- “A hospital can sometimes feel like a magical place, where people's hopes and dreams are often far from ordinary. Whether they're looking for brains... a heart... or courage. As for me, I was just gonna keep on following that yellow line... and hope I'd eventually get back home.”— J.D.
"My Way Home" is the seventh episode of Scrubs' fifth season, and the series' 100th episode overall. It was written by Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan and directed by Zach Braff. It originally aired on January 24, 2006 on NBC.
The episode pays tribute to the iconic film The Wizard of Oz when J.D. is called into the hospital on his day off and attempts to leave to get back home à la Dorothy, while his friends overcome with their own issues with intelligence, courage, and heart.
Synopsis[]
J.D. relaxes at Elliot's apartment.
Elliot and Dr. Cox face off.
On his day off, J.D. gets called into work by Keith. It turns out that Dr. Cox told Keith to call J.D. to let him see what it's like to be pestered over little things. Laverne's Gospel choir is also present, singing a song called "Payback is a Bitch". J.D. tries to sneak out the hospital to resume his day of leisure, but is caught by Dr. Kelso who wants him to revise an intern schedule. He does so, and once again tries to leave the hospital but is paged by Keith, this time for an urgent matter: a patient sneezed and their post-surgical staples popped out. J.D. continues to try and leave but is pulled aside by Turk and Elliot as they try to solve their own problems. Elliot is basking in the warmth of being seen as a Endocrinology expert to her interns, but in reality she is hiding notes, books, and pages around the hospital with the answers on them. After a rather impressive response diagnosis Dr. Cox realizes something is afoot. He finds her jacket with notes taped inside and signs her up to give a Q&A on Endocrinology that evening. She freaks out and asks J.D. for help. While helping her, he makes Elliot realize that she has been memorizing the information from her notes, meaning she had the 'brains' all along.
Turk and the other surgeons attempt to woo Kelso
Turk and the other surgeons attempt to bribe Dr. Kelso to give them a shot to perform Sacred Heart's first ever heart transplant. Dr Kelso decides that whichever surgeon convinces the Bolger family to take their brain dead son off life support will get to perform the surgery. Turk attempts to lie to Mr. Bolger, but ends up making too obtuse of a lie to be believed. J.D. tells him to be honest and he returns and tells Mr. Bolger that even if he doesn't want Turk performing the surgery that donating his sons' organs is the right thing to do. Later, Turk finds out from Kelso that Mr. Bolger's son agreed to accept his son's wishes and donate his organs, with Turk as the surgeon. Kelso then reveals that Bolger's son carried a donor card meaning Turk had the 'heart' all along.
Jack paints himself green.
Meanwhile, Carla jumps at the opportunity to look after Dr. Cox's young son Jack as she is looking forward to having a child with Turk. Jordan returns to her office for some peace and quiet, but the thermostat and doorknob break and she is trapped inside, making her sweat profusely and her silicone lips swell. After dealing with Jack for a while, Carla tires of the responsibility and starts to stress out about having children. She leaves him in the care of Janitor. When Perry comes looking for his son, Carla and him find Janitor has allowed Jack to paint himself green. Carla apologizes, revealing that she couldn't handle the stress of the details of being a parent. Perry tells her that he or Jordan normally hate children, but it's different with Jack as he is their child just as it'll be different for Carla with hers. Carla realizes that she had the 'courage' all along.
As the episode ends, while The Worthless Peons practice 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' the staff put their newfound gifts to good use; Elliot expertly chairs the Q&A, Turk performs the heart transplant and Carla plays with Jack. As for JD, he finally gets his wish and is allowed to go home.
Recurring Themes[]
Turk knocks over all the cribs.
Fantasies[]
- Turk is in the Sacred Heart nursery, and picks up his baby from the bassinet, but knocks over whole row of bassinets with babies in.
- When Carla says "There's a monkey at the zoo who can do that. I mean, you know, when he's not playing with himself", J.D. pauses before he responds, and tilts his head as if he is going into an unseen fantasy.
Janitor Story[]
Janitor and J.D. talk about Julian, a manatee that lives in a secret network of tunnels under Sacred Heart. The Janitor paints yellow lines down the hospital corridors to show the exits, and blue, green, and red lines point to other important areas of the hospital. He is also given Jack Cox by Carla and is forced to look over him, but lets him play with the green paint, so he ends up looking like the Hulk.
J.D.'s Girl's Name[]
- Dorothy, used by Perry Cox as a reference to the Wizard of Oz character.
Wizard of Oz References[]
J.D.'s red shoes.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
This episode is notable for integrating many references to the Wizard of Oz, including:
- The plot concerns four of the main characters searching for the same things for which the four characters of the Wizard of Oz were searching. Carla is searching for the courage to be a parent, Elliot was searching for the brains to give a lecture on endocrinology, Turk was searching for a heart to be used in a heart transplant, and J.D. simply wanted to find his way home.
- The characters follow a yellow line on the hospital floor, an allusion to the Yellow Brick Road.
- When the episode begins, J.D. is listening to a band named Toto, which is the same name as the dog in the Wizard of Oz. At one of the points where J.D. fails to leave the hospital, he exclaims "Toto and I are going home!"
- At a point when Carla encounters Dr. Cox, he is standing behind a curtain and is visible only as a silhouette. He says, in a mysteriously booming voice, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." This is similar to the scene in the Wizard of Oz when the Wizard was revealed to be merely an ordinary man.
- Dr. Cox makes multiple references:
- He refers to J.D. as "Dorothy".
- He refers to Jordan as the "wicked witch of the east wing."
- He refers to Elliot as "straw haired scarecrow".
- Jordan reenacts the wicked witch's "I am melting!" scene when her office gets too hot and the silicone in her body expands.
- The Janitor spray-paints J.D.'s shoes red, an allusion to the ruby slippers.
- The brain-dead patient who provides the heart for the heart transplant is named Ray Bolger, the same name as the actor who played the Scarecrow in the film.
- The patient that J.D. is paged in to see at the start of the episode is Mr. Fleming (the majority of the Wizard of Oz film was directed by Victor Fleming).
- The patient that Elliot discusses with her interns is Mr. Baum (L. Frank Baum wrote the original novel).
- The man Dr. Cox misdiagnoses is Mr. Langley (Noel Langley wrote the screenplay).
- The psychiatrist who hangs himself before the lecture is Dr. Burke (Billie Burke played the Good witch of the North).
- The Worthless Peons sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "We're Off to See the Wizard."
- From the point where the yellow line on the hospital floor is visualized as a yellow brick road, the rest of the episode is shot in a highly saturated, bright and colorful way, similar to the 'Technicolor' process of the period in which The Wizard of Oz was filmed.
- At one point the janitor, with a screwdriver in his mouth, asks Carla for the oil can in a way similar to the rusted tin man.
- At one point, The Todd is explaining his visit to the zoo, and how he saw 'Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!'. This is the line the Wizard of Oz characters sing as they walk through the forest.
- Jack paints himself green, making him resemble a munchkin living in the Emerald City given his short stature and the color of his clothes.
Guest Stars[]
- Philip McNivenas as Roy
- George Miserlis as Crispin
- Paul Perry as Randall
- Rene Hall as Intern
- David Downs as Mr. Bolger
- Dylan Bell as Kid
- Scott Rabideau as Another Intern
- India King as Elliot's Intern (uncredited)
Music[]
♫ List of music featured in Scrubs
- "Africa" by Toto
- "Maniac" by Michael Sembello (performed by The Blanks)
- "We're Off to See the Wizard" by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg (performed by The Blanks)
- "Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (performed by The Blanks)
Quotes[]
Laverne's choir sings "Payback is a bitch"
- “You don't understand. I didn't dump him on the Janitor because I was busy. I dumped him on him because he was working my last nerve and I wanted to smoosh his face.”— Carla
A Kelso bobble-head.
- “J.D., I have to admit this to somebody: I don't like kids!”— Carla
- “What are you talking about? You're the most maternal person I know.”— J.D.
- “What are you talking about? You're the most maternal person I know.”— J.D.
- “Well, I'm a nurse, J.D. I'm trained to fake it!”
- “No!”— J.D.
- “I shmeared it on a bagel”— J.D.'s Narration
- “I shmeared it on a bagel”— J.D.'s Narration
- “No!”— J.D.
- “How's that different from leaving him with you?”— Carla
- “How's that different from leaving him with you?”— Carla
- “I have freckles.”
Dr. Cox reveals that he discovered Elliot's secret.
- “Hey you, Where's my son?”— Dr. Cox
- “Oh, he's playing with the birds out on the ledge.”— Janitor
- “Oh, he's playing with the birds out on the ledge.”— Janitor
- “What?”
- “I'm kidding, come on. He's green.”
- “I'm kidding, come on. He's green.”
- “Well, why don't I just tell you what happened: Uncle Phillip gets Webster the dog despite George and Ma'am's objections. It was a good one.”— Dr. Kelso
- “Well, why don't I just tell you what happened: Uncle Phillip gets Webster the dog despite George and Ma'am's objections. It was a good one.”— Dr. Kelso
[Doug starts hitting J.D., who is in a body bag, with a fire extinguisher]
- “OW! OWWWW! OW!!!! DOUG! Why are you hitting me!?!?”— J.D.
- “'Cause I thought you were a dead guy coming back to life!”— Doug
- “'Cause I thought you were a dead guy coming back to life!”— Doug
- “Then why were you hitting me?!”
- “Dead people should be dead!”
- “Dead people should be dead!”
- “Look at me and Jordan. Y'know how we hate everyone? Well, that goes double for children. It's true. They're loud, you can't understand them... They're like tiny cab drivers.”— Dr. Cox
Extended DVD Version[]
Janitor lures J.D. through a creepy green closet.
The choir scene is altered in the extended DVD version.
Jordan's silicone lips swell.
A special feature on The Complete Fifth Season DVD is an extended edition of this episode which includes 10 additional minutes of footage, available on Disc 3. Some differences in this DVD episode are:
- In the opening scene in the bathroom, J.D. comments on Elliot's curling utensils and has an extra line showing he's annoyed as he's always paged when eating.
- The Janitor initially does not get J.D.'s sneakers, but lures him into a trap and gets his sneakers anyway.
- J.D. high-fives Todd without knowing what he's high-fiving, and Carla is disgusted by what J.D. high-fived, as he high-fived sex with first cousins: the Todd states that he is going to a family reunion next month and he's "going for it".
- Dr. Cox goes into more detail about the annoying things J.D. paged him for when he was an intern.
- Laverne and the choir's "Payback is a Bitch" song is sung differently, as both J.D. and Keith dance along instead of just Keith in the aired version.
- J.D. has a longer monologue the first time he tries to leave the hospital behind the rotund guy.
- J.D. comments on his fantasy of Turk knocking over the bassinets.
- Turk laughs longer when Jordan admits to fantasizing about Rudy Giuliani. Following her fantasy, Carla's hair is messed up as she fantasizes about him and Turk reminds her that they are Democrats.
- Dr. Cox has a longer rant when J.D. high-fives Elliot.
- J.D. smeared the mango body butter on focaccia (not a bagel as mentioned in the aired version).
- Dr. Kelso has some extended lines, explaining hospital staff did not find a donor card so the surgical residents therefore must convince the family to donate. He also has a staring contest with the inflatable doll Todd gives him, naming her "Ming Lee".
- Ted annoys J.D. more as he tries to close the man's chest. He reveals his band is not called the Worthless Peons any more, they were sued by a Dutch metal band. They're called Foghat now.
- Ted's band sings "Maniac" for longer, showing more scenes of Elliot hiding text in various places.
- Elliot takes another mental picture of Dr. Cox (with "red eye reducts" [sic]). As he leaves, he accidentally dislodges a piece of text Elliot has hidden without noticing, Elliot quickly picks it up and walks away.
- Turk actually reveals to the Bolgers that their son did not wake up (instead of them not unsure about donation and Turk lying about his kidney donations, this scene appears later and is extended in the DVD version).
- J.D. has another extended monologue as he tries to leave the hospital for the second time.
- The Janitor protests when Carla gives him Jack, explaining that he's "doing lines." The drug rehabilitation session in the room next door has multiple people look into the hallway and the Janitor explains to them again, lines of paint, leaving them all disappointed. A line by Jack states that he wants to do the paint, the Janitor replying he cannot do any worse than he has done.
- An extra scene with all the surgeons at the zoo looking for the Bolgers, but the Todd changes the plan after he hears that a monkey was playing with himself.
- Turk tries to convince the Bolgers to donate later in the episode, and then lies about his own kidney donations, claiming to have "donated" three kidneys as well as receiving kidney transplants.
- J.D. works out Turk's head-shake-sad-walk-away, finding it to be pretty good.
- Turk and Mr. Bolger have a slightly longer conversation, with Turk explaining the implications of this heart transplant to the surgeons at Sacred Heart.
- J.D., trying to be careful what he high-fives, does not high-five the abolition of slavery with an African-American orderly. J.D. also comments about feeling scotch tape when he finds Elliot has taped text to his belly (The line "You are good" replaces this in the aired episode). The same orderly returns after he catches J.D. high-fiving Elliot after she answers his question correctly.
- Jordan's melting scene is extended.
Trivia[]
A frightened Doug.
J.D. hiding in a bodybag.
Production
- The ukulele-accompanied arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" sung by The Worthless Peons is a version by Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.
- The line that Jack says about wanting to use the Janitor's paint was a genuine reaction from the child actor.
- The final crane shot of the episode was massively technically difficult to shoot.
- This is the 100th episode of Scrubs.
Continuity
- In "My Choosiest Choice of All", the Janitor said that he had problems distinguishing colors. However, in this episode, he didn't seem to have problems. But then again, the Janitor has always been a constant liar.
- After Doug hits J.D. with the "fire extinguisher," he squishes it as he cradles it, revealing it as just a prop.
- At 4:58 in the episode, when J.D. is typing at the computer and says 'Done, and I am out of here.", water droplets can be seen falling down the right side of the screen.
- Dr. Cox refers to Jordan as "The Wicked Witch of the East Wing", but in The Wizard of Oz, it was the Wicked Witch of the West who melted. Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East died when Dorothy's house fell on her.
- Todd's reference to seeing animals at the zoo is a reference to a deleted scene where Laverne sent the surgeons there. However, the scene where Turk asks her to do so remains in the final cut of the episode.
- Dr. Kelso says that Ray Bolger's donated heart will be used for the first Heart transplant at Sacred Heart. J.D. held a human heart during his time in surgical rotation in Season Two's "My Kingdom". When he dropped the heart, he remarked that they were done with that one anyway, thus suggesting that this is not Sacred Heart's first heart transplant.
Images[]
