John Doe

The character John Doe awakens on a deserted island a few miles off the coast of Seattle, he knows everything, however, the crucial things (his name, who he is, family data is unknown). The first episode is terrific as all are. The last episode is a real cliffhanger, unfortunately the series was cancelated after the first season. I believe in the second season we would have found out more information regarding who John Doe really is. Unfortunately, as with any great program, the the executives do not really care about the fans, they only care about the bottom line. With that, we have all seen programs air for several seasons that should have been cancelated after the first few episodes. I have seen every episode. The program has some excellent actors. Domininc Purcell does a stand-up job as John Doe. The remaining cast performs superbly. Every episode is excellent, the show contains a tremendous amount of mystery, and twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Dominic Purcell brings energy and skill every time you see him on the screen. On a different note, I have heard that a feature length movie is in the works, however, the skinny is that Wesley Snipes will be cast as John Doe. Wesley Snipes is a terrific actor, however, I believe he is not the right actor to portray John Doe.

I get the feeling that my wife and I were the only two people watching this show. The characters were very likeable, and Mr. Doe himself Dominic Purcell was great. I hope that at least something good for his career comes out of this show.

A man appears seemingly from nowhere with total amnesia but possessing the total knowledge contained in the Library of Congress, and then some, turns up in Seattle. While he tries to figure out who he is and where he came from, he becomes a private investigator helping the police with its most difficult cases. The running subplot are hints of his past and a cult organization that either created him or is trying to control him.

This makes for a very interesting show with the normal episodic suspense of a detective show, but with the bonus with ongoing suspense about the detective himself. The cast and their roles were great. This show was simply begging you to like it. What failed was the writing. The premise of the series and the plots of each episode were great, but execution was terrible. In every episode there was some completely absurd part that made you cringe. The writers never seemed to figure out what it meant to know everything. Doe not only is smart, but also has instant muscle memory and can learn new physical tasks instantly. In one episode, he even predicts the weather. And sadly, some of Doe's knowledge is totally absurd. For example, in the first episode, Doe recites the entire binary code (in ones and zeros) for the original version of MS DOS in front of a crowd of astonished spectators in a matter of hours (the crowd sticks around to hear it all).

The idea that this guy knows everything is pretty incredible but leaves an huge area to work with, but this concept was totally abused. As much as I would have liked the series to work, I was left only with the impression of the pretentiousness of the writers. It's pretty hard to create an almost omniscient character when you yourself are pretty dumb. I think that under more capable hands, this show could have been great.

"John Doe" is a fascinating show with characters that are surprisingly real for such a surreal work.

Begin with John himself, a man with total personal amnesia yet he knows virtually everything else! If you suddenly understood complex mathematics and statistical probability, wouldn't you use that knowledge to get rich? John does. Newly rich, Doe also acquires an identity so that he can have a life while he tries to find his old one.

Encountering a missing child's image, he begins a quest to help police find her, initially believing that she must be connected to him, for he sees her in color despite being color blind.

Who is John Doe? He's a real guy, wanting a nice place but quick to help other's when he can.

Surrounding Doe are a cast of characters, including Lt. Jamie Avery, a tough policewoman who questions Doe's helpfulness; Hayes, a police officer who sees Doe as a valuable ally and possibly a friend; Digger, a bar owner with a philosophical nature hidden by a gruff exterior; and Karen, a vibrant eighteen-year-old art student who might prove John's best chance of regaining his lost memory

If you enjoyed the surrealistic "Twin Peaks", or were a fan of the less dour episodes of "The X-Files", give "John Doe" a chance. You might find yourself liking the man, even if you don't know who he really is.

This is one great show containing all the mystery and intrigue of the X-Files and Characters who actually have character. I got hooked on it when it came out on Sci-Fi without having heard of it before. When I missed an episode and had to download it, I found the whole first season and went ahead and got it. Fox really screwed up when they decided to cut it without actually bringing it to a real end. It was there one day and gone the next. That's what I hated about it. I didn't mind so much about it ending, but it was never really revealed who this mysterious John Doe character is or who Phoenix was. What was this strange staff they were after and why did it matter so much to them? Because of Fox's decision to send it down the tubes we will never know. I like a good mystery, but I want it to be solved. Because this one was never solved, it will leave you disappointed in the end.

This is a pretty exciting TV show from FOX that is about an amnesia-plagued man dubbed John Doe and played by Dominic Purcell, who possesses a wealth of encyclopedia knowledge and is pursued by an obscure and foreign organization called "The Phoenix" to do some sort of mysterious and secret experiment.

Each episode has its own intriguing and unique flavor, not straying from the plot but also not dragging on to make the show pointless and boring. And, each episode gives its own taste of suspense, making you wonder more and more where "John Doe" comes from and what is the truth behind his knowledge and background.

The final episode of Season One ends in a twist and unmasks the main villain. However, the cliffhanger was not elaborated on as the series was canceled after the first season. It is too bad - this show had great potential and is what I think one of the better TV dramas of the 2000s.

Grade B+