Sarah Chalke dishes on Scrubs star ‘tangents’
July 3rd, 2009 | Posted in Scrubs
One of TV’s most-loved female comedy stars of the past decade, Sarah Chalke is keenly aware of the talent she’s been surrounded with. Case in point: the Scrubs janitor. “Neil Flynn is one of the funniest people I’ve ever worked with,” she tells Starry Constellation. Flynn is such a master of improv, “it’s to the point where the scriptwriters will just write his line, and then in black it will say, ‘Or whatever Neil says.’ He goes off on these unbelievably hysterical tangents, where if you’re doing a scene with him it’s really hard not to break.” American audiences met the Ontario native as “Becky #2″ on Roseanne, when she replaced college-bound Lecy Goranson for the final 70 episodes. “I would sit there in awe of Roseanne, Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman, and just kind of watch what they would do with the script from the Monday table read until Thursday tape night.” The audience roared at their first scene together when Roseanne quipped, “You look different.” Sarah later costarred in a pre-SNL Andy Samberg web series, The ‘Bu, a Malibu parody of The O.C. But to most viewers, she’s Dr. Elliot Reid, an eight-year role that Scrubs bosses have kept fresh with various curve balls. “Sometimes if your line was like ‘I told you so,’ Bill Lawrence would come up to you and say, ‘Okay, instead of saying ‘I told you so,’ just make it a song and dance instead.’ It’s the best job I’ve had.”
This past week, two of the TV industry’s trusted websites offered reviews on the new CW dramedy, Life UneXpected. And? “Quite possibly the most unexpected new treat of the season,” says TVaddict.com. “Not only a new kind of family, but a welcome one,” referring to a 15-year-old foster child reuniting with her immature birth parents—who haven’t seen each other since their one night stand in high school. “Consider this series a lock for a slot on (our) coveted ‘can’t miss’ list.” The Futon Critic goes further, praising the first episode as “old school WB in the best possible way. ‘Life’ may be both the sappiest and smartest show to come out of The CW to date. It all begins with the collective awesomeness that is Britt Robertson, Kristoffer Polaha, Shiri Appleby and Kerr Smith. Effortlessly charming, stunningly empathetic and an all-around joy to watch…it’s a surprisingly poignant tale about love and forgiveness, a wonderfully adult take on your typical quarterlife crisis.” The extended trailer became an instant favorite among WBNX staff members, as well. Gilmore Girls-meets-Juno is how the network summarizes the story—the first 2009 pilot ordered by The CW. Took awhile for the title to evolve, from Light Years to LUX to Parental Discretion Advised and, finally, Life UneXpected. But from all accounts, this is one family show that’ll live up to its name.
There’s no shortage of great roles at The CW, and casting directors have been working overtime to fill out the series rosters with regulars and guest-stars. Below are some of the recent announcements, in case you missed them. And we’re still awaiting news on three major characters: the devil on Supernatural, new heartthrob Teddy on 90210, and wild model Alexis on One Tree Hill.
A first-ever live nationwide simulcast will give moviegoers the chance to interact with cast members of The Narrows, a coming-of-age mobster drama premiering Friday. WBNX stars Sophia Bush (Brooke on One Tree Hill) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Det. Goran on Law & Order: Criminal Intent) will be joined by Kevin Zegers for a Q&A session immediately following the opening night 9pm showing. Locally, The Narrows debuts exclusively at the Great Lakes Mall Atlas 16 theatre in Mentor, and tickets for the event are now available. Based on Tim McLoughlin’s riveting novel, Heart of the Old Country, the film follows a young man whose college dreams lack funding…until he meets up with a Brooklyn kingpin. As the teenager’s dangerous involvement in small-time crime escalates, the story races with suspense, romance, loyalty and murder. Fans will be able to text their questions to the actors in real-time, or you can submit questions in advance by clicking 
WBNX stars and series garnered 34 nominations when the 11th annual Teen Choice Awards released its first wave of categories this week. A glaring omission for the second straight year is Supernatural—coming off arguably its best season—which was again edged out for a nod as Best Drama by the cancelled Terminator, and for Drama Actor by Dustin Milligan, who was axed from 90210. So there are flaws in the system. However, 25 primetime CW nominees is impressive, led by 10 for Gossip Girl, six for 90210, five for Smallville, and three for America’s Next Top Model. Gossip Girl racked up more nominations than any other show on television, and continues to be one of the most-viewed series online, in addition to its devoted Monday night audience. Fans between the ages of 13-19 can now vote daily for their Teen Choice favorites by clicking 
Ever since word leaked online that The CW was scouting hospitals to shoot a real-life medical series in the same vein as, say, Grey’s Anatomy…we’ve wondered: Why not Cleveland? Surely our physicians are just as dreamy and steamy. And besides that, Cleveland docs rock! Not to mention, we’re the unofficial epicenter of all things medical—have you ever counted how many hospitals populate the North Coast? The clinic has treated celebrity patients ranging from Oprah, Liza and LeBron…to Robin Williams, Bob Dole and Prince Charles; and other regional facilities include the training tie-ins sought. The network’s casting notice talks of documenting “the extraordinary experience of emergency medicine residents at a world-class hospital,” E! Online reports. The series would follow residents at the crossroads of completing their education, while faced with life-and-death pressures on the medical frontlines. It’s a given that some of the young doctors will have romantic issues and other sorts of personal drama. The show sounds very similar to last year’s Austin Golden Hour pilot with Justin Hartley and Cassidy Freeman, but maybe the concept works better with realism. And if our local ER suggestion doesn’t pan out, don’t fret: we’ve got Scrubs to keep you in stitches (yes, we said it) this fall on WBNX.
We called this one nearly three months ago, but it’s nice to see impartial reviews confirming our early assessment of The CW’s new fall companion to Top Model. “Expertly cast and brimming with chemistry, The Beautiful Life is a flat-out joy to watch,” raves Brian Ford Sullivan of The Futon Critic, one of the web’s most-respected television resources. “Sara Paxton and Ben Hollingsworth have an undeniable spark that permeates the entire show, one that somehow manages to capture the ‘lightning in a bottle’ that is being young and discovering the world.” The pilot episode taps not only the obvious dark side of the runway, “but also the simple concept that the modeling profession operates on a fleeting whim, that there’s no rhyme or reason to it. It’s an intoxicating premise,” the critic muses. Melrose Place and The Vampire Diaries have stolen most of the headlines, but series creator Ashton Kutcher’s latest foray may well be the best cast, top-to-bottom, and the network’s sleeper hit. We marveled at the star power in earlier postings, 
Broadway bestowed its highest honors on Billy Elliot Sunday night, with the musical winning ten Tony Awards, after a record-tying 15 nominations. The acclaimed stage play is derived from the film released in 2000, a critical darling named among the year’s Ten Best by dozens of media outlets. WBNX viewers can see the heartwarming movie twice this month, Saturday, June 20 at 4pm and Sunday, June 28 at noon. The story centers around an 11-year-old boy, played by Jamie Bell, whose tough coal mining family pushes him into the boxing ring. But young Billy is instead drawn to an all-girls ballet class, where his hidden star potential is developed by Oscar-nominee Julie Walters. Producers of the film auditioned over 2,000 young actors for the role before finding Jamie, whose own life mirrored the struggles of the title character. Having studied dance since early childhood—and suffering the inevitable teasing from school boys—Jamie was prepared for his first movie performance, and is now regarded as one of Hollywood’s most talented up-and-comers. The Movie Fanatic site ranks him at #3 on its list of Hottest Young Actors, ahead of even Twilight sensation Robert Pattinson. Described as magical, uplifting and exuberant, Billy Elliot was tailor-made for the theatre stage, but the triumphant original film is one you won’t want to miss.
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