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Hey, from now on, your name is Scooter. It's short for Scooter Pie. I hate Scooter Pies.Janitor

"My Nickname" is the tenth episode of Scrubs' first season. Carla and J.D. have difficulties in their friendship when J.D. becomes more medically knowledgeable than her. Dr. Cox and Elliot cope with a hyper patient, Jill Tracy (Nicole Sullivan). Dr. Kelso and Turk argue over who should get to sit on a bench.

Synopsis[]

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Dr. Kelso and Turk on the bench

J.D. and Carla's friendship comes to a critical point when his medical knowledge surpasses her experience. J.D. is nervous that Carla will be upset. After having a bad experience with a patient, Dr. Cox uses J.D. as his personal punching bag. J.D. talks with Carla about how it hurt his feelings, and later, Carla yells at Dr. Cox for hurting "Bambi". After this, Dr. Cox makes J.D. look like a fool in front of a lot of people for complaining to Carla. J.D. then yells at Carla for calling him Bambi. After she accepts his apology, they continue with their plans to visit a photography exhibit. On the way there, J.D. makes a joke about not attending college, and Carla gets upset. In the rain, she explains that she's tired of interns outgrowing her, and that J.D. is the first intern to make her feel bad about what she does. The next day at the hospital, J.D. attempts to rebuild their relationship and comes to terms with her calling him Bambi.

Dr. Cox is assigned a new patient with Elliot. The patient, Jill Tracy, is hyper even after taking two Valium. When Dr. Cox finds there is nothing wrong with her, he orders Elliot to discharge her as soon as possible. Elliot feels bad that Jill leads such a stressful life and tells her that she can stay at Sacred Heart over the weekend. When Dr. Cox finds out, he gets upset, but ultimately teaches Elliot that everyone needs a break sometimes.

Meanwhile, Turk and Dr. Kelso are fighting their own battle. A bench located by the parking lot of Sacred Heart is a place where Turk finds solace from a busy day. He eats his lunch here. However, Dr. Kelso intimidates him off the bench. In the end, Turk proves he wants that comfort by eating on the bench in the rain, and Dr. Kelso secretly admires him for this.

Recurring themes[]

     More: FantasiesFlashbacksJ.D.'s girl namesJanitor's pranks and lies

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Cox prepares to box J.D.

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J.D. as a punching bag.

Fantasies[]

  • When Turk and J.D. sit on the bench by the parking lot, they see a beautiful beach.
  • Time freezes as J.D. waits for Carla to react to his correction of her opinion.
  • J.D. is literally a punching bag, and Dr. Cox beats him furiously.
  • A heart-rate monitor replays Dr. Cox humiliating J.D.

Janitor story[]

J.D. tells Janitor that he wants one day without them arguing. Janitor then tells him that he wants is to give J.D. a nickname. After some failed attempts (Whiny Face, Whiny Britches, Whiny Dancer), he chooses "Scooter", which is short for "Scooter Pie". Dr. Cox calls J.D. "Scooter" at the end of the day, and Janitor dances for joy.

J.D.'s girl names[]

  • Janet
OK, Janet, but did you go ahead and fix your beeper so it doesn't play that annoying song every single time you get paged?Dr. Cox

  • Ginger
Oh, and Ginger, by the way, just a real smooth move running to your mommy.Dr. Cox

  • Dr. Cox also refers to J.D. as Carla's daughter.

Guest Stars[]

Music[]

     List of music featured in Scrubs

  • "Heard Ya Talkin" by Jeremy Kay
  • "On Fire" by Sebadoh

Quotes[]

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The bench takes them to the beach.

Did I scare Michael off?Jill Tracy

No, not if he likes a big fat cup of crazy!Dr. Cox
OK, think of what little patience I have as, oh, I don't know — your virginity. You always thought it'd be there, until that night junior year when you were feeling a little down about yourself, and your pal Kevin, who just wanted to be friends — well, he dropped by, and he brought a copy of About Last Night and a four-pack of Bartles & Jaymes, and ba-dow! It was gone forever! Just like my patience is now.Dr. Cox


Uh, I'd like to issue a warning to everybody, and I'm dead serious: F.Y.I., J.D.'s mommy has made it perfectly clear that she doesn't want her daughter picked on anymore. Nothing mean, she's a precious flower and we should all be super nice to her.Dr. Cox


1x10janitordrill

Janitor threatens J.D. with a drill.

My name is not Bambi!J.D.

Yeah, it's Scooter!Janitor

Trivia/Goofs[]

  • Carla states she never attended college; however, this cannot be true as registered nurses in the United States are required to complete an accredited nursing school, receive at least an Associate Degree, and pass a national certification exam.
  • J.D. gets eight nicknames in this episode: Whiny Face, Whiny Britches, Whiny Dancer, Scooter Pie, Scooter, Janet, Ginger, and Bambi.
  • At 11:33 minutes into the episode, when Turk walks into the room, a hand can be seen at the bottom of the screen, holding the door.
  • Janitor gives J.D. the nickname "Scooter", which Dr. Cox uses at the end of the episode. However, he couldn't have learned it, because the Janitor was meant to only interact with J.D. in the first season (as he was possibly going to be a figment of J.D.'s imagination).
    • One explanation could be that it is coincidence. Another could be that it is a reference to the Muppet of the same name.

However, as Scrubs was renewed after its first season and thus the Janitor wasn't a figment of J.D.'s imagination after all, all instances of the Janitor interacting with other characters than J.D. retroactively make perfect sense in the show's continuity.

1x10monitor

J.D. and Cox appear on the monitor.

  • A Scooter Pie is a variation of the more commonly known "Moon Pie" consisting of a layer of marshmallow sandwiched between two graham-like crackers and covered in chocolate. They were named after NY Yankees shortstop Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto.
  • Dr. Kelso claims that he has eaten lunch on the bench every day at 12:30 for the last 23 years, but this is the only episode in which he eats on the bench, and he is often seen in the cafeteria during lunch. He also wasn't sitting on the bench the first day Turk sat there.
  • One of the things Dr. Cox quizzes about J.D. is whether he completed his SOAP notes. These are a record-keeping method used in a variety of medical fields (human, veterinary, etc.) to document interactions between patients and caregivers. SOAP is an acronym for Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan.
  • When Dr. Cox says "...and he brought a copy of About Last Night and a four-pack of Bartles & Jaymes", he is referring to About Last Night, a 1986 romantic comedy, and Bartles & Jaymes, a flavored wine cooler and malt beverage.
  • When J.D. and Turk talk about Rerun and do the Rerun dance, they are referring to the 1970s ABC comedy What's Happening!!.

Title explanation[]

J.D. gets a new nickname (Scooter) from Janitor.


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