Analysis of Scrubs' Characters

Although Scrubs (the comedy television series) isn't recognized as a show of moral or life lessons, I feel that the characters in Scrubs really define what we deal with in everyday life. I've been growing up with Scrubs and have been greatly influenced by all of the different episodes and what their underlying meaning is.

My first focus is on JD, the main character. His personality is weak and very self-deprecating, and it's outlined by his constant daydreaming. He provides the keystone for the show, though, because he is essentially the only character that truly feels emotion the way it should be felt. He gets lost in his own thoughts but thrives on the company of others and most of his emotional outcomes are by being with others and having experiences with them. JD's relationship with Dr. Cox outlines a lot of relationships that people experience everyday: the want to be wanted, or the need to be needed. JD imagines an idealistic student-mentor relationship with Dr. Cox but is turned down many a time. When Dr. Cox does give JD attention, JD becomes emotional and a little bit romantic in a non-romantic way...if that makes sense.

The second person that I could analyze is Dr. Cox. He has this authoritarian front that he puts on in order to assert his dominance at Sacred Heart. Not only is his marriage weak, but all of his relationships with the other hospital members is weak as well because of his defiant nature. He becomes so close-minded that no one really reaches him emotionally except Carla, on a rare occassion. Dr. Cox does have his moments of emotional stability, though. Not often does he open up to other members of the hospital, but when he does it's always a very special moment in the show. The most influential moments for Dr. Cox are when he accepts JD's readiness as a doctor and JD's want to be mentored by him.

The third member of the show that has great prominence in the morality of the show is Dr. Reid, or better known as Elliot. She really does define the image of the crazy girlfriend. She has problems with being obsessive compulsive, clingy, and emotionally imbalanced. For the most part, her decisions are based on what others will think, and there is only one moment in the show where she develops individuality, and even after she goes through her "change" she still remains the Elliot Reid that everyone knows her as. She pushes away situations that seem too good to be true, like a lot of girls do. It also doesn't help that JD does the same thing when he becomes too comfortable. Elliot's relationship with JD is clearly meant to be, but because of their character flaws they always have their downfalls.

Scrubs really does stereotype some everyday lives of people, especially if a person if dealing with the struggle of sensitivity vs. insensitivity. All of the characters of the show have their own places, but I think JD, Dr. Cox, and Elliot really have the most prominent of personalities. The show means a lot to me, especially as more than a comedy, and I find both comedic pleasure and life-fulfilling pleasure in watching the show because I feel I'm getting a little piece of info about life that I wouldn't have gotten not having watched Scrubs.