A Newbie's Guide to NBC's Scrubs

Witty banter, a daydreaming resident, an out-to-get-everyone janitor, and a sarcastic, life-despising attending. What's the connection? You find them all on NBC's Thursday night series "Scrubs".

Heading into it's 6th season on the station, "Scrubs" combines the setting of "ER" with the light comedy and relatable situations of "Friends".

When I first saw commercials for the show over 6 years ago, I thought it looked hilarious. However, after watching a couple episodes (including the October 1st, 2001 pilot), I decided the broadcast station showed all the funny parts in the commercials, and left nothing else to the actual show. Fast forward a few years to 2006--"Scrubs" is in syndication on Comedy Central and WGN. I caught a "Scrubs" marathon on Comedy Central, and I realized that one either needs to watch several episodes in rapid succession, or my sense of humor had changed in 5 years, because "Scrubs" was actually hilarious!

Once the viewer is drawn into the show, it becomes addictive. You are intrigued in the interaction of main characters J.D. and Turk. You want to know what prank the Janitor is going to play next, or which intern will be the butt of Dr. Cox's next joke. The "Scrubs" writers do a fantastic job of making situations everyone can relate to, then putting them into the hospital setting. The show is lighthearted enough to watch after a long day at work, but witty enough to keep the viewer interested.

Cast Biographies

"John "J.D." Dorian"--Zach Braff
Braff was born April 6th, 1975 in South Orange, New Jersey. He graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in film, and was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. Braff is the youngest of four children; brothers Adam and Joshua have collaborated on TV screenplays, sister Shoshanna is a fashion designer. He made his directorial debut in 2004 with the movie "Garden State", and won a Grammy in 2005 for the soundtrack of that film (he served as the compilation producer). In real life, he's best friends with "Scrubs" co-star Donald Faison (Turk). Rumor has it that Braff has a one-year deal with "Scrubs" that will pay him about $350,000 per episode for the 2007-08 season.

"Chris Turk"-Donald Faison
Faison was born June 22nd, 1974 in New York City. He's the oldest of three boys, including Dade and Olamide (who sings with the R&B group, Imajin). Faison has four children; Kaya, Dade, Kobe, and Sean. His "Scrubs" co-stars refer to him as "that guy from 'Clueless'", referring to his role as Murray in the 1995 movie "Clueless". In addition to his acting talents on "Scrubs", Faison lends his voice talents to the show "Robot Chicken." He won the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award at the first annual BET Comedy Awards in 2004 and nominated for an NAACP Image Award in 2006 for his role in "Scrubs".

"Elliot Reid"-Sarah Chalke
Chalke was born August 27th, 1976 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She's the middle child of three girls (sisters are Piper and Natasha), and made her TV debut in the made-for-TV movie "City Boy" in 1992. On the set of "Scrubs", Chalke is referred to as "Becky #2", due to her role on the show "Roseanne" when she replaced Alicia Goranson in 1993. Chalke is engaged to entertainment lawyer Jaime Afifi.

"Dr. Bob Kelso"-Ken Jenkins
Jenkins was born August 28th, 1940 in Dayton, Ohio. He studied acting at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, while performing on Broadway and in regional companies throughout his college career. Jenkins first appeared on camera in 1987 in John Sayles' film "Matewan". Jenkins is married to Katharine Houghton, and they have three sons; Matthew, Joshua, and actor Daniel. Jenkins' real life dog shares the screen with him in "Scrubs" playing 'Baxter'.

"Dr. Perry Cox"-John C. McGinley
McGinley was born August 3rd, 1959 in New York City. McGinley transferred to NYU from Syracuse and received a BA and a MFA in fine arts. McGinley was discovered by director Oliver Stone while performing as an understudy in New York's Circle-In-The-Square production of "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea". Stone cast McGinley in "Platoon", and later collaborated with him in "Wall Street", "Talk Radio", "Born on the Fourth of July", "Nixon", and "Any Given Sunday". McGinley is good friends with Detroit Red Wings Defenseman, Chris Chelios, and is often seen wearing his jersey on "Scrubs". He has one son, Max, with first wife, Lauren Lambert, and is now married to Nicole Kessler.

"Nurse Carla Espinosa"-Judy Reyes
Reyes was born November 5th, 1967 in the Bronx. Reyes became interested in acting while attending Hunter College in Manhattan. Reyes is a founding member of the Labyrinth Theatre Company in Manhattan. She has served the multi-cultural acting space as both an actor and producer over the past 10 years. She is one of four daughters; sisters Joselin and Fidias are both actresses as well.

"The Janitor"-Neil Flynn
Flynn was born November 13th, 1960 in Waukegan, Illinois. Flynn is an alumnus of Chicago's ImprovOlympic and Second City troupes as well as the improv troupe formerly known as "The Family". He graduated from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Flynn's character on "Scrubs" has only been named twice. The first time was in the episode "My Friend, The Doctor" when it is revealed that the Janitor played the part of "Transit cop" in "The Fugitive" (a role really played by Flynn, therefore leading some to believe the janitor's name is also Neil Flynn). The second time is in the episode "His Story III", when the Janitor refers to himself in thought as "Jan Itor". Flynn originally tried out for the part of "Dr. Perry Cox" on "Scrubs."

Viewers new to the show may find "Scrubs" confusing at first, but stick with it; I assure you the characters will grow on you. There are a few things that may help you heading into the show:

The Janitor is J.D.'s arch nemesis and tries to embarrass J.D. at every chance he gets.

Carla and Turk are married. J.D. used to live with the couple until he got his own place.

J.D. and Elliot have dated on and off over the seasons, and I personally think they will always hold a flame for one another.

Dr. Cox calls J.D. and others by girls' names.

Dr. Cox despises Dr. Kelso and tries to make his life hell. Dr. Kelso does the same thing to Dr. Cox.

"Scrubs" can be seen Thursday nights on NBC at 9:30p.m. (E.T.). Also, check your local television listings for "Scrubs" in syndication on Comedy Central and WGN.