Scrubs/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Main Cast

John Dorian (Zach Braff)

"I don't think people are meant to be by themselves. That's why if you actually find someone you care about, it's important to let go of the little things, even if you can't let go all the way. Because nothing sucks more than feeling all alone, no matter how many people are around."

Simply known as J.D., he is the show's protagonist and resident doctor. The show depicts the problems and fears he has to face in the hospital, accompanied by his Inner Monologue. JD may just be the embodiment of a Cloudcuckoolander for his most prominent habit of daydreaming, which almost always ends with a weird comment said out loud which, of course, nobody but him understands. Despite being an enthusiastic, clumsy person with a lot of self-doubt, he is an intelligent good-by-heart doctor, who cares deeply about his patients.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: However eccentric he becomes (and they really pushed this one in later seasons), he is consistently shown as an excellent doctor, with Cox describing him as one of the best he's ever seen.
  • Butt Monkey: Especially in the later seasons.
  • Camp Straight: You would be mistaken for thinking that J.D. is gay after his Flanderization.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Almost constantly drifting off into daydreams, only to snap out of it with a strange comment.
  • Did I Say That Out Loud
  • The Dork
  • Flanderization: J.D. went from a genuine, though quirky, person into some kind of extremely girly super-geek.
  • Genius Ditz: He is an extremely skilled Doctor with a very goofy personality.
  • The Goofball
  • Hollywood Dateless: It's hard to believe a cute looking guy with a genuinely nice personality finds it so hard to get a date.
    • Word of God says that Sacred Heart is in southern California and someone like J.D. makes up about half the male population so most likely the women of the surrounding town are just used to men like him.
  • Inner Monologue: J.D.'s inner monologue pretty much narrates the entire series, save a few episodes.
  • The Intern: First season.
  • In Touch with His Feminine Side
  • It Never Gets Any Easier: J.D. wants to care so much about his patients, so it is justified.
  • Keet: As close as a non-anime character can get.
  • Man Child: Definitely becomes this after his Flanderization.
  • Manly Tears: Very often.
  • The McCoy: A Lot of the time. He is extremely compassionate and genuinely cares about his patients.
  • Naive Newcomer: On first coming to Sacred Heart.
  • Nice Guy: One of the nicest around, though it didn't get him any sympathy from the characters (or, frustratingly, the show writers).
  • The Nicknamer: He gives all of his interns nicknames. He also really loves receiving nicknames, even insulting ones.
  • Pungeon Master
  • Real Men Wear Pink: He designs dolls, loves candy necklaces, drinks appletinis, and makes "Friends Forever" collages.
  • Salt and Pepper: With J.D. being "Vanilla Bear".
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: If he could just get that hug from Cox...
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: Changes rather quickly when confronted with reality.
  • You Suck: J.D. doesn't really suck at life, but he does symbolize problems and fears everyone of us has.

Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke)

Elliot: My therapist thinks my trouble in bed stems from a basic fear of intimacy. But I just think it's just because any type of repetitive motion makes me nauseous. Oh, and since I was a little kid, I've always had nightmares about being crushed.
Carla: That poor shrink.

Elliot is another promising young doctor, who initially showed signs of fear and low self-esteem as an intern, but has later grown to become a confident, yet extremely odd, doctor in the series. She has a tendency to ramble on about her issues as well as stories about her life, but she's extremely intelligent and takes her profession seriously when she must. Due to a fear of commitment, she has a constant on-again-off-again relationship with J.D.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Chris Turk (Donald Faison)

"You know, I love how kids of divorce really have the market cornered on family dysfunction. But let me share with you a typical Thanksgiving at the Turk household: It starts with my mother yelling at my sister for yelling at my grandmother who's yelling at the television screen, which happens to be the microwave. And then my militant brother Jabari - formerly Bob - gives my father attitude for using the word black, even though he's referring to the turkey. Which, by the way, only got burnt because instead of turning the oven off, my bi-polar aunt Leslie tried to shove her head in it. But you know what we do? We kiss... and we hug... and we apologize for all the things we said... 'Cause a month later, we gonna get together and do it again at Christmas!"

J.D.'s Black Best Friend, who J.D. has known since they were roommates in college, and Carla's husband. He's a very skilled surgeon, to the point where he often believes that he's unmatched. His attitude does come across as a typical jock, but he takes his work seriously and he gets to know his patients well. He loves basketball, video games, using slang, and making sweet love with his wife.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Bald of Awesome: In one episode, Turk confesses to a patient that he shaves his head because he's going bald.
  • Black Best Friend: Subverted in the later seasons, where he's nearly as much of a geek as J.D. is.
  • Catch Phrase: "That's what I'm talkin' about!"
  • Character Development: Turk is probably the only character to remain consistent throughout the entire series. His main development was in becoming noticeably more responsible thanks to having to cope with his diabetes, being married to Carla, and becoming a father. He doesn't have nearly the same level of character arc that J.D., Elliot or even Dr. Cox have.
  • Embarrassing Middle Name: When the Todd finds out that Turk's middle name is Duncan, J.D. claims it's because Turk's dad loved donuts.
  • Hot-Blooded
  • I Know Mortal Kombat: Actually Truth in Television. Studies have shown that surgeons who play video games improve their reaction times and dexterity.
  • I Shall Taunt You: If Turk wins a bet or an argument, he will dance in your face.
  • Jerk Jock: The first impression of him from co-workers which is, of course, wrong.
  • My Name Is Not Durwood: Kelso thinks his name is Turk Turkleton, which is why he calls him Dr. Turkleton all the time. This was revealed after Kelso got really drunk at Turk's wedding.
    • Actually, he does know his name, he just likes Turkleton better.
  • My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That
  • Only Sane Man: When he and J.D. are not being Heterosexual Life Partners.
  • Perma-Stubble: His shaved head has this.
  • Salt and Pepper: With Turk being "Chocolate Bear".
  • Small Name, Big Ego: In the beginning of the series, his confidence outweighed his actual skill, it was humbling to learn that several other surgical interns were actually better than him. In fact, it was only J.D.'s encouragement to spend more time with his patients that put him good enough to get a Surgical Attending position. But by the end, his leadership ability became his greatest asset, nearly everyone in the hospital nominates him to become the new Chief of Surgery.
  • The Spock: No matter how often he appears to care about his patients, he'll still say he works better without emotion or attachment.
  • Surfer Dude: Probably the first impression one gets from him.
  • The Watson: Sometimes, to J.D.

Percival 'Perry' Ulysses Cox (John C McGinley)

"I did it, I'm a genius, I'm a huge brain in a ribbed-up body, I am Jesus H. Cox M.D..."

J.D.'s mentor (much to his chagrin) and resident doctor of Sacred Heart. He comes across as a typical Dr. Jerk with a huge ego to match. However, he believes his hard teachings mold interns to competent doctors and he cares more about treating patients that deserve help rather than the budget of the hospital. He has a tendency to rant on about anything that ticks him off even slightly.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • The Alcoholic: It's a major part of his character that he does drink a lot. It really comes to the forefront in "My Fallen Idol".
  • Alcoholic Parent: His father was this and often took it out on him and his sister. It was so bad that it's difficult for Cox to be around his sister because it reminds him of those experiences.
  • Anti-Hero: Type III.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: Delivered by J.D. when Cox is talking to Ben at the event.

"Where do you think we are?"

Dr. Cox: Hey, girl's name!
J.D.: What?
Dr. Cox: Gimme a break, I got a lot on my mind, Ellen--oh! Look at that, I bounced back.

Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes)

"Well, you're a surgeon. So, you've got the god-complex, the cockiness, the whole "married to the job" thing. You're cute, but you're very, very aware of it. You have no idea what I'm like, so all of your feelings for me are coming from down there [points at his crotch]. But most of all, I'm looking for the real thing; and you're nothing but a little boy who's not used to being told "no." So there's a bunch of reasons. Pick your favorite."

She's the Spicy Latina who's the resident nurse of Sacred Heart and wife of Turk. Carla molded J.D. and Elliot over the years with her tendency to be there for them, which has resulted in their friendship. She can be rather hotheaded to people and feel like her friends are overwhelming her with her quirks, but she cares about them and it shows.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Robert Kelso (Ken Jenkins)

"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 name!"

The Chief of Staff of Sacred Heart, Kelso is a snide and grumpy old man who allows improper practices and makes strict rules for the sake of the hospital's budget. However, he does show some care to certain people, even if it's extremely rare and his decisions in the hospital aren't always easy to make for him.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Badass
  • Bad Boss
  • Big Eater: To a realistic degree.
  • Break the Cutie: To Elliot, until Cox literally punches him out of it. Probably his biggest Kick the Dog moment.
  • Dirty Old Man
  • Dr. Jerk
  • Flanderization: His goofiness.
  • For the Lulz: When he switches a cup of decaf for regular that Turk was going to give to Carla, he remarks as he leaves "What a fun day."
  • Jerkass: He cheats on his wife and keeps her doped up on anti-depressants, openly dislikes his gay son, and treats his staff like crap.
    • Hidden Heart of Gold/Jerkass Facade: Sort of. He's not above being a Jerkass to those that work for him. However, decisions that can harm some patients and simultaneously benefit the hospital take a toll on him -- even though he doesn't let anyone else see it. He also revealed that he's well-aware of the staff treating patients without insurance, but pretended not to notice. And although he does seem to really have a bad relationship with his wife, he does care deeply for his son, remaining connected and offering advice, even at one point seeing if J.D. was free to date his son.
      • He has a good relationship with his wife too (more or less). It's hinted she is his college sweetheart, and when she dies in the ninth season he reveals that he's taking longer hours at the hospital purely because he doesn't like going home to an empty house. Given how open he is with everyone else about his infidelity, it might be reasonably speculated that she knows and is okay with it, since in the end the two are still married after all those years (not to mention, the anti-depressants are designed purely to kill her own out-of-control sex drive). His treatment of Edith is mostly Played for Laughs, but read between the lines and its clear he cares about her.
    • In his Day in the Limelight episode, he specifically states in his narration that he often takes on the role of the Jerkass to unite the staff. When he temporarily drops it, the entire staff is torn apart, nearly killing a patient who he cares deeply about.
      • He also has a group of Morality Pets with his gardener's family.
        • On the other hand, the only reason he stopped being a Jerkass... was because he was taking less hours, and he's STILL not a nice person... he's more a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk, then the latter.
  • Kick the Dog: Pretty much any scene he appears in with Ted to the point that while everyone else tries to save Kelso's job Ted is absolutely elated when he retires.
    • Pet the Dog: Though when he retires Kelso tells Ted "Thanks for everything" and when he eventually leaves the hospital makes sure to give Ted a fond farewell.
  • Manipulative Bastard
  • Mean Boss
  • Mentor Archetype: In late Season 7 and throughout Season 8, after retiring he is able to drop the "mean bureacrat" facade and tap into his years of experience as Chief of Medicine and as a doctor in general to guide the characters. In particular, he helps Dr. Cox with understanding the responsibilities that come with being Chief of Medicine and teaches J.D. that he needed to be what Dr. Cox was to him, a thankless Morality Chain.
  • The Mole: Subverted in the later seasons, where his good core is shown, effectively giving him three layers of personality, like a pie.
  • Put on a Bus: Subverted twice. When he's fired in Season 7, he seemingly leaves the hospital for good; however, Season 8 keeps him as a regular by having him hang around the hospital coffee shop all day. At the end of Season 8, he decides to leave Sacred Heart to become a doctor again else where, even taking his favorite chair from the copy shop with him. Then come Season 9, there's a Time Jump and he takes a teaching job at the new hospital after his wife dies.
  • Race Fetish: For Asian women.
  • Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!

"Write this down, Perry. I'm old, and I honestly don't care what people think about anything I do." (farts) "That was me, folks!"

  • The Stick
  • The Spock: His primary role. He is all to willing to coldly sacrifice individual patients for the good of the hospital. However, its been shown that he really doesn't enjoy it and he gets moments that bring him closer to being The Kirk.
  • Zero-Approval Gambit: He lets himself be hated because it rallies the staff together AGAINST him.

The Janitor (Neil Flynn)

"You seem unhappy. I like that."

The Almighty Janitor who has a dislike of doctors, especially J.D. When he's not tormenting J.D. at every chance he gets, he tells zany stories (which are mostly lies) to the staff and helps out Elliot when he can. He's also insane.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Almighty Janitor: The absolute embodiment of this trope.
  • Badass
  • The Bully
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: In-universe example. In the Season 9 premiere, Turk states that the Janitor didn't know J.D. was leaving the hospital for good. Upon being informed of this, the Janitor just disappeared and no one knows where he went.
  • Death Glare
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: "His Story III". The Janitor feels like he doesn't make a difference in the hospital, but then a paralyzed patient he spent the episode talking to thanks him for treating him as a person and not as an object.
  • Friendly Enemy: With Dr. Cox.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Everything J.D. says to him is taken in the most insulting way possible.
  • Heroic Comedic Sociopath
  • I Just Want to Have Friends: Type B... more or less. He told Elliot that she was the only person on the hospital staff that treated him as a person. Neil Flynn also theorized that the Janitor's pranks were a very odd way of showing overtures of friendship to J.D.
  • Insistant Terminology: It's not a jumpsuit, it's a shirt and pants!
  • Multiple Choice Past
  • No Name Given: Lampshaded and obviously played for laughs. In the Season 8 finale, the Janitor apparently reveals his name to J.D., but as soon as J.D. leaves, someone else walks by and calls the Janitor by a different name. Word of God says the name given to J.D., Glen Matthews, is his actual name.
  • Refuge in Audacity
  • Screwy Squirrel: To J.D.
  • Secret Test of Character: Informs J.D. in the finale that the reason for all his pranks are because J.D. failed one in the Pilot. Turns out the penny in the door fell out of J.D.'s pocket accidentally and the Janitor saw it happen, but punished J.D. because he kept lying about it.

Janitor: It was a test of character. You failed. And you lost out on a wonderful friendship.

Supporting Cast

Todd "The Todd" Quinlin (Robert Maschio)

"I'd like to double her entendre!"

The Todd is a plastic surgeon at Sacred Heart. He loves hitting on women (presumably) for sex and hands for high-fives as well as showing off his physique. He's also a good friend of Turk.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Ted Buckland (Sam Lloyd)

Dr. Maddox: [looking into Ted's briefcase] Hey... How come all you have in there is a smiley face button and a revolver?
Ted: Well one's in case I get sad, and the other is in case I get really sad.

Resident lawyer of Sacred Heart. A lot of bad luck befalls him and he's pretty much awful at his job, enabling him to bellow his trademark "Awwwww...!" He's also the leader of an A Capella band.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Butt Monkey
  • The Cast Showoff: "The Worthless Peons" is Sam Loyd's actual group, "The Blanks". Even outside of that, they make an effort to showcase Ted's very real singing talent.
  • Catch Phrase: As mentioned above, "Awww..." might as well belong to Ted with a copyright attached to it.
  • The Chew Toy
  • Clothes Make the Legend: His suits are almost always cheap and horrible looking.
  • Driven to Suicide: One episode has him standing on a ledge of the hospital and pledging that someday he'll have to courage to jump. He finally jumps at the end of the episode only to have his fall broken by a pile of trash that the Janitor was hiding from Kelso.
  • Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Some episodes show him having an impressive head of hair when he started working at the hospital. On another occasion, he says he went bald at fourteen.
  • Perpetual Frowner: So often smiling actually hurts and it is said that sadness is his default expression.
  • Stealth Hi Bye: Because no one ever expects him to be there.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: Finally gets a girlfriend in Season 8.
    • Too bad its revealed she left him for Hooch in his appearance on Cougar Town.

Jordan Sullivan (Christa Miller)

"If you talk again, I'm going to eat you!"

A member of the board at Sacred Heart Hospital, and Dr. Cox's ex-wife-ish. Saying she has a vindictive personality is putting it mildly.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Ascended Extra: Was originally only supposed to appear in one episode, but due to her popularity (and also perhaps to a small extent due to being married to the creator), she became a recurring character for the rest of the series.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Dr. Cox before getting back together with him, and even with J.D. in her first appearance.
  • Butt Monkey: Everyone is hers, except her children. Usually.
  • Catch Phrase: "For funsies!"
  • Freudian Excuse: Subverted -- She once claimed that her acerbic personality was due to her parents being mean to her, but it turned out she was lying.
  • Hannibal Lecture: Jordan gives on of these to the entire cast at the end of the first season.
  • Happily Married: Inverted; she and Dr. Cox seem to have a much better relationship divorced. Finding out in a later episode that they were still legally married worsened their relationship and they filed for divorce again.
    • While the never actually marry again, season eight puts them on the path to acknowledging they actually love each other and not the childish Slap Slap Kiss they ALWAYS had going on before.
  • Jerkass: Even more so than Dr. Cox.

"There's nothing like looking into someone's eyes and seeing part of them die. Oh! There it goes. Bye bye hope. Bye bye."

Laverne Roberts (Aloma Wright)

"Junior, I don't know what you're doing in my area, but you better be looking for some bandages because you're going to need them when I get through with you."

Head nurse of Sacred Heart (formerly), Laverne is a devout Christian with twice the sass of Carla and a huge love for soap operas.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Death by Irony: She constantly tries to prove Cox wrong and tells him that everything in life happens for a reason, naturally Cox refuses to believe it. Next Day, she is caught in a car accident on the way to work and is put in a coma and subsequently dies.
  • Killed Off for Real
  • Sassy Black Woman
  • Shut UP, Hannibal: Delivers one to Dr. Cox as he wouldn't stop challenging her Christian faith with several rants.

Doug Murphy (Jhonny Kastl)

"They're like my children... my big dead children."

Formerly a resident, he is now the coroner of Sacred Heart. He's a big screw-up and he talks about his love for the job nonchalantly.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: He may be as weird as 99% of the other staff of the hospital and horribly incompetent when trying to treat living patients, but (in part due to killing so many patients) he is an extremely skilled coroner.
  • Dead Baby Comedy: He's killed a lot of patients and that's funny.

Coroner: Have you seen this before?
Doug: Seen it? Upstairs, they call that "a Doug"

  • Determinator: Despite being a nervous wreck, killing a lot of patients and being the only person in the history of Sacred Heart to repeat their third year of residency; Doug never falters in his dedication to try to be a good Doctor. He fails miserably, but its the trying that counts, right?
    • You could theorize he never cracked under pressure like other more confident interns, because that happened so long ago, that being in that state is normal for Doug.
  • Hidden Depths: Originally a one-note failure as a doctor, it's later revealed that he's killed so many patients it makes him easy to identify a cause of death, so he became a top-rate coroner.
  • Nervous Wreck: He's nervous about... everything.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Lollipops.
    • A habit he seems to have picked up from the other coroners. Maybe it helps with the smell.
  • Villainy Discretion Shot
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: He's a horrible doctor, but he wouldn't be out of place as a Medical Examiner on CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Cold Case or any of the other CSI rip-offs.
  • Yuppie Couple

Notable Patients

Mrs. Tanner (Kathryn Joosten)

"Listen, Dr. Dorian, there's not one thing I regret as I lay here right now. I'm ready. I really am."

An old lady who refused to undergo dialysis because she decided she had lived a long and eventful life and wanted to die peacefully.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Jill Tracy (Nicole Sullivan)

"Hey guys, how are you? I'm great! You know me, I'm up, up, up, up, up, and then some fashion Nazi on the E! Network says that pear-shaped people shouldn't wear stripes, and whoosh, guess who's ear-deep in mint-chocolate chip ice cream. Meheehee."'

A recurring patient of the Sacred Hospital. J.D. and Cox found her rather annoying. She passed away in Season 5 due to rabies, which triggered the events of "My Lunch". She's one of the most recurring patients of the series.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Ben Sullivan (Brendan Fraser)

"Pictures capture moments in time. When they're posed, they're not real. You know, I hate that whole, like, "gneen!" thing. That's why, at a party, you'll see me in the bushes with my camera."

Ben Sullivan is Jordan's little brother, and close friend to Dr. Cox. Infamous for taking photographs all of the time. Ends up in Sacred Heart as a patient suffering from leukemia.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:


Back to Scrubs
  1. ↑ meaning "vagina"
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