"My Lucky Day" is the ninth episode of Scrubs' second season. J.D. is riding high after correcting a misdiagnosis by Dr. Cox, but is jerked back to reality when he is unable to explain the death of his next patient. Elliot is struggling personally and professionally as she is forced to relinquish all of the luxuries that her father had been financing. Carla learns that sometimes it is better to keep her opinions to herself.
Synopsis[]
J.D. is trying to amuse the neighbor with Rowdy but is called over to Elliot's place by Carla because Elliot is being cut off financially by her dad and is packing to leave her luxury apartment. While Elliot's life seems to be going downhill, J.D. is feeling that his is going a lot better when he proves Dr. Cox wrong about a diagnosis after watching a medical TV special on the illness and is praised by Dr. Kelso for making "a one-in-a-million diagnosis." He decides this event is his third best moment in his life (after meeting and performing a magic trick with David Copperfield.)
A nurse asks J.D. to sign her breasts
Meanwhile, Carla is told by Turk that she has a bad habit of telling others how to live their life when they don't want to know but she doesn't believe him. Laverne finds two patients with identical illnesses and symptoms so she gives one to J.D. and the other to Dr. Cox who wants to prove that J.D.'s success was a fluke and that often the end result is up to luck. Meanwhile, Carla tells Dr. Cox that he shouldn't get back together with Jordan, but Carla is then confronted by Turk and Jordan about how she shouldn't meddle in other people's business.
Elliot's financial problems get even worse when a patient who got his cancer cured announces he is suing her for wrongly predicting his life expectancy. J.D. finds out that Dr. Cox is doing the exact same as him with his patient, but also finds out not soon afterwards that his own patient has died while Dr. Cox's is still okay. In the end, Elliot finds she has to face her lawsuit with confidence as many doctors are sued, Carla and Turk realize they both need to put up with Carla's habit and J.D. is told by Dr. Cox that it was all down to luck: it was lucky that J.D. watched the medical special but just unlucky that his patient died. Dr. Cox also tells him that he was looking over J.D.'s shoulder the whole time.
Recurring Themes[]
More: Fantasies • Flashbacks • J.D.'s girl names • Janitor's pranks and lies
Fantasies[]
- As J.D. enters the hospital, everybody congratulates him. Nurse Lauren Halston asks him to sign her breasts.
J.D.'s birthday
Flashbacks[]
- J.D. meets David Copperfield at a bar.
- While with David Copperfield, J.D. does a magic trick so a coin appears from David's ear, who takes the coin and makes it disappear.
- Sam Dorian gives J.D. a bicycle bell for a present, telling him he'll get a new part every year. J.D. is still waiting for the kickstand
- Elliot discusses the lawsuit with, antagonizes, and admits fault to Mr. Bragin
J.D.'s Girls Names[]
- Britney, used by Perry Cox.
- “Look, Britney, recently I made the potentially fatal mistake of getting back together with my ex-wife who, angel that she is, is carrying the spawn of another man's seed.”— Dr. Cox
- Shakira, used by Perry Cox.
- Eunice, used by Perry Cox.
- “You know, Eunice, you never even woulda made that catch if you weren't such an all-purpose nerd, sitting home alone on a Saturday night, watching some medical special on TV!”— Dr. Cox
- Carol, used by Perry Cox.
- Murder she wrote, used by Perry Cox.
Guest Stars[]
- David Copperfield as Himself
- Alan Ruck as Mr. Bragin
- Biff Yeager as Dr. Walch
- Cody Estes as Young J.D.
- Deonté Gordon as Mark the Orderly
- Julie Hudson as Dr. Ginny Gerson
- Richard Livingston as Dad
- Donald Sage Mackay as Dr. Page
- Lindsey Stoddart as Nurse Lauren Halston
- John Ritter as Sam Dorian
- David Blue as Medical Intern (uncredited)
Music[]
♫ List of music featured in Scrubs
- "Under Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen
Quotes[]
- “I certainly hope so, otherwise that autopsy's gonna be a bitch.”— Dr. Kelso
- “I certainly hope so, otherwise that autopsy's gonna be a bitch.”— Dr. Kelso
- “Please. I know all there is to know about thrombotic... thrombo... cyto-cytop-top-top-top...toppee-toppee-”— J.D.
- “Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.”— Laverne
- “Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.”— Laverne
- “Yeah. They're called breasts.”
- “I-I know... I'm a doctor.”— J.D.
- “I-I know... I'm a doctor.”— J.D.
- “Anyhoo, point being, uh, they said it was very easy to confuse, uh, cellulitis with chompers... Chompers was the-the animated flesh-eating bacteria that-that narrated the special”— J.D.
- “Now, you went to four years of college and four years of medical school, so I can safely presume that you are at least eight.”— Dr. Kelso to Elliot
- “No! I didn't say anything that wasn't true!”— Carla
- “No! I didn't say anything that wasn't true!”— Carla
Trivia[]
Production
- On the version of the Season 2 DVD tailored to the American NTSC format (both the version in the box set and the one released prior to that), a mortician is missing his line ("not great"), and so does Ted ("or admit fault"). No footage is cut, and the mortician's lips can be seen clearly moving as he got his own shot dedicated to the line. Both the lines appear in the European PAL-release.
- Alan Ruck is the second star from Spin City to appear on Scrubs.
- The Janitor did not appear in this episode - possibly because J.D.'s day was lucky enough that he didn't appear. However, Neil Flynn is still credited.
- The set where J.D. receives his birthday present as a child is the 8 Simple Rules set where John Ritter, who plays J.D.'s dad, is one of the main characters.
- J.D. and Dr. Cox are both given patients with Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) just after J.D. describes patients as snowflakes, in which no two are alike. TTP is an extremely rare blood disease affecting around only 5 people per million, per year, and in reality the odds of two patients both being treated at the same time at the same hospital are astronomical.
- On his name placard in his office, it is revealed that Ted's full name is Ted Buckland, likely named after Scrubs producer Marc Buckland.
References
- The yellow can that Turk has on his tray in the cafeteria is "Cocio", a danish chocolate drink.
- When Dr. Cox calls J.D. "Murder, she wrote" after his patient dies, he is referencing the murder-mystery TV series that ran from 1984-1996.
- Turk saying "Talk about a deluxe apartment in the sky!" is a reference to the theme song of The Jeffersons, one of Turk's favorite shows.
Continuity
- When Dr. Cox is dividing up the two TTP patients, he is holding two clipboards, one with a white label and all three sections written out, and one with a blue label with only the first two filled out. When he throws one at J.D., he throws the blue one, and keeps the white one for himself, but in the next shot, Dr. Cox is holding the blue one instead of the white one, and in the next shot, J.D. has the blue one again.
- Dr. Kelso says that the diagnosis that J.D. made was a one in a million diagnosis. However, two episodes before in "My First Step" Elliot's patient dies on the operating table from the same disease, which is known by Dr. Cox.
- J.D. is unable to pronounce Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, but later prounounces it perfectly in "His Story II".