My Way Home (Scrubs)

"**My Way Home**"
"My Way Home"
Scrubs episode
Episode no.	Season 5; Episode 7
Directed by	Zach Braff
Written by	Neil Goldman ; Garrett Donovan
Featured music	"Africa" by Toto ; "Maniac" by Michael Sembello (performed by The Worthless Peons); "We're Off to See the Wizard" by Harold Arlen (performed by The Worthless Peons); "Over the Rainbow" by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, arrangement by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (performed by The Worthless Peons)
Production code	505
Original air date	January 24, 2006
Guest appearances
	Christa Miller as Jordan Sullivan ; Sam Lloyd as Ted Buckland ; Robert Maschio as Dr. Todd Quinlan ; Johnny Kastl as Dr. Doug Murphy ; Travis Schuldt as Keith Dudemeister ; Aloma Wright as Nurse Laverne Roberts ; David Downs as Mr. Bolger; Philip McNiven as Roy; Paul F. Perry as Randall;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "My Missed Perception"	Next →; "My Big Bird"
	Scrubs season 5
	List of episodes

Last updated September 19, 2024

"My Way Home" is the seventh episode of fifth season and the 100th episode of the American television sitcom Scrubs . Written by Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, and directed by series main star Zach Braff, it originally aired on January 24, 2006 on NBC.

Plot

On his day off, J.D. gets called into work by Keith. It turns out that Dr. Cox told Keith to call J.D. to let him see what it feels like to be pestered over little things, as J.D. had done to Cox as an intern. Laverne's gospel choir is also present, singing a song called "Payback is a Bitch". Elliot is basking in the warmth of being seen as an endocrinology expert by her interns. In reality, however, around the hospital she is hiding pages of notes and books with the answers on them. Turk attempts to convince a family to take their brain-dead son off life support so the hospital can perform its first on-site heart transplant, in which Turk will be allowed to assist if he is successful in persuading the family. Meanwhile, Carla jumps at the opportunity to look after Dr. Cox's young son Jack.

However, the crew finds challenges awaiting them. J.D. just wants to head home and is constantly waylaid by requests for assistance. Elliot is forced to conduct a seminar with several endocrinology specialists. Turk's dishonesty with the coma patient's family damages his credibility. Carla can't stand having Jack around and begins to doubt if she's cut out to be a parent.

Eventually, all of J.D.'s friends discover they already had what they were looking for all along. Elliot finds that she has been unknowingly memorizing her notes and therefore already has the "brains" to go to the meeting. Turk, after being completely honest with the coma patient's parents, convinces them to pull the plug and learns the coma patient carried a donor card allowing the "heart" transplant. Carla learns from Dr. Cox that she'll feel different about her own child than she does other people's and will find the "courage" she needs. Later, as they put their skills to good use, J.D. is finally allowed to go home.

Homage

The episode is an homage to the 1939 MGM musical film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . Some references are obvious, such as The Worthless Peons singing both "We're Off to See the Wizard" and "Over the Rainbow",^[2] the "yellow brick road" painted on the hospital floor, and J.D.'s red shoes.

Several memorable lines from the film are echoed. Dr. Cox tells Elliot her endocrinology answers are "falling from the sky". Dr. Cox tells Carla to "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" while cleaning his son. Dr. Cox calls Jordan the "Wicked Witch of the East Wing". Janitor mumbles "oil can". Todd talks about the zoo's "lions and tigers and bears — oh my!" Also, J.D. simply wants to go home (the yellow line leading to the exit), and when he does get to leave, there is a rainbow in the sky. From the point where the yellow line on the hospital floor is visualized as a yellow brick road, the rest of the episode is shot in bright, highly saturated colors, similar to the Technicolor in which The Wizard of Oz was filmed (with the Kansas scenes shot in black and white).

The episode also makes some more subtle references, including various character names:

Mr. Fleming is the first patient mentioned; Victor Fleming directed the original movie.
One patient is Mr. Baum; the book "The Wizard of Oz" was written by L. Frank Baum.
Another patient is Mr. Langley. Noel Langley wrote the screenplay for the movie.
The potential heart donor's name is Ray Bolger, which is based on the actor with the same name who played the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.
The psychologist who killed himself was Dr. Burke; Billie Burke played Glinda.

References include:

Dr. Cox's nickname for J.D. is "Dorothy"^[2]
J.D. listening to the song Africa by the band 'Toto', on his iPod.^[2]
Dr. Cox refers to Elliot's straw-colored hair.
Janitor, while painting the hallway lines around the hospital, spray paints J.D.'s sneakers red (symbolizing the ruby slippers).
At the 12:54 mark, the four main characters follow a yellow line while Ted's band sings "We're Off to See the Wizard". At this moment, the color saturation changes from normal to extremely vivid - mimicking the movie's transition from black and white to color.
Dr. Cox tells the interns to "Flee - now!" The Wicked Witch of the West told the monkeys to "Fly - now!"
Turk and the nurses "pop up" like the munchkins do.
Jordan is stuck in a hot room and seems to be "melting" as the witch does when she gets doused with water.
Carla mentions, "I'm supposed to be the brave one," just as the "king of the forest" is supposed to be.
J.D., telling Turk he's on his own, just wants to take "Toto" and go home.
Jack is painted green, referencing the skin color of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Dr. Kelso mentions that the depressed staff psychologist had hanged himself. This is a reference to an urban legend about a depressed munchkin actor hanging himself on the set of the Wizard of Oz.
Carla finds Dr. Cox behind a curtain and he tells her, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
Todd tells Laverne that he saw lions, tigers, and bears at the zoo. Then he passes a cheerleader and says, "Oh My!"
Janitor asks Carla for the oil can when he has something in his mouth and his hands are full.

DVD version

The first cut of the episode, from before it was edited for broadcast, is featured on the DVD box set for Season 5. It contains scenes that weren't broadcast and different versions of scenes that were, alongside a commentary by Zach Braff, who directed the episode.

Related Research Articles

<i>Scrubs</i> (TV series) American medical sitcom television series

Scrubs is an American medical sitcom created by Bill Lawrence that aired from October 2, 2001, to March 17, 2010, on NBC and later ABC. The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, which is a teaching hospital. The title is a play on surgical scrubs and a term for a low-ranking person because at the beginning of the series, most of the main characters are medical interns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munchkin</span> Fictional ethnic group from the Oz series by L. Frank Baum

A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. They first appear in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) where they welcome Dorothy Gale to their city in Oz. The Munchkins are described as being the same height as Dorothy and they wear only shades of blue clothing, as blue is the Munchkins' favorite color. Blue is also the predominating color that officially represents the eastern quadrant in the Land of Oz. The Munchkins have appeared in various media, including the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, as well as in various other films and comedy acts.

J.D. (<i>Scrubs</i>) Fictional character from Scrubs

John Michael "J.D." Dorian, M.D., is a fictional character and protagonist of the American comedy-drama television series, Scrubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliot Reid</span> American TV fictional character

Elliot Reid-Dorian, M.D. is a fictional character played by Sarah Chalke in the American comedy-drama Scrubs. She appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons, except for two Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words" and "My Lawyer's in Love".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Turk</span> Fictional character

Christopher Duncan Turk, M.D., commonly referred to by his last name "Turk," is a fictional character in the American comedy-drama Scrubs, played by Donald Faison. Turk appeared in every episode of the series except three season 8 episodes, "My Saving Grace", "My New Role" and "My Lawyer's in Love". Faison is the only original cast member, besides John C. McGinley, that returned for season 9 as a regular cast member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perry Cox</span> Fictional character

Percival Ulysses "Perry" Cox, M.D., is a fictional character played by John C. McGinley on the American television comedy drama Scrubs. Cox appears in every episode except for "My Last Words", "My Comedy Show", and "My Full Moon", all from Season 8.

"My First Day" is the pilot episode of the American television sitcom Scrubs. It originally aired on October 2, 2001 on NBC. The episode was written by series creator Bill Lawrence and directed by Adam Bernstein.

"My Musical" is a musical episode of the American television sitcom television series Scrubs. It is the 123rd episode of the show, and was originally aired as the sixth episode of the sixth season on January 18, 2007 on NBC. It was written by Debra Fordham and directed by Will Mackenzie.

"My Own Worst Enemy" is the first episode of the seventh season and 140th overall episode of the American television sitcom Scrubs. Written by Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan and directed by series creator Bill Lawrence, it originally aired on October 25, 2007 on NBC, and was watched by 6.95 million viewers.

"My Growing Pains" is the fifth episode of the seventh season and the 144th episode of the American television sitcom Scrubs. Written by Mike Schwartz and directed by main series star Zach Braff, it originally aired on November 29, 2007, on NBC.

"My Princess" is the season seven finale and the 150th overall episode of the American television sitcom Scrubs. It was written by Mark Stegemann and directed by series main star Zach Braff. It was originally aired on May 8, 2008 on NBC, and was the last episode of the series to air on NBC before the series moved to ABC. Although produced as episode 9, the episode was rearranged to be the season finale due to the season being cut short because of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.

"My Jerks" is the eighth season premiere and 151st overall episode of the American television sitcom Scrubs. The episode first aired on January 6, 2009, on ABC, following the show's departure from NBC. It was immediately followed by the second episode of the season. The episode was written by Angela Nissel and directed by Michael Spiller who also has a small cameo appearance. This was the first Scrubs episode of the show to show moving footage over the credits, instead of its usual screenshots of scenes throughout the episode.

"My ABC's" is the fifth episode of the eighth season and the 155th overall episode of the American television sitcom Scrubs. Written and directed by series creator Bill Lawrence, it was broadcast on January 27, 2009 on ABC.

<i>Scrubs: Interns</i> American TV series or program

Scrubs: Interns is an American web series from ABC based on the comedy-drama series Scrubs in its eighth season, which originally aired on ABC.com; each episode would premiere the day a new Scrubs episode aired on TV. The webisodes originally premiered between January 1 and April 8, 2009, with two additional episodes being released on the season eight DVD and Blu-ray set.

"My Nah Nah Nah" is the eleventh episode of the eighth season and 161st overall episode of the American television sitcom Scrubs. Written by Kevin Biegel and directed by John Putch, it originally aired on March 18, 2009 on ABC.

"My Finale" is the 40-minute-long eighth season finale and 168th and 169th overall episodes of the American television sitcom Scrubs. It was originally broadcast as episodes 18 and 19 of season eight on May 6, 2009 on ABC, and was intended to be the series finale during production. However, while the episode was billed as the "Scrubs finale" at the time of airing, it was unknown whether this would be the series finale or the season finale. The show ended up returning for a ninth season. Since the show underwent many changes for the ninth and final season, this is the last episode in which all of the main cast appear as series regulars and the last appearance of Judy Reyes as Carla Espinosa.

<i>Scrubs</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American comedy television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 2, 2001 and concluded on May 21, 2002 and consists of 24 episodes. Scrubs was created by Bill Lawrence who wrote the pilot as well as three other episodes in the season. Adam Bernstein directed the pilot as well as four other episodes. Neil Flynn was only a guest star in the first season, although he appeared in every episode of the season. Bill Lawrence said if the show had been cancelled at the end of the first season, he would have made the Janitor a figment of J.D.'s imagination.

<i>Scrubs</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of the American comedy television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on January 3, 2006 and concluded on May 16, 2006 and consists of 24 episodes. For the first twelve episodes, two new episodes were broadcast back-to-back every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET. Then NBC returned to broadcasting one new episode every week, followed by a rerun. For the first three weeks of this, the rerun episode was a cast favorite episode, with available audio commentary tracks on NBC's website to accompany the episodes. Guest stars in the fifth included Jason Bateman and Mandy Moore, as well the introduction of new recurring characters played by Elizabeth Banks and Travis Schuldt. This season was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

<i>Scrubs</i> season 7 Season of television series

The seventh season of the American comedy television series Scrubs premiered on NBC on October 25, 2007 and concluded on May 8, 2008 and consists of 11 episodes. This was the final season to air on NBC before it was picked up by ABC.

References

↑ "2006 Peabody Awards | Scrubs". Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. 2007-06-04. Archived from the original on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
1 2 3 Savorelli, Antonio (13 April 2010). Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy. McFarland. p. 39. ISBN 9780786458431 . Retrieved 17 February 2017.

External links

"My Way Home" at IMDb

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "2006 Peabody Awards | Scrubs". Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. 2007-06-04. Archived from the original on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2011-05-01.

[book-2] 1 2 3 Savorelli, Antonio (13 April 2010). Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy. McFarland. p. 39. ISBN 9780786458431 . Retrieved 17 February 2017.

[1]

[2]