Scrubs : NBC's Cult Hit

It's impossible to have any discussion about Scrubs without first talking about the NBC show's main character, Dr. John 'J.D.' Dorian. J.D. is an insecure and neurotic medical intern when Scrubs starts its first season. By the end of the sixth season, J.D. has blossomed into a full fledged doctor - full of insecurity and neurosis. This is best featured in the Scrubs season six finale which has recently aired. After finding out that Kim, the woman J.D. got pregnant even though they had never actually had sex, lied to him about losing the baby, he decides to eventually take her back try being a couple again. During a fit of self doubt about being a father and a doctor, and wondering if he's even doing the right thing, J.D. and long-time on-again-off-again friend and romantic fling, Dr. Elliot Reid, start messing around; which is where the latest season of Scrubs is left off.

Zach Braff, the actor that plays Dr. Dorian on Scrubs, has gained fame and notoriety due to his turn on the NBC sitcom. He parlayed his Scrubs fame into a movie career, with writing, directing, and starring credits for the movie GardenState, and a new comedy, The Ex, opening this summer. I mentioned earlier that this may be the final season for Scrubs, which is laying primarily on Zach Braff's shoulders. The television and movie star has been offered a reported $350,000 per episode, if he decides to come back and reprise his role on Scrubs next season. If he refuses this offer, NBC will have lost yet another great show from its lineup.

We now turn from J.D. to his best friend and fellow Scrubs doctor, Dr. Christopher Turk. Turk is a cocky surgical doctor, who happens to be J.D.'s best friend since college. Over the years, Dr. Turk has grown and matured, albeit slightly, due to his marriage to Nurse Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes) and the birth of their baby girl. Actor Donald Faison plays Scrubs Dr. Turk, and his acting style is a perfect match for Zach Braff's zany and insightful J.D. Television fans may remember Donald Faison from a short lived, but still funny, sitcom based on the hit movie Clueless.

The other half to Zach Braff's neurosis filled Scrubs character, is the even more neurotic Dr. Elliot Reid. 'Blonde Doctor', as the smart aleck Janitor calls her, is probably J.D.'s second closest friend, after Turk, but the line between friends and romantic partners has been crossed so often that they don't even know what is going on anymore - see Scrubs season six finale. Dr. Reid, who happens to use the word 'frick' as often as most people use another famous 'F' word, is planning her wedding to Dr. Keith Dudemeister (Travis Schuldt), through half of season six. After the finale, wedding plans may be up in the air for Reid and the Dudemeister.

My favorite character from Scrubs is the janitor of Sacred Heart Hospital, known only as Janitor. Janitor has been tormenting the main character of the NBC hit since J.D.'s first day at Sacred Heart Hospital. Some people may ask what this Janitor has against the usually very nice J.D., and the answer is simple: On his first day as an intern at the hospital, J.D. saw Janitor fixing a sliding door. He suggested somebody may have put a penny in the door to break it. When a penny is found to be the cause of the broken door, Janitor believes it was J.D. who put it there, and spends the rest of the series getting back at him. Most of Janitor's pranks are harmless fun, but some are just cruel; like one episode that saw J.D. stuck in a water tower for an entire day. Deep down, though, it is known that all this torture has turned enemies into friends - kind of.

These are just some, of the many, characters that have made Scrubs, such a tremendous cult hit on NBC - Dr. Perry Cox, J.D's mentor, Dr. Todd 'The Todd' Quinlin, womanizing surgical pig, and Dr. Bob Kelso, the bumbling Chief of Medicine, round out the main players. Now in syndication, Scrubs can be seen on Comedy Central and FOX multiple times a week. Make sure you check it out and see why it has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and ten Emmy Awards, with one win under their belt so far.