its 5th season, it made it to syndication, and it hasn't been cancelled. Better yet, NBC is finally starting to promote it (I've seen more promos for Scrubs in the past few months then I've seen in all the years combined that it has been on the air), they're selling it on itunes, AND they're even having a baby-naming contest in honor of Turk & Carla's first baby! I feel like ABC would put the axe in it after like 2 episodes (see: Heather Graham's sitcom and Jake in Progress). ABC is a ratings powerhouse and they probably don't have time for low-rated sitcoms. NBC is trying to work its way back up to the top and has proven that it will give critically acclaimed yet ratings challenged shows the respect they deserve (see: The Office and Scrubs).

I don't know, maybe I'm just so disheartened from what happened to Arrested Development that I've become easy to please.

I agree. NBC are treating the show well, its ratings are certainly axe-able for any network (4th place or not), they are treating it rather well - and its ratings are stronger now than last year, holding it back has helped.

ABC did axe those two shows quickly (Jake in Progress has aired like 8 times though - at some point, right?) but the whole reason Scrubs would go to ABC is for DVD sales, its doing damn well - its a 'DVD market' kinda show its for the key demo and they know it won't do great.

I'm not sure if they quite thought that, but I don't think they had a choice about standing it alone. NBC's been struggling to fill the time. I think they put it on Tuesdays to try to fill out that day. I wish they would move it in with the thursday block because that would be awesome, but I think originally they didn't do it because they were hoping to use the empty space to promote Four Kings. And they won't do it now because it would mean leaving little Teachers alone, and more or less admitting defeat on Tuesdays.

I don't think they've always treated the show well, but I think it's gotten to the point where they have no choice. Beggars can't be choosers.

Maybe they're treating the show so well because they're scared ABC will make more money out of Scrubs than them. I'm not complaining, of course.

So UPN is putting Veronica Mars at 9pm tonight. The ratings will look interesting come Wednesday. I like VM but I'm certainly not a huge fan, but I hope it doesn't make too much of a dent in Scrubs time slot.

Still, I don't think it matters that much anyways, seeing all the positive notes on the assurance of a next season (crosses fingers) so whatever competition Scrubs has is moot.

I was actually referring to when NBC initially moved Scrubs to Tuesdays, which was after the 2nd season. Scrubs premiered on Tuesdays, then it was moved to Thursdays at some point. I'm not sure if it was in the middle of the first season or during the second season. I do know for sure, however, that I used to watch it on Thursday nights after Will & Grace during my senior year of college, which was its second season. Then NBC moved it to Tuesdays in its third season, and it has been there since. The reason I say that I think NBC thought Scrubs was strong enough to move to Tuesdays in its 3rd season and might have been a lead-in for new shows is because Scrubs did really well when it was on Thursday nights, and NBC moved them from Thursdays to Tuesdays a few years ago. Of course, we all know that it hasn't done as well ratings-wise on Tuesday nights for the past 3 seasons, yet NBC continues to renew it. Which is why I'm not bitter about NBC's treatment of Scrubs.