(S08E08) If anyone is paying attention to the intern-centric webisodes, you probably saw some of this episode coming. In fact, part of a particular webisode made it onto this episode, in a very adorable way.

This week was very Ted-centric, which is always welcome, as Sam Lloyd is one of the more underrated actors on the show. Not only can he play pathetic well, but he's brought a nice musical element to the show. And every so often, when Ted grows a momentary sack and acts like a man, he does a great job of showing long-roiling emotions coming to the surface.

Don't Ted and Stephanie make a nice couple? It helps that Kate Micucci, who plays Stephanie, is as cute as a big button on a fuzzy sweater (something my fiancee wears all the time, so I know what I'm talking about). It also helps that their choice of musical styles -- Ted's barbershop quartet and Stephanie's ukulele -- are equally quirky. But it helps that Bill Lawrence and company allowed Micucci to use what I'd imagine was one of her adorable songs (or is it?), as we see in the webisode below (part of the duet of Ted and Stephanie was used in the regular episode, just shot differently).



Cox is still struggling with being chief, trying to figure out how to balance patients, home life, teaching, and being the boss. He seems to have time, though, to teach Jack how to hate on J.D. on a junior level (Jack insults J.D.'s son, naturally). Knowing John C. McGinley's history -- he has a son with Down's Syndrome -- makes his storyline with Craig all the more heartbreaking. We knew that Cox wanted to be Cox, to be with a patient that really needed him, but all the B.S. that goes with being chief gets in the way. At the very least he got Craig to riff on J.D.'s "puberty beard." "I really don't," was Craig's response when J.D. asks him to touch it.

More fun stuff:

• "Licked by Janitor." That sounds almost like a very disturbing perfume.
• Just seeing Ted go dry, jet the "jum legs," then use his quartet to find some confidence made for a tour de force for Sam Lloyd. "Peons assemble!"
• I don't agree with Cox that a capella music is "ear rape." But singing "Don't Fear the Reaper" to cancer patients isn't the best choice in the world.
• Cox also had time to fire Ed the intern because he was too lazy. Is this the last we see of Ed? He may show up later in some form, but given what Aziz Ansari's busy schedule was at the time the episode was shot, we'll probably won't see much of him, which is too bad.
• Funny scene of Jack pranking his dad, with Jordan's assistance. "I'm alive!" he screams.
• Speaking of interns, I forgot to mention that one of the webisode interns, Howie, pops up the previous episode. Maybe the Ed replacement program was already underway at this point.
• Kelso's really bursting with pride about his new friendship with Cox, isn't he? The fact that it burns J.D.'s ass makes it all the more satisfying to both Kelso and Cox.
• Missing cast member alert: No Turk or Elliot in this one.

Again, another funny one with just the right touch of personal drama. I like how we're building towards the last ten episodes. Now that we know there will only be one more of these double shots before it settles into its Wednesday timeslot in March, we can enjoy the last set at its proper pace.