J.D. (Scrubs)

Jonathan Michael Dorian
Scrubs character
File:Scrubs JD.jpg Promotional photo of Zach Braff as J.D.
First appearance	"My First Day"
Created by	Bill Lawrence
Portrayed by	Zach Braff
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Attending physician
Family	Sam Dorian (father) Barbara Dorian (mother) Dan Dorian (brother)
Spouse	Elliot Reid (girlfriend)
Children	Sam Perry Gilligan Dorian    w/Kim Briggs

Jonathan 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.

Role

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 between episode. He begins the show as an intern under Dr. Cox, whom he looks up to as a mentor. Cox rarely acknowledges him, and instead belittles him by insulting him and calling him by girls' names. After a year, he becomes a resident, and eventually an attending physician in internal medicine. He grew up in Trotwood, OH as the son of Sam and Barbara Turner Dorian with brother Dan.

He often hangs around with Turk, his best friend since they were college 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. J.D. is often shown to have a codependent fixation on 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's bride's wedding shower, sobbing that she would "never be as emotionally connected" to him as J.D. himself was.

He meets and connects with Elliot Reid on his first day 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 within two weeks when they realize that they do not work as a couple.

J.D. puts his feelings for Elliot 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, claiming, "It should be me", 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 do reconcile and later they realize they have lost all romantic feelings.

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 as JD 'kisses air'. 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 Cookie Pants," they acknowledge having rekindled their relationship.

On his first day, he also meets Carla, a nurse who advises him and affectionately nicknaming him "Bambi". The Janitor decides to spend most of his time torturing J.D. with elaborate plans that sometimes backfire on himself. He has romantic liaisons with various women, besides Elliot, including Kim, the mother of his child, Sam Perry Gilligan Dorian.

J.D.'s apparent mentor at Sacred Heart is Dr. Perry Cox, who generally refers to J.D. as "Newbie" or by a series of girls' names, a pastime he reserves especially for J.D. As much as he doesn't admit it, it has been revealed that Cox respects J.D. as a doctor, heeds his advice, respects his opinion, 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 seeing him being so affected by his job scares him. 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 "J.D." -- 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. Kelso, in earlier seasons.

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. 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.

Character

Creation

J.D.'s name is based on Dr. Jonathan Doris, 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 left of J.D.'s personality left to be explored, except for his relationship with Turk, while Bill Lawrence has stated that the seventh season will show J.D. finally growing up, and becoming more mature, so as to satisfy fans who don't want to see him stay the same. However, Braff also says that J.D. has gradually evolved over the series, but cannot evolve too much as at the same time as they need to "[give] the fans what they want, which is to see the characters be themselves"