J.D. (Scrubs)
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| John Michael Dorian | |
|---|---|
| Scrubs character | |
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| Promotional photo of Zach Braff as J.D. | |
| First appearance | "My First Day" |
| Created by | Bill Lawrence |
| Portrayed by | Zach Braff |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 34 |
| Date of birth | 1975 |
| Occupation | Doctor of internal medicine |
| Title | Residency Director |
| Family | Sam Dorian (father-deceased) Barbara Dorian (mother) Dan Dorian (brother) |
| Significant other(s) | Elliot Reid |
| Children | Sam Perry Gilligan Dorian (with Kim Briggs) |
| IMDb profile | |
John Michael "J.D." Dorian, M.D., is a fictional character on the American comedy-drama Scrubs, played by Zach Braff. For his portrayal of the doctor, Braff was nominated for a 2005 Emmy Award and received three consecutive Golden Globe nominations in 2005, 2006 and 2007. J.D. is the narrator and main character of the series. He provides voice-over to the series which fills the roles of his internal thoughts and an overall narration in the show, often linking the story arcs in each episode thematically.
J.D has been in every episode except two season 8 episodes, "My Absence," in which he is only heard through a cellphone, and "My Full Moon".
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[edit] Character background
J.D.'s name is based on that of Dr. Jonathan Doris, a college friend of creator Bill Lawrence. Doris serves as medical advisor on the show. According to Zach Braff, he feels that after seven years, there is not much of J.D.'s personality left to be explored, except for his relationship with Turk, while Lawrence has stated that the seventh season will show J.D. finally growing up, so as to satisfy fans who don't want to see him stay the same.[1] However, Braff also says that J.D. has gradually evolved over the series, but cannot evolve too much at the same time as they need to "[give] the fans what they want, which is to see the characters be themselves."[2]In JD's final episode, "My Finale," he leaves Sacred Heart hospital with memories of those that had left him, and his hope for the future. He is last seen driving away in his car.
[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Personality
J.D.'s most prominently featured quirk is his habit of daydreaming. When this happens, he tilts his head back and to the left, blankly looking upwards. The sequences played out in his daydreams are of surreal scenarios and situations that have just been mentioned or wondered about, often in an exaggerated manner. Many of these are followed by a comment from him that, although it may fit with his daydream, sounds strange and often highly unrelated to the initial topic, a lot of which will earn him several odd looks from nearby characters in the scene. He is also known for his love of appletinis and carefully styled hair. His behavior is often childlike, nerdy, and somewhat effeminate.
Despite his numerous flaws, quirks and personal insecurities, J.D. is shown throughout the series to be a very competent doctor. While he doesn't possess as much technical knowledge about medicine as Elliot, he is described by Carla and Dr. Cox as having "very good instincts" and a lot of determination and enthusiasm for his job. In My Finale, Dr. Cox states that he considers J.D. to be the best doctor to ever work at Sacred Heart, though he didn't intentionally reveal this to J.D. himself.
[edit] Work
He begins the show as an intern; after a year, he becomes a resident, and eventually an attending physician in internal medicine. He grew up in Trotwood, Ohio[3] as the son of Sam and Barbara Turner Dorian. He has an older brother, Dan (Tom Cavanaugh), with whom he has a love/hate relationship. He is left-handed.
J.D. begins work at Sacred Heart under Chief Attending Physician Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley), who generally refers to J.D. as "Newbie" or by a series of girls' names. J.D. thinks of Cox as his mentor and friend, which Cox adamantly denies. As much as he hates to admit it, however, Cox respects J.D. as a doctor and even cares about him as a person. In the episode "My Fallen Idol," J.D. initially refuses to visit Cox at his apartment when the latter has a breakdown following the death of three patients in the previous episode. He claims that he doesn't approve of Cox showing up to work drunk, but later confesses to Cox that he still looks upon him as a hero, and that he admires him for still being so affected by his job . J.D. tells Cox that he (Cox) is the kind of doctor he (J.D.) wants to be. The defining moment of their relationship occurs at the end of "My Fallen Idol" where Dr. Cox thanks J.D. — and, atypically, actually calls him by his real name — for helping him escape from severe depression. After Cox's promotion to Chief of Medicine, he and J.D. are often at odds over hospital matters, mirroring Cox's relationship with the former chief, Dr. Bob Kelso (Ken Jenkins), in earlier seasons. Kelso advises J.D. that he is the one who will have to press for hospital matters if they're important enough, even if it means fighting Cox to do it. In My Finale Cox admits that he considers J.D. as a friend.
J.D. is also engaged in a constant battle with the Janitor (Neil Flynn) from the very first episode. The Janitor is trying to open a jammed door when J.D. suggests there may be a penny stuck in it. When it turns out that there is a penny stuck in the door, the Janitor vows to get him. Throughout the series, the Janitor is constantly playing tricks and pranks on J.D. In the series finale it is revealed that J.D. did, in fact, put the penny in the door by accident. And that the Janitor saw him drop the penny, but because he never admitted it he failed a personality test the janitor was secretly judging him by, thus making The Janitor mess with J.D. for so long.
[edit] Friends
He often hangs out with Chris Turk (Donald Faison), his best friend since they were roommates at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the pair continued to be roommates even as they progressed to become interns and residents.[4] J.D. is often shown to have a codependent relationship with Turk, regularly going through steep depression whenever he can't be with him. In the first episode, when Turk suggests the two of them seek separate apartments to "branch out", J.D.'s inner monologue tells himself to "Tell him you think that's stupid. Tell him you need him." Their friendship is often depicted as being closer and more loving than a marriage; in fact, J.D. crashed Turk and Carla's wedding shower, sobbing that [Carla] would "never be as emotionally connected" to [Turk] as J.D. himself was.
On his first day, he also meets Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes), a nurse who advises him and affectionately nicknaming him "Bambi", it is revealed in the season 8 finale she calls him this because he needed to learn how to walk (become a doctor).
[edit] Romantic history
He meets and connects with Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) in the pilot episode and finds himself attracted to her. In seasons 1 to 3, a running joke in the series was that J.D. would sleep with Elliot at least once in each season, although the show's producers have indicated that this ended to prevent the characters' development being constrained by clichés. The two form a romantic relationship in "My Drug Buddy," which falls apart in following episode when they realize that they do not work as a couple.
In season 2, "My Monster" (Christmas episode) J.D. and Elliot get together again, J.D. invites Elliot to crash at his place for a while. Things transpire as the Coral’s “Dreaming of You” plays in the background. The episode following this “get together” results in J.D. and Elliot becoming “sex buddies”. Later J.D. realizes that he wants more than sex, he wants a relationship, yet before he can tell Elliot, she tells him that she wants to end the “sex buddies” arrangement.
J.D. puts his feelings for Elliot (for the rest of season 2) to one side until season 3 when Elliot is in a committed relationship with Sean, until Sean is about to move in with Elliot, when J.D. finally declares his love for her, and she leaves Sean for him. However, J.D. realizes that after chasing her for three years, he no longer wants to be with her. A heartbroken Elliot is initially furious with J.D., but they eventually reconcile and later they realize they have lost all romantic feelings for each other.
It is not until near the conclusion of season 6 that their relationship appears to rekindle, the episode "My Point of No Return" ends with J.D. and Elliot lying on a bed in the On-Call room, leaning in for a kiss. The action remains unresolved until season 7, where Elliot backs out. They both then say that the almost-kiss had nothing to do with their feelings for each other. In season 8, it appears that their relationship has been rekindled: in the episode "My Happy Place", J.D and Elliot speak about their past relations, and after Dr. Kelso tells them to do whatever it is that makes them happy, they leave the hospital holding hands, with Elliot remarking that it seemed a good idea. In the next episode, "My ABC's," they acknowledge having rekindled their relationship. In the season 8 finale, it is suggested through a flash forward in the style of a home movie, that J.D and Elliot will marry and have a child.
He has had romantic and sexual liaisons with various women besides Elliot, including Kim Briggs (Elizabeth Banks), the mother of his child, Sam Perry Gilligan Dorian, as well as Jordan Sullivan (Christa Miller), Dr. Cox's ex-wife, and Jordan's younger sister, Danni Sullivan (Tara Reid).
[edit] References
- ^ Tube Talk - Scrubs’ Zach Braff and Bill Lawrence interview
- ^ More On "Scrubs" From The Zach Braff - Bill Lawrence Interview
- ^ "My Office". Scrubs (NBC). 2004-08-31. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My+Office. No. 02, season 4.
- ^ "My Perspective". Scrubs (NBC). 2007-02-15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My+Perspective. No. 09, season 6.
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