Characters
Dr Laurence Flynn (Played by Reece Shearsmith): A very unfortunate young Surgical House Officer who's only just started his job at the hospital. He's still haunted by the fact that he failed his final medical exams first time round (something his co-workers will never let him forget) and is determined to redeem himself. He is neurotic, clumsy, lacking in self-confidence and generally just not cut out for his job, and, unfortunately for him, is not at all popular among the other staff at the hospital despite his best efforts to befriend them. As a result, the staff play a lot of very cruel and often sadistic practical jokes on him, (such as fooling him into trying to revive a dead patient, getting him sectioned under the mental health act, and giving him jabs for no reason at all) and poor Dr Flynn ends up teetering on the edge of sanity for most of the series. He often suffers from lack of sleep and ends up seeing and doing some very strange things as a result. He is madly in love with nurse Judy.
Dr Stephen Noble (Played by Alexander Armstrong): A Surgical Registrar at the hospital and Dr Laurence's mentor. He is Flynn's only friend and the two seem quite close, but he actually enjoys playing jokes on Flynn just as much as everyone else does, and even sets up a few himself. Dr Noble enjoys being a doctor, but he is endlessly cynical by nature. He sometimes gets blamed for screw-ups during surgery but manages to shift the blame onto the hapless Dr Flynn. He too suffers from lack of sleep and is addicted to coffee.
Nurse Judy Conway (Played by Georgia Mackenzie): An attractive Staff Nurse who stands guard over the precious coffee with her fellow nurses. She is very cool and level-headed, and can seem quite caring towards others, but she has a malicious side with a cruel sense of humour. She is fully aware of Dr Flynn's crush on her and often uses it to take advantage of him—delighting in making him the object of ridicule in front of others.
Nurse Terry Cheung (Played by Benedict Wong): An openly gay Theatre Nurse who rooms with Nurse Judy. Although Nurse Terry doesn't instigate any of the practical jokes on Dr Flynn, he is almost always a willing participant.
Gasman (Played by Erich Redman): A creepy German anaesthetist who works in the surgical ward of the hospital. He has a pain fetish and is genuinely obsessed with the idea of making others suffer as much as possible, meaning he is not particularly good at his job. His only real goal in life is to torture both his patients and his co-workers whenever he can.
Mr Benedict Ron (Played by Richard Griffiths): The hospital's director of surgery. He is a good-natured guy who's always kind to his patients but is an embarrassingly bad surgeon. He always gets away with his failed operations anyway, usually by blaming someone else.
Sister Charity Hope (Played by Llewella Gideon): The Ward Sister who is pretty much the only completely sane person in the hospital. She is a mother to all, likes to keep things under control, and wears gallstones as earrings.
Sid (Played by Tom Watt): The hospital porter, who is deadly slow at everything he does. He is not very good at what he does but is quite a good-natured guy, and has a secret crush on Sister Charity Hope.
Wheelchair Guy (Played by Martin Trenaman): An unlucky man who seems to permanently reside in the hospital. His legs don't normally work but he is almost cured every episode... Unluckily for him something also happens that stops the healing process each episode. The nurses don't seem too bothered by his plight. He eventually heals and leaves the hospital, but has an accident on a miniscooter soon afterwards.
Tim Brooke-Taylor also had a role as a surgeon who had a nervous breakdown and was only allowed back in the hospital as the Hospital Chaplain and who now constantly wants to try to operate on patients and is puzzled as to why God allows suffering.
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.
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as teaching doctors at an aging, rundown Boston hospital who give interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions. The series was produced by MTM Enterprises, which had success with a similar NBC series, the police drama Hill Street Blues, during that same time. The series were often compared to each other for their use of ensemble casts and overlapping serialized storylines.
The House of God is a 1978 satirical novel by Samuel Shem. The novel follows a group of medical interns at a fictionalized version of Beth Israel Hospital over the course of a year in the early 1970s, focusing on the psychological harm and dehumanization caused by their residency training. The book, described by the New York Times as "raunchy, troubling and hilarious", was viewed as scandalous at the time of its publication, but has since acquired a cult following and is frequently included in the discussion of humanism, ethics, and training in medicine.
Reeson Wayne "Reece" Shearsmith is an English actor, writer and comedian. He is best known for being a member of The League of Gentlemen, with Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. He later created, wrote and starred in the sitcom Psychoville, with Pemberton, as well as the dark comedy anthology series, Inside No. 9. He has had notable roles in Spaced and The World's End.
Dr. Neela Rasgotra is a fictional character portrayed by Parminder Nagra on the television show ER. Parminder Nagra's addition into the main cast opening credits was in the 3rd episode of season 10.
John Michael "J.D." Dorian, M.D., is a fictional character and protagonist of the American comedy-drama television series, Scrubs.
Cardiac Arrest is a British medical drama series produced by World Productions for BBC One. It aired from April 1994 to June 1996. The show focused on the lives and challenges of junior doctors working in a hospital setting and was known for its realistic and sometimes dark portrayal of the medical profession. The series was controversial owing to its cynical depiction of doctors, nurses and the National Health Service (NHS), although it has often topped polls of the UK medical profession as the best medical drama of all time.
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.
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 comedy-drama 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 Screw Up" is the 14th episode of Season 3 and the 60th episode overall of the American sitcom Scrubs. It originally aired on February 24, 2004 on NBC.
Scrubs: Interns is an American webisode 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, 2009 and April 8, 2009, with two additional episodes being released on the season eight DVD and Blu-ray set.
Psychoville is a British psychological horror-thriller black comedy mystery television series created and written by and starring The League of Gentlemen members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton for the BBC. It debuted on BBC Two on 18 June 2009. Pemberton and Shearsmith each play numerous characters, with Dawn French, Jason Tompkins, Daniel Kaluuya and Eileen Atkins in additional starring roles. The first series was followed by a Halloween special, broadcast on 31 October 2010, which saw Imelda Staunton and Jason Watkins added to the main cast. The second series was first broadcast on 5 May 2011 and ended on 6 June. Reece Shearsmith has said that there will not be a third series. In February 2020, Shearsmith and Pemberton's follow-up series, Inside No. 9, crossed over with Psychoville and brought back five of the characters for the episode "Death Be Not Proud".
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 3 other episodes in the season. Adam Bernstein directed the pilot as well as 4 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.
"24 Hours" is the pilot episode of the medical drama series ER. It first aired on NBC in the United States on September 19, 1994. The episode was written by Michael Crichton, adapted from a screenplay he originally wrote in 1974, and directed by Rod Holcomb. The episode was a critical and commercial success, received both high rating and very favorable critics reactions.
"The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge" is the third episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It was written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, and directed by Dan Zeff. It first aired on 9 April 2015 on BBC Two. The story follows a 17th-century witch trial. Elizabeth Gadge, played by Ruth Sheen, stands accused of witchcraft by inhabitants of the village of Little Happens, including characters played by Sinead Matthews, Jim Howick, Paul Kaye and Trevor Cooper. The magistrate Sir Andrew Pike, played by David Warner, has summoned the famed witch-finders Mr Warren and Mr Clarke, played by Shearsmith and Pemberton, to try Elizabeth, but is more concerned with bringing visitors to the village than finding the truth.
"Nana's Party" is the fifth episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It was first broadcast on 23 April 2015 on BBC Two. Written and directed by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the episode starred Claire Skinner as the obsessive-compulsive and aspirational Angela, who is hosting a party for the 79th birthday of her mother Maggie, played by Elsie Kelly. Angela's husband Jim, played by Pemberton, is keen to play a prank on Pat, Angela's brother-in-law, who is a practical joker. Pat is played by Shearsmith, while Carol, a recovering alcoholic who is Pat's wife and Angela's sister, is played by Lorraine Ashbourne. The episode also features Eve Gordon as Katie, Angela and Jim's teenage daughter, and Christopher Whitlow as a paramedic seen at the beginning and end of the episode.
"Séance Time" is the sixth and final episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It was first broadcast on 29 April 2015 on BBC Two. The episode was written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, and directed by Dan Zeff. It stars Pemberton, Shearsmith, Alison Steadman, Alice Lowe, Sophie McShera, Dan Starkey, Cariad Lloyd and Caden-Ellis Wall. The episode begins with Tina (McShera) arriving at a Victorian villa for a séance. Hives (Shearsmith) sits her at a table and then escorts the ominous, shrouded Madam Talbot (Steadman) into the room.
