The comedy "Scrubs" (8:31 p.m. Thursday, WMAQ-Ch. 5) is back for its seventh and final season, and the best thing about the return of the long-running comedy is it will mean "The Office" will go back to being a half-hour long.

The first four episodes of the fourth season of “The Office” (8 p.m. Thursday, WMAQ-Ch. 5) were an hour long, and they all felt stretched and misshapen. Plots aren’t necessarily the show’s strong suit, and the recent oversize episodes were proof of that.

Mining the awkwardness and surprising emotions that can spring from small moments between people is what “The Office” does best, and there was a good amount of that in those episodes, but the stellar moments were nearly buried in plot filler.

A character-based moment such as Andy (Ed Helms) trying to woo office scold Angela (Angela Kinsey) with a song was funny. But over-the-top moments such as Michael Scott (Steve Carell) charging into a former client’s office to ask for the return of a gift basket or taking a pizza guy hostage during a party — they weren’t funny at all.

When scrambling for ways to fill out a plot, too often the writers go for the idea that makes Michael look implausibly ridiculous. But Michael’s lack of self-awareness and earnest stupidity are ridiculous enough.

And I miss the days when the writers would quietly reinforce the idea that, in some ways, Michael was actually a pretty good salesman. Michael is funnier when he seems like a real person, not an overwrought sitcom buffoon.

And it’s not as if “The Office” can’t do hourlong episodes well. The show’s 2006 Christmas episode was like a big stocking filled with comedy gems (who can forget Michael’s “Bros before hos” speech, which still makes me laugh). The episode didn’t feel padded or stretched, and it gave every member of the show’s extended cast a moment to shine

Let’s hope that, now that it’s done with supersizing, “The Office” can concentrate on smaller story lines that make the show such fun, such as Dwight’s (Rainn Wilson) broken heart, the surprising, demented romance between warehouse supervisor Darryl (Craig Robinson) and resident nitwit Kelly (Mindy Kaling), and the blossoming of the love between Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer).

The following clip is from Thursday's episode of "The Office."

Speaking of blossoming love, there isn’t much of it on “Scrubs.” As the season opens, John Dorian (Zach Braff) and Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) have plenty of love-life problems — which are, frankly, starting to get old. Things at Sacred Heart Hospital are chugging along at a mildly entertaining tempo, but the show is, to an extent, missing that zingy brand of surreal humor that drove its best episodes.

Still, “Scrubs” is worth watching, if only because after six seasons, these medical misfits are as familiar and as comforting as your favorite pair of old jeans. Maybe a little of the zany spark is missing as “Scrubs” settles in for its final season, but there’s something familiar and comforting about these characters and the world they inhabit.

We know that Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) is going to lavishly insult Dorian; we know that Reid will be insanely self-absorbed; we know that the show will subvert and mock TV clichés like the convenient “crystallizing moment” that supplies a huge realization about life.

The sixth-season musical episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” remains the high-water mark for warbling TV characters, but the all-singing, all-dancing edition of “Scrubs” (8 p.m. Thursday, WMAQ-Ch. 5) is quite entertaining in its own right.

J.D. and Elliot, two doctors at the wacky Sacred Heart Hospital, come across a woman in a park who thinks everyone around her is singing all the time. They take her to Sacred Heart, where a huge production number awaits her, with patients, doctors and nurses singing the praises of their medical facility.

Before long, doctors are telling the woman that she’ll have to give a stool sample, because, as they sing, “Everything Comes Down to Poo” (the test is useful “whether it’s a tumor or a touch of the flu”), they’re pouring out their personal problems (nurse Carla considers staying home with her new baby in “We’re Gonna Miss You, Carla”) and they’re serenading each other over her bed (Turk and J.D. share the touching, “completely manly” duet “Guy Love”).

It’s all quite silly and done with a lot of zest and - given that it’s “Scrubs” - heart. Anyone who has seen the naughty musical “Avenue Q” knows that its creators are a perfect match for the zaniness of the “Scrubs” writers and cast, and guest star (and original “Avenue Q” cast member) Stephanie D’Abruzzo does a fine job as the bewildered, song-addicted patient.

Each of the show’s stars has a moment in the musical spotlight: Not surprisingly, the acerbic Dr. Cox gets a “Rant Song” reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan, and Carla does an entertaining rant of her own, after her own husband calls her Puerto Rican. Her song? “For the Last Time, I’m Dominican.”

Photo: Stephanie D’Abruzzo in the "My Musical" episode of "Scrubs."

How did one of December’s most charming YouTube hits, a short film combining “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with “Scrubs,” come to be? As with so many popular online videos, boredom was the catalyst.

“I’ve worked on a bunch of television shows and to be honest, I became rather bored with doing the same old blooper reel” for the annual Christmas party, said Daniel Russ, one of the co-creators of the Peanuts/“Scrubs” video and an editor for the NBC comedy. “So I took one of my favorite holiday specials and adapted it into something new.”

He brought in Ryan A. Levin, a former writers’ assistant on “Scrubs” and a co-creator of the video, to help come up with new dialogue that suited both the Peanuts special and the irreverent “Scrubs” characters. “The cast was kind enough to come in during their free time and record the voices,” Levin said via e-mail. “Without the real voices, it would have just been a clever idea that fizzled.”

“It started with Johnny C,” a.k.a. John C. McGinley, who plays Dr. Cox on “Scrubs,” Russ said. “I recorded his lines first and did a rough cut of the final Dr. Cox/Linus speech for the end of the short. From that point I had a visual to show the other cast members when they came in to record their lines. All it took was a few seconds of hearing Dr. Cox’s voice coming out of Linus’ mouth and their eyes lit up. Everyone was eager to lend their voice to the reel."

“With Ryan’s help, I think we were able to capture the best elements of `Scrubs’ while keeping the tone of `A Charlie Brown Christmas’ well intact,” Russ added. (However, the amusing video is probably not suitable for younger kids - there’s some typically “Scrubs”-ian salty humor in it.)

The resulting short film, which was first screened at a “Scrubs” holiday party, and recently posted on YouTube, has become a hit. As of midday Friday, it had been viewed almost 200,000 times.

And the duo say they have not gotten any grief, good or otherwise, from the estate of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz or from NBC. “So far we’ve stayed under the radar,” Russ said.

“We just wanted to make something to entertain the cast and crew, but I’m glad other people are enjoying it,” Levin added.

The following video is a 10-minute version of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," but with entirely different dialogue, courtesy of the cast of "Scrubs." It's pretty darn hilarious, and must viewing for any fan of the NBC comedy.

[The following sentence has been changed] It was put together by an editor for the show, Daniel Russ, and a former "Scrubs" writers' assistant, Ryan A. Levin, who wrote the dialogue for the cast of the show (and typical of this winning comedy, be aware that there is some salty dialogue herein). Levin and Russ then cut the dialogue together with the Peanuts holiday classic. As usual, the performance of John C. McGinley, Dr. Cox on "Scrubs," is a hoot -- even when it's only his voice.

Thanks to the So-Called Austin Mayor for the link.

Update: I heard from Ryan Levin, who wanted to let me know that he actually co-created the "Scrubs"/Peanuts video with another "Scrubs" staffer, Daniel Russ, an editor for the show. "The film could not have been made without him," Levin said in his email.

I heard from Daniel as well, and he talked about how he came up with the idea for the video: "As most holiday/wrap party reels go, it comes down someone in editorial frantically cutting together all the out takes into a 10-minute reel for the cast and crew to enjoy while throwing back a few drinks. I've worked on a bunch of television shows and to be honest, I became rather bored with doing the same blooper reel. And so,  I took one of my favorite holiday specials and adapted it into something new."

Thanks to both Levin and  Russ for creating something truly memorable. 

NBC is scrambling its Thursday lineup again.

It’s a dose of very good news for “Scrubs” fans: The comedy will return on Nov. 30, along with “30 Rock” (last year we had to wait until January for new "Scrubs" episodes, so this slightly earlier return is a nice surprise).

“My Name Is Earl” and “The Office” will stay where they are on Thursdays, and the end result is that the Peacock network will once again have a two-hour comedy block on Thursdays. That new Thursday lineup again: “Earl,” “Office,” “Scrubs” and “30 Rock.”

Of course, “Scrubs” and “30 Rock” will now be going up against the ratings behemoths “CSI” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Then again, both those shows will likely head into repeats in December.

Before the new lineup debuts on Nov. 30, NBC will air supersized versions of “My Name Is Earl,” “The Office” and “30 Rock” on Nov. 16. I have no idea what will air on Nov. 23, but since that’s Thanksgiving, I wouldn’t be surprised if NBC airs some combination of repeats and/or “Deal or No Deal.”

Things aren’t looking good for “Twenty Good Years,” since NBC’s Wednesday press release says that in the 7 p.m. Wednesday spot, formerly occupied by “30 Rock” and “Years,” it’ll show “various specials.”

In a certain way, this is a vote of confidence in “30 Rock.” Despite the fact that the network is putting the newbie Tina Fey comedy up against the two strongest drama series on TV, NBC is also matching “Rock” up with much more compatible fare (and counterprogramming those hit dramas with comedy is not a bad idea).

Being part of a night of really good comedy, which is concluded at 9 p.m. by the resurgent drama “ER,” is probably a better fate for “30 Rock” than being stranded on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. with a very inferior show. Let’s hope that “30 Rock” fits in, quality-wise, with what will be a pretty darn good night of comedy.

And we’d better brace ourselves for whatever those “various specials” are going to be, given that NBC’s new policy is to air a rag-bag of reality and game shows at 7 p.m. going forward (except on Thursdays). And I’m not going to get too attached to this schedule; once Fox announces its “American Idol” plans for next year, I bet most networks are going to start ripping up their schedules.

In any case, I’m just glad we’re getting another super-sized episode of “The Office.” Two words: Suh. Weet.

There’s so much fine TV on Tuesday that we should dispense with the dud first, then get to the juicy “House” details and other good stuff.

“Get This Party Started” (8 p.m., WPWR-Ch. 50) has such a festive title, but the show itself, a reality offering in which deserving folks have celebrations thrown in their honor, is uninspired and flat. The New Orleans resident who gets a surprise 21st birthday party in the debut episode is surely deserving, but whether or not you like this show depends in large part on your tolerance level for host Kristin Cavallari. Some of us find the former “Laguna Beach” personality wooden, vacuous and irritating; you may not. In which case, happy viewing.

Now: House. Stacy. It’s on.

If you need filling in on what that means -- and “House” (8 p.m., WFLD-Ch. 32) is a show that you can (and should) start watching in the middle of the season -- here’s the deal: Grumpy Dr. Gregory House has been flirting all season with his former love, Stacy (Sela Ward), who took a job at the hospital at which he’s the resident genius.

Well, the flirtation gets turned up several notches on Tuesday’s episode, but that’s far from the only reason to tune in. Sure, sometimes the medical plot echoes previous stories (“The diagnosis is this!” “No, wait, it’s that!”), but the show is so sharply written that that minor quibble is easily glided over.

The dialogue alone is a reason to tune in: At one point, House knocks on the office door of his longsuffering best friend, the empathic Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard). When he doesn’t answer, House says, “I know you’re in there. I can hear you caring.”

But the best part of Hugh Laurie’s performance in the episode unfolds in total silence: In the climactic scene between House and Stacy, watch his face as a devastating truth dawns on him. It’s a masterful, moving performance.

Some of the best moments on the first of two “Scrubs” episodes that air Tuesday (8 p.m., WMAQ-Ch. 5) are musical: Sacred Heart Hospital is the site of some fierce air-band tryouts, and Donald Faison’s tribute to Bell Biv Devoe is impressive to behold. Mandy Moore also has an enjoyable turn in Tuesday’s episodes as J.D.’s clumsy new love interest.

Speaking of tuning in midway through a show’s run, you may think that since “Scrubs” has been on for several seasons, it’s too late to get into this comedy. Don’t think that way; you’ll be depriving yourself of one of television’s most poignant and hilarious half-hours. “Scrubs” is having its best season yet; last week’s sweet and knowing tribute to “The Wizard of Oz” was one of the most impressive comedy outings this season.

• On Tuesday, NBC began selling dozens of “Saturday Night Live” skits on iTunes.
  
  • The good news: You can now get classic skits, such as the one in which Dan Ackroyd played a bloody Julia Child (“Save the giblets!”) and the John Belushi gem “Samurai Night Fever,” as well as a whole bunch of the show’s commercial parodies, for $1.99 per skit.
  • The mildly funny news: NBC now wants you to pay to see the “Lazy Sunday” rap (a.k.a. “The Chronic-What!-cles of Narnia”) that's been all over the Internet for free for weeks now. Maybe someone should tell NBC that the video's still available for free on the network's Web site.   
  • The bad news: Some skits are only available as part of packages such as “The Best of John Belushi” or “The Best of Dana Carvey,” etc. So if you want to see “More cowbell,” one of the few classics the show has produced in recent years, you have to pay $9.99 for the entire “Best of Christopher Walken” package. Lame!
• If that’s too much to pay, there’s a free episode of USA Network’s “Monk” available on iTunes through Tuesday. It’s a good one: In “Mr. Monk and the Other Detective,” Jason Alexander stars as messy detective Marty Eels, whose hygiene habits give Adrian Monk fits.
• Last iTunes item: Cat Stevens, who rarely gives interviews or deals with the media at all, has a celebrity playlist on iTunes, and it’s actually very good, featuring picks from the likes of Weather Report, Tim Buckley, The Coral and Sufjan Stevens. By the way, if you’re looking for a TV connection to this item, here it is: A&E unveils a new Cat Stevens “Biography” on Jan. 19.
• Lucy Lawless is slowly making her way through all my favorite shows. She guested on “Battlestar Galactica” last season (and returns later this season), and she will be appearing on the Jan. 25 episode of “Veronica Mars.” In the episode, Lawless plays an FBI agent who pursues Duncan after he leaves town with Meg’s baby. “Mars” creator Rob Thomas wrote and directed the episode. 
• If you still care (doubtful, but you never know) about the recent “Apprentice” controversy, earlier this week RealityBlurred.com supplied this link to the blog of winner Randal Pinkett, who supplies his take on the whole “two Apprentices” situation.
• The tagline that Fox is using to promote the Thursday return to "The O.C." of Marissa’s little sister, who’s all grown up now and apparently a bundle of trouble, is that “she won’t be ignored any more!” Which is kind of funny, because the running joke of the series is that Caitlin has been ignored almost more than the Brady’s dog was on “The Brady Bunch.”
• Oh, the networks like their little in-jokes, especially when they are mocking each other's rating performances. CBS’ Tuesday press release on its Monday night ratings performance was titled “CBS’ Five Reasons to Watch on Monday.” The joke is that ABC’s new Monday shows, including “Emily’s Reasons Why Not,” in which Emily makes lists of five reasons why she should not date certain guys, did not do so well. And CBS was there to rub it in.
• For a while now, "60 Minutes" has been running more entertainment features and profiles. But am I alone in thinking that the esteemed newsmagazine does not really need to do a profile of "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman? She's a swell actress, but why on earth do we need to see a piece about her on "60 Minutes"? Isn't that what InStyle magazine is for?
• Finally, Tom Cavanagh, whose new series, “Love Monkey,” premieres Tuesday, told me he’ll be back on “Scrubs” as J.D.’s brother later in the season.

Things to know about this season of “Scrubs,” which finally returns at 8 p.m. Tuesday (there are some mild spoilers here, but aren’t you just dying for a few details, given that the show’s been gone so long?):

• Dr. Kelso, in an effort to look more street-savvy, now sports a diamond earring.
• J.D. and Elliot end up moving in together. But it’s not because they’re in a relationship, honest!
• Dr. Cox is still full of vitriol and mean put-downs. Yay.
• Who knew that Turk had such unstoppable Kung Fu fighting techniques, which are demonstrated in one of next Tuesday’s two episodes?
• It turns out that one of the life goals of J.D., who turns 30 in one of the first episodes of the season, was to learn the difference between a congressman and a senator. Aim high!
• There’s the tiniest guest shot from … oh no, I’m not going to spoil it. Okay, I will say this: There’s a hilarious cameo from a celebrity with a famous mug shot later this season on “Scrubs.”

Want to continue the festival of “Scrubs Is Returning, Hooray”? Go to nbc.com for a free promo clip.

• All next week, UPN will be airing "Everybody Hates Chris" episodes at 7 p.m. each night. It's a great way to catch up with the comedy if you haven't been watching it. And if you haven't been watching it, well, start.
• Much credit to "How I Met Your Mother's" Nov. 28 episode, "The Pineapple Incident," which prominently featured a Cheap Trick song. The coolest thing was that they didn't use a well-known (and worthy) hit such as "Surrender" but used the very cool "Voices" instead. Sweet.
• Want to see Jamie Bamber speak with his real British accent? Check out the Jan. 2 "Sci Fi Inside" special on "Battlestar Galactica"; the program itself returns on Jan. 6. The preview special is only half an hour long, and it attempts to get folks up to speed on the season and a half of "Battlestar" that's already aired. Yeah, good luck with that. A better bet is to just watch all of "Battlestar's" first season on DVD, and catch one of the Season 2 marathons on Sci Fi -- Season 2 marathons air on both Dec. 20 or Jan. 5 (check out scifi.com's schedule for details).

  The special's much too short, but it's nice to see the "Battlestar" actors all cleaned up and in playful moods. Some tidbits from the special (spoiler alert! Don't read this if you want to be in the dark on Season 2!): Tricia Helfer says that No. 6 kills a Cylon, Mary McDonnell intimates that President Roslin suspects Baltar may be a Cylon and Apollo ends up in a suicidal mood. Yikes. Also, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reports that Lucy Lawless, who's played a journalist on "Battlestar," returns twice to the show.

• You have to love NBC's "Scrubs" promos. Love in the sense of hate, that is. The promos, which herald the comedy's Jan. 3 return, announce, "'Scrubs' fans, your pain is almost over!" Well now, who caused that pain? Who might that be? It's you, NBC! You caused the pain that you are now advertising the end of! Yeesh. I swear.
• Speaking of Sci Fi, the network has picked up all 10 episodes of "Night Stalker," the seven episodes that aired on ABC and three episodes that didn't air because the show was canceled. "Night Stalker" will air on Sci Fi in the summer.
• Here's a little teaser from an interview I did with Greg Garcia, creator of "My Name Is Earl": In an episode in the new year, Jon Favreau will guest star as the very disgruntled manager of a fast-food joint where Earl gets a job. More from Garcia will be posted here in coming days.
• Speaking of hot shows, next week in this space, you'll find an interview with "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes.
• And later Thursday or early Friday, check back here for our usual list of what to watch this weekend, plus Sid Smith and I weigh in on our favorite and least favorite TV of 2005.

Good news from NBC: As of Jan. 5, "Joey" is off Thursdays. A new comedy block will air that night, consisting of "Will & Grace" at 7 p.m., followed by the new comedy "Four Kings," then "Earl" and "The Office."

NBC's press release says "Joey" will return after the network finishes airing the Winter Olympics.

Why didn't NBC just give "Joey’s" spot to "Earl"? That's odd. Maybe they want to keep "Earl" in its new home, at 8 p.m., when (if?) "Joey" returns.

Well, never mind, at least the new Thursday lineup is better than what’s there now.

More good news: Starting Jan. 3 we'll get a full hour of "Scrubs" every Tuesday at 8 p.m.

• "Prison Break," which posted its best-ever ratings with its Nov. 28 outing, will return to the airwaves March 20, alongside "24" on Mondays ("24" will return Jan 15; until March, its companion will be "Skating with Celebrities." Yeah, I don’t get that pairing either.). Though Fox had mulled bringing back "Break" in May, the network decided not to wait that long. "[W]e’re bringing back `Prison Break’ earlier than planned because fans are demanding it and because it’s a fantastic companion for `24,’- " Fox Entertainment President Peter Liguori said in a statement.
• According to SciFi.com, the recent edition of "Doctor Who" starring Christopher Eccleston will be released here on DVD on Feb. 14. Fans of the long-running British sci-fi series had long wondered when the show would be picked up by an American broadcaster, but it looks as if, so far, there have been no Stateside takers for the BBC series, which was generally well-received in England. The kicker: The 13-episode boxed set will retail for $100. Ouch.
• A reader asked if "Scrubs" is canceled. It is most definitely not canceled; it will be back in early 2006. Don’t get me started on how NBC should have brought back this series back months ago. No, really, do not get me started!
• UPDATE: NBC just announced "Scrubs" will return with back-to-back episodes on Jan. 3.
• Possibly not canceled — "Arrested Development"? Can it be? Or are my insane hopes being toyed with once again? But Brian Grazer, one of the show’s executive producers, told CNN Headline News’ "Showbiz Tonight" that he’s hopeful that the Emmy-winning Fox comedy will be picked up soon by another network. "I’m optimistic," Grazer told correspondent Brooke Anderson. What a terrific Christmas present it would be if the zany comedy were given a new life by another network.

At a press event for television critics over the summer, NBC execs floated the story that "Scrubs" would not be on the network's fall schedule because star Zach Braff was off making a movie, which allegedly would have delayed the start of the show's shooting schedule.

That's horse manure, according to "Scrubs" creator and executive producer Bill Lawrence (in truth, Lawrence used a different but even more colorful phrase to describe the network's excuse).

"Zach finished his movie. I could have episodes ready already," Lawrence said from the show's California set, where he was directing an episode. "That was just network spin." NBC's failure to give "Scrubs" a firm start date looked even more dopey when the hospital comedy got four Emmy nominations in July, including first-time nods for best comedy and best comedy actor for Braff.

"It was honestly a huge morale boost for us," Lawrence says. "We're going into the fifth year of our show, we work out in the [San Fernando] Valley in this old hospital, it's a billion degrees and we didn't have a slot on the fall schedule. [The Emmy attention] really raised people's spirits."

"On the positive side, I couldn't get too angry [about the fall schedule] because it's not as if they're making us come in at mid-season," Lawrence continued. "It's not like `24,'; they can't wait until January to start running episodes. They'd have to air two episodes a week" given the number of "Scrubs" episodes that would have piled up by then.

Lawrence predicts "Scrubs" fans will have to wait only until October before the show pops up on NBC's schedule, and when the show does return, Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) will be working at a different hospital - for a while, anyway.

"The end of last year, [Elliot] walked out of Sacred Heart," Lawrence explains. "We built a different hospital set out here, and she's going to be over at her new job for at least a couple months."

What about guest stars on the show?

"All the guest stars on the show have been friends of the cast and crew, but we've almost exhausted the list of friends," Lawrence laughed. "We've been begging [Zach Braff's girlfriend] Mandy Moore to come along and do some episodes, and Johnny McGinley [Dr. Perry Cox] is good friends with John Cusack, so one of these days we're going to get him on the show too, I hope."

In the meantime, the entire "Scrubs" cast and crew plans to party hearty at the Emmys, win or lose. "We're going to go have a blast," Lawrence said. "We're not going to go and be the jaded people. The biggest thing for us is just to go and have fun being a part of it."

One of my favorite recent episodes of television was a mid-February outing from the stellar NBC comedy "Scrubs."

On the episode, titled "My Life in Four Cameras," "Scrubs," a single-camera comedy filmed without an audience, poked gentle fun and paid tribute to the art of the traditional multi-camera sitcom. Midway through the episode, when a character named Charles James took a turn for the worse, Dr John Dorian wished that his life was more like a sitcom; suddenly he was on a pastel hospital, the women on the show were all wearing push-up bras and the laughter from the audience was deafening.

"What was cool for us was that we shot in front of a live audience of 100 percent of psycho `Scrubs' fans," all of whom had bought their tickets in charity auctions benefiting tsunami-aid organizations, says Lawrence. "It was the ultimate hometown crowd."

The episode paid tribute to the favorite show of the "Scrubs" writing staff by naming the main patient in the episode "Charles James" after "Cheers" creators James Burrows and Glen and Les Charles.

At the end of the episode, Dorian sat down to watch some TV, and the "Cheers" theme song played – which was a coup in itself, as it's difficult to get permission to use it.

But Lawrence called Burrows and the Charles brothers, and "they went to bat for us."

" 'Cheers' happens to be the favorite sitcom of every writer here," Lawrence says.