Scrubs (TV series)

Infobox Television
show_name = Scrubs


caption = "Scrubs" title card
format = Comedy / Drama
camera = Film, Single camera
runtime = approx. 22 minutes
creator = Bill Lawrence
starring = Zach Braff
Sarah Chalke
Donald Faison
Neil Flynn
Ken Jenkins
John C. McGinley
Judy Reyes
narrated = Zach Braff as J.D.
producer = ABC Studios
executive_producer = Bill Lawrence
Goldman and Donovan (2006-present)
opentheme = "Superman" by Lazlo Bane
country = United States
network = NBC (2001-2008) ABC (2008-present)
picture_format = 4:3 480i (SDTV)
720p (HDTV) (ABC)
first_aired = October 2 2001
last_aired = present
num_seasons = 8
num_episodes = 150
list_episodes = List of Scrubs episodes
website = http://www.nbc.com/Scrubs/
production_website = http://abcstudiosmedianet.com/shows/scrubs/scrubs_lead.shtml
imdb_id = 0285403
tv_com_id = 3613

"Scrubs" is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American comedy-drama that premiered on October 2, 2001, on NBC. It was created by Bill Lawrence and is produced by ABC Studios (previously known as Touchstone Television).

The show focuses on the lives of several people working at Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced dialogue, slapstick, and surreal vignettes presented mostly as the daydreams of the central character, Dr. John Michael "J.D." Dorian.

The seventh season of "Scrubs" premiered on October 25, 2007. [ [http://www.nbc.com/Scrubs NBC Scrubs] ] [ [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2007/05/scrubs_we_need_.html "Scrubs": We need 18 episodes, stat!] , a May 2007 "Los Angeles Times" Show Tracker blog entry] No episodes aired between December 6, 2007 and April 10, 2008 due to the 2007–2008 writers strike. [ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3if908f8e7990b715738fd1460067e3828 Hollywood Reporter] ] The season concluded on May 8, 2008, ending the series' run on NBC. The series is slated to return during the 2008–2009 television season as a mid-season replacement on ABC. [ [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/scrubs/abc-upfronts-fall-schedule-unv-19343.aspx BuddyTV - ABC Upfronts, May 2008] ]

ynopsis

Most episodes feature multiple story lines thematically linked via voice overs by main character and narrator Dr. John Michael "J.D." Dorian, played by Zach Braff. According to Lawrence, "What we decided was, rather than have it be a monotone narration, if it's going to be Zach's voice, we're going to do everything through J.D.'s eyes. It opened up a visual medium that those of us as comedy writers were not used to."Citation | last =Weisman | first =Jon | title =Genre jumping pays off | newspaper =Variety | date = January 24, 2006 | url = http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_vstory/VR1117936723.html] The show is shot with a single-camera setup instead of a multiple-camera setup more typical for situation comedies.

The broad comedy is often counterpointed by more serious scenes, as Lawrence notes: "One of the things we thought early on was [if] we occasionally showed actual patients and actual people dying and things with emotional stakes, working in single camera, that it might be enough to combine with broad comedy."

At the end of most episodes, J.D. summarizes the story's theme in a sequence of shots that show how it has affected each of the characters. "Scrubs" has been advertised as "half as long as "ER" and twice as funny." The series has repeatedly featured guest appearances by movie actors not generally seen on episodic television, such as Colin Farrell, Heather Graham and Brendan Fraser.

Cast

Main characters

All but one of the main characters in "Scrubs" are medical professionals. The show's narrator and main character is John "J.D." Dorian (Zach Braff), a young attending physician, who begins the series as a staff intern. He develops a close friendship with fellow intern and later private practice physician Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke); their relationship becomes romantic on several occasions, which other characters have noticed. Elliot is driven by a neurotic desire to prove her abilities to her family (in which all of the males are doctors), her peers, and herself. J.D.'s best friend is Dr. Christopher Duncan Turk (Donald Faison), a surgical attending physician. Turk roomed with J.D. at college and medical school, and the two have an extremely close relationship, which is described in season 6 as "Guy Love". During the course of the series Turk marries Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes), the hospital's head nurse, who acts like a mentor to interns often hiding their mistakes from their attending doctor. cite episode
title = His Story IV | episodelink = His Story IV | series = Scrubs
serieslink = Scrubs (TV series) | network = NBC | airdate = 2007-02-01
season = 6 | number = 07 ] Carla is prone to overreaction and compulsively tells her friends how to go about their lives.

Two other characters play senior roles in the hospital. Dr. Percival "Perry" Cox (John C. McGinley) is the senior attending physician at Sacred Heart and the hospital's Residency Director. J.D. considers Cox his mentor despite the fact that Dr. Cox routinely criticizes and belittles him. Cox frequently suggests that this harsh treatment is intended as conditioning for the rigors of hospital life. Ken Jenkins plays Dr. Bob Kelso, Sacred Heart's Chief of Medicine. Kelso is cold, heartless and cruel, driven primarily by the hospital's bottom line rather than the well-being of patients. However, it is occasionally suggested that he has a softer side, and that his cruelty is a means of coping with the hard decisions he is often forced to make, stating that when he became Chief of Medicine he thought he'd be "the man". Instead he very quickly realized that the harsh decisions made him unpopular, however, he had to continue his "evil" facade to keep the hospital running smoothly.

The only lead character who is not a medical professional is a hospital custodian known only as "Janitor". Played by Neil Flynn, Janitor has appeared in every episode, except for the season two episode "My Lucky Day." An incident in the pilot episode establishes an adversarial relationship between him and J.D., which persists throughout the series. This tends to take the form of the Janitor pulling mean-spirited pranks on J.D., going as far as locking him in a water tank for a full hospital shift.

upporting cast

*Robert Maschio as Dr. Todd "The Todd" Quinlan—Cosmetic surgery fellow/surgical attending (105 episodes)
*Aloma Wright as Nurse Laverne Roberts/Nurse Shirley—Nurse (88 episodes)
*Sam Lloyd as Theodore "Ted" Buckland—Hospital attorney (83 episodes)
*Christa Miller as Jordan Sullivan—Administrative worker, hospital board member and Perry Cox's ex-wife (79 episodes)
*Johnny Kastl as Dr. Doug Murphy—Pathology MD (47 episodes)
*Travis Schuldt as Dr. Keith Dudemeister—MD resident and Elliot's ex-fiancé (37 episodes)
*Charles Chun as Dr. Wen—Surgical attending (20 episodes)
*Mike Schwartz as Lloyd—EMT (as of season 7), former delivery guy (16 episodes)
*Michael Hobert as Lonnie—MD resident (15 episodes)
*Elizabeth Banks as Dr. Kim Briggs—Urologist, J.D's Ex-girlfriend. Mother of JD's child (13 episodes)
*Scott Foley as Sean Kelly—Elliot Reid's boyfriend in Seasons 1 and 3 (11 episodes)
*Tara Reid as Danni Sullivan—J.D.'s girlfriend in Season 3 and younger sister of Jordan Sullivan (11 episodes)
*Heather Graham as Dr. Molly Clock—Attending psychiatrist (9 episodes)

Cameo appearances

* Each season premiere and finale features a shot of Bill Lawrence's best friend as a good luck charm. Bill Lawrence in the audio commentary for My First Day]
* 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. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115369/fullcredits#cast Spin City Cast] at the Internet Movie Database]
* Braff, Chalke, Reyes, McGinley, Flynn and Lawrence all made cameo appearances in a scene in "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie"; in the film, Miss Piggy appears as an extra in "Scrubs" trying to improvise and give herself a bigger role. [cite web|title=Muppet Central News| url=http://www.muppetcentral.com/news/2002/111402.shtml| date=2002-11-14| publisher=MuppetCentral.com| accessdate=2007-08-08]
* 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, [imdb name|0777372|Lloyd the Delivery Man] producer Randall Winston as the security guard Leonard, [imdb name|0935631|Leonard the Security Guard] and writer Gabrielle Allan as a nurse.

Episodes

DVD releases

eason seven

On November 5, 2007, the Writers Guild of America went on strike, which put the production of the show on hold. When the strike started, only eleven of "Scrubs"' eighteen planned seventh season episodes had been completely written.cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a79658/scrubs-creator-12th-ep-will-not-end-series.html |title='Scrubs' creator: 12th ep will not end series |accessdate=2007-11-12 |last=Welsh |first=James |date=2007-11-12 |publisher=Digital Spy] Lawrence refused to cross any WGA picket lines to serve any of his duties for the show, so ABC Studios had non-WGA members finish episode twelve, which the studio had unsuccessfully pressured Lawrence to rewrite as a series finale prior to the strike.

During the strike, NBC announced that "The Office" and "Scrubs" would be replaced by "Celebrity Apprentice". NBC later announced that they would leave "Scrubs" on hiatus for the time being and fill the 8-9pm timeslot with various specials and repeats.cite web |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7541 |title=NBC EXPANDS 'GLADIATORS,' BOOKS FINALE |accessdate=2008-01-23 |coauthors=The Futon Critic Staff |date=2008-01-21 |publisher=The Futon Critic]

Episode 11 was eventually filmedcite web |url=http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/scrubs-nbc-sitcom-may-not-get-series-finale/ |title=Scrubs: NBC Sitcom May Not Get Series Finale |accessdate=2008-01-03 |date=2007-11-12 |publisher=TV Series Finale] , although Lawrence was absent. Filming of episode 11 was disrupted by picketers. It was believed that Lawrence had tipped the picketers off about the filming schedule, although these beliefs turned out to be false as Lawrence quickly drove to the set to "keep the peace."

After the strike ended, Lawrence announced that the final episodes of "Scrubs" would be produced although, at the time, he was unsure where or how they would be distributed. [cite web |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/851/851330p1.html |title=You'll Get Your "Scrubs" Finale |accessdate=2008-02-13 |coauthors="IGN" Staff |date=2008-02-11 |publisher="IGN"]

On February 13, 2008, NBC announced that "Scrubs" would resume with new episodes, along with other comedy series on April 10, 2008 at 9:30/8:30c on NBC. [ [http://nbcumv.com/entertainment/release_detail.nbc/entertainment-20080213000000-nbcannouncesbroadc.html NBC Universal Media Village] ] The season finale aired on May 8, 2008, [cite web|url=http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-nbcreturndates,0,5166001.story| title=NBC Plans Returns, Makes Pickups| accessdate-2008-02-22|date=2008-02-13|publisher=Zap2it] although that particular episode was originally intended to air as episode 9 of the season.

eason eight

Amid strike-induced doubt involving the final episodes of "Scrubs", on February 28, 2008, "The Hollywood Reporter" reported that ABC was in talks with corporate sibling ABC Studios with the aim of bringing "Scrubs" to ABC for an eighth season of 18 episodes, [cite web| url=http://www.tvblogger.org/2008/02/scrubs-to-abc.html| title='Scrubs' to ABC'|publisher=TV Blogger|accessdate=2008-02-28] despite both Lawrence's and Braff's protests that the seventh season would definitely be the last. Just hours later "Variety" reported that NBC was lashing out and threatening legal action against ABC Studios.cite news |first=Michael |last=Schneider |title='Scrubs' skirmish |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981634.html?categoryId=14&cs=1&query=scrubs+ |publisher="Variety" |date=2008-02-28 |accessdate=2008-02-29] However, McGinley confirmed that he had been told to report back to work on March 24, 2008 to begin production for another season.cite news |first=Marilyn |last=Beck |title="Scrubs" Future No Longer in Question Says John C. McGinley |url=http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272619342.shtml |publisher="National Ledger" |date=2008-03-10] On March 12, 2008, McGinley was also quoted as saying that the show's long-rumored move from NBC to ABC was a done deal. [ [http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=42884 Comingsoon.net] ] According to McGinley, "Scrubs" will air on ABC during the 2008-2009 TV season as a midseason replacement. [ [http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272619342.shtml National Ledger] - March 10, 2008]

On March 19, 2008, Michael Ausiello of TV Guide reported that although nothing is "official", the "Scrubs" cast was to report back to work the following Wednesday for work on an "unofficial" season as of yet. [ [http://www.tvguide.com/ask-ausiello/scrubs/080319-22 T.V. Guide] - March 19, 2008] On April 2, 2008, NBC announced their fall schedule, which did not include an eighth season of "Scrubs." [ [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i958f1f23dbbf0f01078dfad55e35ecd7 The Hollywood Reporter] - April 2, 2008] This led to more speculation that the show could indeed be making the switch to ABC. NBC President Ben Silverman later informed reporters, "I don't know where "Scrubs" is going. It's finished its run on NBC though."

On April 4, 2008, Kristin Dos Santos of E! Online reported that following the completion of the 12 episodes owed to NBC for season seven, production would immediately commence on 18 all-new episodes for season eight. These episodes will almost certainly air on ABC for the 2008-09 season.cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=27bd7007-17a3-4b43-9b80-011d425995ec&utm_campaign=xxltfp&utm_source=xjljqfejb&utm_medium=link|title= Scrubs: Where Things Stand|accessdate=2008-04-04|last=Dos Santos|first=Kristin|date=2008-04-04|publisher=E! Online - Watch with Kristin]

On April 28, 2008, Zach Braff posted in his blog on MySpace that an eighth season consisting of 18 episodes was under production but that he could not say where it will be aired. [cite web|url=http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=97669648&blogID=387269933|title=Making the Video|last=Braff|first=Zach|date=2008-04-29|publisher=Myspace|accessdate=2008-05-02] He then stated, on May 7, 2008, that the May 8, 2008 episode would be the final NBC-aired episode of Scrubs, [cite web|url=http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=97669648|title=Exclusive Clip from the Fairy Tale Episode|last=Braff|first=Zach|date=2008-05-07|publisher=Myspace|accessdate=2008-05-08] which was followed by a bulletin on his MySpace, on May 12, confirming that "Scrubs"' eighth and final season will be moving to ABC.In a recent video blog, Bill Lawrence stated that Season 8 will be more like the first few seasons tone-wise, with more of a focus on more realistic and dramatic storylines and the introduction of new characters. [cite web|url=http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2008/05/04/scrubs-blog-my-welcome-back/|title=Scrubs Blog - My Welcome Back|date=2008-05-04|publisher=Quick Stop Entertainment|accessdate=2008-05-11] On May 13, ABC announced that "Scrubs" will be a midseason replacement, airing Tuesday nights at 9PM ET. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24594959/ ABC-TV will have only 2 new fall shows] ] [ [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/guide.aspx?id=fall_2008 Guide | TheFutonCritic.com - The Web's Best Television Resource ] ] Steve McPherson, ABC's President of Entertainment, also stated that additional seasons of "Scrubs" beyond the eighth could be produced if it performs well.cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-upfronts14-2008may14,0,3549448.story|title=ABC's 2008 fall lineup holds firm, with a dose of 'Scrubs' added|date=2008-05-14|publisher= [http://www.latimes.com LATimes.com] |accessdate=2008-05-19]

On July 10 it was reported that Courteney Cox would join the cast as the new Chief of Medicine for a three episode arc. [cite web |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a109429/cox-joins-scrubs-for-three-episode-arc.html |title=Cox joins 'Scrubs' cast for three episode arc |date=2008-07-10 |publisher=Digitalspy |accessdate=2008-07-10]

Zach Braff has suggested that he may be leaving the series after the 8th season, although this will not necessarily end the show. [cite web|url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/people/371195_people18.html|title=Zach Braff's departure might not kill 'Scrubs'|accessdate=2008-07-19] [cite web|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/entertainment/1486041/is_scrubs_calling_it_quits_maybe/|title=Is 'Scrubs' Calling It Quits? Maybe|accessdate=2008-08-07]

ABC and Lawrence have suggested that the show could continue past 2009 with a new cast [cite web |url=http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/07/scrubs-could-co.html |title='Scrubs' could continue beyond 2009 with new cast|work= The Live Feed] .

The eighth season will include webisodes and will be the first "Scrubs" season broadcast in high definition, yet Lawrence says he feels conflicted talking about the network switch. [cite web |url=http://www.thrfeed.com/2008/07/scrubs-nbc.html |title='Scrubs' to debut webisodes; Lawrence talks network switch|work= The Live Feed]

Judy Reyes, like Braff, has also decided to leave "Scrubs" after season 8 so she can move on to films and probably Broadway. Bill Lawrence might leave the show as well. [cite news|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=asmKHKnofrsc&refer=muse|title=Nurse Reyes Leaves `Scrubs'; Hopper Rides Again: Hollywood Buzz|publisher=Bloomberg|author=Michael White|date=2007-08-14|accessdate=2007-08-17] Reyes indicated to the Globe that ABC, which picked up the long-running show from NBC earlier this year, could not afford to match the Scrubs stars' pay demands. [cite news|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a127747/judy-reyes-quits-scrubs.html|title=Judy Reyes quits 'Scrubs'|publisher=Digital Spy|author=Simon Reynolds|date=2008-08-30|accessdate=2008-09-02]

Awards

In its first three seasons, "Scrubs" received Emmy nominations for casting, editing, and writing of a comedy. Following Season 4, the show received additional nominations for 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 multi-camera 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 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" homage episode "My Way Home". [ [http://www.peabody.uga.edu/news/pressrelease.asp?ID=142 Peabody Award's] ]

At the "2007 Primetime Emmy Awards", which aired in September, the episode "My Musical" was nominated for five awards in four categories: Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series (Will Mackenzie), Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics ("Everything Comes Down to Poo" and "Guy Love"), Outstanding Music Direction (Jan Stevens), and Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (half-hour) And Animation (Joe Foglia, Peter J. Nusbaum, and John W. Cook II). [ [http://www.emmys.tv/awards/2007pt/nominations.php?action=search_db Emmy Award Nominations] ] It went on to a joint win along with the "Entourage" episode "One Day in the Valley" in the latter of these categories

Scrubs also won a 2008 Humanitas prize for the season 6 episode "My Long Goodbye".

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.cite web | first = Kristine | last = Diane | title = Cultivating a Cult Audience: An Interview with Scrubs Creator Bill Lawrence | work = Blogcritics | url = http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/05/08/094600.php | date = 2006-05-08 | accessdate=2007-02-11] 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." Producers expanded "Scrubs"' musical emphasis with a musical episode early in the sixth season, called "My Musical". This episode aired on January 18, 2007. [cite web | work = TV Guide | first = Angel | last = Cohn | title = Why You Must "Tune" In to Tonight's Scrubs Musical! | url = http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Interviews-Features/Article/default.aspx?posting=%7B0773509B-1832-4F94-9FA6-23A6F30929AD%7D | date = 2007-01-18 | accessdate = 2007-02-11]

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. Lawrence credits 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. The original, slower recording was used briefly at the beginning of Season 2, played during an extended version of the title sequence (that included Flynn and full cast credits), as well as the opening for "My Urologist", and 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, 6 and 7.

oundtracks

Two official soundtracks have been released. The first 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. [ [http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewIMix?id=149841714 iTunes Music Store iMix] ]

Featured musical contributors

Colin Hay, the former frontman of Men at Work, has had music featured in at least seven episodes, and has appeared in the episode "My Overkill", performing the song "Overkill" as a street musician, and in the episode "My Hard Labor" performing "Down Under". Hay also sings "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", the theme from "Cheers" in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras". The episode "My Philosophy" features the song "Waiting for my Real Life to Begin", but Hay does not make an appearance.

The music of Joshua Radin, who is a friend of "Scrubs" star Zach Braff, [cite web | first = Zach | last = Braff | authorlink = Zach Braff | date = February 19, 2006 | url = http://gardenstate.typepad.com/zach_braffs_garden_state_/2006/02/joshua_radingoo.html | title = Joshua Radin=Good | accessdate = 2007-06-05 | work = Zach Braff's Garden State Blog] has appeared in at least six episodes to date.

Music by Keren DeBerg has featured in 15 episodes, and she appeared in "My Musical" as an extra in the song "Are You Okay?"

The Worthless Peons

The Worthless Peons (also known as Ted's Band, The Blanks, or in the non-canon "My Way Home" Director's Cut as "Foghat") are an a cappella group made up of hospital employees from different departments. They are a cover band, and often sing songs from a specific genre (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 cappella 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 Lawrence and members of the "Scrubs" cast.This band was put on the show when Sam Lloyd brought his friends/capella band to a rehearsal. Lloyd told Lawrence about his band. Lawrence asked them to sing and then got the idea of putting them in the show.

Production details

"Scrubs" is produced by ABC, through its production division, even though it was aired by rival broadcaster NBC. [ [http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/782/782639p1.html IGN] ] According to show runner Lawrence, the arrangement is unusual, at least for 2007: "The show is a dinosaur, on one network and completely owned by another" and, since it is now in syndication, making a "ton of money for Touchstone." [http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6407312.html Scrubs a Near Lock for Next Fall] , a January 15, 2007 article from the "Broadcasting & Cable" website] Both he and Braff confirmed ABC would have broadcast the seventh season had NBC refused to do so. [ [http://www.zachbraff.com/comments.php?id=103 Blog. Cog. Snog. Frog. Oh my Gog!] , a March 30, 2007 entry from Zach Braff's blog]

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. 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, "That's backwards; it's been bugging me for years."

Every episode title begins with a possessive pronoun, usually the word "My...". Bill Lawrence says this is because each episode is Dr. John Dorian writing in his diary (said on the commentary on the first season episode "My Hero"). There are 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 beginning and end, these episodes primarily contain internal narration from another character besides J.D. The only exception to this rule is "Their Story", in which 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.

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 Danish (or, in at least one fourth-season episode German with a Swiss accent) in the German version of the show.

Except for the finale of Season 5, "My Transition", which was broadcast in high definition [ [http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/05/16/hdtv-scrubs-on-nbc Engadget: "HDTV "Scrubs" on NBC?"] ] , all the first seven seasons of the show have been shot with Aaton 16-mm film camera and delivered in standard definition with 4:3 aspect ratio. Earlier Bill Lawrence has stated that experimenting with HD digital camera had not been successful. Nevertheless, after the show was moved from NBC to ABC, the format was changed and the upcoming eighth season will be broadcast in high definition.

Main crew

*Bill Lawrence is the show's creator, executive producer, and head writer; he has written many episodes, and has directed nine. He is also the show runner and does many uncredited re-writes for episodes.
*Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan have produced and written a number of episodes together. They started as writers/co-producers on the show, and worked their way up to executive producers.
* Bill Callahan was an executive producer (2007-2008). He started on the show in season 4 as co-executive producer and has since written six episodes.
*Angela Nissel is supervising producer (2007-Present). She has written 7 episodes. She started on the show in season 2 as a staff writer. In her second book, Bill Lawrence is quoted on the back cover and references to Scrubs are present throughout the final chapter.
*Mike Schwartz is co-executive producer (2006-Present) who started as a story editor. He has written 11 episodes and also has a recurring role in the show as Lloyd the Delivery Guy.
*Michael Spiller has directed 15 episodes between 2002-2006, the most of any director to date.
*Adam Bernstein directed the pilot episode of the show, "My First Day" (11 episodes, 2001-2006)
*Zach Braff has directed six episodes of the show, including the landmark 100th episode "My Way Home", which won a George Foster Peabody Award in April 2007.

Medical advisors

"Scrubs" writers work with several medical advisors, including doctors Jonathan Doris, Jon Turk, and Dolly Klock. Their names serve as the basis for the names of characters John Dorian, Chris Turk and Molly Clock (played by Braff, Faison, and Heather Graham, respectively). [NBC [http://www.nbc.com/Scrubs/about/index.shtml NBC.com: "About "Scrubs"] ]

Filming location

"Scrubs" is filmed on location at the North Hollywood Medical Center (coord|34|9|28.86|N|118|24|31.22|W|name=North Hollywood Medical Center), a real decommissioned hospital located at 12629 Riverside Drive in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

However, the location of Sacred Heart Hospital within the fictional world of "Scrubs" is left ambiguous. 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. [Show creator Bill Lawrence during audio commentary on Disk Three of "The Complete Second Season [of] Scrubs" DVD set.]

Origin

The origin for the show is loosely based on Dr. Jonathan Doris' experiences as a resident in internal medicine at Brown Medical School, which served as inspiration for college friend and show creator Bill Lawrence. [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2003-04/03-138d.html]

Name

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 most of the main characters are fresh out of medical school, new and inexperienced (known in the medical field as "scrubs").

References and notes

External links

* [http://www.watchscrubs.com/ "Scrubs"] at Disney-ABC Domestic Television
* [http://media.tv.ign.com/media/825/825095/vids_1.html "Scrubs" video blog] at IGN (#1 to #54)
* [http://www.channel4.com/scrubs/ "Scrubs"] at Channel 4
* [http://scrubs.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page "Scrubs" Wiki]