What the hell are you?
If you don't watch Scrubs, you're missing out on an ingenious comedic drama that deals with human interaction on both a personal and universal level. Watch it. You really have to.
Every episode deals with a number of related subplots. The episode I watched today, "My Lunch," dealt with the problem of appearances. Experience teaches us to expect certain things. Wisdom allows us to recognize when these expectations cannot be depended upon. The main example in the episode was that of an old patient of J.D. and Cox's named Jill Tracy. She was incredibly annoying, and J.D. spent the first part of the episode avoiding her. She died midway through the episode, and traces of cocaine were found in her system. J.D. was led to believe that she had been depressed and had died of an overdose, which is why she had sought attention so desperately at first. Instead, she had died of rabies, and J.D.'s guilt over her death was out of place, as Cox had been trying to tell him.
The best example, and my reason for writing this, is that of "the Todd." Todd is a crass, nymphomanaical surgeon who would probably spend the majority of his workday fighting off sexual harrassment charges if he existed in the real world. Elliot and Carla decide that he must be overcompensating, since he works out heavily, lies about having had sex with female coworkers, waxes his body, and spends much of his time admiring the physique of men's health magazine models. They decide to out him and successfully convince most of the office that he's gay.
Eventually, they confront him about it, and he admits to being gay. Freed from his need to hide the truth from the whole world, he connects with his new female friends, and he becomes their "gay best friend." Soon, however, he begins to make crass, sexual statements toward male coworkers, scaring them away. Elliot and Carla argue that his coming out was supposed to cure him of his need to make such lowbrow comments, and he seeks their comfort and support, explaining that he is having trouble adjusting to this whole "gay thing." Then he shakes his head in their bosoms.
When they react, he admits that his coming out was only an act: "Chicks dig gay dudes." All of the perks he got from his pretense were well-enjoyed. He got to watch Elliot change right in front of him, and she only let him do that because she thought he was gay. After making some comments that finally make them run off in shame, Todd walks down a hallway, ogling both the men and the women that he sees. Finally, the Janitor, confused, walks up to him:
Janitor: "What the hell are you?"
Todd: (shrugs and grins) "I'm the Todd."
The fact that he didn't identify his sexual orientation, despite the strong pressure for him to do so, really shows his strength as a character. Apart from that, it was extremely enjoyable to watch Elliot and Carla, who thought-like most people, particularly women, appear to-that Todd being gay made him an entirely different sort of person than he was, made fools of for it.
Every episode deals with a number of related subplots. The episode I watched today, "My Lunch," dealt with the problem of appearances. Experience teaches us to expect certain things. Wisdom allows us to recognize when these expectations cannot be depended upon. The main example in the episode was that of an old patient of J.D. and Cox's named Jill Tracy. She was incredibly annoying, and J.D. spent the first part of the episode avoiding her. She died midway through the episode, and traces of cocaine were found in her system. J.D. was led to believe that she had been depressed and had died of an overdose, which is why she had sought attention so desperately at first. Instead, she had died of rabies, and J.D.'s guilt over her death was out of place, as Cox had been trying to tell him.
The best example, and my reason for writing this, is that of "the Todd." Todd is a crass, nymphomanaical surgeon who would probably spend the majority of his workday fighting off sexual harrassment charges if he existed in the real world. Elliot and Carla decide that he must be overcompensating, since he works out heavily, lies about having had sex with female coworkers, waxes his body, and spends much of his time admiring the physique of men's health magazine models. They decide to out him and successfully convince most of the office that he's gay.
Eventually, they confront him about it, and he admits to being gay. Freed from his need to hide the truth from the whole world, he connects with his new female friends, and he becomes their "gay best friend." Soon, however, he begins to make crass, sexual statements toward male coworkers, scaring them away. Elliot and Carla argue that his coming out was supposed to cure him of his need to make such lowbrow comments, and he seeks their comfort and support, explaining that he is having trouble adjusting to this whole "gay thing." Then he shakes his head in their bosoms.
When they react, he admits that his coming out was only an act: "Chicks dig gay dudes." All of the perks he got from his pretense were well-enjoyed. He got to watch Elliot change right in front of him, and she only let him do that because she thought he was gay. After making some comments that finally make them run off in shame, Todd walks down a hallway, ogling both the men and the women that he sees. Finally, the Janitor, confused, walks up to him:
Janitor: "What the hell are you?"
Todd: (shrugs and grins) "I'm the Todd."
The fact that he didn't identify his sexual orientation, despite the strong pressure for him to do so, really shows his strength as a character. Apart from that, it was extremely enjoyable to watch Elliot and Carla, who thought-like most people, particularly women, appear to-that Todd being gay made him an entirely different sort of person than he was, made fools of for it.