5.
Main Character Missing: J.D. (1 Episode, Season 9 Not Withstanding).
Which Episode?: "My Full Moon" (Season 8, Episode 13).
Is It Still Good?: No. After a shaky start, Scrubs found its footing as a fun, quirky, enjoyable show with an, apparently, mostly accurate medical dramedy (moreso accurate than the likes of House or ER, according to doctors). However, the quality began to gradually fade, whilst still maintaining some watchability, and NBC rightly cancelled it in Season 7. Its ending was also pretty unrighteous, as NBC cancelled it in the middle of the season rather than the end where it really should have done. Due to this, ABC picked up the series for an eighth season, although the conditions included budget cuts, less episodes (19 rather than the current average of about 23), and the cast would not appear in every episode of the season. So, would this lead you to say that this entry shouldn't count? Well, there are five episodes of Hercules without Hercules, in which he was probably contracted not to appear, but Hercules is still the main character, so yes, this counts (unfortunately, I don't know enough about that particular show to include it on this list, all I know is that Bruce Campbell is in it so I should've watched it by now). Every cast member would appear in 16 of the 19 episodes, with the exception of Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke (who play J.D. and Elliot, respectively), who would only be absent from two. Now, since this article is about main characters, let's just focus on J.D. The first episode he was absent from was called "My Absence", wherein he wasn't actually absent. He appeared in voice only, and his absence was a key part of the plot, so this doesn't really count as he decided to make an active and vocal appearance despite his contract. The second was called "My Full Moon", which only featured Elliot and Turk during their night shift at Sacred Heart hospital. Does this episode hold up? Well, not exactly. The quality of the show was already declining during Season 7, with a God-awful fairytale themed episode and such, so apart from the finale to this season, we didn't really get much in the way of quality, and instead of ending on a high note, the show sort of just fizzled out (again, apart from the finale). I shan't speak of Season 9, and nobody else does either.