My Way Home
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For other uses, see My Way Home (disambiguation).
| “My Way Home” | |
|---|---|
| Scrubs episode | |
 Elliot, Turk, JD, and Carla search for brains, a heart, a way home, and courage. |
|
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 7 |
| Guest stars | Travis Schuldt (Keith) |
| Written by | [Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan |
| Directed by | Zach Braff |
| Production no. | 505 |
| Original airdate | January 24, 2006 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "My Missed Perception" | "My Big Bird" |
| List of Scrubs episodes | |
"My Way Home" is the 100th episode of the American situation comedy Scrubs. It originally aired as Episode 7 of Season 5 on January 24, 2006.
It is notable for integrating many references to The Wizard of Oz.
Contents |
[edit] Episode overview
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
J.D. gets called in to work on his day off, and just wants to get back home. Meanwhile, Elliot is trying to convince everyone she is an expert on endocrinology, Carla has doubts about being a parent, and Turk has a potentially career-making opportunity.
Spoilers end here.
[edit] Trivia
- Elliot mistakenly uses the "I love you" hand-sign instead of the "rock on" hand-sign that she was trying to use.
- The fire extinguisher Doug hits J.D. with, bends in his hands.
[edit] Cultural references
The entire episode is a homage to the MGM musical film The Wizard of Oz. The following are some of the featured references to The Wizard of Oz:
| Scrubs | The Wizard of Oz |
|---|---|
| Dr. Cox calls J.D. Dorothy. | The main character is named Dorothy Gale. |
| J.D. is listening to the band Toto on his iPod while in the bath, takes his iPod to the hospital, and later declares "Toto and I are going home" (brandishing the iPod). | Dorothy's dog (who travels with Dorothy to Oz) is named Toto. |
| The Janitor paints J.D.'s shoes red. | Dorothy is given a pair of ruby slippers. |
| Ted's band sings "We're Off to See the Wizard" and "Over the Rainbow." | These are the two most famous songs from the movie. |
| In the second half of the episode, the colors are noticeably brighter and oversaturated. | The movie shifts from a sepia toned color scheme in Kansas to the much brighter Technicolor in Oz. |
| Dr. Cox refers to Elliot as having straw-colored, scarecrow hair, and Elliot is worried she doesn't have the brains to lead a Q&A session on endocrinology. | The Scarecrow has hair literally made out of straw, and is worried he doesn't have enough brains. |
| Turk needs a heart from a brain-dead patient. He must also learn to better empathize with the family, and thus needs a "heart" in a less literal sense. | The Tin Woodsman needs a heart. |
| Dr. Cox refers to his ex-wife Jordan as the wicked witch of the west wing. | This is a reference to the Wicked Witch of the West. |
| In a cut to Jordan's sweltering office, she exclaims that she's melting. | The Wicked Witch of the West melts with the same exclamation. |
| Dr. Cox's son Jack is painted bright green. | This may be a reference to the Munchkins, some of whom had green clothing (but not green skin). It could also have been a reference to the Emerald City (think Emerald Kiddie), whose inhabitants do wear green (although they don't have green skin). Finally, it may be a reference to the Wicked Witch's army of winged monkeys (although they were blue), or to the Wicked Witch herself. But it also could be a reference to the horse of many colors which at one point in the movie is green. It could also be a reference to the musical Wicked in which the Wicked Witch (Elphaba) is born green. |
| The potential heart donor is named Ray Bolger. | Ray Bolger is the actor who played The Scarecrow. |
| The Janitor (with a screwdriver in his mouth) makes the muffled request, "Oil can! Oil can!" | The Tin Woodsman makes the same request, which is muffled because his mouth has rusted shut. |
| Carla needs the courage to face the upcoming prospect of parenthood. | The Cowardly Lion needs courage. |
| The Janitor paints yellow lines down the hospital corridors to show the exits, and blue, green and red lines point to other important areas of the hospital. There is also briefly shown a purple line, about 2/3 of the way through the episode. | The Yellow brick road, which the characters walk down, leads Dorothy out of Oz. The red, blue, green, and purple lines are a reference to the Wizard of Oz books by L. Frank Baum. The four colors represent the four quadrants of Oz, as illustrated in the map located in The Tik Tok of Oz (1914). Blue represents Munchkin country; purple, Gillikin; yellow, Winkie; and red, Quadling. Green is representative of the Emerald City, located at the center of OZ. |
| The Todd says that, at the zoo, he saw "lions, and tigers and bears," and then says, "Oh my," as he notices an attractive cheerleader. | Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow and Dorothy chant "Lions, and tigers, and bears; oh my," as they march through the forest. |
| J.D. just wants to go home. | Dorothy wants to return home to Kansas. |
| Near the end Dr Cox says, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" in a booming voice in the hopes that Carla doesn't talk to him. | The Wizard says the same thing in a futile attempt to protect his true identity. |
| In the end, Carla, Elliot and Turk found out they had what they wanted all along. J.D. says, "Every so often a wizard comes along, and tells you exactly what you need to hear." | The Wizard helps the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodsman and the Scarecrow realize the same thing. |
| Dr. Cox, Elliot and J.D. work on patients named Langley, Baum and Fleming, and the doctor for whom Elliot fills in is named Burke. | Noel Langley worked on the screenplay for The Wizard of Oz; L. Frank Baum wrote the book "The Wizard of Oz"; Victor Fleming directed the film; and Billie Burke played Glinda. |
| The Todd wears a scrub cap with pictures of flying monkeys on it. | The Wicked Witch's minions are flying monkeys. |
| At the end, J.D. walks home along a path of golden trees and a rainbow is seen. | An obvious reference to the yellow brick road which leads Dorothy home, and the song "Over The Rainbow". |
- The episode also references the film Clerks, which also features a character dragged into work on his day off. The episode even features J.D. saying, "I'm not even supposed to be here today," a line from Clerks. Zach Braff is from New Jersey, as is Clerks writer/director Kevin Smith.
[edit] Featured music
- "Africa" by Toto
- A song called "Payback is a Bitch" performed by Laverne's church choir
- "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)
- The oft-used Scrubs melancholic riff
