"My First Day" is the
pilot episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
of the American
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
''
Scrubs
Scrub(s) may refer to:
* Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland
* Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff
* ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program
* Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," o ...
''. It originally aired on October 2, 2001 on
NBC. The episode was written by series creator
Bill Lawrence and directed by
Adam Bernstein.
Like nearly all other episodes in the series, the title begins with "My". It is narrated by main character
John "J.D." Dorian.
Plot
J.D.'s story begins with a
first-person narrative, setting the tone and style of the series while introducing the main characters. J.D.'s life slowly unfolds to the audience, showing flashbacks to illustrate J.D.'s relationship with his best friend and fellow doctor
Chris Turk
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, " M ...
. They soon meet
Elliot Reid, J.D.'s recurring love interest throughout the series, as well as a number of other key characters in the series. A flashback to the previous day's orientation shows hospital lawyer
Ted Buckland
TED may refer to:
Economics and finance
* TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar
Education
* ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association
** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey
** Transvaal Education Dep ...
advising the doctors on
malpractice. Following Ted's presentation, chief of medicine
Dr. Bob Kelso introduces himself as the new doctors' "safety net". J.D. reflects that surgical and medical interns are on opposite sides of the hospital's social spectrum, and fears that Turk, a surgical intern, will end their friendship.
As J.D.'s day continues, he is thrust into the fray, but freezes up and relies on nurse
Carla Espinosa
Carla Espinosa, RN is a fictional character in the American comedy-drama '' Scrubs'', portrayed by Judy Reyes, who appeared on the series from October 2001 to May 2009.
Carla appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three ...
to carry out a routine
IV placement. This scene marks the first appearance of
Doctor Perry Cox, J.D.'s reluctant mentor. The first interaction between the two — with Cox mercilessly belittling J.D. — sets up their future relationship.
J.D.'s first movement towards Elliot occurs during rounds with Dr. Kelso, in which J.D. gives Elliot an answer when she appears to be struggling. He then asks her out to dinner. Later, when she refuses to help J.D., he rescinds his invitation. J.D. wonders if Turk is having the same difficulties as he is. After a short conversation, it becomes apparent that Turk is enjoying being a surgical intern. J.D. is introduced to
Todd Quinlan
Todd or Todds may refer to:
Places
;Australia:
* Todd River, an ephemeral river
;United States:
* Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community
* Todd, Missouri, a ghost town
* Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...
, who gives J.D. one of his signature high-fives.
On his second day, J.D., while waiting for Elliot, encounters the hospital's
janitor repairing an automatic door. J.D. innocently speculates that the cause of the problem is that maybe a
penny
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
is stuck in the door. The suspicious janitor swears vengeance. When J.D. receives his first
code
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
page, he hides in a medical supply closet and discovers Elliot hiding as well. Dr. Cox finds them hiding and is unfazed. Turk and Carla's relationship becomes sexual during an encounter in the on-call room. Later on, when Elliot mentions this to Carla, Carla gives Elliot a long speech about judging others, leaving Elliot dumbfounded.
During J.D.'s first night on call, he has the nurses do a number of his procedures. Nurse
Laverne Roberts tells him that a patient he had bonded with earlier has died, and says, "Just pronounce him so I can go home". Shortly afterward, J.D. runs into Turk, who admits that he, too, is scared of the new hospital environment, and that he has already moved his things into J.D.'s apartment.
When J.D. asks him for help, Dr. Kelso shows his dark side; he angrily tells J.D. that he only cares about patients who have the necessary
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
, and that he only carries a chart with him everywhere so that he can pretend to remember the new interns' names. J.D. eventually overcomes his fears and, with Dr. Cox's encouragement, successfully inserts a
chest tube. Elliot comes to tell J.D. she talked to the family of his patient which was pronounced dead, as an apology. She then kisses J.D. on the cheek. Happy to have gone through his first three days "without looking like a complete idiot", he leaves and runs into a glass door.
Cultural references
* In the first scene, as J.D. rises out of the bed, he is wearing a ''
Clone High'' T-shirt. ''Clone High'' was also created by ''Scrubs'' creator Bill Lawrence. ''Clone High'' didn't premiere until 2002.
* The medical interns are shown playing a
Pac-Man
originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
arcade machine.
Production details
Several of the scenes from this episode are based on the real-life experiences of medical adviser Jon Doris, a close friend of director
Bill Lawrence. This includes the scene where an attempted
paracentesis
Paracentesis (from Greek κεντάω, "to pierce") is a form of body fluid sampling procedure, generally referring to peritoneocentesis (also called laparocentesis or abdominal paracentesis) in which the peritoneal cavity is punctured by a needl ...
results in a jet of fluid, and another where J.D. hides to avoid being the first on the scene of an emergency, although both of these scenes are exaggerated.
*The set for J.D.'s sitcom fantasy is that of ''
My Wife and Kids''.
*Footage from this episode was later re-used in "
My Urologist", with
Dr. Kim Briggs digitally worked into it to make it look like she was there on J.D.'s first day.
*This was the only episode of the first eight seasons of ''Scrubs'' not shot at the former
North Hollywood Medical Center
North Hollywood Medical Center (Medical Center of North Hollywood) was a hospital, operating from 1952 to 1998, in the community of North Hollywood, a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles.
The hospital is famed as ...
. Instead, it was filmed at another hospital in
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...
. This hospital has since been torn down.
My Own Personal 'Net Thing
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{Scrubs
American television series premieres
Scrubs (season 1) episodes
2001 American television episodes
fr:Mon premier jour
it:Episodi di Scrubs - Medici ai primi ferri (prima stagione)#Il mio primo giorno