Recurring gags

J.D.'s love for unicorns is a recurring gag. ("My Best Friend's Baby's Baby and My Baby's Baby")

There are multiple recurring gags incorporated into Scrubs. They are used to characterize individuals, or to allow the audience to easily understand situations. They are also used as a form of irony because the audience can remember similar situations and how they ended.

A prime example of a recurring gag is Dr. Cox's rants. He is known by the audience and by the staff of Sacred Heart for giving lengthy rants. Many characters will acknowledge that he is about to go off on a rant, or ask him to skip the rant. Sometimes he is even mocked for his rants. Dramatic irony can be induced when the audience or a character expects a rant, but Dr. Cox does not give one. Even some particular rants are recycled word-for-word.

Examples

• Appletini
• Banana hammocks
• Janitor's obsession with taxidermy
• J.D.'s obsession with unicorns
• Dr. Cox's rants
• Janitor's temporary jobs
• Elliot's family-centric tangents that usually end with death
• Characters commenting on J.D.'s habit to fantasize
• J.D.'s girl names
• The Todd's high-fives
• The song "Guy Love"
• J.D.'s and Elliot's on-and-off relationship
• Todd's insistent innuendos
• J.D. and Turk in college
• Pratfalls
• Janitor's alter egos
• Ted's lack of knowledge about law
• Turk's dancing
• J.D.'s incomprehension of sports
• Super speed
• Thongs
• Fictional medicines and drugs