Current Events > Anyone else weirdly like Dr Kelso on Scrubs more now than they did as a kid?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Rewatching the show and I actually not only like Dr Kelso a lot, but sometimes even agree with him or at least see things from his point of view. Even before the episode where they revealed that the hard decisions he makes for the hospital do take a toll on him.

Damn I'm getting old

Always did like him, because I find crotchety old man characters particularly amusing.

I've always loved Kelso. He gets to be cartoonishly evil while still having extra layers to his character.

Nope. Will never sympathize with people in positions of power that use their power to fuck over the poor. (His constant theme of not wanting doctors to treat those without insurance)

FaultyCircuitry posted...

(His constant theme of not wanting doctors to treat those without insurance)

It's explicitly shown that he knows of Cox' methods in order to treat patients without insurance. He just ignores it most of the time because he knows it's the right thing. His thing isn't wanting to fuck over the poor, his thing is keeping the hospital open in order to help as much as they can.

He was funny as hell but sucked just due to him nickel and diming. Not that that wasn't his job, but as I'm older and work for more crotchety old rich men that don't care about anything other than the bottom line, he's just as bad now as he was then.

He instantly won me over in the 2nd episode with this scene (too tough to find the exact clip on youtube):

Elliot, passive-aggressively at the nurses: "Dr. Kelso, you're the Chief of Medicine, is there some special way to communicate with the nursing staff that I'm not getting?"

Dr. Kelso: "...Well, sugar won't work, because they're already so sweet!"
*Grabs Elliot by the arm and yanks her aside*
"Now listen, Dr. Whatever-the-Hell-Your-Name-Is...you tattled yesterday, I responded. I feel closer to you than ever, really. But the ramifications are yours. So don't try to drag me into your pathetic, whiny little squabble with that god-awful bunch of malcontents, I hope you all kill each other!!"
*Turns back to the nurses*
"Have a great day, ladies!"

'Member the one where he had to work against an old doctor friend (played by Dick Van Dyke) because he couldn't adjust to modern medical practices? That was a good one.

He's always been one of my favorites because Ken Jenkins is a hilarious actor.

Kelso the person is a horrible piece of shit though lol

Well he IS the American healthcare system incarnated.

That's what getting older does lol

I always liked him but he did get a bit cartoonish in the later seasons (such as his obsession with muffins)

I hated everything about scrubs because A. It's a hospital show and B. It's loud as fuck

I don't really remember the show but outside of the few tacked on "he actually really cares about people!" scenes isn't he just a straight up piece of shit?

Since I have insurance, every time my doctor schedules me for an x-ray, mri, and a bunch of other annoying tests, I always think back to dr kelso and dr cox and how cox gets angry at kelso for scheduling a patient with insurance a ton of tests just because they can afford it and is a "cash cow" ka-ching money maker or whatever kelso says.

This is literally what happens with me and I think of Scrubs every time.

ArchNemo posted...

I don't really remember the show but outside of the few tacked on "he actually really cares about people!" scenes isn't he just a straight up piece of shit?

Yes

https://youtu.be/uYp7eVDX_pw

I always liked him because of the snark to snark combat he'd get into with Cox.

"40 million son. Do you have any idea how many patients I had to ignore to get the high score? People died."

I always liked him. He was given more character than an evil penny pinching hospital boss. I remember when it was shown he knew how people went around his back to get things approved but allowed it because he knew it was right but he had to put up his front.

FaultyCircuitry posted...

Nope. Will never sympathize with people in positions of power that use their power to fuck over the poor. (His constant theme of not wanting doctors to treat those without insurance)

Did you only watch one or two scenes? He provided the cover to keep the hospital running and in good graces with medical supply companies and insurance agencies while knowingly turning a blind eye to staff using loopholes to treat patients without insurance or to charge other peoples' insurance.

The closest he came to that was in authorizing a rich patient for a limited spot trial over a poor one in the hopes of getting hefty donations from the rich patient to help more poor patients in the long run, a decision he privately agonized over.

you were spongebob and now you're squidward.

I've never liked any character on scrubs. They're all insufferable to me

K181 posted...

Did you only watch one or two scenes? He provided the cover to keep the hospital running and in good graces with medical supply companies and insurance agencies while knowingly turning a blind eye to staff using loopholes to treat patients without insurance or to charge other peoples' insurance.

The closest he came to that was in authorizing a rich patient for a limited spot trial over a poor one in the hopes of getting hefty donations from the rich patient to help more poor patients in the long run, a decision he privately agonized over.

No, just forgot been a looong time since I last watched it and my memory is very bad

FaultyCircuitry posted...

No, just forgot been a looong time since I last watched it and my memory is very bad

How convenient.

FaultyCircuitry posted...

No, just forgot been a looong time since I last watched it and my memory is very bad

Apologies if my post came off as hostile. Hours later that opening came off as harsher than I hope I was intending.

MC_BatCommander posted...

Kelso the person is a horrible piece of shit though lol

I completely disagree. Him and Cox are two sides of the same coin, and Kelso wants to help as many people as he can. His problem is he also has a hospital run run, and business is business. But he doesn't really get in the way of Cox much, and wants the best for his patients

K181 posted...

Did you only watch one or two scenes? He provided the cover to keep the hospital running and in good graces with medical supply companies and insurance agencies while knowingly turning a blind eye to staff using loopholes to treat patients without insurance or to charge other peoples' insurance.

The closest he came to that was in authorizing a rich patient for a limited spot trial over a poor one in the hopes of getting hefty donations from the rich patient to help more poor patients in the long run, a decision he privately agonized over.

Yeah. I loved that episode and Sideways is one of my favorite songs now lol.

I like that the arcs of the established figures at Sacred Heart (most notably Dr. Cox and Dr. Kelso) quite naturally follow the development of JD's career. When the show is just starting and JD is a lowly intern, Kelso is seen by both him and the viewer as the demonic penny-pinching overlord of the hospital, while Dr. Cox is the stalwart hero / defender of the little guy. As the show goes on and JD establishes his own career / starts to see himself on a peer level with these figures, Dr. Kelso becomes more humanized, while JD becoming more aware of / involved with Dr. Cox's flaws / messy personal life allows JD to eventually grow past his hero worship of him. The latter arc gets capped off rather nicely when Dr. Cox takes on Kelso's role as Chief of Medicine, and JD takes on Dr. Cox's old role of being the guy who has to fight the Chief on every little issue.

Heartomaton posted...

'Member the one where he had to work against an old doctor friend (played by Dick Van Dyke) because he couldn't adjust to modern medical practices? That was a good one.

It was a good episode, yeah.

I like Kelso when he's humanized. But he is still a cog in the machine and gleefully plays the role most of the time. Plus how he treated uh. Barbershop quartet guy, I think he was the legal advisor? That was all kinds of messed up. But as a result it did make that moment between them when Kelso was leaving slightly sweet because the guy actually did feel good for once.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/0/7/9/AAJmR2AADxt_.jpg

Blade_Trinity posted...

How convenient.

I mean it's true. My memory of even things from the past year is miserable. It's also a stupid thing to lie about?

All I could recall was his crotchety old man persona and that he was definitely a misogynist. Surface level stuff that was easy to recall.

gunplagirl posted...

But as a result it did make that moment between them when Kelso was leaving slightly sweet because the guy actually did feel good for once.

"Thanks for everything, Ted. Sincerely."

Buu_88 posted...

"Thanks for everything, Ted. Sincerely."

Yeah. I looked up the scene after posting and it's nice when Ted wins.

gunplagirl posted...

Yeah. I looked up the scene after posting and it's nice when Ted wins.

"My Lawyer's In Love" is one of my favorite eps of S8.

gunplagirl posted...

It was a good episode, yeah.

I like Kelso when he's humanized. But he is still a cog in the machine and gleefully plays the role most of the time. Plus how he treated uh. Barbershop quartet guy, I think he was the legal advisor? That was all kinds of messed up. But as a result it did make that moment between them when Kelso was leaving slightly sweet because the guy actually did feel good for once.

"Ketchup is for winners Ted"

I didn't always like the guy, but he really was a great character.

He should have been written out of the show rather than just hanging around eating muffins all day, though.

TomClark posted...

I didn't always like the guy, but he really was a great character.

He should have been written out of the show rather than just hanging around eating muffins all day, though.

He had some great parts to play in s8, though: telling JD and Elliot to cut the bullshit and just get back together already, convincing Dr. Cox to take the Chief of Medicine job, teasing JD over him and Dr. Cox becoming friends, etc. Plus their were enough in-universe jokes about his inability to move on that it helped make up for it.

masterpug53 posted...

He had some great parts to play in s8, though: telling JD and Elliot to cut the bullshit and just get back together already, convincing Dr. Cox to take the Chief of Medicine job, teasing JD over him and Dr. Cox becoming friends, etc. Plus their were enough in-universe jokes about his inability to move on that it helped make up for it.

Yeah, fair comments.

voldothegr8 posted...

"40 million son. Do you have any idea how many patients I had to ignore to get the high score? People died."

lmao

MC_BatCommander posted...

Yes

https://youtu.be/uYp7eVDX_pw

season 1 was a masterpiece of sitcom writing. Its such a shame it went downhill so fast. They recaptured some of that magic in the last season but by then it was too late.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTHpsjVuQgM

One of the funniest semi-Kelso scenes to me.

https://youtu.be/FTbgvYPVdXE

It depresses me how butchered the show is without all that licensed music

The DVDs are still available surely the original music is there

dr kelso is a misogynistic asshole

if you like him it really says a lot about you as a person

His best moment (at least that I remember).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efndBfXHPxs

Vyrulisse posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTHpsjVuQgM

One of the funniest semi-Kelso scenes to me.

That scene freaking cracks me up, Scrubs is still hilarious to this day I love it. Shame others don't feel the same way

But lowkey one of my favorites is when Dr Cox is about to go off on one of his rants and Dr Kelso cuts him off saying "good god perry how many times do I have to say it, we're tired of your speeches. If you don't shut up we'll have to start playing that awards show music to usher of hollywood nuts"