John Doe (TV series)

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John Doe
Opening titles for John Doe
Format	Drama
Created by	Brandon Camp Mike Thompson
Starring	Dominic Purcell John Marshall Jones Jayne Brook William Forsythe Sprague Grayden
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	21 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Brandon Camp Mimi Leder Mike Thompson
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox Network
Original run	September 20, 2002 – April 25, 2003
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

John Doe is an American television series that aired on The Fox Network during the 2002–2003 TV season.

1 Synopsis
2 Who is John Doe?
3 Cast
4 Episodes
5 Trivia
6 External links
7 See also
8 References

[edit] 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 wakes up on an island off the coast of Seattle, Washington, naked, with absolutely no memory of who he is or how he got there. However, 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 Uruguay, and other such obscure (and not-so-obscure) facts. He also has expert knowledge on everything from the stock market to computers. Over the course of the series John attempts to find clues about his past by using his unusual ability while also helping people in need. In the process it becomes clear that an international conspiracy known as the Phoenix Organization is watching John's every move, which Digger is secretly in charge of.

[edit] Who is John Doe?

After the show was cancelled, one of its producers revealed the secret of the main character's true identity in an interview with TV Guide: the Phoenix Organization, he said, was a group conducting research into near-death experiences. They believed that the sum total of knowledge in the universe would be conferred upon them at the moment of death, so they killed John and brought him back to life in order to gain access to that knowledge.

The show's final episode revealed that Digger, one of John's closest friends, was in fact the true leader of the Phoenix Organization.

An explanation of Doe's identity was eventually put forward by the show's producers in the pages of Entertainment Weekly. The article read, in part:

Where We Left Off: Doe was helping the police solve crimes and being tracked by a seemingly nefarious group called the Phoenix Organization. He finally unmasked the big bad, a villain nicknamed Stocking Cap -- his friend, Digger (played by William Forsythe)!

What Would Have Happened: Make that someone who looked like Digger. 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.

So Who is John Doe?! "You'd think we actually would have come up with his name," the show's producer revealed. "We have no idea," he finally admitted, before adding "Fred."

On the popular weekly podcast Diggnation, Alex Albrecht said he was given a reason for the black and white vision, as well as all of the knowledge John Doe had. It was said that when you reach the gates of heaven, you are given the answer to every question you'll ever ask or that will ever be asked. And the reason for the black-and-white vision was an effect of being returned to earth.

[edit] Cast

Dominic Purcell as John Doe
Jayne Brook as Jamie Avery
William Forsythe as Digger
Sprague Grayden as Karen Kawalski
John Marshall Jones as Frank Hayes
Rekha Sharma as Stella (recurring)

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of John Doe episodes

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Though the show was set in Seattle, it is obvious to Seattle residents that almost none of the show's scenes were actually shot there. Inclusion of locations used on Highlander: The Series indicates that the majority of the show was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is a common substitute for Seattle. Kyle XY, a show with a similar premise, is also set in Seattle and also filmed in Vancouver.
Two versions of the show's pilot episode were filmed. The unaired version includes several deleted scenes (most notably involving John talking to a corpse labeled "Jane Doe" in the morgue throughout the episode). Many scenes differ from what actually aired, mostly due to the fact that several of the roles were later recast: Digger was originally played by Meat Loaf, Jamie by Elizabeth Lackey, and Karen by Azura Skye. The original pilot ran 52 minutes, which explains the cut scenes.
John Doe was referred to as Tommy in at least two episodes.
Stargate SG-1 & Atlantis often refer to reaching a state of ascension where one exists on a higher plane and has access to all knowledge. When one returns from being ascended, one typically returns naked and suffering from amnesia to some degree.^[1]