- “Bottom line: We'll be bestest friends foreverest if you just keep your face out of my face.”— Dr. Cox
"My Fifteen Seconds" is the seventh episode of Scrubs' third season. J.D. begins spending more time with Dr. Cox outside the hospital. Everyone takes advantage of Dr. Kelso when he goes temporarily deaf from the new cheap stethoscopes at the hospital. Elliot and Carla argue over who is better at making decisions for patients.
Synopsis[]
J.D. and Danni grow closer
Since learning that Danni Sullivan is Jordan's sister, J.D. has been spending more time with Dr. Cox outside of the hospital on double dates. The extra tension carries into the hospital with their new patient Jill Tracy who has been admitted due to unexplained pesticides in her digestive system. Given her manic personality and their busy schedules, the doctors unwittingly only allocate fifteen seconds per visit. After extensive tests, they can't figure out how the pesticides got into her system and discharge her.
Meanwhile, Ted speaks to Dr. Kelso about complaints that the new stethoscopes are too tight. Dr. Kelso tries them on and his eardrums are damaged, causing him to hear nothing but a distant mumble when someone talks to him. He decides to keep it a secret and tacitly approves the Janitor's request to take over duties on the loudspeaker system. Throughout the day Janitor is heard using the system making ridiculous pages. Dr. Kelso then tells Turk about his ears, hoping that Turk will fix them for him and not tell anyone but Turk can't help himself and tells the entire hospital staff that they can say whatever they want to Dr. Kelso as long as they smile. As Dr. Kelso walks past, everyone swears at him with a smile on their face, and Kelso thanks them for the "kind words".
Meanwhile, Elliot and Carla disagree over what drug to give a patient but Carla presses and eventually gets her way. However, the patient has a bad allergic reaction to Carla's suggested drug and almost dies, angering Elliot, who reminds Carla that she outranks her as a doctor. Carla is initially angry but Turk reminds her that the responsibility for keeping a patient alive rests solely on their doctor's shoulders and that while Carla may be guiding Elliot in matters outside the hospital, Elliot is in charge while inside. Carla realizes Turk is right and allows Elliot to take charge at work.
Jill Tracy is back.
When J.D., Dr. Cox, Jordan and Danni are out having a meal, Jordan makes a comment on how she hopes that J.D. and Dr. Cox listen to their patients better than they do her mother. This causes the two of them to simultaneously remember things that Jill had said during their fifteen second conversations; she couldn't pay her rent, her fiancé left her, and she made a point to thank them in case she didn't see them again. The two suddenly realize how Jill was poisoned... she tried to kill herself. They immediately excuse themselves and return to the hospital just as Jill is leaving. They take her back inside now ready to talk to her properly. Dr. Kelso gets his hearing back and hears all the things Ted is shouting at him, as well as the Janitor on the loudspeaker system.
Recurring Themes[]
More: Fantasies • Flashbacks • J.D.'s girl names • Janitor's pranks and lies
"Whac a Newbie"
Fantasies[]
- Carla and Elliot meet at a CHiPs fan convention and encounter Erik Estrada. Turk then reminds J.D. that this actually happened, but to the two of them.
- Dr. Cox is playing "Whack-A-Newbie," whacking J.D.'s head instead of moles.
Janitor story[]
Janitor takes advantage of the PA system after getting permission from Dr. Kelso, who was just pretending to understand what Janitor was saying because of his temporary deafness. These are some of his announcements:
- “Dr. Tushy, you're needed in the OR. Nice name, buddy. Beat up in high school much?”
- “All available medical personnel, please report to the second floor for a catfight. Catfight on the second floor!”
J.D., the Sullivan sisters, and Perry.
- “Dr. Dorian, Dr. Turk is free for his rectal exam. He said you'd know what that means.”
- “A quick note for all my comatose listeners out there: all your lovers have moved on. But, if it's any consolation, my sources tell me they're happy. Well, snooze, you lose.”
J.D. uses a picture to cover his jiblets.
J.D.'s Girl Names[]
- Tammy
- “Look, Tammy, as far as your love life goes, normally, I couldn't care less who's laying your quivering body down by the fire while your lips whisper "no, no, no" but your eyes scream "yes, yes, oh big daddy yes!" But when you're dating Jordan's sissypoo, it forces me to spend time with you outside of the hospital, and I just won't have that, so here's the deal: don't want to have dinner with you, don't want to go bowling with you, and I never ever again want to walk into my kitchen and hear you say "oh, hey, waffle time, it's waffle time, won't you have some waffles of mine?"”— Dr. Cox
Episode Recurring Gags[]
- Every time Dr. Cox and J.D. enter Jill Tracy's room and speak to her, a 15-second timer appears on screen (hence the name of the episode). When this timer reaches zero, they immediately leave.
Guest Stars[]
Erik Estrada as Himself
- Tara Reid as Danni Sullivan
- Erik Estrada as Himself
- Nicole Sullivan as Jill Tracy
- Patricia Gebhard as Mrs. Koenings
- Kaidy Kuna as Father
- Francesco Curá as Attendant
Music[]
♫ List of music featured in Scrubs
- "Good to Know" by Tim Cullen
- "I've Been Waiting" by Matthew Sweet
- "CHiPs Theme" by John Parker
Quotes[]
At a CHiPs convention, Elliot and Carla meet Erik Estrada.
- “She's awake. Say something romantic.”— J.D.'s narration
- “Do you think this is a good time to start talking about a nickname for my penis? It's just that I — I dated this girl in college who made the decision without consulting me, and then all of a sudden there it was — eighteen straight months of it being called "Little Buddy". And we just didn't like that; not one bit.”— J.D.
- “J.D., I haven't even had coffee yet.”— Danni
- “J.D., I haven't even had coffee yet.”— Danni
- “Ah, you're right, I'm sorry... "Big Al", for example...”— J.D.
- “She's awake. Say something romantic.”— J.D.'s narration
- “Just because Jordan thinks its cute you're violating her little sister, doesn't mean you can use my guest room for your G-Rated nerdy sexcapades!”— Dr. Cox
J.D. and Danni.
- “Bottom line: We'll be bestest friends foreverest if you just keep your face out of my face.”— Dr. Cox
- “Hey, everybody. This place has dynamite lamb.”— J.D.
- “Look, you shoulda told me. But I'm not gonna let things like this mess it up with the guy I'm falling in love with.”— Danni
- “Oh, thank God! Do you wanna get some pineapple pizza?”— J.D.
- “Oh, thank God! Do you wanna get some pineapple pizza?”— J.D.
- “Sir, we've got some complaints that the new discount stethoscopes you ordered are uncomfortably tight. I contacted the manufacturer, but apparently he's decided to focus more on his hand-made smoking paraphernalia.”— Ted
Stuck on a ferris wheel
- “Well, you have done it. It's Friday night, and instead of being at home, drinking whiskey through my son's sippy cup, I'm actually at a carnival with you, surrounded by piles of manure, even though I've yet to see a single animal!”— Dr. Cox
- “Lookit, after shooting my mouth off the other night, I've been feeling a lot of... well...”— Perry
- “Guilt.”— Jordan
- “Guilt.”— Jordan
- “No. Not that.”
- “Guilt?”— J.D.
- “Guilt?”— J.D.
- “Yes, that.”
- “This morning, I asked you to do me a favor involving my mother. What was it?”— Jordan
- “Well... I can only hope that it had something to do with hiring people to kill her?”— Perry
- “Well... I can only hope that it had something to do with hiring people to kill her?”— Perry
Trivia[]
The Todd eggs on a catfight.
- J.D. drinks a beer in this episode but he says in Season Eight's "My Last Words" that he does not like it.
- When Dr. Kelso "punctures his brain", he narrates a line of the episode.
- In this episode, Dr. Cox actually calls J.D. by his real name when he, J.D., Danni and Jordan are on top of the ferris wheel.
Continuity
- The "15 second" theory has some errors in this episode: the first and third "15-second countdown" lasts exactly 15 seconds, while the second lasts 27 seconds and the fourth lasts 25 seconds.
- When J.D. and Danni fall out of the tree you can see the edges of the mat lift when they hit the ground.
- The picture of Dr. Cox that J.D. uses to cover himself with is a Season One promotional image.
References
- J.D. covering his privates with a photograph is reminiscent of John Cleese's in A Fish Called Wanda, a 1988 crime-comedy film, doing the same thing.
- J.D.'s fantasizes Carla and Elliot meeting at a CHiPs convention, where they meet Erik Estrada (played by himself and dressed as "Ponch").
- Dr. Cox calling J.D. Queer Eye is a reference to Queer Eye for a Straight Guy, a show about five gay men making over a straight man.