Royal Pains Faces Scrubs In The Battle Of The Medical Musicals

Which did it first?

The Scrubs episode "My Musical" aired January 18, 2007. Royal Pains aired "The Good News Is..." on June 29, 2016.

Winner: Scrubs.

Which is more effective as a standalone musical?

"The Good News Is..." primarily features main cast characters singing about their own lives and where they are in their stories: Divya, Paige, and Ms. Newberg expressing their confidence about med school acceptance, against-all-odds pregnancy, and yet another marriage, respectively; Hank and Evan having an angry duet about their father; a whole bunch of Hank's former patients serenading him with their gratitude for saving their lives.

"My Musical" also features some songs about the characters we know, including two standouts: "For The Last Time, I'm Dominican"...

...and "Guy Love."

But far more of the songs in "My Musical" foreground the hallucinating patient (that's Patti, played by Avenue Q alumna Stephanie D'Abruzzo) than do the songs in "The Good News Is...." This may be due to the fact that its patient, Annette, is played by Cloris Leachman, who may not be as spry as her Scrubs counterpart.

The most convincing proof of the success of "My Musical" as a musical is that you can buy the soundtrack album. And you should! These are great songs, written by Avenue Q's own Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez!

Winner: Scrubs.

Which gets the job done with fewer ringers?

Since it shoots outside New York City, Royal Pains has featured a shit-ton of veterans of Broadway musicals among its guest stars, several of whom return for this outing: not just the aforementioned Christine Ebersole (Ms. Newberg), but also Miriam Shor, and Stephen Spinella. (I guess past guest stars Laura Benanti, Vanessa Williams, and Katie Finneran had a thing and oh my god that sentence started as a joke but now I hope they were all hanging out together and am simultaneously furious that I wasn't there.) The rest of the cast members hold their own, though -- particularly Reshma Shetty, who starts off the singing with a lovely lullaby to Sashi.

Over on Scrubs, though, apart from D'Abruzzo and some pro dancers in the background, it's all the main series cast singing for themselves and pretty much killing it. Okay, Sarah Chalke wins the Alyson Hannigan Award for TV stars who take recessive roles in their shows' special musical episodes, but can you even with John C. McGinley on "The Rant Song"?

Suck it, "Guns And Ships"!

Winner: Scrubs.

Which has better dancing?

In "The Good News Is..." Annette gets off a joke about musical numbers that "could use a little more rehearsal," and it's kind of true. The whole thing feels a little slapped-together, like it was an idea someone wanted to pull off before the series ended, but didn't think of until the show was halfway through its Season 8 shooting schedule.

But several of the numbers in "My Musical" look Broadway-ready -- from "Dominican" to "We're Gonna Miss You, Carla."

Winner: Scrubs.

Which makes more ambitious use of its sets?

Okay, I kind of just put this category in because I felt bad that it might be a clean sweep for Scrubs. Other than a park scene in the cold open, "My Musical" takes place entirely in and around Sacred Heart. But "The Good News Is..." gets around for its numbers, from a bridal salon to a boardwalk party to Annette's 1920s ballroom fantasia.

Winner: Royal Pains.

Verdict

Leaving aside the question of whether it's self-indulgent to turn the second-last episode your show will ever air over to a gimmick (and one that was played out ten years ago, at that), Royal Pains had nothing but potential given its deep bench of Broadway-seasoned guest stars, and the resulting episode feels like a squandered opportunity. On the other hand, "My Musical" and its lineup of insanely catchy and memorable songs is still fun, silly, and poignant. Not for nothing did TV Guide name it one of the top 100 TV episodes of all time.

Winner: Scrubs.