Bob Kelso
Encyclopedia
Robert "Bob" Kelso, M.D.
(most commonly referred to as Bob Kelso, Bobbo or Kelso), is a fictional character played by Ken Jenkins
in the American comedy-drama
Scrubs
.
Bob Kelso is the chief of medicine for Sacred Heart Hospital for the first seven seasons of Scrubs (a position held since 1984), though he resigns in the episode "My Dumb Luck
". Kelso appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words
", "Their Story II" and "My Full Moon".
Ken Jenkins was a regular cast member for the first eight seasons, and appeared in nine episodes of season nine.
, Kelso tells J.D., "Don't you know that you're nothing but a pair of scrubs to me?" Eventually, though, events suggest that Kelso has become cold to cope with the pressures of his position. In later seasons he gradually becomes more playful and compassionate, and after retirement, he remains in the other characters' lives as a warm, grandfatherly figure.
Throughout the series, he is at odds with Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley
), Sacred Heart's Chief Attending Physician who eventually replaces him as Chief of Medicine. Cox calls him "Bobbo" or some other variation, often refers to him as a "pod person" or "the Devil
himself", and even punches him out in the episode "My Dream Job"; the two have occasionally shared moments of understanding and compassion, however, such as when Kelso tells a depressed
Cox that the hospital and Kelso himself needs him, as they balance each other out to do what is best for the hospital. After his retirement, Kelso becomes more openly friendly with Dr Cox.
His wife, Enid, and children are never seen
on the show, although he frequently comments on his spouse, describing her as morbidly obese, neurotic, and using a wheelchair after an accident that left her paralyzed
. Enid was a nurse working at the hospital during his early days as a M.D and he has one child by her, a son called Harrison, a gay
, drug-dealing heavy metal
fan who wrote a scathing musical
about him entitled "Dr. Dad" and "shacked up" with the actor playing Kelso. Kelso also has a secret love child, Trong Tri Kelso, by a Vietnam
ese woman he had an affair with during his tour in Vietnam
. Although he considers the boy's existence an embarrassment, he still pays for his college education.
Kelso was born in 1942 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania
, where his family, then named Kelsonovich, settled. His father, also a doctor, endeared himself to his poorer patients by accepting gifts such as food and clothing in lieu of actual payment; he was apparently less generous to his own family however, and he left the family on Kelso's own bicycle
(an event to which Kelso attributes his irrational hatred of bikes).
Kelso attended medical school at Stanford University
.
Kelso was in the United States Navy SEALs
during the Vietnam War
. In "His Story IV" and "My Déjà Vu, My Déjà Vu
", he reveals that he has a tattoo
of the word "Johnny" on his buttocks ("...he's an old sailor buddy, and if you went through what we did, you'd understand").
He is revealed in "My Growing Pains
" to be 65, which is the hospital's retirement age (in the episode "My Kingdom" the nameplate on Dr. Kelso's portrait shows his birth year as 1947, but this is part of a prank.) The board was actively searching for a replacement, and in "My Dumb Luck
" Kelso's forced retirement by the board due to his age is headed off with the help of the staff. He then decides to retire on his own terms, after reminiscing with Boon, a new intern, outside of the hospital. Amidst his ramblings he reveals that he truly does love the hospital and the people who work there. The discussion reveals that the first person he "killed" (a rite of passage for doctors) was a 19-year-old pregnant girl whom he mis-diagnosed.
At the end of this episode he is seen carrying his portrait on his way out of the hospital and he sincerely thanks Ted
, the hospital's lawyer and his personal whipping boy, for his hard work. He takes one last look at the hospital and drives off into the sunset.
It is revealed in "My Jiggly Ball" that Kelso is suffering from a sexually transmitted disease
which he has kept hidden from his wife, Enid.
Despite no longer working at Sacred Heart, Kelso remained a series regular. Now that Kelso was no longer a hospital bureaucrat
, he reveals himself actually to be a decent human being; he becomes Dr. Cox's confidant, as Cox can't talk to anyone else about how much he hates his new job. When he sees Cox's and J.D.'s tense interaction, Kelso advises J.D. that his relationship with Cox will be much like the relationship he had, except Cox is now in Kelso's position and J.D. in Cox' position. Several characters also note how Kelso now enjoys hanging out at the nearby coffee shop. In "My Comedy Show," a member of staff impersonates Kelso and mocks him for always being in the coffee shop (and also for his confessed love of prostitutes); Kelso looks displeased at first, then laughs along with everyone else, stating "It's funny because it's true."
In "My Finale
", Kelso decides to become a part-time doctor again and leave Sacred Heart for good. After stealing his favorite table from Coffeebucks, he gives J.D. a "proper" good-bye (a handshake) and drives off. Several staff members wave good-bye to Kelso from the hospital's windows before he leaves, which J.D. initially mistakes as being for him. One year later, Kelso is still working as a part-time doctor but has now returned to the new Sacred Heart Hospital where he teaches some classes alongside J.D, Turk and Dr. Cox.
In "My Screw Up
", Kelso shows compassion for his wife. When he finds Carla in a supply closet he admits that when his wife is away, the one thing he misses most is the thing he had tried to get rid of (her snoring). In "My New Suit" he admits to Dr. Cox, that despite the fact he hadn't "turned out exactly as [Kelso] planned", he still loves his son. In "My Scrubs" reveals that Kelso has always known about how patients with no health insurance
have been receiving treatment. This is after he keeps quiet to keep the system running and to benefit a friend, Maggie Kent, who has a foot injury. In "My Best Moment", he gives a man without insurance a free stay at the hospital. He finds the man's eight-year old child to be particularly affable and can't bring himself to doom the boy's father to certain death right before Christmas
, considering it to be his finest moment in medicine. However, when he gives instructions over the phone to keep the uninsured father in the hospital, the person on the other end is skeptical that it really is Dr. Kelso speaking.
In "His Story IV", the admission of Private Brian Dancer, who was wounded in Iraq, sparks political debate with the staff of Sacred Heart, enough that Dancer's health is endangered. In order to unite the hospital once more, Kelso removes the employee discount at the hospital's coffee shop (with the exception of himself), knowing that the only way for the hospital to work together is to have one person they all hate.
In "My Jiggly Ball", Kelso chooses to treat a rich patient at the expense of a poor one, with both having identical symptoms. The poor man dies while the rich man lives, and donates enough money to re-open a pre-natal care program which had to be closed due to budget constraints. However, the decision to allow the poor man to die is shown to affect Kelso to the point that he is visibly saddened when he goes home, though he makes sure to hide this fact from the other employees.
Kelso also has little to no compassion for Ted, the hospital's attorney. He often treats him as a servant, and puts him down constantly. This treatment is even to the point where Kelso forces Ted to come all the way to the hospital to make an announcement on his day off. At the end of season 7 however, he retires, thanking Ted for all he's done.
As of season 8, since Kelso no longer has to worry about the hospital, he is revealed to be a decent human being. He becomes Cox's confidant about how much Cox hates his new job, and even starts a friendship with him. He was also the one to encourage J.D. and Elliott to permanently rekindle their relationship. His new attitude seems to change the employees opinions about him, because when he finally leaves the hospital in "My Finale", the employees of the hospital wave goodbye to him from the windows.
In the first episode of season 9 it is revealed that Enid died, which Kelso has now gotten over despite it apparently happening 2 days beforehand; however, in the following episode, he says that part of the reason he's teaching is so that he doesn't have to spend as much time alone in his empty house. In one episode it is revealed that he was keeping a dorm on the campus as a secret "love nest" because he was unable to bring himself to conduct his affairs in the bed he shared with his wife.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
(most commonly referred to as Bob Kelso, Bobbo or Kelso), is a fictional character played by Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the Chief of Medicine on the American comedy Scrubs....
in the American comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
.
Bob Kelso is the chief of medicine for Sacred Heart Hospital for the first seven seasons of Scrubs (a position held since 1984), though he resigns in the episode "My Dumb Luck
My Dumb Luck
"My Dumb Luck" is the ninth episode of season seven and the 148th episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It aired on April 25, 2008 on NBC- Plot :Dr. Cox is unable to diagnose a recurring patient of two years. He gives J.D...
". Kelso appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words
My Last Words
"My Last Words" is the 152nd episode of the television series Scrubs, and the second of its eighth season. The episode first aired on January 6, 2009 on ABC, following the show's departure from NBC. It immediately followed "My Jerks", the first episode of the 8th season. The episode was written by...
", "Their Story II" and "My Full Moon".
Ken Jenkins was a regular cast member for the first eight seasons, and appeared in nine episodes of season nine.
Profile
Of all the Scrubs characters, he goes through the most pronounced change as the series progresses. In the first few seasons, he appears to be a pretentious, heartless man who gives mere lip service to patients' well-being, putting more value on the hospital's bottom line and his own personal comfort. In a moment of brutal candor in the series premiereMy First Day
"My First Day" is the pilot episode of the American comedy-drama Scrubs. It originally aired on October 2, 2001 on NBC. The episode was written by series creator Bill Lawrence and directed by Adam Bernstein....
, Kelso tells J.D., "Don't you know that you're nothing but a pair of scrubs to me?" Eventually, though, events suggest that Kelso has become cold to cope with the pressures of his position. In later seasons he gradually becomes more playful and compassionate, and after retirement, he remains in the other characters' lives as a warm, grandfatherly figure.
Throughout the series, he is at odds with Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
), Sacred Heart's Chief Attending Physician who eventually replaces him as Chief of Medicine. Cox calls him "Bobbo" or some other variation, often refers to him as a "pod person" or "the Devil
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
himself", and even punches him out in the episode "My Dream Job"; the two have occasionally shared moments of understanding and compassion, however, such as when Kelso tells a depressed
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
Cox that the hospital and Kelso himself needs him, as they balance each other out to do what is best for the hospital. After his retirement, Kelso becomes more openly friendly with Dr Cox.
His wife, Enid, and children are never seen
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...
on the show, although he frequently comments on his spouse, describing her as morbidly obese, neurotic, and using a wheelchair after an accident that left her paralyzed
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
. Enid was a nurse working at the hospital during his early days as a M.D and he has one child by her, a son called Harrison, a gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, drug-dealing heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
fan who wrote a scathing musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
about him entitled "Dr. Dad" and "shacked up" with the actor playing Kelso. Kelso also has a secret love child, Trong Tri Kelso, by a Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese woman he had an affair with during his tour in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Although he considers the boy's existence an embarrassment, he still pays for his college education.
Kelso was born in 1942 in Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Monroeville is a home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located about east of the city of Pittsburgh, Monroeville is a bustling suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments...
, where his family, then named Kelsonovich, settled. His father, also a doctor, endeared himself to his poorer patients by accepting gifts such as food and clothing in lieu of actual payment; he was apparently less generous to his own family however, and he left the family on Kelso's own bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
(an event to which Kelso attributes his irrational hatred of bikes).
Kelso attended medical school at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Kelso was in the United States Navy SEALs
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In "His Story IV" and "My Déjà Vu, My Déjà Vu
My Déjà vu, My Déjà vu
"My Déjà Vu, My Déjà Vu" is the 22nd episode of the fifth season of Scrubs. It first aired May 9, 2006 and is the 115th episode of the series.-Déjà Vu:...
", he reveals that he has a tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
of the word "Johnny" on his buttocks ("...he's an old sailor buddy, and if you went through what we did, you'd understand").
He is revealed in "My Growing Pains
My Growing Pains
"My Growing Pains" is the fifth episode of season seven and the 144th episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It aired on November 29, 2007 on NBC.-Plot:...
" to be 65, which is the hospital's retirement age (in the episode "My Kingdom" the nameplate on Dr. Kelso's portrait shows his birth year as 1947, but this is part of a prank.) The board was actively searching for a replacement, and in "My Dumb Luck
My Dumb Luck
"My Dumb Luck" is the ninth episode of season seven and the 148th episode of the American sitcom Scrubs. It aired on April 25, 2008 on NBC- Plot :Dr. Cox is unable to diagnose a recurring patient of two years. He gives J.D...
" Kelso's forced retirement by the board due to his age is headed off with the help of the staff. He then decides to retire on his own terms, after reminiscing with Boon, a new intern, outside of the hospital. Amidst his ramblings he reveals that he truly does love the hospital and the people who work there. The discussion reveals that the first person he "killed" (a rite of passage for doctors) was a 19-year-old pregnant girl whom he mis-diagnosed.
At the end of this episode he is seen carrying his portrait on his way out of the hospital and he sincerely thanks Ted
Ted Buckland
Theodore "Ted" Buckland, Esq., most commonly referred to as Ted Buckland , is a fictional character played by Sam Lloyd in Bill Lawrence series Scrubs and Cougar Town, and the only character to appears in both series.Created for Scrubs, Ted is the depressive, suicidal and incompetent lawyer of the...
, the hospital's lawyer and his personal whipping boy, for his hard work. He takes one last look at the hospital and drives off into the sunset.
It is revealed in "My Jiggly Ball" that Kelso is suffering from a sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
which he has kept hidden from his wife, Enid.
Despite no longer working at Sacred Heart, Kelso remained a series regular. Now that Kelso was no longer a hospital bureaucrat
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
, he reveals himself actually to be a decent human being; he becomes Dr. Cox's confidant, as Cox can't talk to anyone else about how much he hates his new job. When he sees Cox's and J.D.'s tense interaction, Kelso advises J.D. that his relationship with Cox will be much like the relationship he had, except Cox is now in Kelso's position and J.D. in Cox' position. Several characters also note how Kelso now enjoys hanging out at the nearby coffee shop. In "My Comedy Show," a member of staff impersonates Kelso and mocks him for always being in the coffee shop (and also for his confessed love of prostitutes); Kelso looks displeased at first, then laughs along with everyone else, stating "It's funny because it's true."
In "My Finale
My Finale
"My Finale" is the hour-long season finale for season eight of the American sitcom Scrubs. It was originally broadcast as episode 18 of season eight on May 6, 2009, and was intended to be the series finale. However, the show unexpectedly returned for a ninth season...
", Kelso decides to become a part-time doctor again and leave Sacred Heart for good. After stealing his favorite table from Coffeebucks, he gives J.D. a "proper" good-bye (a handshake) and drives off. Several staff members wave good-bye to Kelso from the hospital's windows before he leaves, which J.D. initially mistakes as being for him. One year later, Kelso is still working as a part-time doctor but has now returned to the new Sacred Heart Hospital where he teaches some classes alongside J.D, Turk and Dr. Cox.
Kelso's compassion
Kelso has a well-hidden compassion for all his patients, his coworkers, and even his employees. He has claimed in the past to be indifferent to the fact that so many people dislike him, but Cox has noted that deep down Kelso doesn't like to be thought of as the most hated person in the hospital.In "My Screw Up
My Screw Up
"My Screw Up" is the 14th episode of season three and the 60th episode overall of the American sitcom Scrubs. It originally aired on February 24, 2004 on NBC....
", Kelso shows compassion for his wife. When he finds Carla in a supply closet he admits that when his wife is away, the one thing he misses most is the thing he had tried to get rid of (her snoring). In "My New Suit" he admits to Dr. Cox, that despite the fact he hadn't "turned out exactly as [Kelso] planned", he still loves his son. In "My Scrubs" reveals that Kelso has always known about how patients with no health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
have been receiving treatment. This is after he keeps quiet to keep the system running and to benefit a friend, Maggie Kent, who has a foot injury. In "My Best Moment", he gives a man without insurance a free stay at the hospital. He finds the man's eight-year old child to be particularly affable and can't bring himself to doom the boy's father to certain death right before Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, considering it to be his finest moment in medicine. However, when he gives instructions over the phone to keep the uninsured father in the hospital, the person on the other end is skeptical that it really is Dr. Kelso speaking.
In "His Story IV", the admission of Private Brian Dancer, who was wounded in Iraq, sparks political debate with the staff of Sacred Heart, enough that Dancer's health is endangered. In order to unite the hospital once more, Kelso removes the employee discount at the hospital's coffee shop (with the exception of himself), knowing that the only way for the hospital to work together is to have one person they all hate.
In "My Jiggly Ball", Kelso chooses to treat a rich patient at the expense of a poor one, with both having identical symptoms. The poor man dies while the rich man lives, and donates enough money to re-open a pre-natal care program which had to be closed due to budget constraints. However, the decision to allow the poor man to die is shown to affect Kelso to the point that he is visibly saddened when he goes home, though he makes sure to hide this fact from the other employees.
Kelso also has little to no compassion for Ted, the hospital's attorney. He often treats him as a servant, and puts him down constantly. This treatment is even to the point where Kelso forces Ted to come all the way to the hospital to make an announcement on his day off. At the end of season 7 however, he retires, thanking Ted for all he's done.
As of season 8, since Kelso no longer has to worry about the hospital, he is revealed to be a decent human being. He becomes Cox's confidant about how much Cox hates his new job, and even starts a friendship with him. He was also the one to encourage J.D. and Elliott to permanently rekindle their relationship. His new attitude seems to change the employees opinions about him, because when he finally leaves the hospital in "My Finale", the employees of the hospital wave goodbye to him from the windows.
In the first episode of season 9 it is revealed that Enid died, which Kelso has now gotten over despite it apparently happening 2 days beforehand; however, in the following episode, he says that part of the reason he's teaching is so that he doesn't have to spend as much time alone in his empty house. In one episode it is revealed that he was keeping a dorm on the campus as a secret "love nest" because he was unable to bring himself to conduct his affairs in the bed he shared with his wife.