John Doe

This is one of my favorite TV shows ever made. At first, I was skeptic, a guy who knows every thing and doesn't know who he is? Yeah, that is such a big deal. But after watching the premiere of Firefly, I decided too stick around. I was taken aback. The cinematography was wonderful, the constant but subtle transitions from color too black and white, the swirling angles. And yet, the plot was even better. Twists and turns fill the episode, and each one after that, and the series finale will leave you trying too catch up and awed at a finale surprise. but alas, Well never know how it ends, as it was cancelled. But it lives on in my mind, the soundtrack still echoing trough my head, the surprises I'm still thinking about.

Great show.

John Doe is quite probably the best new TV show that you've never seen. Why? Because of its time slot. I remember when The X-Files was on at the same time, and it struggled for ratings. Now, (at least, at the time I'm writing this) this wonderful drama has been stuck in the same slot, on "date night" when nobody is home to watch it except us geeks.

The basic plot is great: John Doe wakes up and realizes he knows everything except what's important - his identity. He's also colorblind. I got sucked in from the beginning, because I thought the plot sounded like a nifty idea, and I became addicted. Even my mother watches it, and we don't usually have the same taste in tv shows. John Doe, though, has become appointment TV, we make a point to sit down together and have dinner once a week while figuring out this week's mystery.

This is one of the few dramas I like, because it has a mystery to it, and because of the trivia John comes up with each episode. It's not your usual shoot-em-up cop show or blah-blah-my-life-is-so-hard yakfest. I highly recommend watching it, you'll be hooked!

Network: Fox; Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi; Average Content Rating: TV-PG; Classification: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Season Reviewed: Complete series (1 season)

I went into 'John Doe' skeptically. This was, after all, the year after some of the finest shows of the new millennium had lost their heads on the chopping block under the Gail Berman regime over at Fox. So it goes without saying, and it went without saying from minute one of this show, that it was going to be canceled before it's time. This is the Fox network where talking about, after all. As the sun rises and sets so does Fox pull out a great or if not that an extremely promising show before its time. When it's all said and done I would put 'John Doe' firmly in the latter category.

The surrounds an enigma, about a man (Dominic Purcell) who awakens with all the encyclopedic facts of the universe but lacks any memory of his own identity. It sounds a little formula and hockey but stick with it. Despite my skepticism it managed to hook me in the very first episode. After a summer of seeing the over-dramatic scene of nothing more than Doe waking up nude on an island in all of the Fox promos the lighter, more breezy nature of the opening was a good sign. Instead of Doe muddling around trying to find himself the pilot script jump right into reality, having Doe do exactly what anyone would - use his new found knowledge to enrich himself. Soon enough he's got a hot car and a nice apartment on his ability to pick horses at the track. He can do so much that he becomes bored with this life and soon finds himself trying to help others by helping the police solve the usual TV 'unsolvable crime'. It all follows a pretty linear cause-and-effect plot, which is why I feel myself forgiving the show for the more formulaic show it often became. Essentially it became another 'MacGyver' in which Doe uses household items like paper-clips and dish-washing liquid to scientifically get himself out of one absurd jam after another. However, it's jams where pretty good. Such as when Doe tussled with a killer on an airplane or tracked down a Jack the Ripper copycat. Although, the endings are often a cop-out in the usual TV way. The best, by far where the 2 episodes in which Doe went up against his doppelganger - a psychotic serial killer who had the same abilities and would put Doe up to tasks like defusing a bomb before the traffic light turns red.

In that way, and in the way the series is based on a larger premise but takes time away from it - breaking the momentum if you will - to focus on a self contained mystery, 'John Doe' recalled 'the X-Files'. With that show now retired, Fox would have been better advised to keep his one around and see what it could do. It was different but similar enough to make a run at it. This show also calls back to 'The Pretender' and numerous other recent crime dramas where a genius solves the unsolvable cases. The difference here is in the execution. I actually think 'John Doe' is better than most of the shows it recalls. As I said, not only does the premise make the crime elements seem logical, but it also works due to it's crisp direction - often from movie director Mimi Leder. What makes the show fly most of all is the charming lead performance of Purcell. His take on Doe is one of a man without a past or a personality and Purcell strikes that cord, but also keeps him lively, colorful and away from being the face-less wooden hero Doe could have easily been.

While some of the self-contained stories (all of which felt very much like the writers satisfying a network requirement) seemed to grow tired before the hour was up, the driving mystery of the series was a compelling and original one. What where the nature of Doe's powers? What was the Phoenix group? All mysteries that remain unanswered as the series was canceled. The show had a knack for keeping us on the edge of our seat, answering questions only to pose more in an ending twist. And the best shock of them all came in the final second of the series. Hey, if it had to go at least 'John Doe' went out with a bang. You've got to give it that.

* * * / 4

I was completely surprised by this series. I've heard very little about it and wasn't exactly anticpating it but I'm so glad I got a chance to watch it. I believe I've found the first show I'll go out of my way to watch since My So-Called Life. It held my attention for the entire fifty minutes. The pacing was excellent, the writing was excellent, and while the lead character's acting might take some getting used to on my part- I highly enjoyed it. Unlike so many of the other "Next Files", John Doe is actually intelligent and refreshingly original. I've avoided TV so much lately it was quite a shock for me to see a program that was actually entertaining. I'm very excited about the future of this show.

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+