Sarah Chalke dishes on Scrubs star ‘tangents’
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
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.”
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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.
It’s a big week for The CW, with tomorrow’s unveiling of the new Fall lineup. Media outlets have already confirmed three of the slots will go to Melrose Place, The Vampire Diaries and The Beautiful Life…all star-laden and buzzworthy additions. Fans of the original Melrose Place melodrama can expect much more, as the reboot opens with a bloody body floating in the courtyard pool. More series pickups are expected to be announced in New York. On the local front, WBNX is excited to add seven more high-profile series, a diverse mix which includes:
