By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Jul 14, 2008
"Scrubs" was snatched from the jaws of death by ABC, but will this eighth season on a new network indeed be the show's final swan song? "We can say yes, but you never know," says Judy Reyes, who plays Nurse Carla Espinosa on the 10-time Emmy-nominated comedy that ran on NBC for seven seasons.
Planning the "Scrubs" Swan Song?
The "Scrubs" troupe just returned from filming a special episode in the Bahamas, and she says, "Shooting there has given us an opportunity to re-bond. With the strike it took a long time for us to get our bearings again. We were so ready to move on last season. It was like high school graduation. We were sad to leave but ready to see what the new horizons hold for us."
She says it appears that the writers are going to bring closure to the "Scrubs" characters they were not able to do in the final season on NBC. "But the way we operate, sometimes we don't even get the script until we're on set. That's how they were writing it for last season, then we found out we were coming back for one more, so there had to be a lot of rewriting involved."
Reyes -- who shot the Lifetime drama "Little Girl Lost," premiering Aug. 17, during her hiatus -- says the general consensus among the cast is that "We're ready to use all the knowledge we've gotten from this amazing experience to test the waters and see what this foundation of 'Scrubs' has been able to do for us. … We're kind of staying wide open."
THE BIG SCREEN SCENE: Hollywood's A-list leading men might well be swarming over the movie biography of FBI undercover agent Jack Falcone before long. Oscar-winner Steven Soderbergh is attached to direct the already-scripted project as a Paramount Pictures movie from Double Feature Films ("Pulp Fiction" and "Freedom Writers"). Simon & Schuster has a book about Falcone coming out Sept. 15, and "We have a whole plan for this guy," says the film's unlikely producer, John Henson.
Yes, that's Henson as in "Talk Soup" and ABC's summer hit "Wipeout" reality series featuring a grossly oversized obstacle course from which contestants fall in funny ways.
"Jack Falcone is a gentleman I have known for years and become friendly with," Henson tells this column. "He is referred to as the greatest undercover agent in history. He's been known to maintain six different identities simultaneously -- identities who have different nationalities and speak different languages."
Henson explains, "Sometimes when I go back to the East Coast and visit home, I'll hang out with friends I have in law enforcement, and I got to know this guy through this tight-knit group of friends. When I heard his story, I said, 'I can turn your life into a movie. I know there's a movie here. I can see it.' He said something like, 'I love you, but you're the guy on cable that makes funny faces.'"
That was four years ago. But Henson persevered and made contact with Soderbergh, who, after meeting with him and Falcone "fell in love with the story. Now I'm just a part of the process. I think he would have had a book and movie anyway, but with Soderbergh, Paramount and Double Feature, I don't know."
MEANWHILE: Henson's loving the fact his dumb "Wipeout" show has become a success -- garnering a first place finish in the ratings among adults 18-49 in its debut outing, and holding strong since. He stresses that the show, which he cohosts 'n' commentates with John Anderson of ESPN, is not mean-spirited.
"I think for us a general barometer is: 'Would I make that joke if the person was in the room? And not only that, but would they be able to laugh with me?' If the answer is yes, then I know we're in the right vein. There are enough shows and just kind of aspects of the media out there that aspire to a derisive tone, you know?" he says. "That's not what this show is about. This is in the time-honored tradition of 'people slipping on banana peels is funny.' Falling down in the mud, getting muddy and tired -- it's hilarious."
With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.
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