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Undoubtedly, the gayest story throughout the series' run is the emotionally intimate relationship between lead characters J.D. Dorian and Christopher Turk. Best buddies and roommates since college, these two have done just about everything together — except each other.

The show's writers “really set out to write Turk and J.D. as two unabashed guys who are in love with each other,” Lawrence says. “We can get away with it because they are clearly heterosexual, but I think that I have never seen more homoerotic behavior than when I was in a fraternity in college! I really wanted to put that in the show. That really cracks us up. Entertainment Weekly wrote this really nice article about the show and how Carla and Turk are their second favorite couple on TV. There first favorite were J.D. and Turk. Their mutual love for each other, you know.”

An episode in the third season, “My Journey,” addresses the emotional closeness of the two men and how it starts to bother Turk. When J.D. asks his best buddy out on a “man-date,” Turk becomes apprehensive and brings the Todd along. Offended, J.D. isn't scared to let Turk know how it upset him. To add insult to injury, J.D. complains to Turk, “I don't get it: I tell you everything and you tell me nothing. What are you afraid of?”

At that moment, a gay patient of Turk's comes in with his male fiancé — and both men look like J.D. and Turk. Turk confides to his patient that “being that close to another guy” scares him.

The patient replies, “That's a little gay.”

“Not only do we do that intentionally, ”Lawrence admits, “we want to play with something — that we have very intentionally made one character uncomfortable around the whole thing of sexuality. It is a funny story because he is a macho guy. … You know, for his background, he grew up with his friends and so forth and it is a much bigger subject taboo.”

Season 6 of Scrubs is scheduled to begin filming this month, and Lawrence hints at a possible gay storyline involving Turk and his family.

“We haven't meet Turk's father yet, and it is interesting if you look at the back story of the show,” he says. “Turk's mom showed up at his wedding, and we never said his parents were separated or that his dad had died. So we came up with this idea that his parents have stayed married and his father is on the down low. We wanted to make … his parents a couple that would be OK with it. [They] like everything about their marriage, but he had relationships on the side and well, if it doesn't seem top [contrived] and if it doesn't make it super odd, then we are going to go for it.”

Another possible episode would finally bring Dr. Kelso's (Ken Jenkins) unseen gay son, Harrison Kelso, to the foreground. After being mentioned extensively for the past five seasons, Harrison does seem to be a thorn in his father's side. Yet, by Lawrence's estimation of the character, Kelso truly does care about his son.

“[Kelso] is one of the original old school guys,” Lawrence says. “Though when you cut through the traditional kind of closed-off old cougar that he is, he still loves [his son]. We did an episode at the end of last year, that Dr. Cox makes a mistake in making a joke about Kelso's son, ‘Like the daughter he never had — only less successful.' Kelso laughs and then treats him [Dr. Cox] like shit. The moral of the story is you're allowed to give your own kid shit, but you don't dare give someone else else's kid shit.”

However, Scrubs' creator has some reservations about bringing this character into the spotlight. “Our worry with Kelso's son is that we are going to see a slam on a gay character, because we have made such a train wreck of his personal life,” Lawrence admits. “Meth addict to — you know, all over the board! It might be funnier in absenteeism.”

Actor Robert Maschio says of Lawrence's motivations: “I don't know if [Bill Lawrence] is doing social commentary or if he is trying to send a message or if he feels a responsibility. I don't think it is quite any of those things. I just think [it's] the truth that matters. He is a writer and he lives in this world. There are straight people, there are gay people, and there are all kinds of people. To be a writer is to be a student of human nature, and to make what happens to all these different characters and to include them in the world you create. I think that is very healthy to do so.”

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