My Screw Up
Encyclopedia
"My Screw Up" is the 14th episode of season three and the 60th episode overall of the American sitcom Scrubs
. It originally aired on February 24, 2004 on NBC
.
It features Brendan Fraser
's final appearance as Ben Sullivan. The character had previously appeared in the first season episodes "My Occurrence
" and "My Hero
".
Critical reaction was very positive. Most notably, it was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
.
's son Jack's first birthday. Turk and Carla
clash over removing Turk's mole, and changing Carla's last name after they marry, while one of Ted
's band members quits. Dr. Cox makes J.D take responsibility over Ben as he needs to go off to the bank. When he arrives back, J.D announces that one unnamed patient died of a cardiac arrest. Dr. Cox angrily blames J.D. for a patient's death and dismisses him, but Ben calms Dr. Cox down, and he eventually apologizes to J.D.
On the way to Jack's birthday party, Ben tells Dr. Cox to forgive himself for the patient's death, which he does. When J.D. arrives and breaks their reverie, Dr. Cox realizes that Ben is not there, and that they are not at Jack's party, but rather, a funeral; the final scenes reveal that Ben is the patient who died, and that his presence has only been in spirit. The episode ends as a heartbroken Dr. Cox uncharacteristically allows those around to comfort him.
, Bill Lawrence
says that this episode is a homage to The Sixth Sense
. The film, starring Bruce Willis
, is famous for its twist ending, when it is revealed that Willis' character has been unknowingly dead throughout the film. In the film, Willis interacts only with a boy who can "see dead people"; no other characters ever acknowledge Willis' presence. The film allows the audience to assume Willis is alive. Similarly, the audience in "My Screw Up" is led to believe that Ben is alive until the very end, even as close examination reveals that Dr. Cox is the only character who acknowledges him. Ben says early in the episode that he will take his camera with him everywhere until the day he dies. After the "patient" dies, Ben doesn't have his camera throughout the rest of the episode, confirming that it was he who died.
Brendan Fraser was supposed to appear in "My Long Goodbye
" as Ben because Carla asks Dr. Cox if he had ever seen a ghost. However, Fraser couldn't appear because he was currently filming a movie. As such, Jill Tracy from "My Lunch
" appears instead.
Ben had previously appeared in two Season 1 episodes: "My Occurrence" and "My Hero". It is in these two episodes that Ben was diagnosed with leukemia
. In the former, J.D. himself goes through many events with Ben after he is informed Ben is clear of leukemia, which climaxes with him realising he is imagining them and that Ben still has cancer, much as Cox imagined Ben to be alive.
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
. It originally aired on February 24, 2004 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
It features Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser
Brendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American film and stage actor. Fraser portrayed Rick O'Connell in the three-part Mummy film series , and is known for his comedic and fantasy film leading roles in major Hollywood films, including Encino Man , George of the Jungle , Dudley Do-Right , Monkeybone ,...
's final appearance as Ben Sullivan. The character had previously appeared in the first season episodes "My Occurrence
My Occurrence
"My Occurrence" is the 22nd episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It originally aired on May 7, 2002 on NBC.-Plot:Jordan's brother Ben comes into the hospital after piercing his hand with a nail-gun, to which Ben and Dr. Cox have fun by causing J.D to faint not once but twice from seeing such a...
" and "My Hero
My Hero (Scrubs)
"My Hero" is the 23rd episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It originally aired on May 14, 2002 on NBC.-Synopsis:Ben takes his leukemia diagnosis pretty well, much better than Jordan and J.D. Dr. Cox tells Ben, Jordan and J.D. that they can beat the cancer, earning J.D.'s hero worship. Later, Dr...
".
Critical reaction was very positive. Most notably, it was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situation comedies.Though this category is the dominant one...
.
Plot
Jordan, Danni and Ben return to help prepare a gathering for Dr. CoxDr. Cox
Percival "Perry" Ulysses Cox, M.D. , is a fictional character played by John C. McGinley on the American television comedy-drama Scrubs....
's son Jack's first birthday. Turk and Carla
Carla Espinosa
Carla Espinosa, RN is a fictional character in the American comedy-drama Scrubs, portrayed by Judy Reyes.Carla has appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three Season 8 episodes, "My Happy Place", "My Cookie Pants" and "My Full Moon"...
clash over removing Turk's mole, and changing Carla's last name after they marry, while one of Ted
Ted Buckland
Theodore "Ted" Buckland, Esq., most commonly referred to as Ted Buckland , is a fictional character played by Sam Lloyd in Bill Lawrence series Scrubs and Cougar Town, and the only character to appears in both series.Created for Scrubs, Ted is the depressive, suicidal and incompetent lawyer of the...
's band members quits. Dr. Cox makes J.D take responsibility over Ben as he needs to go off to the bank. When he arrives back, J.D announces that one unnamed patient died of a cardiac arrest. Dr. Cox angrily blames J.D. for a patient's death and dismisses him, but Ben calms Dr. Cox down, and he eventually apologizes to J.D.
On the way to Jack's birthday party, Ben tells Dr. Cox to forgive himself for the patient's death, which he does. When J.D. arrives and breaks their reverie, Dr. Cox realizes that Ben is not there, and that they are not at Jack's party, but rather, a funeral; the final scenes reveal that Ben is the patient who died, and that his presence has only been in spirit. The episode ends as a heartbroken Dr. Cox uncharacteristically allows those around to comfort him.
Homage to The Sixth Sense
On the special features on the season three DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
says that this episode is a homage to The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...
. The film, starring Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
, is famous for its twist ending, when it is revealed that Willis' character has been unknowingly dead throughout the film. In the film, Willis interacts only with a boy who can "see dead people"; no other characters ever acknowledge Willis' presence. The film allows the audience to assume Willis is alive. Similarly, the audience in "My Screw Up" is led to believe that Ben is alive until the very end, even as close examination reveals that Dr. Cox is the only character who acknowledges him. Ben says early in the episode that he will take his camera with him everywhere until the day he dies. After the "patient" dies, Ben doesn't have his camera throughout the rest of the episode, confirming that it was he who died.
Continuity
Footage from this episode was later re-used in "My Urologist", with Dr. Kim Briggs digitally worked into it (replacing Carla) to verify she was there for Ben's funeral.Brendan Fraser was supposed to appear in "My Long Goodbye
My Long Goodbye
"My Long Goodbye" is the 15th episode of season six of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It was written by Dave Tennant and directed by Victor Nelli, Jr....
" as Ben because Carla asks Dr. Cox if he had ever seen a ghost. However, Fraser couldn't appear because he was currently filming a movie. As such, Jill Tracy from "My Lunch
My Lunch
"My Lunch" is the 20th episode of season five and the 113th episode overall of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It originally aired on April 25, 2006 on NBC....
" appears instead.
Ben had previously appeared in two Season 1 episodes: "My Occurrence" and "My Hero". It is in these two episodes that Ben was diagnosed with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. In the former, J.D. himself goes through many events with Ben after he is informed Ben is clear of leukemia, which climaxes with him realising he is imagining them and that Ben still has cancer, much as Cox imagined Ben to be alive.
Cultural references
- In the locker room where J.D. shows off his "Shower Shorts", on the locker behind him stands "Peace Sam". Sam is the name of J.D.'s father, played by John RitterJohn RitterJonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
, who died September 11, 2003. - Upon seeing Danni, Jordan's sister, played by Tara ReidTara ReidTara Donna Reid is an American actress. Reid has acted on television shows such as Saved By The Bell: The New Class, Days of our Lives, California Dreams, and Scrubs....
, J.D. quickly mentions that he destroyed the video they made when she last visited. The video features Danni hitting J.D. in the crotch with a golf club, a mockery of many entries submitted to America's Funniest Home VideosAmerica's Funniest Home VideosAmerica's Funniest Home Videos is an American reality television program on ABC in which viewers are able to send in humorous homemade videotapes. The most common videos usually feature slapstick physical comedy arising from incidents, accidents and mishaps...
. J.D. mentions sadly that now he'll never get to meet Bob SagetBob SagetRobert Lane "Bob" Saget is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Although he is best known for his roles as Danny Tanner in Full House, host of America's Funniest Home Videos and Future Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, Saget is also known outside of television for his blue...
, even though Saget left the show in the mid 1990s.
Reception
- It received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy SeriesThe Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situation comedies.Though this category is the dominant one...
. In 2008, EmpireEmpire (magazine)Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
placed Scrubs 19th on their list of "The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" and cited "My Screw Up" as the show's best episode. - "My Screw Up" is the highest-rated episode of Scrubs (9.8 out of 10) on TV.com and on IMDb with 9.6 out of 10.