10 Greatest Minor Scrubs Characters

Played By – Tom Cavanagh, Appearances – 7 (My Big Brother, My Brother Where Art Thou, My Cake, My Common Enemy, My New Suit, My Inconvenient Truth, My Finale)

Unlike other sitcoms, where family members of the main characters usually appear semi-regularly, Scrubs kept most of the cast’s relations off-screen, with the likes of Turk’s brother and mother, Elliot’s parents, Dr. Cox’s sister and Carla’s brother each making just 1-3 appearances over the course of the show’s eight seasons.

It will never be known whether the late John Ritter was meant to show up more frequently as J.D’s father before his demise after just two appearances, but in his wake came the arrival of Tom Cavanagh as his elder brother Dan Dorian.

A perennial screw-up who J.D is embarrassed by, Dan’s appearances always brought about hijinks at his brother’s expense, though these were often backended with great moments where it was shown that he did truly admire his younger brother’s success and only had his best interests at heart.

Appearing in one episode per season from the second onwards, aside from an extended run in season fourwhen he had a brief fling with Elliot, Dan’s appearances were spread out sufficiently enough to never get stale.

Always quick-witted, Dan’s development into a successful businessman was also fulfilling to behold, allowing J.D to cast his longstanding apathy of his sibling aside.