John Doe is an American science fiction drama television series that aired on Fox during the 2002–2003 TV season.
Contents
Synopsis
I woke up in an island off the coast of Seattle. I didn't know how I got there ... or who I was. But I did seem to know everything else. There were things about me I didn't understand ... the brand, being colorblind, extreme claustrophobia. And while my gifts provided answers for others, I still search for my own. My name is John Doe.
In the opening scene of the series' pilot episode, a mysterious man awakens on an island off the coast of Seattle, Washington, naked, with absolutely no memory of who he is or how he got there. Apart from the details of his own past, "John Doe", as he comes to call himself, seems to have access to the sum total of all human knowledge: he knows how many dimples are on a golf ball, the population of Morocco, and other such obscure (and not-so-obscure) facts. He has expert knowledge on everything from the stock market to computers. John attempts to find clues about his past by using his unusual ability while also helping to solve crimes with the Seattle police department. It becomes clear that an international conspiracy known as the Phoenix Organization is watching John's every move.
Who is John Doe?
Due to the series' cancellation, the final episode ended with an unresolved cliffhanger, revealing that Digger, John's close friend, was in fact the leader of the Phoenix Organization. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series creators Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson revealed what would have happened and John Doe's true identity.
Make that someone who looked like John's friend. The villain unmasked in the finale was actually just a Phoenix member with some fancy facial reconstruction. Turns out, the Phoenix believed Doe was the Messiah and its members were actually protecting Doe from a second group, which wanted him dead. The truth: Doe was injured in a boating accident. That mark on his chest? A scar left by a piece of shrapnel from the explosion. His Überbrain? A by-product of transcending his body during a near-death experience, traveling to a spiritual plane where all the universe's questions are answered.
Cast
Main cast
Dominic Purcell as John Doe
John Marshall Jones as Frank Hayes
Jayne Brook as Jamie Avery
Sprague Grayden as Karen Kawalski
William Forsythe as Digger
Recurring cast
Rekha Sharma as Stella
David Lewis as Stu
Michelle Hart as Nance Fenton
Grace Zabriskie as Yellow Teeth
Gary Werntz as Trenchcoat
David Parker as Detective Roosevelt
Gabrielle Anwar as Rachel
Matt Winston as Samuel Donald Clarkson
Syndication
On January 20, 2006, the series was syndicated to the Sci-Fi channel.
Reception
On Metacritic, the series has a score of 65 out of 100 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 73% with an average rating of 7/10 based on 26 reviews, with a critical consensus stating: "John Doe overcomes its somewhat dubious premise with an alluring sense of mystery and a nuanced performance from Dominic Purcell." Phil Gallo of Variety wrote, "It's so stylishly executed, with Mimi Leder's direction, a crisp script and magnetic lead by Dominic Purcell, that the John Doe indeed has a solid identity."