“You gotta get back in the game, Coxie!... Okay, Coxie was a mistake. Pretend I didn't say Coxie.”— J.D.

"My Hero" is the twenty-third episode of Scrubs' first season. Dr. Cox is too scared to be there when Ben undergoes chemotherapy. Dr. Kelso tricks Elliot and Carla into revealing what they really think of him. Turk is annoyed when a Whipple surgery is handed over to his rival surgeon, Bonnie Chang.

Synopsis Edit

Contents 1 Synopsis 1.1 J.D., Dr. Cox, & Ben 1.2 Turk & Bonnie 1.3 Carla, Elliot, & Dr. Kelso 1.4 In the end 2 Recurring Themes 2.1 Fantasies 2.2 Janitor story 2.3 J.D.'s Girl Names 3 Guest Stars 4 Music 5 Quotes 6 Trivia

J.D., Dr. Cox, & BenEdit

J.D. thinks Ben is depressed at learning he has leukemia when he can't find him in his room. He and Jordan find Ben playing with the children in the pediatric ward. But this cheerful bravado was just a front, and later, Jordan, J.D. and Ben are gathered glumly in Ben's hospital room. J.D. thinks they need some help to lift all their spirits. Dr. Cox strides into the room and tells Ben, Jordan and J.D. that if they pull together as a team they can help Ben beat the cancer. Ben's blast levels are dangerously high. Dr. Zeltzer, the oncologist, wants to start Ben on chemotherapy immediately. Ben expects Dr. Cox to be there at his first session, but Dr. Cox excuses himself. Ben is disappointed that Dr. Cox is letting him down. Ben goes through his first chemo session with Jordan by his side. J.D. goes to Dr. Cox's home to confront him for abandoning his patient. Dr. Cox says that Ben isn't a patient from whom he can distance himself, Ben is his friend.

Turk & BonnieEdit

Turk is upset that he didn't get to do the Whipple procedure. Bonnie Chang, Turk's competitive colleague, gets to do the procedure instead. Turk confronts Dr. Wen about the Whipple procedure, and insinuates that Bonnie only got the surgery because she and Dr. Wen are both Asian. Later, Turk apologizes to Dr. Wen who tells Turk that he doesn't have to be the cliche of the competitive surgeon. Turk, in a very competitive manner, then immediately asks Dr. Wen if he is indeed the best surgical intern. Dr. Wen tells him no, the best surgical intern, believe it or not, is The Todd, because The Todd doesn't over think anything and is always in the moment.

Carla, Elliot, & Dr. KelsoEdit

Dr. Kelso is very harsh on the interns during rounds. He thinks of it to himself as "tough love". Dr. Cox tells Dr. Kelso that all the interns hate him. Dr. Kelso tells Elliot he is sorry about the thing at rounds earlier, and hands her an evaluation form. He tells her the evaluations will be anonymous. Carla grabs the evaluation form from Elliot, eager for the opportunity to vent her anger against Dr. Kelso. Carla writes the evaluation with Elliot's approval. The evaluation that Carla writes is insulting and borderline obscene. Later they find out that Dr. Kelso didn't give evaluation forms to any of the other interns, only to Elliot. When Dr. Kelso confronts Elliot and asks her how she could write such filth, Carla starts to say something, but Elliot quickly covers for her and says she wrote it because she thought it would be anonymous and that she thought it was funny.

In the endEdit

Dr. Cox, Ben, Turk, J.D. and Carla all sit by themselves, each one feeling very alone. Then each one decides to somehow suck it up and confront what's bothering them. Turk tells Dr. Wen that even though he may not be the best right now, his future is bright. Carla tells Dr. Kelso that she wrote the evaluation, not Elliot. Elliot tells Dr. Kelso what she really thinks of him: that he is mean. J.D. heads towards Ben's room to be supportive in Dr. Cox's absence, but finds Dr. Cox already sitting by Ben's bedside. Dr. Kelso is a little bit nicer to the interns during rounds. The chemotherapy ends up working for Ben and his leukemia goes into remission, and J.D. decides that even though he has flaws, Dr. Cox will always be a hero to him.

Recurring Themes Edit

     More: Fantasies • Flashbacks • J.D.'s girl names • Janitor's pranks and lies

Fantasies Edit

• Dr. Cox flies up and out of the window like Superman.
• When Dr. Cox bails on Ben after he has to start chemotherapy, J.D imagines that he, Ben, Dr. Cox and Jordan are on an episode of MTV's "The Real World".
• J.D. sees Dr. Cox wearing a superhero's red cape, which slips off his shoulders and falls onto the floor.

Janitor story Edit

The Janitor tells J.D. that J.D. doesn't know anything about him, including his name, because J.D. doesn't care. The Janitor then proceeds to tell J.D. some intimate details of J.D.'s life and thoughts. J.D. guesses that he has been looking through his personnel file, but Janitor reveals more personal information. J.D. is spooked because the Janitor is aware of things that he should have no way of knowing. Janitor mocks him and reveals that he is "his father", which creeps J.D. out. In the final moments of the episode we see the Janitor break into J.D.'s locker and read his diary, thereby revealing how he knows so much about what goes on inside J.D.'s head.

J.D.'s Girl Names Edit

• Rhonda

“I am so not speaking to you, Rhonda, thank you!”— Dr. Cox

• Kimmy

“Ummm, I got about a thousand patients I gotta' look after, so no, I'm probably going to miss this first one, but I will leave my lovely and talented assistant Kimmy. Ok?”— Dr. Cox

Guest Stars Edit

• Katya Abelsky as Child #2
• Robert Clendenin as Paul Zeltzer
• Brendan Fraser as Ben Sullivan
• Lela Lee as Bonnie Chang
• Brennan Louie as Child #1
• Philip McNiven as Roy
• George Miserlis as Crispin
• Paul Perry as Randall

Music Edit

     ♫ List of music featured in Scrubs

• "Speed Racer" and "Underdog" themes performed by The Blanks/The Worthless Peons
• "Fresh Feeling" by Eels

Quotes Edit

“If you say "I don't know," I'll show you what I learned last week in my crotch-punching class.”— Jordan

“I think it's great that you're going back to school!”— J.D.

“I don't like much freedom down there. It makes me tingle in my giblets.”— J.D.

“That's right! You run away! Run away from the truth!”— Janitor

“"He'll always be a hero to me." What a girl. What else we got? Theater camp. Ha ha. Bingo.”— Janitor

“dun-da-da-dun-da-da-dun-dun shiney scalpal, dun-da-da-dun-da-da-dun-dun, gonna slice him up”— Todd's mind

Trivia Edit

• This episode contains numerous allusions to Dr. Cox as Superman:
  • Dr. Cox flies out of the window, just like Superman.
  • The cape that falls off Dr. Cox's shoulders looks like Superman's cape.
  • When Dr. Cox walks away, he stops, stands with his hands on his waist and turns his head to the left, as Superman often did.
• It is revealed that J.D. writes his thoughts in a diary, which is then narrated through each episode.
• Appendix is misspelt as "Apendix", Varicocele as "Varicoscale" and Tonsillectomy as "Toncilectomy" on the surgical white board.

• The surgical white board includes the names Spiller (surname of episode director Michael Spiller) and Lawrence (surname of creator Bill Lawrence).
• Dr. Cox calls J.D. "Johnny" instead of a girl's name.
• J.D.'s first girlfriend, Sarah Briggs, was based on Bill Lawrence's girlfriend who was also called the same name. According to the commentary, Bill Lawrence wonders if Sarah Briggs ever thinks about him.
• J.D's mother maiden name is revealed to be Turner.
• This is the first time we see The Worthless Peons perform.
• Originally the episode had been written to feature The Worthless Peons' rendition of the Superman theme song, but when the rights couldn't be obtained, it was changed to Underdog.
• When The Worthless Peons sing and J.D. walks past, the items on the desk change from a pile of folders and a bedpan on top to a file of folders and a box of medical supplies.
• The Worthless Peons are, in fact, actor Sam Lloyd's (Ted's) real life a capella band. When Bill Lawrence found out about Sam's band, he couldn't resist finding an excuse to put them on the show.
• This is the first time that J.D. uses the phrase "Eagle".
• Both Turk and The Todd have internal narration in this episode. This is the first time anyone other than J.D. has internal narration.
• First appearance of Paul Zeltzer.
• When Ted's band sing the theme to Underdog as J.D. walks down the hall towards Ben's room, Dr. Cox can be seen walking to the nurses station holding an orange medical box. This box then appears in front of the band and Dr. Cox is somehow in the room with Ben.

• The Janitor following, breaking open J.D.'s locker and reading his diary was foreshadowed in "My Occurrence", when Ben points out that The Janitor follows him constantly. The scene is similar to a photograph showed before of The Janitor sulking behind the lockers.
• In the commentary, it is revealed that when the cast members are repeating each other's actions, Judy Reyes (Carla) did the movements in the opposite direction. The editors flipped the shot, which is why her name tag is on the opposite side she normally wears it on.
• While the characters are watching Wings, Dr. Cox and J.D. talk about how much they like Tony Shaloub. Tony Shaloub would later star on Monk, and beat Zach Braff for an Emmy.
• J.D.'s middle name is revealed to be Michael.
• J.D.'s view of Dr. Cox (as a hero) culminates in "My Fallen Idol".
• When Dr. Cox says "Congratulations! Your DiMaggio-like streak for saying nothing even remotely interesting is still alive and well!", he is referring to Joe DiMaggio, a baseball player who scored a monumental feat of hitting in 56 games in a row.

SEASON ONE EPISODES
1. "My First Day" 2. "My Mentor" 3. "My Best Friend's Mistake" 4. "My Old Lady" 5. "My Two Dads" 6. "My Bad" 7. "My Super Ego" 8. "My Fifteen Minutes"	9. "My Day Off" 10. "My Nickname" 11. "My Own Personal Jesus" 12. "My Blind Date" 13. "My Balancing Act" 14. "My Drug Buddy" 15. "My Bed Banter & Beyond" 16. "My Heavy Meddle"	17. "My Student" 18. "My Tuscaloosa Heart" 19. "My Old Man" 20. "My Way or the Highway" 21. "My Sacrificial Clam" 22. "My Occurrence" 23. "My Hero" 24. "My Last Day"
Episodes: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 w • 9