Janitor (Scrubs)
Janitor is a fictional character played by actor Neil Flynn in the American sitcom Scrubs.
Profile
Janitor is a mysterious hospital employee who has made it his business to terrorize series protagonist J.D. This character is an interesting paradox in that he is both a clever underdog who frequently outwits the more educated doctors (he claims to have been offered janitorial jobs at Harvard and Yale), but at the same time is the physically imposing bully of the hospital. His bullying seems to be more out of amusement, rather then genuine cruelty or mean-spiritness. JD being an easy target because of his soft side and vulnerability.
Since Janitor works in a hospital, he seems to have developed an inferiority complex about his job. Many episodes show Janitor pretending to be a doctor (calling himself Dr Jan Itor at his son's school career day), and he also feels very self important when called on to assist in medical emergencies ("His Story III"). He does, however, defend his sanitary responsibility in the hospital whenever J.D. is mean enough to insult him about it. Janitor has helped people before, as seen at the end of one episode, when a patient unable to talk surprises chief attending physician Dr. Cox by not thanking him for the medical care he provided, but by thanking Janitor for being the only one who kept him company. Both seemed genuinely moved.
He speaks Spanish, Korean and Italian as well as English, being also able to pull off, convincingly, at least 3 different accents/types of English speech (stuttering, a German accent and received pronunciation in "My Friend the Doctor"). This was because Janitor was an actor, and was once in The Fugitive (Flynn actually played a transit cop in the movie). It is assumed that his acting career didn't work out, which explains why he's a janitor now, is bitter, and has multiple personalities in the hospital.
He also refers to people by physical characteristics. He was very nice to a previous doctor (Red Haired Doctor) and, of course, Elliot Reid (whom he knows as "Blonde Doctor", as well as "Blonde-haired Doctor") and, as of season 4, seems to have romantic feelings for her (although he claims to be married with children - see Family History below).
In "My Best Friend's Wedding" at the end of season 3 Janitor had a date, a woman called Franny, at Turk and Carla's wedding. He and Franny stole forks and ladles, where 'the big money is' according to him. Janitor having a date implies that either he is single and had lied about his marital status or was cheating on his wife (or Franny was simply a friend helping him steal cutlery). But later in the episode, Franny was gone and Janitor danced with Elliot.
He also apparently has a tattoo of a mop, according to J.D. in the episode "My Big Move" in Season 4, when he gets a new uniform.
Much of Janitor's life isn't really known for certain. Well known to be a notorious liar, he actually enjoys the adrenaline rush he gets from telling tall tales about himself; also, nobody believes him, so it is difficult to determine the truth of some things he says.
Janitor is, however, known to be obsessed with taxidermy and stuffed animals in general, even pretending to have a bizarre club of the various animals (pretending they were alive) and naming them. Although he gets rid of them at the end of the episode, it is implied that he is still attached to them.
Janitor is friends with one of the cafeteria attendants named Troy who in one episode taunt J.D when he insinuates that they are unintelligent. This starts when Janitor enters the shot with a bowl of soup, attempting to consume it with a fork and remarks stupidly, "Fork. Me can't eat soup. Nyiargh."
Family history
- According to him, his wife only has a "pointer" on her right hand and "thumb/pinky" on her left instead of regular hands ("My Drama Queen").
- As revealed in a few flashbacks, his mother's strict parenting influenced him (indirectly) to become a janitor.
- His father was played by R. Lee Ermey in a sort of parody of Ermey's most famous role as a drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, which somewhat explains Janitor's delight in torturing others.
- His grandfather was apparently abusive and would beat him with a gym sock full of nickels. This behavior was attributed to his grandfather's OCD, which may or may not be a correct diagnosis ("My Porcelain God").
- He has a son, for whom he impersonated a Dr. Ján Ïtor in a career day. His son also performed in a 4th grade production of "Town Without a Turkey". Also in this episode he referred to his son as Timmy during a conversation with J.D.. Although in the episode "Her Story II", he says that he will only get a son once he can have gills.
- He has told Elliot that he has a "sister-mom" and "brother-dad" ("My American Girl").
- He has told J.D. that he has a brother who is a stripper ("My Rite of Passage").
- He has a cousin, who is a bank teller, that supplies him with an exploding ink cartridge to find out who keeps disconnecting the security alarm ("My Choosiest Choice of All").
- When he was a child, his mother kept him in a 'baby cage' (otherwise known as a dog carrier.)
- When he was 12 years old, his mother adopted a 46 year old who was their personal slave, until this adopted son hit a mid-life crisis, fought with his adoptive father and had an affair with his adoptive mother (Although this might have been a made up story used to distract J.D. while J.D.'s brother prepared to ambush him).
- He killed his maid to get the job.
- He may have some illegitimate Chinese children however this could be just a story he used to help get JD to steal from an Asian couple.
Career
It is revealed in the storyline that 'Janitor' played the role of the transit policeman who is shot on the commuter train in the film The Fugitive (1993). Actor Neil Flynn actually did play the part, mixing reality with the storyline; Janitor shares this secret only with J.D., and it was implied as another reason for his sadistic behavior, as an outlet for his frustration at a failed acting career ("My Friend the Doctor").
He has made various unsupported claims about his personal life, such as that he is married and has at least one child (however in one episode he told Carla that he isn't going to have children until genetic technology allows his son to have gills), that he is a Christian, and that he went to Harvard (In related claims made in "My Déjà vu, My Déjà vu" and "My Lucky Night," another member of Hibbleton/(Janitor's) Brain Trust, Troy the Cafeteria Worker, went to Yale).
According to a conversation he has with Carla in the Season 5 Episode "My Missed Perception", the Janitor has been working at Sacred Heart for 13 years (in 2005, so he began in 1992), however, there is not any information on his previous employment beyond a minor stint in The Fugitive. However, in "His Story III" the Janitor claimed that he became a Janitor fresh out of college and chose to work at a hospital to make a difference, which would mean he has been working at Sacred Heart for roughly 20 years (Janitor is 42 years-old in season 5, as he was 37 in season 1) or had worked at a different hospital for seven years before transferring to Sacred Heart. He has made several attempts to move up the ladder including becoming announcer for the hospital and security guard. However he was demoted to janitor after he tackled Dr. Kelso for using a fire door for his own personal use.
Transportation
He owns a black van designed after the one on The A-Team, bought after Perry Cox crashed and subsequently blew up his old van after winning a bet against the Janitor. The old van was used as mass transport for the entire sanitary force at Sacred Heart, in a fabled (and rarely seen) daily morning ritual called "The Arrival of the Janitors." It is unclear if the new van is still in use for this purpose, as Janitor is no longer the union president (having lost the election to his protege, new janitor Randall the Crotch-Punching Little Person). He also stole Dr Kelso's Granny Scooter "The Rascal" in one episode
Relationship with other characters
The Janitor character was initially to be used as a figment of J.D.'s imagination if the show had been canceled during the first season or the first half of the second. This fact would have been revealed to the audience in the finale.
- Janitor has always seemed to be acknowledged by other characters, however these can be explained by chance or luck.
- Dr. Kelso seems to acknowledge him in 1.05 ("My Two Dads"), saying "Ammonia is a little strong today."
- He was acknowledged by Elliot in 1.06 ("My Bad") when she threw a coffee cup down next to him and sarcastically says "Sorry!"
- In 1.09 ("My Nickname") Dr Cox calls JD "Scooter", a nickname Janitor came up with.
- In 1.11 ("My Own Personal Jesus") he gets punched in the groin by a little girl after asking her what she wants for Christmas.
- In 1.14 ("My Drug Buddy") when Elliot says to JD "I'm not saying anything about a girl that you're sleeping with." referring to Alex, then Janitor walks past and says "He's not sleeping with her" to them.
- In 1.15 ("My Bed Banter & Beyond") Elliot and J.D. observe him teasing a nurse with his vacuum cleaner and then later they both look at him when he talks to them.
- His first interaction with a real person is in 1.20 ("My Way or the Highway"), where he gives medical advice to J.D.'s patients.
- However, JD sees Janitor speak to a scary looking man in 1.02 ("My Mentor"), saying "That's him."
- The first time Janitor interacts with another major character besides J.D. is in 2.16 ("My Karma"), when he blackmails J.D. and Turk.
- From this point onwards Neil Flynn joins the rest of the main cast appearing in the show's minimalist opening credits, but the credits were changed back due to objections by fans to other new elements of the credits. Neil Flynn has not been represented in the credits since, however he was still acknowledged as a main cast member by the producers as of the second season.
Since then he has had encounters with most of the other regular characters and, aside from Elliot rebuffing his romantic advances, few of the others ever get the better of him, even the head of the hospital Dr. Kelso or the acerbic Dr. Cox. He has even had an entire episode devoted mostly to him (5.19 - "His Story III") wherein he provides narration instead of J.D., and the story revolves around a day in his life.
J.D.
His perpetual victim, J.D. has never really done anything wrong to the Janitor, besides suggesting unknowingly, that he jammed a penny into a door that Janitor was once trying to fix on J.D's first day (strictly speaking it was Day 2 of J.D.'s 31 hour-long "first day"). It is Janitor's "instinct" to prey upon J.D. At the end of season one, the audience sees someone who looks a lot like J.D meeting the Janitor for the first time, saying a varied version of J.D's first conversation with him, but still included the J.D look-a-like convincing the janitor that he jammed a paper clip into a broken door. The Janitor responds almost exactly the same way. The Janitor has made it his mission to terrorize J.D. every day, but occasionally the Janitor does respect J.D. and will look the other way. Particularly in season two, when the Janitor enlists J.D. in helping him steal a computer, "forgetting" about J.D. and Turk's illegal stash of pudding cups from the hospital, or being benign to J.D. after J.D.'s father died. Janitor's regular name for J.D is "Scooter" short for scooter pie, which he absolutely detests. In the first episode of Season 6, the Janitor is confronted with a patient who said that his dream was to be a lawyer, but his constant obession with getting his "J.D." caused him to waste his life. The Janitor initially contemplates what he's done with his life, but eventually returns to terrorizing J.D. (turning him into a human American flag) by the end of the episode, never learning the lesson.
He also makes more money than J.D. in Season 2, referring to J.D. as "food stamps".
Turk
Janitor's relationship with Turk has included some rivalry and conflict, such as in "My Karma" and "My Malpractical Decision". In those episodes, it was largely because of Turk's friendship with JD, but in "My Dirty Secret", Janitor began preying on Turk when JD ordered him to 'pick someone else to annoy.' Janitor responded 'I don't pick them, they pick me!' In "My Half-Acre", Turk and Janitor worked together in an air band, The Cool Cats, showing that they can put their differences aside.
Dr. Kelso
Technically his boss, though The Janitor is one of the few characters to continuously confront the Chief of Medicine. While Kelso's fear tactics work to paralyze the majority of the staff, they are less effective on The Janitor. According to the season 5 episode "My Half Acre", the Janitor claims "Because I know him." in response to Turk asking how the Janitor knew that Kelso only wanted respect. Also, in the episode "My Quarantine", he has a 'double or nothing' wager with Dr Kelso about whether he can catapult a cotton ball across the room and into a beaker.
Dr. Cox
Usually at some sort of war with each other (examples: the Janitor ordering the other maintenance crew to lock Dr. Cox in a morgue drawer, spoiling endings of sport matches and films for each other, betting about a date so they win the other's car, Janitor using photos to get Jordan angry at Dr Cox after Cox ruined Janitor's photos). However in many episodes they do form alliances, although normally on a strictly business level. In Season 5 Janitor and Dr. Cox become drinking buddies, though Dr. Cox becomes confused when the Janitor ignores him at the hospital. As it turns out it is 'uncool' for hospital staff and Doctors to be friends and the friendship can only continue outside the workplace - from this point on, however, Dr Cox and Janitor seem to have a mutual respect and don't chastise each other as much.
Elliot
The Janitor appears to have a soft spot for Elliot, and in fact develops romantic feelings for her (to the extent of buying an engagement ring and attempting several times to propose marriage) in Season 4 which she actually finds out about. However, they seem to be friends, despite Elliot still not knowing what the Janitor's real name is (though in truth no one appears to know his real name).
Ted
Janitor seems to like Ted. However, in order to impress Elliot, Janitor once pretended he had a band. Ted heard of this and Ted's band (The Worthless Peons) battled against Janitor's band (which was him, Randall, and Troy, the sloppy joe guy). Although struggling to think, Janitor's band won, singing "Barbara Ann" by The Beach Boys. Janitor has also teamed with Ted numerously in later seasons, and often sits with him at lunch, also with Dr. Murphy (aka "Nervous Guy" or Doug) and The Todd, an outcast group, it seems unlikely they are best friends though. In the season 5 episode "My Half Acre", the Janitor and Ted are the founding members of an air band (playing bass and guitar respectively) known as the 'Cool Cats' (referred to by Dr. Kelso as 'The Turkeltones' at one point).
Leadership qualities
Apart from being the former Janitor union president, the Janitor is also part of Hibbleton (formed in opposition to "The Worthless Peons", its entire repertoire consisting of one song, "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys), his impromptu a cappella group, together with Troy the Cafeteria Worker and Randall who are also members of his original "Brain Trust." When he abandoned them in the effort to get the attention of "Blonde Doctor", Elliot, he replaced them with the new Brain Trust of Ted the lawyer, Doug the pathologist and The Todd. He is also often seen leading other hospital employees in various initiatives and other activities, including giving the evil eye (several times) to J.D. and Carla. In an episode in the 5th season, he and Ted organize an air-band. We learn in the third season The Janitor once had a relationship with Ted's wife.
Life out of Sacred Heart
He fancies himself as an inventor, though usually his inventions are simply combinations of two other devices, such as his pen-straw, knife-wrench and drill-fork. His hobbies include taxidermy (he once rid the trees by the hospital of squirrels). He is also, apparently, a world class hurdler, who could run 110 meter hurdles in 9.92 seconds. If true, this feat would be almost 3 seconds under the current world record. J.D. once saw Janitor at home naked in the shower, through a first floor window, subsequently diagnosing him with a possible melanoma (220, "My Interpretation") on his penis. This may conflict with a later episode in Season 5, "My New God", where Janitor asks J.D. to help him move house, and J.D. does not notice the incongruity that Janitor's house is now an apartment filled with ancient Chinese artifacts, although one explanation could be that the Janitor may have moved house in between seasons (The apartment turned out to actually belong to a Chinese couple, as The Janitor's plan, it seems, was for them to believe JD was a burglar).
Show trivia
- Quotes
- Neil Flynn had auditioned for the role of Dr. Cox, and The Janitor was originally a one-time gag for the pilot. [1]
- Neil Flynn is an experienced improv comedian and, as such, ad-libs many of his lines. Although it is often stated that Neil Flynn ad-libs all of his lines, on several parts of the Season One DVD commentaries and special features both Flynn and Bill Lawrence state that it is generally a mix of ad-libbed lines and the original script, with Flynn usually building on the original lines. Lawrence has also stated that the rest of the cast have followed Flynn's lead, however, and that he will occasionally enter the rehearsal room with no idea what scene is taking place due to its lack of resemblance to the original script [2]. Janitor's incredibly pragmatic medical alter-ego Dr. Ján Ïtor is a happy consequence of one such moment of inspiration.
- In one episode J.D. reveals that the janitor played a transit cop in "The Fugitive". In real life Neil Flynn did play a transit cop in "The Fugitive". This lends some credibility to the theory that The Janitor is actually Neil Flynn who became a janitor after leaving acting. This might also attribute to his dreams of greater things, being a doctor, improving his job title, etc and his seemingly disgruntled attitude towards his job and coworkers.
- The only episode that the Janitor does not appear in is Episode 2.9, My Lucky Day.
- The Janitor Failed 8th Grade Gym as heared in the 4th season episode My Malpractical Decision
Name
- His real name is never spoken and his name tag simply reads "Janitor", so thus far, he remains unnamed.
