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“I don’t know things that I’m supposed to know, but I do know things that I’m not supposed to know,” says John Doe (Dominic Purcell) to a hotdog vendor 12 minutes into the pilot episode of “John Doe”. Hey, we’ve all been there, right? Well, probably not. Premiering on Fox TV in 2002, I remember “John Doe” being a pretty high-profile series, but it never really went anywhere. The show was axed after Year 1, leaving fans wondering what the secret behind John Doe’s ability to know everything in the world except, as he relates to the hot dog vendor, everything he’s supposed to know, such as his name or anything about his past, a mystery. (The producers actually spoiled this sometime ago at a convention; keep reading for it at the end of this review.)

The episode under review here is the pilot episode, which I scored somewhere from someone who shall remain nameless. I remember seeing the pilot on TV, but not really. I mean, I remember snippets of it, but seeing it again really is like watching a brand new show.

Played by Dominic Purcell, John Doe wakes up on a small island completely naked, and laying on his side in what looks like a circle. He soon falls into the ocean and starts swimming, only to be rescued by a Cambodian fishing boat. The first sign that Doe is not a “normal” person is when he starts replying to the Cambodians in their native language. Soon he’s in Seattle, winning horse races, scoring big in the stock market, and buying a sports car and a loft above the bar owned by William Forsythe, playing Digger (”Don’t ask”, he says), and so I shalln’t.

And oh yeah, John Doe can apparently only see in black and white, which makes the disappearance of a little girl a major revelation when Doe sees her picture on the TV screen and she’s — gasp! — in color! What up with that, Mister Lost Memory Man?

Determined to uncover what the girl appearing in color to him means to his past, John Doe heads to the cops, where Detective Frank Hayes (John Marshall Jones) justifiably blows him off as a nutcase. But after Doe gives an example of his skills, Hayes brings Doe into the case in record time. The girl was abducted just hours ago, it seems, and Doe is convince she’s still alive.

After Doe and Hayes nearly catches the guy, we meet Jamie Avery, Hayes’ boss, played by the always gorgeous Jayne Brook, who I’ve been a fan of since “Sirens”, and of course by “fan” I mean I’ve been having naughty fantasies about her, but that’s neither here nor there. As it turns out, Avery is Hayes’ ex-partner, and this is her first week as boss. Avery doesn’t like Doe sticking his nose in cop business, so you can expect tension between her and Doe to continue in future episodes.

Anyways, they do find the girl, and her kidnapper, and the episode ends with Doe trying out a spicy hotdog when a woman in a blue scarf, passing by on a ferry, spots him and shouts out, waving, “Tommy!” Doe sees her, and — end of episode.

Not an altogether bad pilot, but I can see how it sets the stage for more routine cop action. There are strong indications that Doe’s colorblind/sometimes-not-colorblind situation is the result of higher calling, like how they did with “Quantum Leap”. At first it seemed as if Sam was just leaping around without a reason, before it was revealed that God was actually behind it all. (At least I think that was the gist of the final season, as it was a long time ago, and I always thought “Quantum Leap”, although I loved it when it aired, is kinda cheesy in hindsight.)

For those wondering, the reasons behind Doe’s know-it-all ability has since been explained. If you want to read that click here.

I like the pilot enough that I plan to take a crack at the next two episodes. The pilot introduces the characters and the show’s formula — Hayes and the cops have a problem, Doe helps out with his ability, solves crime. I can see how they’re setting up Jayne Brook to be Doe’s love interest. Wonder if it goes anywhere?

Until next time, kids. Go for the spicy dogs!