Here’s why Michael J. Fox was Scrubs’ best guest star. Bill Lawrence’s medical comedy-drama Scrubs boasted some amazing guest stars over its nine-season run. From Colin Farrell’s season 4 turn as lovable rascal Billy Callahan, Heather Locklear’s two-episode arc as flirtatious pharmaceutical rep Julie Keaton to the late, great John Ritter as J.D.’s dad Sam Dorian – seeing talented actors pop up in guest star roles was a highlight of the show.
One thing Scrubs excelled at was achieving a perfect balance between comedy and tragedy. It was the kind of series that would make viewers laugh one minute only to hit them right in the feels and that extended to its guest stars too. In season 2 Dick Van Dyke had a poignant cameo as Doug Townshend, a charmingly old-school doctor who is forced into retirement after his refusal to keep up with modern medical techniques almost gets a patient killed. And who could forget Brendan Fraser as Dr. Cox’s best pal and ex-brother-in-law Ben? While Fraser was hilarious in the role, his character met a tragic end that left the Scrubs fandom in tears.
Michael J. Fox was another amazing Scrubs guest star whose role and performance mixed comedy and tragedy. He played Dr. Kevin Casey – a brilliant but troubled surgeon suffering from OCD – who visits Sacred Heart for a couple of episodes (“My Catalyst” and “My Porcelain God”) in the show’s third season. While his OCD was often played for laughs, Scrubs showed that Kevin managed to turn some aspects of his condition to his advantage, like obsessively pouring over textbooks to perfect his medical knowledge or practicing tricks to improve his surgical dexterity.
At first, this earned him plenty of adoration at Sacred Heart but that quickly turned to resentment. By the end of his first episode on Scrubs, J.D. had beef with Kevin over him pointing out his mentor worship was a bit pathetic, Dr. Cox was annoyed about his encyclopedic medical knowledge and Turk was peeved over his ability to perform surgeries faster. However, a poignant scene in which a frustrated Kevin couldn’t stop washing his hands after a surgery made the doctors realize their petty issues were nothing compared to his struggles.
But Dr. Kevin was more than just a manic pixie dream guy who shows up to teach J.D., Dr. Cox, and Turk a valuable life lesson. Michael J. Fox’s role on Scrubs was poignant in several ways. Not only did it bring him out of semi-retirement after stepping back from acting following his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis it also – in a way – reflected his real-life health struggles. Like his Scrubs character, Fox hasn’t let his condition defeat him but has been honest about its effect on his life. That’s what makes Michael J. Fox’s Scrubs appearance so meaningful and why he’s the show’s greatest guest star.