Scrubs (TV series)
| Scrubs | |
|---|---|
 Scrubs title card | |
| Created by | Bill Lawrence |
| Starring | Zach Braff Sarah Chalke Donald Faison Ken Jenkins John C. McGinley Judy Reyes Neil Flynn |
| Narrated by | Zach Braff as John "J.D." Dorian |
| Opening theme | "Superman" by Lazlo Bane |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 139 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single camera |
| Running time | approx. 22 minutes (per episode) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | October 2, 2001 – present |
Scrubs is an Emmy Award and Peabody award-winning American situation comedy that premiered on October 2, 2001 on NBC. It was created by Bill Lawrence, who also co-created Spin City.
Synopsis
The show focuses on the professional and personal lives of several characters working at Sacred Heart Hospital, a fictional teaching hospital. It uses first-person narration, verbose characters, segues between subplots, fast pace, and surreal vignettes (presented as the thoughts and reveries of the main characters), counterpointed by poignant scenes where the characters address how doctors deal with real issues relating to the practice of medicine. The combination of these diverse elements distinguishes it from other series. Scrubs has been advertised as "half as long as ER and twice as funny".
Unlike many situation comedies, Scrubs uses a single camera setup (as opposed to a multiple-camera setup). The show is structured around multiple storylines thematically linked via voiceovers by protagonist and narrator Dr. John "J.D." Dorian played by Zach Braff. During many of the episodes, J.D. summarizes the story's moral or theme, in a sequence of shots that show how it has affected each of the characters. The series is also notable for numerous guest appearances by major movie actors not generally seen on episodic television. Below its peppy rhythm and slapstick humor, it regularly explores dark themes such as death and depression.
Name
In the pilot episode, My First Day, Dr. Kelso's insensitive view of his doctors is revealed (also alluding to the deeper meaning of the show's name): "Dr. Dorian. Do you not realize that you're nothing more than a large pair of scrubs to me? For God's sake, the only reason I carry this chart around is so I can pretend to remember your damn names."[1] Bill Lawrence has stated that he has two main reasons for calling it Scrubs: The obvious being the attire worn by doctors, and the other being the fact that the main characters are all fresh out of medical school, new, and inexperienced (known in the medical field as "scrubs").[citation needed]
Cast
Main cast
- Zach Braff as Dr. John "J.D." Michael Dorian MD - Attending physician and staff internist – narrator, except for 7 episodes.
- Sarah Chalke as Dr. Elliot Reid MD - Private Practitioner
- Donald Faison as Dr. Christopher Duncan Turk - Surgical Attending
- John C. McGinley as Dr. Percival "Perry" Cox MD - Attending Physician and Residency Director
- Judy Reyes as Carla Espinosa - Head Nurse
- Neil Flynn as Janitor - a janitor at the hospital (in every episode except My Lucky Day)
- Ken Jenkins as Dr. Robert "Bob" Kelso - Chief of Medicine
Supporting cast
- Robert Maschio as Dr. Todd "The Todd" Quinlan - Cosmetic Surgery Fellow (97 episodes)
- Aloma Wright as Nurse Laverne Roberts (2001-2007) - Nurse (85 episodes)
- Sam Lloyd as Theodore "Ted" Buckland - Hospital Attorney (75 episodes)
- Christa Miller as Jordan Sullivan - Sacred Heart Hospital Board Member and Perry Cox's ex-wife (70 episodes)
- Johnny Kastl as Dr. Doug Murphy - Pathology MD (46 episodes)
- Travis Schuldt as Dr. Keith Dudemeister - MD Resident (31 episodes)
- Charles Chun as Dr. Phillip Wen - Surgical Attending (20 episodes)
- Michael Hobert as Dr. Lonnie - MD Resident (15 episodes)
- Scott Foley as Sean Kelly (11 episodes)
- Tara Reid as Danni Sullivan (11 episodes)
- Elizabeth Banks as Dr. Kim Briggs - Urologist (11 episodes)
- Heather Graham as Dr. Molly Clock - Attending Psychiatrist (9 episodes)
Crew
See individual episode pages for crew listings.
Medical advisors
- Dr. Jonathan Doris
- Dr. Jon Turk
- Dr. Dolly Klock
These names serve as the loose basis for the names of Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Heather Graham's characters (Dr. John Dorian, Dr. Chris Turk and Dr. Molly Clock respectively).[2]
Episodes
| Season | Ep # | First Airdate | Last Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 24 | October 2, 2001 | May 21, 2002 |
| Season 2 | 22 | September 26, 2002 | April 17, 2003 |
| Season 3 | 22 | October 2, 2003 | May 4, 2004 |
| Season 4 | 25 | August 31, 2004 | May 10, 2005 |
| Season 5 | 24 | January 3, 2006 | May 16, 2006 |
| Season 6 | 22 | November 30, 2006 | May 17, 2007 |
| Season 7 | 18 | September 27, 2007 | TBA |
Bill Lawrence's Influence
Many of the cast and crew have credited Bill Lawrence (creator/Head Writer/Executive Producer) for really being a part of every aspect of the show. He is also the show runner. Even John C. McGinley says he usually doesn't even listen to the director, he usually only listens to Lawrence if he's on set. Moreover, the writers say J.D.'s personality is really a mix of Bill Lawrence and Zach Braff.
Music
Music plays a large role on Scrubs. A wide variety of rock, pop, and indie artists are featured. Almost every episode ends with a musical montage summing up the themes and plot lines of the episode, and the music for these montages is often picked even before the episodes are completely written.[3] Members of the cast and crew are encouraged to contribute song suggestions, with many ideas coming from series creator Bill Lawrence, writer Neil Goldman, and actors Zach Braff (whose college friends Cary Brothers and Joshua Radin appear on the Scrubs soundtrack) and Christa Miller Lawrence (who selected Colin Hay and Tammany Hall NYC). According to Bill Lawrence, "Christa picks so much of the music for the show that a lot of the writers and actors don't even go to me anymore when they have a song. They hand it to her."[3] Producers expanded Scrubs' musical emphasis with a musical episode early in the sixth season, called My Musical. This episode aired on January 18, 2007.[4] A complete list of music used on the show can be found here.
Theme song
The theme song of the series, performed by Lazlo Bane, is titled "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.
The Scrubs version of the song is normally played at a faster speed than the original recording of the song. To be specific, the part used in the titles is one second shorter than the original song. The original, slower recording was used briefly at the beginning of Season 2, played during an extended version of the title sequence (that included Neil Flynn and full cast credits), as well as a special edit of the title sequence for resulting in roughly 1-2 seconds of music, followed by the line "I'm no Superman", accompanied by a quick flash of credits. The original intro from season 1 was used through most of season 3 (except the few episodes with the very short intro) and then used for seasons 4, 5 and 6.
Soundtracks
Two official soundtracks have been released. The first one was released on CD on September 24, 2002, and a second — an iTunes exclusive — was released in mid-2006. An iMix on iTunes of the music used through the first five seasons has also been released.[5]
Featured musical contributors
The Worthless Peons
The Worthless Peons (also known as Ted's Band or The Blanks) are an a Capella group made up of hospital employees from different departments. They are a cover band, and often sing songs from a specific theme (for example, cartoon theme songs or commercial jingles). They have appeared in several episodes. In the extended cut of the 100th episode, found on the Season 5 DVD, Ted tells J.D. that they are being forced to change their names after a lawsuit. Their new name becomes Foghat, but this is most likely not canon.
The Worthless Peons are played by The Blanks, who are a real-life a Capella band made up of Sam Lloyd (who plays Ted), George Miserlis, Paul F. Perry, and Philip McNiven. The Blanks' album, Riding the Wave, features guest appearances from Bill Lawrence and members of the Scrubs cast.
Colin Hay
Colin Hay, who is the former front-man of Men at Work, has been featured in Episode 1.24, My Last Day ("Beautiful World"); Episode 2.01, "My Overkill" (Men at Work's "Overkill," performed by Hay, who follows J.D. around the hospital); Episode 2.13, "My Philosophy" ("Waiting for My Real Life to Begin," performed by members of the cast at the end of the episode); Episode 2.22, "My Dream Job" ("My Brilliant Feat"); Episode 3.13, "My Porcelain God", (Men at Work's "Down Under," performed by J.D.); and Episode 4.17, My Life In Four Cameras (the Cheers theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo and performed by Hay).
Joshua Radin
The music of Joshua Radin, who is a friend of Scrubs star Zach Braff, has appeared in several episodes, including Episode 3.14, My Screw Up ("Winter"); Episode 4.14, My Lucky Charm ("Today"); Episode 4.19, My Best Laid Plans ("Closer"); Episode 4.22, My Big Move ("Don't look Away"); Episode 5.06, My Missed Perception ("These Photographs"); and Episode 6.11, My Night to Remember ("Winter").
The friendship between Radin and Braff has been quite productive. Braff directed the music video for Radin's song "Closer" and is credited as playing the triangle on the song "Today" from Radin's debut album First Between 3rd and 4th. Radin also had a small cameo in Braff's film Garden State, playing a party-goer in one scene. The version of Radin's "Winter" that aired during My Screw Up was a demo version of the song sent to Braff by Radin for use in the episode. Due to the popularity of the as-yet unreleased song, it was made available for download at Joshua Radin's official site for a time, though it was removed when a studio version of the single became available.
Location
Scrubs is filmed on location at the North Hollywood Medical Center (34°9′28.86″N 118°24′31.22″W / 34.1580167°N 118.4086722°W), a real decommissioned hospital on Riverside Drive in North Hollywood. The exact address is 11699 Riverside Dr North Hollywood, CA 91602 - Map However, the location of Sacred Heart Hospital within the fictional world of Scrubs is not stated. The Scrubs city is meant to remain anonymous to reinforce that the situations apply to all locations, according to staff. Cast and crew on the show refer to the location as "San DiFrangeles" — a portmanteau of San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles that is meant to encompass a large part of California. Most clues and observations point to the location being different areas in the San Fernando Valley of California
DVD releases
| DVD Name | DVD Cover | # of Ep | Release dates | Bonus Features | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||||
| The Complete First Season | File:Scrubs Season 1 DVD.jpg | 24 | May 17 2005 | June 27 2005 | June 29 2005 | Newbies — a documentary that examines the actors before they were cast, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes, The Doctor Is In — one on one with Zach Braff, Alternate Lines: A Second Opinion — shows the cast's unique ability to improvise, Not Just Another Medical Show — a look at how the show is filmed, from using a single camera setup to actually shooting in a closed down hospital, Favorite Moments — cast and crew reflections on their favorite episodes, Audio Commentaries with creator and cast, 'Superman' Music Video. |
| The Complete Second Season | File:Scrubs Season 2 DVD.jpg | 22 | November 15 2005 | September 12 2005 | September 19 2005 | Audio commentaries, One-On-One with John C. McGinley, Secrets and lies, A rare condition, JD's Mojo, Music Stylings — Featurette on Music's role in the show, Scrubbed Out — Exclusive Deleted Scenes, Practice, Practice, Malpractice — Outtakes |
| The Complete Third Season | File:Scrubs Season 3 DVD.jpg | 22 | May 9 2006 | February 13 2006 | February 22 2006 | Audio commentaries with cast members, show creator and writer, Gag reel, Deleted scenes, Alternate lines, "Twist and Shoot" featurette on first-time directors, Stunts featurette, Guest-star featurette, Dogs of the cast and crew featurette, Behind-the-scenes game of "Dare" featurette, Extended cast interview, Elliot's character featurette, J.D. and Elliot love saga featurette. One-On-One with Robert Maschio |
| The Complete Fourth Season | File:Scrubs Season 4 DVD.jpg | 25 | October 10 2006 | September 18 2006 | September 27 2006 | Will You Ever Be My Mentor? — A hilarious look at J.D.'s never-ending quest for Dr. Cox's approval, The Sweethearts Of Sacred Heart — In-depth interviews about the romantic entanglements and flirtations of the Scrubs characters, Secondary Characters — Get to know the "secondary" cast members and their roles, Who's That Man? — A look at the mysterious character "The Janitor.", Deleted Scenes, Audio Commentary. (Additional features as printed on R4 cover - 'The Weapons Chest', 'Donald Keeps Talking', Music video - 'Half' music video performed to G Tom Mac) |
| The Complete Fifth Season | File:Scrubs Season 5 DVD.jpg | 24 | May 22 2007 | June 18 2007 | June 6 2007 |
Extended cut of the 100th episode (My Way Home) with commentary by director Zach Braff, My Big Bird - Audio Commentary by Neil Flynn and Randall Winston, My Lunch - Audio Commentary by John C. McGinley and director John Michel, My 117 Episodes: A retrospective look back at the past five seasons, Deleted scenes from 7 episodes, Alternate lines. |
| The Complete Sixth Season | TBA | 22 | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
The Regions 2 and 4 releases of Season 3 did not have as many special features as the Region 1 equivalent. This was due to the earlier release dates of the DVD in those regions. At least on the United Kingdom's DVDs, some discs had the preview pictures used to select each episode in the menu system in the wrong places.
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, Episode 4.17 "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".
Braff was nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but lost to Jason Bateman for Arrested Development in 2005, to Steve Carell of "The Office" in 2006, and to Alec Baldwin of 30 Rock in 2007.
Scrubs won a George Foster Peabody award for its 2006 season; the press release specifically noted the Wizard of Oz parody episode "My Way Home", directed by series star Zach Braff.
Broadcast history
Scrubs is technically owned by ABC, through its production division (formerly Touchstone Television), even though it is aired by rival broadcaster NBC.[6]
Season 5
Though a full season of 24 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 9:00 p.m. ET. The first twelve episodes of the season aired in this fashion, then NBC returned to airing one new episode every week (still at 9:00 p.m. 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 p.m. time slot, Scrubs continued to air new episodes at 9:00 p.m., with previous season five episodes airing in the 8:30 p.m. time slot before. When Teachers ended, Scrubs reruns returned to 9:30 p.m. Season 5 began on E4 in the UK and Ireland on July 13, 2006.[7]
Season 6
On 15 May 2006, NBC announced that Scrubs had been renewed for a full season (2006–2007). Although it was originally supposed to air midseason, NBC announced on October 25 that the show would air Thursdays at 9 p.m. starting November 30.[8] The first episode was a continuation of Season 5's finale ("My Transition"), titled "My Mirror Image." Producer Bill Lawrence had previously indicated that Season 6 would most likely be the final season of Scrubs,[9] but the show continued on into a seventh season with the entire main cast and Lawrence remaining.
Season 7
During the NBC Fall Schedule revealing, the network announced a 7th season of Scrubs consisting of 18 episodes.[10]
Zach Braff stated in his blog that Scrubs was picked up for a final season after almost being canceled. He stated that it was a debate between the "people in the TV business who are awesome and who are particularly assy. Anyway, the awesome people won this round and the assy people lost, and Scrubs will be on NBC for its final season."[citation needed]
Around the world
Scrubs airs around the world on many different stations. Throughout Latin America it airs on Sony Entertainment Television in English with subtitles. Throughout Asia (including Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and other countries), it airs on STAR World. Throughout the Arab world, it airs on Paramount Comedy 1, MBC 4, and one TV. Viasat’s TV3 airs Scrubs throughout Europe; including in Denmark, Estonia (as Kollanokad – Rookies), Lithuania (as Daktariūkščiai – a playful word for Doctors), Norway and Sweden.
It is also aired on many national stations:
Since Scrubs is aired around the world in many different languages, instances of foreign languages on the show have to be changed for the international versions. Carla's Spanish is changed to Italian in the Spanish language version of the show, and Elliot's German is changed to either Danish or German with a Swiss accent (the latter in Episode 4.17, "My Life in Four Cameras") in the German version of the show. However, this only applies to the airings in countries which dub the voices of the actors, and not to the airings in countries which use subtitles as the way to translate the characters' speech.
Trivia
- The chest X-ray featured at the end of the title sequence was hung backwards for most of the first five seasons. Bill Lawrence has stated that having the X-ray backwards was intentional as it signified that the new interns were inexperienced.[14] However during Zach Braff's Audio Commentary on "My Last Chance," he states that the error was actually unintentional. The error became somewhat infamous and was even parodied in "My Cabbage." An attempt was made to fix the error in the extended title sequence that was used at the beginning of season 2, but the extended sequence (including corrected X-ray) were soon scrapped at fan and network request. Finally, in "My Urologist," Dr. Kim Briggs steps into the credits and switches the X-ray around, saying, "It's backwards, it's been bugging me for years."
- Every episode title begins with a possessive pronoun, usually the word "My..." with notable exceptions in the episodes entitled "His Story," "His Story II," "Her Story," "Her Story II," "His Story III," "His Story IV," and "Their Story." Apart from a brief period of narration from J.D. at the very beginning and end of the episode, these episodes primarily contained internal narration from another character besides J.D. In these episodes, internal narration duty switches from J.D. to the "guest narrator" at the very beginning and then back to J.D. at the very end, the only exception to this rule being "Their Story," where the narration instead switches to a whole crowd of supporting cast members. The transfer usually occurs at a moment of physical contact between the two characters, although this is not always the case.
- On the cover of the complete second season, J.D.'s nametag is incorrectly labeled as PGY-1, when he was really in his second year (PGY-2).[15] In every box set proceeding from that no tag is shown at all.
- JD & Turk (Season 1-4), later Turk & Carla's (Season 4-6) building number is 12629.[16]
Cameo appearances
- Each season premiere and finale features a shot of Bill Lawrence's best friend as a good luck charm.[14]
- Several cast members from Spin City, another show created by Bill Lawrence, have made guest appearances on the show. These include Michael J. Fox, Barry Bostwick, Alan Ruck, Richard Kind, Michael Boatman, Alexander Chaplin, and Heather Locklear.[17]
- Similarly, many cast members from Scrubs have lent voices to Clone High, another show created by Lawrence. They include Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, Neil Flynn, John C. McGinley, Christa Miller Lawrence, and Scrubs recurring actors Michael McDonald and Nicole Sullivan.[18]
- The cast of Scrubs made an episode called "My Charlie Brown Christmas" where they made a voice over of the Christmas episode of Charlie Brown. It was created by Daniel Russ and Ryan Levin for a Scrubs cast party.
- Several Scrubs crew members have appeared in minor speaking roles, such as writer/producer Mike Schwartz having a recurring role as Lloyd the Delivery Man,[19] and producer Randal Winston as the security guard Leonard.[20]
- Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, John C. McGinley, Neil Flynn, and director/producer Bill Lawrence all made cameo appearances in a scene in the 2002 TV Muppets movie It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie that shows Miss Piggy playing an extra in Scrubs but trying to improvise and give herself a bigger role.[21]
References
- ^ Scrubs, Production No. 535G, written by Bill Lawrence, Season 1, Episode 1 (aired October 2, 2001)
- ^ NBC About Scrubs
- ^ a b Diane, Kristine (2006-05-08). "Cultivating a Cult Audience: An Interview with Scrubs Creator Bill Lawrence". Blogcritics. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Cohn, Angel (2007-01-18). "Why You Must "Tune" In to Tonight's Scrubs Musical!". TV Guide. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ iTunes Music Store LinkiMix
- ^ Braff, Zach. "The Most Awesomest Blog Ever Written". Zach Braff official website. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
- ^ Wilkes, Neil (2006-07-06). "The Littlest Fish". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "NBC re-makes two-hour comedy block on Thursdays with the return of 'Scrubs'" (Press release). NBC. 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Plume, Ken (2006-08-19). "Bill Lawrence Interview". Quick Stop Entertainment. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Online Kristen
- ^ The name is a subtle dig at Teho-osasto (Intensive Care, the oddly mis-translated Finnish name for ER)
- ^ "Comedy Central Wants Some 'Scrubs'". Zap2it. 2005-07-12. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Sitcoms Online TV Land Upfronts
- ^ a b Lawrence, Bill. " "The Complete First Season DVD commentary for "My First Day"".
- ^ The Complete Second Season Boxset
- ^ 3min:55sec My Best Friend's Baby's Baby and My Baby's Baby
- ^ IMDB Spin City Cast
- ^ IMDB Clone High Cast
- ^ IMDB Lloyd the Delivery Man
- ^ IMDB Leonard the Security Guard
- ^ Muppet Central Muppet Central News
External links
- Scrubs at IMDb
- Scrubs at NBC
- Scrubs at ABC Studios (Formerly Touchstone Television and ABC Television Studio)
- Scrubs at Buena Vista (Syndication)
- Scrubs video blog at IGN (#1 to #54)
- Scrubs video blog at Quick Stop Entertainment (#1 to present)
- Scrubs at Channel 4
- ScrubsForum at Forum 5
- Scrubs Wiki
- Scrubs at the Global Episode Opinion Survey
