A little forewarning on this newest installment of my Scrubs Guest Stars series before I get into the meat and potatoes of the thing. My previous two Scrubs Guest Stars articles were you typical, run-of-the-mill articles; I write some information down and you read it. Considering you are reading this on the internet, and the internet is meant for interactive entertainment, I decided to go a little different on this one. After one glance over the article, you will see the big change that I am referring to. I call this a Link-tastic article. You are encouraged to follow the links I have offered in this article to find more information, other great articles, cool websites, and whatever else strikes my fancy at this time. I am also interested to see what everybody thinks of this link heavy article style, so be sure to comment or drop me a line. And now, onto the guest stars…
Season three of Scrubs saw the introduction of Sacred Heart Hospital’s top pediatrician, Dr. Norris. Christopher Meloni played Dr. Norris perfectly, who happened to be as egotistical as Dr. Cox. There was one small quirk about Dr. Norris though… He had a doll collection (insert joke here). Doll collections aside, Christopher Meloni has been acting long before his Scrubs guest star role. He first started acting on television during the late 80’s, when he landed a role on the television series 1st and Ten; don’t worry, this isn’t where you should know Christopher Meloni from. A much more well-known, and (in this author’s opinion) his best role, was as Chris Keller on the hit HBO series Oz. As an inmate of the Oswald Maximum Security Correctional Facility, Christopher Meloni (as Chris Keller), murdered numerous people, had a fair amount of prison sex, and fell in love with another man. Through all of this, we as viewers were torn between loving and hating him, but generally landing on hate. These days, Christopher Meloni can be seen, and critically raved about, on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective Elliot Stabler. This is his claim to fame, but for many fans, he will always be Chris Keller.
Barry Bostwick stopped by Scrubs‘ Sacred Heart Hospital for his guest star role in season three, as well. Mr. Randolph, played by the great Barry Bostwick, is an Episcopalian who refuses prostate surgery for fear of ruining his love life with his wife. In the end, he does end up having the surgery, and teaches Turk a lesson about love (Aww… So sweet). Many people know the grey-haired Barry Bostwick that guest starred on Scrubsfrom his six year run as Mayor Randall M. Winston, Jr., from Spin City. But if many of you search your memory banks, Barry Bostwick’s most famous role may pop into your head. As Brad Majors, he ran out of gas with his fiancée and ended up in a bizarre, sci-fi, musical. That’s right! Barry Bostwick was one of many to gain careers after The Rocky Horror Picture Show; which puts him in good company with the likes of Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon. He has also had a recurring guest starring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, with Christopher Meloni.
Any discussion of season three of Scrubs would be incomplete if THE party girl wasn’t mentioned. Tara Reid started her recurring role as Danni Sullivan, Jordan’s insane sister, and love interest forJ.D., during season three. Everybody has their favorite, or most hated, role Tara Reid has done, depending on your feelings of her. She did star opposite another Scrubs Guest star, Ryan Reynolds, in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, the fan favorite of the recent National Lampoon outings. Tara Reid’s biggest role has to be Vicky Lathum, from the American Pie movie series. Unfortunately for her, American Pie spawned two bigger stars – an apple pie and the classic line, “This one time, at band camp…”, and I must admit, both are much more entertaining than Tara Reid usually is.
On the total opposite end of party girl Tara Reid, is All-American good boy, Michael J. Fox. He started his stint on Scrubs as Dr. Kevin Casey, a fellow intern of Dr. Cox’s who is now an attending, that happens to have a case of OCD. There isn’t much I can say about Michael J. Fox on Scrubs, since there hasn’t been a role he really didn’t perform well in. I almost don’t know where to start in proving this. We could start with his most memorable television role as Alex P. Keaton, the young Republican on Family Ties, which will always hold a special place in my heart (I cried during the series finale when I was young). That would, of course, spark conversations about the Back to the Future series, complete with some of the best outtakes ever captured on camera. But then somebody would have to chime in that they liked Teen Wolf better, but that argument never lasts long due to being massively outnumbered. Then there’s Michael J. Fox trying to prove that he’s not just a teen actor; with movies like Doc Hollywood, Casualties of War, and The Hard Way. Finally, Michael J. Fox settled onto his role as Mike Flaherty, the mayor’s assistant on Spin City.
These are the four, stand-out, guest stars from season three on Scrubs. The tradition this quirky, little sitcom started in its first season, of bringing great and unique guest stars every season, was clearly continued in spades with season three. Yes, there are more guest stars I haven’t mentioned, so if you have a favorite you want to give props to, go ahead and let everybody know.
