Another man washes up on the beach with John's symptoms, automatically arousing his curiosity. Could he be related somehow, and could he lead John to the reason for his condition?

This is the closest the series has come to giving out some answers thus far, and its only real disappointment is in the way it wimps out in the end and becomes about something else entirely. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as it does turn the story into something far more horrific than it was, and you come out of it glad that an evil-doer has been stopped.

What's a constant delight about this series is firstly Dominic Purcell's winning portrayal of a man with no idea of who he really is (he claims at one point that he's always charming, and he's right) and secondly the use of his knowledge of everything. Here we have a superb and oddly funny opening where John cures a bunch of patients in a hospital only to receive no help with his problem, some incredible deduction when he works out where the new mystery man has come from and which truck kidnapped him, and a great sequence where he tries to find knowledge gaps by speaking a foreign language, following a recipe and playing Jeopardy at the same time.

While I'm still not sure exactly what the function of some of the main cast is meant to be (once again Karen is left looking like a spare part), there are signs of John's relationship with Detective Avery building nicely, as he has incredible insight into her and what she feels. It provides an interesting window into how he feels when he explains how all his 'baggage' is missing and that he'll do anything to discover who he is.

Naturally, the mysterious newcomer dies in the end, but he becomes another piece of the fascinating puzzle this series is gradually constructing. I'm really enjoying this.

****

Would you like to go to the John Doe Season One guide, head back to the main TV reviews page, read older reviews in the Reviews Archive or return to the front page?