(S06E04) Before we get to this week's review (and it's a good one) I just want to give everyone some advanced notice to mark January 18th on their calendar. Yes, that's my birthday (large denomination bills are fine as gifts), but that's not why I want you to mark it off. That will be the day that the Scrubs musical episode airs. From the preview clips I've seen it looks pretty good. So, make sure you set your DVR's (and primitive VCR's) for the occasion.

Oh, one more thing before we begin . . . I didn't know kittens could cause erectile dysfunction? Now it all makes sense!

All right. As mentioned by the lovely and talented Anna Johns this episode of Scrubs spoofed the slightly more serious medical drama House. Well, it wasn't a out-and-out spoof like, say, the movie Airplane was to all of those Airport movies. But, it definitely got a lot of reference on this week's show, especially during the last ten minutes or so.

It really began during rounds, when Cox mentioned the pill-popping Dr. House. After one of the interns (or residents, I'm not too sure what Keith is) said that House was a genius Perry went on one of his famous rants (which were many this week) about how life as a hospital doctor is fairly boring. The best part of his speech was when he said 'There are no cameras filming us' and waved his hand in front of him where the cameras were actually filming John C. McGinley as Dr. Cox. It was a surreal moment.

It turns out there were two medical mysteries at the hospital. One was a patient who had heart failure but no indication of any heart disease. The second was a man whose skin was orange. At first it was all quite baffling, But Cox figured it out on his own. After limping into the hospital's new coffee shop with cane in hand (cans of paint fell on his foot in the previous scene), Perry revealed why the first patient's heart was failing (Broken Heart Syndrome) and why the second patient's skin was orange (eating too many carrots and drinking too much tomato juice). His reveals came complete with washed out, color flashbacks that appeared and disappeared in blinding flashes of light. All in all, I thought it was a nice nod to House.

There were a few other things that went on this episode. One in particular was Carla's continuing stay at the hospital. This is my one complaint about this week's show. Why does Carla get to stay in the hospital for as long as she wants while all of the mothers in the real world of medical plans have to leave their rooms after 48 hours stay (72 hours if you have a C-section). And, does Turk's paycheck really pay for the extended days? That complaint aside, it came as no surprise to us viewers why Carla was staying so long . . . postpartum depression. None of her friends and family put all of the clues together throughout the entire episode. Well, except Dr. Cox, who figured it out at the very end of the show.

Another item of interest was the continuing J.D. and Kim romance. It finally looks like J.D. will be having a solid relationship with a woman, even if she is going away for four months to work at another hospital. If the writers of Scrubs continue to have J.D. maintain this relationship it would certainly be a good out for him to leave the show at the end of the season. By the way, Doctor Dorian was back to his usual form this week with a voice-over right out of the box to start the show, followed by a few patented fantasy sequences. The one where he is reunited with Kim in the airport was very funny.

Finally this week, Elliot moved from the Sacred Heart staff to private practice, even though she remains at the hospital. I was thinking about this (did you smell the smoke) and Elliot has been the character that has really grown the most since the show began. And, I'm not just talking about now, but throughout the entire series. So, her move into private practice is just another chapter in the evolution of Dr. Reid.

No tallies this week, folks. I know you're all upset. We'll talk again next Thursday.