New TV on DVD Box Sets-Samantha Who? and Scrubs

I am WAY late on posting this, so please make my sponsor happy and promise you’ll check out these DVD box sets, okay? SAMANTHA WHO?: THE COMPLETE SECOND AND FINAL SEASON & SCRUBS: THE EIGHTH SEASON were released on August 25th, and after watching most of both of them for this review, I can confidently say that yes, they are worth buying.

The second season of Samantha find Sam continuing to struggle with remembering her past, and of course, falling in and out of love. Christina Applegate is absolutely delightful as always, with Jean Smart as her sassy Mom Regina, Kevin Dunn as her adoring but clueless Dad Howard, Jennifer Esposito as Sam’s party-girl (in her former life) friend Andrea, Melissa McCarthy as Sam’s best friend Dena, Tim Russ as her building doorman and comic partner Frank, and Barry Watson as her on-again, off-again boyfriend Todd.

It was absolutely criminal that Samantha Who? was cancelled. The first season aired right after Dancing with the Stars, received high praise from critics, and was the highest rated sitcom that season. Unfortunately, the second season saw the show put up against more successful shows and viewership dropped. Even though Christina Applegate was nominated for an Emmy for Best Actress in 2008, and publicly fought and recovered from breast cancer, ABC opted not to renew the show. If another network was smart, they would pick up this show and promote the heck out of it as a refreshing option to reality shows.

Bonus features: On Disc One, choose “Play All” to see a recap of Season One. On Disc Two, we get deleted scenes, bloopers, a set tour with Christina, a featurette on the episode “So I Think I Can Dance”, and Girl Chat, in which Christina, Jennifer and Melissa answer questions about their characters. Disc Three has three bonus episodes they call “More Sam”.

Bonus clip: “Tire Slashing”

Scrubs: The Complete Eighth Season is likely the final season for the show, at least in that format and with that cast. Creator Bill Lawrence is supposedly in talks with ABC about moving the show there, and re-formatting it to star the new crop of interns. According to IMDb, 6 episodes have been filmed of “Scrubs: Interns”, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. If that doesn’t happen, Season Eight wrapped up all the main storylines very nicely and with plenty of signature humor. Without spoiling anything for anyone who hasn’t seen it, I’ll just say that old relationships are rekindled, new relationships are started, and a new crop of interns learn how to survive at Sacred Heart. The final episode, “My Finale”, is one of the best series ending episodes in my recent memory. Okay, one spoiler: Janitor gets married! Does he reveal his real name? Watch and find out!

In addition to the main cast of Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, Donald Faison, John C. McGinley, Ken Jenkins, Christa Miller, Robert Maschio, and Sam Lloyd, Season Eight gives a three-episode arc to Courtney Cox as acting Chief of Medicine. Of the new interns, Eliza Coupe is a standout as snarky Dr. Denise – coincidentally, she also played Willow on two episodes of Samantha Who?: The Second Season.

Bonus Features: My Bahamas trip, Bill Lawrence answers fans’ questions, deleted scenes, bloopers alternate lines, webisodes. I highly, HIGHLY recommend you watch “My Bahamas Trip”, it’s very well done and you’ll drool over the incredible location.

Bonus clip: “My Intern Class”

BUY IT: Samantha Who?: The Second Season is available on Amazon.com for $27.49 and Scrubs: The Complete Eighth Season is $25.99, both qualify for free shipping. You’ll be glad you did!