Scrubs (TV series)

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Scrubs is an American sitcom that premiered on October 2, 2001, on NBC. It was created by Bill Lawrence, who also co-created Spin City.

The show focuses on the professional and personal lives of several characters working at Sacred Heart, a fictional hospital in an unspecified city. Its use of first-person narration, unusually verbose characters, abrupt segues between subplots, breakneck pace, and surreal escapism (usually presented as the thoughts and reveries of the main characters), counterpointed by poignant scenes where the characters address how doctors deal with death and issues in their personal lives distinguishes it from other series. At the end of each episode, the narrator John "J.D." Dorian shows the moral or theme of each episode, in a sequence of shots that show how the theme or moral is connected to all the characters.

Unlike most sitcoms, Scrubs uses a single camera setup (as opposed to a multicamera setup). It also lacks a laugh track, a traditional device in most American sitcoms. The show is structured around multiple storylines, thematically linked via protagonist J.D.'s voice-overs, and episodes often end with a small moral or philosophical life-lesson. The series is also notable for numerous cameo appearances by well-known actors.

Contents

1 Theme song
2 Cast

2.1 Main cast
2.2 Minor characters

3 Location
4 J.D./Elliot Relationship
5 Episodes
6 Broadcast History

6.1 Season 5
6.2 Season 6
6.3 Syndication around the world

7 DVD Releases
8 Music featured on ''Scrubs''
9 Awards
10 Trivia

10.1 Pop Culture

11 References
12 External links

Theme song

The theme song of the series, performed by Lazlo Bane, is entitled "Superman", and can be found on the album All the Time In the World, as well as on the first Scrubs soundtrack. Bill Lawrence credits Zach Braff for finding and suggesting "Superman" as the theme song. The lyrics "I'm no Superman" relate to the show's theme of its characters' fallibility.

During season 2, NBC briefly used a lengthened credit sequence to include members of the extended cast such as Neil Flynn, but returned to the original credit sequence due to a negative fan reaction, combined with the fact that NBC wanted to make episodes longer.

Cast

The cast in 2004-05 - left to right: John C. McGinley, Neil Flynn, Sarah Chalke, Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Ken Jenkins and Judy Reyes

Main cast

Minor characters

Location

Scrubs is filmed on location at the North Hollywood Medical Center, a real decommissioned hospital on Riverside Drive in North Hollywood, California. However, the location of Sacred Heart Hospital within the fictional world of Scrubs is a secret that has been well-kept by the cast and crew of the show, who go so far as to describe the location as "Sanjafrangeles" (an amalgam of San Francisco and Los Angeles, meant to encompass a large part of California). Much like Springfield on The Simpsons, the Scrubs city is meant to remain anonymous to reinforce that the situations apply to all locations, according to staff. Despite this, many fans continue to speculate about where the show might take place. Based on current clues, the show seems to take place somewhere in the state of California, although the particular region is unclear. These clues include:

During episodes that air during the winter months, characters are seen wearing winter clothing such as coats, gloves, and scarves, suggesting that the climate is a less temperate one than that found in Florida or Southern California.
Exterior shots on the show reveal very flat land with palm trees and other features of hotter climates.
In season 1 episode 4, Carla states that a third of the hospital's patients speak Spanish as a primary language, which may reflect upon the demographics of the location.
In season 2 episode 3, Dr. Kelso awards the best attending surgeon with a trip to Mexico, a trip which they then make in a Limo, suggesting somewhere in the San Diego region.
Throughout season 3, Elliot took a commuter train to visit her then-boyfriend Sean (played by Scott Foley), who worked as an animal trainer at a SeaWorld theme park. SeaWorld has locations in Orlando, Florida, San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego, California. The SeaWorld shown in season 3 is located in San Diego.
In season 3 episode 4, the front destination panel of the bus that Sean takes reads Redding. This may be a reference to Redding, California.
In season 4 episode 4, a conversation between Elliot and Dr. Molly Clock establishes that the time difference between the location of the hospital and Greenland is three hours, as Greenland is largely UTC-3 (though this varies from UTC to UTC-4), this places Sacred Heart in UTC-6, or Central Standard Time.
In season 4 episode 8, Molly is leaving in a taxi cab with a California license plate 2FAN321.
During season 4 episode 9, Turk reveals his new cell phone number to be (916) CALL-TUR. The area code 916 corresponds to the metropolitan area of Sacramento, which contradicts other clues about the show's location. Many fans have pointed out, however, that the area code for cell phones can correspond to where the phone was purchased, implying that Turk may have bought his phone in the Sacramento area and brought it to Sacred Heart's home city. This is also because this phone number is a real phone number bought by the producers and callers have reached members of the cast. In addition, the cellular device itself could have been bought anywhere in the world (if it was a GSM phone) and connected to a local cellular service provider, which would assign the actual dialing number according to customer's calling area choice.
In season 4 episode 14, Dr. Cox avoids telling Jordan about his vasectomy by making up a story about fishing in San Diego on a trip that only takes a few days.
In season 4 episode 21, J.D. sets his clock back three hours to see what it would be like to live in Honolulu, which suggests that the location is either in Pacific Standard, or Mountain Standard time, depending on Daylight Savings.
In season 5 episode 3, Dr. Cox suggests that Caltech is nearby, which also suggests that Sacred Heart is in Southern California.
In season 5 episode 4, J.D. mentions that he's swimming in the "Great Pacific" during a triathlon.
In Season 5 episode 5, Turk is on his way home to meet Carla and stops by at a Dunkin Donuts Shop. Dunkin Donuts' are extremely rare in California and one of the only ones in Northern California is located at 3311 Power Inn Rd Ste 101, Sacramento.
In Season 5 episode 15, Dr. Cox says that they are giving Tastykakes away. These are only distributed on the U.S. East Coast.
In Season 5 episode 16, there is a Terrible Towel hanging from the wall in the apartment, possibly implying that the show is set somewhere near Pittsburgh.
In Season 5 episode 24, J.D. takes his new love interest on a date at the beach, implying that the show is set near a coastal area.
The hospital used in Scrubs was also utilized briefly in the film Crossroads, in which the hospital was located in the city of Los Angeles.

J.D./Elliot Relationship

J.D. and Elliot together in My Sex Buddy.

During the five seasons of Scrubs that have currently been aired, J.D. and Elliot have shared one of the most complex, varied character relationships in Scrubs. At various points in the show, their relationship has contrasted between friendship, sex, love, romance, jealousy, anger and tension. This relationship has provided a running theme through out the series and is occasionally controversial among fans, due to debates about plot choices and possible clichés.

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In My First Day[link], JD is instantly attracted to Elliot, so JD asks her out and she accepts. She then betrays him at rounds but an apology and a kiss on the cheek from Elliot changes his mind.
In My Best Friend's Mistake, there is a missed romantic oppurtunity between them. JD then has 48 hours to kiss her before he ends up in 'the friend zone.' But despite both their efforts, he doesn't reach her in time.
In My Drug Buddy, Elliot and JD's girlfriend, Alex, clash over treatment of a drug addict. Elliot reveals that she doesn't trust Alex, but JD just claims that Elliot is jealous. When Elliot turns out to be right, JD apologises. Elliot reveals that she was jealous, kissing JD.
The following morning, in My Bed Banter & Beyond, JD and Elliot wake up together. They ignore their own ideas of returning to frienship, staying in bed together. But during the next two weeks, their relationship fails as they argue, so they break up. Voice overs from JD, Elliot and Cox back up why this happened.
My Heavy Meddle shows the aftermath of the failed relationship, where JD and Elliot are both angry at each other. But soon they begin to help each other and mend their friendship.
In My Last Day, Jordan reveals to JD that Elliot still has feelings for him, once again making their relationship difficult. But soon, they repair the relationship as Elliot gets over JD.
In the season 2 episode My Monster, Elliot is homeless so she moves into JD and Turk's apartment. But while she is there, something in JD stirs, so he and Elliot end up making out and sleeping together.
In My Sex Buddy, they agree to become 'sex buddies', having casual sex without getting into a relationship because they agree that their last relationship was a disaster. Both of them are initially happy, but Elliot soon becomes stressed, badly affecting her work. JD begins to fall in love with Elliot, secretly wanting a real relationship. But Elliot decides that she cannot handle the stress of being 'sex buddies' and does not want a relationship, so she breaks it off. JD is disappointed, but agrees.
In My New Old Friend, they awkwardly transition back to being friends, even though JD still has feelings for her.
In My Own American Girl, Elliot’s new makeover brings JD’s feelings for Elliot back, but he is soon disappointed to find that Elliot is dating Sean Kelly, her ex-boyfriend from season 1 (My Way or the Highway, My Sacrificial Clam.)
In My Lucky Night, Sean has to move away to New Zealand, so he and Elliot are breaking up. JD runs to Elliot’s apartment and is about to tell her how he feels about her when he discovers that Sean is there. Elliot explains to JD that she and Sean are actually staying together, so JD lies that he just came over to comfort Elliot about the break-up.
JD spends most of season 3 ‘in love’ with Elliot and jealous of Sean. This even sabotages JD’s relationship with Danni, when she becomes concerned about JD not being over Elliot.
In His Story II, Elliot has a role as a clown for the children on the pediatrics ward, but is too busy so JD fills in. After a patient explains to Elliot that the perfect person is someone who ‘is there when you need him, without having to ask’, she is touched by what JD did for her. Later, JD and Elliot are relaxing in his apartment, but they end up sleeping together. Elliot gives the patient's reason for why they slept together, but then Sean arrives and Elliot goes off with him.
In My Choosiest Choice of All, Elliot is deciding to stay with Sean, disappointing JD. She explains to JD that that night meant a lot to her, but she thinks that a relationship between JD and her will not work. To make Elliot jealous, JD sleeps with Danni again.
In My Fault, Elliot and Sean agree to move in together. Danni breaks up with JD, but tells him not to come after her because JD ‘always wants what he can’t have.’ JD ends up confessing his love to Elliot, so she breaks up with Sean to be with JD. But suddenly JD realizes that he doesn’t actually love Elliot, proving that Danni was correct.

J.D. tells Elliot that he doesn't love her, My Self-Examination.

In My Self-Examination, JD realizes that he gets on well with Elliot and that they are, in theory, a perfect couple, so he decides to stay with her forever, rather than break her heart. But soon JD changes his mind, so he tells Elliot that he doesn't love her.
In My Best Friend’s Wedding, JD finds Sean and tries to convince him to take Elliot back. But it doesn’t work between Sean and Elliot, so Elliot is still angry at JD for ruining her relationship with Sean.
At the beginning of season 4, Elliot is still angry at JD for breaking her heart and ruining her relationship with Sean, so she is initially very hostile to JD. After JD and Elliot are given positions as Chief Residents, they must work together at close quarters, so they cannot get their space away from each other.
In My Common Enemy, Elliot's relationship with JD's brother, Dan, makes them even and proves that there are no romantic feelings between them, allowing them to be friends again.
In season 5, JD and Elliot are maintaining their friendship and have invented a rule to keep the friendship superficial, avoiding topics such as relationships.
But in My Day At The Races, JD helps Elliot with a relationship problem and then he moves in with Elliot, restoring their close friendship.

Some TV critics and Scrubs viewers critised the JD-Elliot plotline in seasons 1, 2 and 3 for being clichéd and repetitive. Some viewers also compared the on-again-off-again relationship between JD and Elliot to the relationship between Ross and Rachel in Friends. The producers of the show have indicated that these criticisms influenced the plotlines at the end of season 3 and the beginning of season 4, as Scrubs is intended to stand apart from the clichés of other sitcoms. Bill Lawrence, the producer of Scrubs, once stated that “until the show's in its eighth year and (the writers) are desperate, I doubt they'd (JD and Elliot) hook up again.” [link]

However, there have also been criticisms by viewers of the plot at the end of season 3, which was unexpected and arguably made little sense. JD was in love with Elliot for three years and had 'had' her several times without JD realizing that he didn't want her. Some viewers and TV critics have argued that there has was a detrioration in the quality of the series in seasons 4 and 5, possibly due to a lack of chemistry between JD and Elliot after the ending of romantic feelings between them.

At the end of season 5, JD and Elliot still hadn't had a romantic liason with each other since the end of season 3 and additionally, season 5 ended with Elliot in serious relationship with Keith and JD's girlfriend Kim getting pregnant. Some Scrubs viewers believe that these narratives will mean that JD and Elliot will not get back together. There is much speculation among Scrubs viewers and fans about whether JD and Elliot will end up together, which some think may happen in the final season or in the final episode. But there are criticisms that that would be a clichéd happy ending.

Episodes

Broadcast History

Season 5

Though a full season of twenty four episodes was produced for the fifth season, NBC decided against airing them during the 2005-2006 fall schedule. On December 1, 2005, NBC announced the return of Scrubs for mid-season. At first, two new episodes were aired back-to-back every Tuesday at 9:00PM ET. The first twelve episodes of the season aired in this fashion, then NBC returned to airing one new episode every week (still at 9:00PM ET), followed by a Scrubs rerun. For the first three weeks of this, the old episode was a cast favorite episode, with available audio commentary tracks on [NBC's website] to accompany the episodes. After this, with the premiere of Teachers in the 9:30 timeslot, Scrubs continued to air new episodes at 9:00, with previous season five episodes airing in the 8:30 timeslot before. When Teachers ended, Scrubs reruns returned to 9:30. Season 5 began on E4 in the UK on July 13th,E4 (2006). ["E4 Programme Highlights - July 2006"]. Retrieved June 30, 2006., and, at the same time, Season 2 will make its abc1 premier in the UK, although it has been seen on other channels.

Season 6

On May 15, 2006, NBC announced that Scrubs had been renewed for a full season (2006-2007), although it would be a mid-season replacement rather than appearing on NBC's fall 2006 schedule (as was the case for the show's fifth season).

Syndication around the world

In Australia, Scrubs is aired late-night on the Seven Network on mondays at 11 30 (free-to-air) and the Comedy Channel on Foxtel/Austar/Optus TV cable platforms.

In Austria, Scrubs is aired on ORF 1.

In Belgium, Scrubs is aired on VT4, though the channel has moved Scrubs around its schedule and doesn't seem to be playing the episodes in the right order.

In Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala and Colombia, Scrubs is aired through the cable TV channel Sony Entertainment Television.

In Canada, Scrubs was formerly aired by the CTV network. Due to competition from other popular programs airing at the same time in the United States, CTV normally options to air The Amazing Race, Medium or American Idol over new episodes of Scrubs, and it is no longer seen regularly on this network, though they still do maintain the Canadian airing rights and occasionally rerun old episodes on weekend afternoons. Sun TV gained the airing rights to the show in early 2006 and aired episodes on original air dates. However, the vast majority of Canadians have access to NBC, the U.S. home of Scrubs, and are able to watch it at the same time as the U.S. audience.

In Croatia, Scrubs season 4, is aired on HTV1 as Stažist (The Intern)

In Denmark, Scrubs is aired on TV3 & TV3+.

In Egypt, Scrubs is aired on the Paramount Comedy Channel, which is part of the Showtime network.

In France, Scrubs is aired on Paris Première and M6.

In Germany, Scrubs was aired on Pro Sieben, after its initial success on a weekly basis, then as a daily basis re-run after the first three seasons had been aired.

In Hong Kong, India and Malaysia, Scrubs is aired on Star World. In Malaysia, it was first aired on TV3.

In the Republic of Ireland, Scrubs is aired on RTÉ Two.

In Iceland, Scrubs is aired on RÚV.

In India, Scrubs is aired on Star World.

In Israel, season 4 of Scrubs is aired on channel 'yesSTARS' (of yes - Israel's satellite broadcasting provider) on Tuesdays, at 9:05pm.

In Italy, Scrubs is aired on MTV (new episodes) and the Fox channel.

In the Middle East and most Muslim countries Scrubs is aired on Showtime's Paramount Comedy Channel(new episodes), one TV, and MBC 4.

In Lithuania, Scrubs is aired on TV3 as Daktariūkščiai (which translated means a little more playful way of saying Doctors).

In Malaysia, Scrubs season 1 was aired on TV3 before the latter seasons was picked up by the sister channel, 8TV. It's also being aired on the Pay-TV Astro.

In Norway Scrubs is aired on TV3 (Viasat) every Sunday at 4.05pm, currently showing season 2. ZTV (Viasat) has also aired it before. The norwegian name for Scrubs is Helt sykt (which is a pun, literally meaning completely sick).

In New Zealand Scrubs airs on TV2, and is returning on Wednesday, July 19 2006.

In Pakistan, Scrubs is aired on the Paramount Comedy Channel, which is part of the Showtime network.

In the Philippines Scrubs is aired on Studio 23 and Star World.

In Portugal, Scrubs - Médicos E Estagiarios is aired on cable network [Sic Radical].

In Romania, Scrubs (Stagiarii) is aired on Antena 1.

In Russia, Scrubs is aired on MTV.

In Singapore, Scrubs is aired on MediaCorp TV Channel 5 and on StarHub Cable Vision Star World

In Slovenia, Scrubs was until recently aired on A Kanal.

In South Africa, Scrubs is aired on M-Net.

In Sweden, Scrubs is aired on TV3 and TV6. At first, the show was called Första hjälpen (First Aid), but the Swedish title was soon dropped.

In Switzerland, Scrubs is aired on SF2.

In Taiwan, Scrubs is aired on Star World.

In Turkey Scrubs is aired on CNBC-e.

In the UK, Scrubs can be seen on E4 (Season 5 from July 13th) and ABC1 (Seasons 1 and 2 on weekdays at 1.30pm and 4.30pm and a double bill on weekends at 11am. ) Sky One and Sky Two occasionally air Scrubs in a late night slot, particuliarly season 3. Paramount Comedy 1 have recently aired Scrubs episodes, particuliarly from seasons 2 and 4. Channel 4 will show Season 5 from this Autumn

In the United States, Scrubs will begin syndication on Comedy Central in the fall of 2006.[link]

DVD Releases

DVD Name

Release dates

Region 1

Region 2

Region 4

The Complete First Season May 17 2005 June 27 2005 June 29 2005
The Complete Second Season November 15 2005 September 12 2005 September 19 2005
The Complete Third Season May 9 2006 February 13 2006 February 22 2006
The Complete Fourth Season October 10 2006 September 18 2006 [link] September 27 2006

DVD Name	Release dates
Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
The Complete First Season	May 17 2005	June 27 2005	June 29 2005
The Complete Second Season	November 15 2005	September 12 2005	September 19 2005
The Complete Third Season	May 9 2006	February 13 2006	February 22 2006
The Complete Fourth Season	October 10 2006	September 18 2006 [link]	September 27 2006

The Region 2 releases often do not as many special features as their Region 1 equivalents. This is due to the earlier release dates of the DVDs in Europe; but is a controversial move that has angered many European fans.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Music featured on Scrubs

The official Scrubs soundtrack was released on CD on September 24, 2002, and a second was released in mid 2006.
A complete list of music used on the television program can be found [here].
The Blanks, who performed such songs as the theme songs to Charles in Charge, The Facts of Life, and Underdog as "The Worthless Peons" (Ted's band), have an official website [link], at which one can listen to their album Riding the Wave.
A fan-made compilation of songs from the show has been made available via file-sharing networks. This compilation includes songs sung by characters on the show in addition to background music.
Former Men at Work frontman Colin Hay is featured heavily in Scrubs. 'Overkill' was sung by Hay on the show in the opening episode of season 2 in an extended sequence.
Episode 3 of Season 1 features several excerpts of the song A Little Respect (by Erasure) as a leitmotiv all along the episode.
There is an iMix on iTunes of the music used through the first five seasons. [link]

Awards

In its first three seasons, Scrubs received Emmy nominations for casting, editing, and writing of a comedy series. Following season 4, the show received additional nominations for Best Comedy Series, Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Braff), Best Editing for a Multi-Camera series (although the series is predominantly shot single-camera, season 4 episode 17 "My Life in Four Cameras", has a brief segment shot multi-camera, sitcom-style), and casting. The show also won the 2002 Humanitas Prize, 30-minute category, for season 1 episode 4 "My Old Lady". The show was also given the Sean Murtha award of excellence.

Braff was nominated for the Golden Globe award for in 2005 and 2006, but lost to Steve Carell of The Office in 2006 and to Jason Bateman for Arrested Development in 2005.

Trivia

The title sequence is quick and does not even feature credits (they roll after the sequence), but merely fast-moving pictures of the cast at work in the hospital. At the start of season 2, a longer opening credits sequence was added which featured the Janitor and used an extended version of Lazlo Bane's "Superman" song intro, but the fans complained so they returned to the original. In occasional episodes, where they are running particularly short on time, only a brief title card saying "Scrubs" and "created by Bill Lawrence" appears. The chest X-ray in the title sequence was hung backwards during the season 1, then corrected briefly for season 2, but then returned to being backwards. Bill Lawrence states that having the X-ray backwards was intentional as it signified that the new interns were inexperienced. This error was parodied in "My Cabbage" (original airdate: February 28, 2006), with Cabbage (an intern) attempting to read a chest X-ray backwards. In "My Urologist" (original airdate: May 16, 2006) the authoritarian doctor (Dr. Kim Briggs) guest starring in the episode steps into the credits and switches the X-ray around, claiming that it's "been bothering (her) for years."

Sam Lloyd formed a band in college with George Miserlis, Paul Perry, and Philip McNiven. In an episode of season 1, they guest starred appearing as Ted the lawyer's group of singers (named the Worthless Peons) who all work at the hospital, and multiple times in season 2. Their repertoire on the show included singing television themes (both old cartoons and primetime shows), and singing telegrams that resemble advertising jingles. In an episode near the end of season 3, one of the band members quit, but by season 4 episode 13 "My Ocardial Infarction", the band was back together as they attempted to outperform the Janitor's band of hospital service staff (named "Hibbleton"). They also sang at Turk and Carla's wedding at the end of season 3. The real life name of the band is "The Blanks", who have an album Riding the Wave on release, featuring guest appearances from the Scrubs cast.

Most of the episodes are narrated by J.D., and the episode titles usually start with "My...". Originally the narrations were supposed to be J.D.'s journal entries; the idea was later nixed but the episode titles remain. As of April 2006, five episodes have been narrated by other characters: "His Story" (narrated by Dr. Cox), "His Story II" (Turk), "Her Story" (Elliot), "Her Story II" (Carla), and "His Story III" (Janitor).

The last episode shot for each season features Bill Lawrence's best friend as a good luck charm.

Several Scrubs crew members have appeared in minor speaking roles, for example writers Gabrielle Allan and Mike Schwartz. Schwartz has a recurring role as a delivery man. Another writer did the voice of a child patient who spoke like an adult man. The child's face was never shown in full.

In season 4 episode 9 "My Malpractical Decision", Turk changes his cellphone number to 1-916-CALL-TUR(K). Writer Bill Lawrence actually registered this number, and a few curious callers were surprised when cast or crew members answered the phone, which is placed on the set. The number usually takes you to a voice message which tells you the latest information regarding Scrubs. (Note the number works when dialing without the "K" at the end.)

Neil Flynn is an experienced improv comedian and, as such, ad-libs many of his lines. The writers specify what outcome a scene with the Janitor should have, and Flynn fills in the dialogue.

Former Men at Work frontman Colin Hay's music has appeared in multiple episodes of Scrubs. Season 1 episode 24 featured the song "Beautiful World"; season 2 episode 1 had Hay himself playing his acoustic version of the Men at Work song "Overkill" while following J.D. around the hospital; season 2 episode 13 ended with the staff singing Hay's song "Waiting for My Real Life to Begin"; season 2 episode 22 ended with Hay's "My Brilliant Feat"; in season 3 episode 13, Braff sang part of the Men at Work hit "Down Under"; and the original airing of season 4 episode 17 included Hay singing the Cheers theme song, which has been removed from subsequent airings; this recording of the song is not commercially available.

Dr. Cox's habit of referring to J.D. by girls' names was added to the show after the writers noticed John McGinley doing it to Zach Braff. Cox has also referred to J.D. by the names of female pop singers, an ethnic day, and famous dogs. The last of these followed "bestiality rumours" that emerged when J.D. practiced kissing Rowdy at home after a long drought of women in his life. According to McGinley, it is a thing that he does with all of his friends.

Season 1 episode 23 "My Hero", features a shot of a whiteboard displaying the characters’ new rotations. In addition to recognizable character surnames, the board also features the names Spiller (surname of episode director Michael Spiller) and Lawrence (a reference to series creator, executive producer and sometime director Bill Lawrence). The board also includes "Moore, M", rumored to be a reference to Braff's real-life girlfriend Mandy Moore. This is unlikely however, as Braff and Moore were not romantically linked until the summer of 2004, two years after the original airing of this episode.

In season 4 episode 25 "My Changing Ways", J.D. moves out of his and Turk's apartment, his new room number is 47 - often seen as the most reappearing random number in the universe, there are even special internet forums created just for discussing the phenomenon of number 47. This suggests that a Pomona College alum may have had a hand in the show's creation, as the Southern California liberal arts school has a special connection with the number 47 (former Sagehens have gone on to include the number in shows like Star Trek and Alias).

Actresses Christa Miller Lawrence (as Jordan Sullivan) and Aloma Wright (as Nurse Laverne Roberts) have worked together previously in episode #4.24 of The Drew Carey Show (entitled "Good Vibrations"). Miller had a main role as the character Kate while Wright had a guest appearance as a security officer. Wright would appear once more in episode #7.21 ("Never Been to Spain") as Mrs. Taylor.

Ditto for Christa Miller Lawrence (as Jordan Sullivan) and Neil Flynn (The Janitor) in episode #4.11 of The Drew Carey Show (entitled "Kate's Family"). Miller had a main role as the character Kate while Flynn had a guest appearance as Kate's love interest.

Christa Miller Lawrence is married to Bill Lawrence. One episode features footage of Jordan Sullivan and Perry Cox's wedding. The footage is in fact of Miller and Lawrence's wedding (season 1 episode 6 "My Bad").

In the pilot episode, Turk uses the electrical defibrillation paddles to "shock" an apparently unconscious patient, who immediately wakes up screaming in pain, apparently not having been unconscious at all. That patient was played by Vinko Bogataj, the Slovenian ski jumper whose disastrously unsuccessful ski jump attempt was made famous in the opening title sequence of ABC's television sport news show ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Early in the series there was musical riff used at the ends of sad or wistful scenes (most notably for Brendan Fraser's appearance). But apparently it had become so noticeable that it had become in the eyes of the show's producers a cliche and was "retired." It has been used since only to mock such moments, as in the Season 4 episode, when J.D. explains what happens in his head after a serious moment ("the piano music plays") and imitates it.

Several times during the series, Elliot has spoken German (most notably in Season 2, episode 20 "My Interpretation"). Sarah Chalke actually does speak (broken) German. However, in the German-dubbed versions of the show it is changed to Danish.

In the Spanish dubbed version of the show, Carla and her family are Italian and their Spanish lines changed to Italian.

Both Elliot and J.D.'s parents expected their child to be the opposite gender of what they actually turned out to be.

Pop Culture

The titles are also often riffs on pop culture (as, indeed, is the entire show); the best abuse of the rules is probably "My Ocardial Infarction", a twisted reference to the medical name for a heart attack.

In season 4 episode 17 "My Life in Four Cameras", numerous jokes are made about Cheers and multi-camera laugh track sitcoms. Scrubs is notable for using a single camera setup, no laugh track, and not being filmed before a live audience. Cheers had all three, and a dream sequence in "My Life in Four Cameras" was shot with all three also. In addition, the main patient treated was fictional Cheers writer "Charles James," a mixture of Cheers three creators James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles. The episode makes repeated comments about these "traditional" sitcoms and ends with the opening bars of Cheers theme playing with the quote "Unfortunately, around here things don't always end as neat and tidy as they do in sitcoms."(2006) Scrubs - My Own Personal 'Net Thing. [Script from the episode](February 16, 2005)(2006) TV Guide. [Rough Dispatches](March 10, 2005)(2006) Chicago Tribune. [Cheers to "Scrubs"]

Despite fan belief in the season 5 episode "My Bright Idea", Dr. Cox's "conversation" with a red stapler is not a reference to the movie Office Space, in which John C. McGinley had a supporting role. [link]

In season 5, episode 7 "My Way Home", J.D. is called into work on his day off. He tries to leave as soon as he can, but circumstances prohibit his departure. In one instance, he says, "I'm not supposed to be here today". This is an apparent spoof of Dante's predicaments in Clerks. The whole episode (which is the [100th episode]) is an homage to The Wizard of Oz (1939 film).

In season 5, episode 8 "My Big Bird", J.D. and Turk visit a patient's house and encounter ostriches that attack them. This scene is a spoof of a scene in the film Dude, Where's My Car?.

In season 2, episode 5 "My New Coat", an imaginary opera singer (played by tenor Bruce Sledge) steps onscreen and sings the word "Mistake!" whenever J.D. does something stupid. This is a joke borrowed from comedian Dana Gould's stand-up act; in the end credits, "Dana Gould" turns out to be the imaginary singer's name.

In season 5 episode 1 "My Intern's Eyes", J.D fantasises about the doctors using shotguns to put down patients. When he walks up to the bed and reads the chart, he refers to the patient as "Mr. Larson". This scene is a spoof of Gary Larson's comic strip The Far Side; one of the comics shows a horse hospital, where the doctors have shotguns.

According to John C. McGinley, Dr. Cox's habit of touching his nose when angry is an homage to Robert Redford's character in The Sting.

Many of the patients' names in the English translation of the Nintendo DS videogame, , uses names of characters or actors from Scrubs. This includes patients named Eric Dorian, Elliot Cox, Chi McGinley, Linda Reid, Elisa Chalke, Kevin Turk, Jack Reyes, Neil Spence, Omar Flynn, and Amy Chase.

A few of the character names were used from the famous novel "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde, such as Lord Kelso (Bob Kelso) and Dorian Gray (Dr. John "J.D." Dorian).

References

External links

[Official website at NBC]
[Channel 4]
[Scrubs] at the TV IV
[My Own Personal 'Net Thing]
[Episode transcripts]
[SupportScrubs.com] - join a letter-writing and e-mail campaign on behalf of the show
[Featured songs and music]
[Scrubs IRC Channel]
[Scrubs feature in GIANTmag.com]
[The Blanks] - official site of Ted's real life vocal group
[UltimateDisney.com Scrubs Season 1 DVD Review]
[UltimateDisney.com Scrubs Season 2 DVD Review]
[Website of Scrubs producer and author Angela Nissel]
[Scrubs wiki]: A fan-wiki dedicated to Scrubs
[Scrubs-fr]

Scrubs
List of Scrubs episodes \| List of minor characters of Scrubs
Major Characters
J.D. \| Elliot \| Turk \| Janitor \| Bob Kelso \| Dr. Cox \| Carla

]

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