John Doe (The X-Files)
"John Doe" is the seventh episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files.
The show centers on FBI special agents who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files; this season focuses on the investigations of John Doggett (Robert Patrick), Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson).
"John Doe", which was written after Gilligan had been thinking of a story involving a "memory vampire" for months, was MacLaren's directorial debut.
John Doggett (Robert Patrick) awakens inside an abandoned warehouse to find a man stealing one of his shoes.
In the meantime, in Washington, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) examine video footage from a security camera positioned at the Mexican border.
FBI Deputy Director Alvin Kersh disbands the task force searching for Doggett, believing the video is proof that he entered Mexico on his own free will and was not abducted.
Scully traces Doggett's phone call and has Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) travel to the Mexican town where he was last seen.
Doggett tearfully admits that he is happy to have all of his memories, even the bad ones, "as long as I remember the good.”[2] "John Doe" was written by executive producer Vince Gilligan and directed by Michelle MacLaren.
The notion to set the story in Mexico and center it around Robert Patrick's character was Frank Spotnitz's idea.
"[5] Director of photography Bill Roe borrowed motifs from Steven Soderbergh's film Traffic (2000) for some of the shots.
Production Designer Corey Kaplan said of the development of the episode that, "It was very creative and very rewarding for us as an art department, to create the complete total look of being in another culture.
[10] Juliette Harrisson of Den of Geek named "John Doe" the best stand-alone episode of season nine and called it "a refreshing change of pace".
[11] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, gave the episode a glowing review and rated it five stars out of five.
[12] Meghan Deans of Tor.com applauded the episode and called it "a clear bright spot in a dark and dismal season, both in its script and in its shooting.
Crang, in his book Denying the Truth: Revisiting The X-Files after 9/11, praised the central premise, the cinematography and Patrick's performance, calling "John Doe" a "stylishly produced entry".
