One of my favorite post-90’s network TV shows is “Scrubs.” The show debuted in the fall of 2001 and I was a fan of the half hour NBC dramedy from the get-go. Quick, smart writing, interesting characters, fun comedic and serious twists made it a must-watch. The series ended in 2010 but these days you can catch reruns every Wednesday on IFC. I DVR it and catch up on some familiar laughs and storylines.
One thing I now notice about “Scrubs” is that over the last twenty years I’ve evolved in my identifying with the lead characters of the show. Aging, maturing and life’s experiences will do that to you. Let me explain.
When “Scrubs” began airing I found myself relating very closely with med-students John ‘J.D.’ Dorian and Chris Turk. These guys were young upstart medical interns with plenty to learn at Sacred Heart, a teaching Hospital. They were immature and goofy but full of promise. In context I was ten years older than these guys but working in big city radio, I was at a low level of maturity and as care free as JD and Turk.
Fast forward ten years and as ‘Scrubs’ left the air there were still the reruns to enjoy. I was now a certified teacher, closing in on age fifty and found myself aligning with Dr. Perry Cox. Dr. Cox was the sarcastic, proficient lead doctor at Sacred Heart Hospital. He was a helpful mentor to JD, Turk, Eliot Reid and often bumped heads with Sacred Heart’s big boss, Chief of Medicine Dr. Bob Kelso. Dr. Cox’s efforts to improve the careers of his younger staff was kind of like me trying to teach my students in class and get them to embrace lifelong learning. Like Dr. Cox I did this with personal passion, dry humor and an occasional tinge of sarcasm.
So now here we are twenty years later in the existence of “Scrubs” and also in my own life. I’m sixty-one, fully functioning with years of experience to share in my work. I’m moving forward as a teacher of students, a hopefully reliable help to younger teachers and a bit of a happy curmudgeon. In other words, I now sometimes identify with the words and ways of Sacred Heart’s Dr. Bob Kelso.
There are no more characters after Dr. Kelso’s age to align with on “Scrubs” so I’m pretty much in a holding pattern with that. One thing to glean from this ‘Scrubs Evolution’ is I’m still learning new things. New ways to teach and help others and maybe even finding a few new revelations about myself. To quote a line from the “Scrubs” TV theme, “I can’t do this all on my own, no I’m no Superman.”
NEXT WEEK: SOME SONGS ABOUT CHEAP SEX.