J.D. and a narrating doctor in "My Own Personal Jesus".
Every episode of Scrubs is narrated. J.D. narrated nearly every episode of the first eight seasons (with the exceptions of the Story episodes), and Lucy Bennett took over the reigns in Season Nine. The narration provides additional humor, progresses the story, and helps the viewer understand the plot. The narration is rationalized within the show by characters asking J.D. if he still talks to himself in his head.
Narration style[]
Neither J.D., Lucy, nor any of the other narrators are omnipotent or reliable. This means that they only know what their characters would know, and can sometimes lie or deceive in their narration.
Voice-overs are also used as a form of narration in Scrubs. What the characters are saying is spoken to another character, rather than thought internally. In the episode "My Princess", Dr. Cox narrates the fairytale portion of the story as a form of voice-over.
Season Eight introduced some new narrating techniques. J.D. does not appear in "My Absence" but narrated via voice-over over Elliot's cell phone. The only episode to not feature narration is "My Full Moon". Both were attempts to see what Scrubs could be like without J.D..
Story episodes[]
A Story episode is an episode that departs from the usual narrative structure of Scrubs and has another character other than J.D. narrate an episode. Each of the other fellow six main characters narrate an episode, and six supporting characters narrated two episodes in seasons six and eight.
| SCRUBS FORMAT & NARRATIVE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Comedy | Comedic Techniques • Pratfall • Recurring gags • Slow Motion Girls • Nicknames | |
| Drama | Dramatic Techniques • Music | |
| Themes | Approval • Education • Family • Friendship • Life and Death • Love • Mentorship • Rivalries • Sex | |
| Narrative Techniques |
Alternate reality • Breaking the fourth wall • Clip show • Cultural references • Fantasies • Flashbacks • Janitor story • Meta references • Narrators • Story episodes | e |
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