John Doe – “The Rising” (SEASON FINALE)

Is tonight the night the Phoenix rises from the ashes? Is this the last John Doe ever?

16 replies on “John Doe – “The Rising” (SEASON FINALE)”

  1. If so, it was a great ride
    It is funny that this used to be led-in by Firefly.
    Well Firefly is gone but John Doe carries on. A mix
    between detective and speculative fiction, the acting and stories have turned out to be darned good.

    I do believe the show has already been picked up for next season, however.

    • Re: If so, it was a great ride

      I do believe the show has already been picked up for next season, however.

      No official word yet, according to Zap2it, the futon critic, TV Tome, and others.

      And Fox won’t be airing reruns of John Doe during the summer, apparently to make room for more, ugh, reality shows.

      • Re: If so, it was a great ride

        And Fox won’t be airing reruns of John Doe during the summer, apparently to make room for more, ugh, reality shows.

        Well damn. I was hoping they would so I could start watching – who’s the Canadian affiliate for this? Maybe they’ll do reruns.

        • Re: If so, it was a great ride

          Well damn. I was hoping they would so I could start watching – who’s the Canadian affiliate for this? Maybe they’ll do reruns.

          I get it locally on A-Channel. They’re not national yet, so you might have it on other stations in your area.

    • Re: If so, it was a great ride

      It is funny that this used to be led-in by Firefly.
      Well Firefly is gone but John Doe carries on.

      1) It points to a weakness at FOX that they apparently don’t have enough popular shows to provide a good lead-in for both shows, instead opting to pair up two brand new shows, neither of which having an established audience.

      2) I think you could trace the roots of the decision to cancel one and not the other directly to the money. John Doe is far less expensive to produce than Firefly.

      3) It’s much easier to get an audience for a mystery/cop show, even with an odd premise, that takes place in the present day. Scifi is a tough sell and broadcast networks expect way too much way too soon for scifi shows to work out (especially when they’re serialized).

      All that being said, I really like John Doe and hope it makes the cut for next year.

  2. Well, okay (spoilers)
    So, they went for the easy answer re: Stocking Cap’s identity. How disappointing.

    Still, there was enough in tonight’s episode that I can’t complain too much about that detail. Now we apparently have telekinesis, former nuns, and anthropology added to the mix. And it was quite a shock that Trenchcoat and crew aren’t really deaf. How stupid of that NSA guy, though, to leave a weapon in the interrogation room? Geez, what kind of training does our taxes buy these days, anyways? :)

    Another ep that was light on Frank and Avery. But no Stella? :(

    This show better get renewed.

    • Re: Well, okay (spoilers)

      So, they went for the easy answer re: Stocking Cap’s identity. How disappointing.

      I wasn’t disappointed at all. I mean we all suspected it, but we should be happy that they kept it interesting enough for the whole season so that at least at the end the question was still in our minds (it was in mine, at least). The only quibble I have with the revelation is in what they have planned for the second season. He’ll probably be the omnipresent adversary trying to lure John to “the dark side” (a la Cancer Man) but who knows? In any case, it’ll certainly present an interesting twist on the format they’ve already established.

      I still like Frank and Avery and hope for plenty more next season. I’ll echo your sentiment there: “This show better get renewed.”

      • Re: Well, okay (spoilers)
        Ah, I forgot to mention my biggest complaint (apart from Stocking Cap’s identity) about this ep:

        Phoenix clears out of the cannery before John gets there, but Trenchcoat just happens to still be hanging around to be conveniently captured? And Phoenix leaves one piece of paper, that just happens to be a clue for John? That kind of strains believability for me.

        I also forgot to mention that any show with a guest shot by JK Simmons is okay in my book.

        • Re: Well, okay (spoilers)

          I also forgot to mention that any show with a guest shot by JK Simmons is okay in my book.

          I too like JK quite a bit. He’s been the only bright spot on Law&Order since the age of Barbie (I wish Elizabeth Rohm had stayed on Angel instead of becoming the most poorly written ADA on L&O to date). Now that Olivet (Carolyn McCormick, also quite good) is guesting again, the psychiatry is the best part of that show. And, of course, I thought his J.J. Jameson was excellent.

          But the way his scene was written in John Doe was a sore spot about this episode for me. It was a little too “Use The Force, John” for my tastes.

        • Re: Well, okay (spoilers)

          Trenchcoat just happens to still be hanging around to be conveniently captured?

          And Phoenix leaves one piece of paper, that just happens to be a clue for John? That kind of strains believability for me.

          I figured the two went together. They realize a piece of paper got left behind, and Trenchcoat (is that the same actor as from Pretender, BTW? If so, good actor, but talk about adding even more Pretender references…) went back to pick it up.

          My $.02.

        • Re: Well, okay (spoilers)

          Phoenix clears out of the cannery before John gets there, but Trenchcoat just happens to still be hanging around to be conveniently captured? And Phoenix leaves one piece of paper, that just happens to be a clue for John?

          No, the piece of paper WAS a clue when it was projected to him. By the time he actually finds the paper its irrelvant.

      • Re: Well, okay (spoilers)

        [Re: Stocking Cap] I wasn’t disappointed at all. I mean we all suspected it

        I must’ve missed those eps – after they cancelled Firefly, I missed a couple months worth. If not for my friends not being able to do Friday night out, I wouldn’t have gone back (I think I’ve only seen the last 2 or 3, after the inital bunch). That being said, I’m glad I did. The past couple eps have gone a _whole_ lot further down the “mystery man” aspect than I would have guessed from earlier interviews – they played up the whole Sherlock Holmes aspect a lot more, which is the only reason I initially watched (lest it be a “Pretender”, pardon the pun). But they’ve actually done a decent job, and the finale was really cool.

        He’ll probably be the omnipresent adversary trying to lure John to “the dark side” (a la Cancer Man) but who knows?

        Not sure. Heck, IMHO part of the charm was the group cast, and winnowing it down to just a couple hurts things. I’d like to see an “evil twin”, personally. But I’ll settle for PK/TK. Oh, and something to actually “see” inside the lock. Of course, I’m still wondering what the whole “if only you’d been told the truth” means.

        Not to mention the fact that I really like the actor/character of our mystery person (for those who haven’t seen it yet), and want to continue to see him have a strong presence in the show.

        I’ll echo your sentiment there: “This show better get renewed.”

        Agreed. They took the sky from me, but at least there’s _one_ show on Fox I’ll watch.

        • Re: Well, okay (spoilers)

          Of course, I’m still wondering what the whole “if only you’d been told the truth” means.

          I suspect that they believe their motives are pure – perhaps with a human evolution angle given their interest in extending lifespans and messing with brains – and so he probably advocated giving John the whole story (or at least the “good” parts) to get him on their side. Of course, the facts that they scrambled his brain and left him for dead on that island, killed Karen (and others), and kept Teresa (his girl?) captive put a bit of an edge on any noble motives that could exert an influence on John..

          Not to mention the fact that I really like the actor/character of our mystery person (for those who haven’t seen it yet), and want to continue to see him have a strong presence in the show.

          I’m with you there. He’s found a niche playing the tough, and often bad, guy whom you can’t help but like. I’m not sure if it’s a niche he wanted but I hope he continues to go with it – getting pigeon-holed may be bad for actors but it can be very good for audiences if they fit the hole right.

          On an almost wholly unrelated note (your mention of The Pretender made me think of it), Michael T Weiss will be making another appearance this week on Crossing Jordan. I’m ambivalent about it because it’s sure to take yet more screen time away from my two favorite characters on that show, Bug (Ravi Kapoor – I was glad he got work fast after Gideon’s Crossing got the axe) and Woody (Jerry O’Connell); but, I thought fans of The Pretender out there might be interested.

    • Re: Well, okay (spoilers)

      Now we apparently have telekinesis, former nuns, and anthropology
      added to the mix.

      Hmm… anthropologists involved with the Phoenix group, and a guy who
      goes by the name “Digger”… Granted, they didn’t really leak that part
      until tonight.

  3. Did some checking…
    I’ve been doing some checking and it looks like all of the TV sites I regularly visit are pretty unanimous in saying the John Doe is the best-performing Friday night show Fox has had for several seasons. Note: the following figures are season-to-date, which is current up through 4/11, IIRC. And they are all courtesy of the futon critic.

    It regularly increases its audience (+26.16% for the season) from the leadin show (moreso for Firefly than Fastlane, oddly enough).

    It ranks 109 out of 152 shows for the season, while Fastlane ranks 110 and Firefly ranked 125.

    It averages a 3.75 rating and a 6.42 share (compare Firefly‘s 2.88/5.20).

    It averages 6.01 million viewers; Fastlane: 5.83, Firefly: 4.48.

    Of all Fox shows, the only 1-hour dramas that outrank it are 24 and Boston Public, every other higher-ranked Fox show is either a sitcom or reality show.

    Not that any of this means anything, mind you. It is Fox we’re talking about. But I’d say it is a promising sign.

  4. John Doe chances
    Looks like John Doe’s chances of renewal are slim according to the Futon Critic. He states that FOX is now considering renewing Fastlane over John Doe. (It had been previously said that one show might be back but not both). FOX is making a huge mistake if this happens. I hope John Doe is picked up by another network if the FOX suits don’t have the good sense to keep this unique imaginative show with great potential in favor of another Starsky & Hutch/Miami Vice rip off.

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