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ELI STONE - More to do

Well, that was either a great way to end the entire series or a very satisfying way to end the first season of Eli Stone.  I'm hoping it's the latter.

Eli's risky surgery to remove the aneurysm finally happens, and things don't go as planned.  The worst case scenario seems to be happening, leaving our attorney/prophet in a coma.  Will Eli wake up?  Will his brother Nathan respect his wishes and take him off life-support?  Will Eli finally meet the Allmighty, architect of his redemption?  And would God look a lot like, oh I don't know... George Michael?

Wait a second - you have watched it, haven't you?  If not, you should do yourself a favor and watch this episode online here. 

This week's episode was a surreal and emotionally powerful finale to an unusual series that has become one of my favorite shows on ABC.  Eli Stone is a well-written show, stuffed with great actors, that is based on a quirky but fascinating premise.  Johnny Lee Miller has consistently delivered a compelling performance as Eli - he hits the right balance between smugness, bewilderment, and earnest conviction.  The supporting cast has been fantastic, particularly Victor Garber as Jordan - that guy rules.  I know I'm not alone in hoping that Eli Stone comes back for a second season - TV needs smart, offbeat shows with heart. 

Plus, Eli has more to do.

--Dave Campbell

ELI STONE - More Victor Garber, please

There's a lot to dig about Eli Stone, but I've made no secret that my favorite part of the show is Victor Garber, who plays Eli's unflappable boss Jordan.  Garber can do no wrong in my book - he's an excellent actor who has a real presence on screen. 

If by some cruel twist of fate Eli Stone doesn't return for another season, I thing ABC would be crazy not to build an entire show around the talented Mr. Garber.  It's a no-brainer - just make it all about Victor Garber and you won't go wrong. 

Just off the top of my head, here are some ideas for some 100% Victor Garber shows:

Victor Garber's Groove Radar - Join the party in Victor Garber's rec room as he hosts a fierce freestyle dance competition between solo dancers and entire crews for the coveted Garber Gold Chain.  If we're lucky, The Man himself will pop and lock and let his body rock and show all these youngbloods how it's done - Garber Style!

Victor Garber's Phonebook USA - Each week Victor Garber presents a dramatic reading of a different town or county phone book.  Last week it was Bonner's Ferry, Idaho and the surrounding area - maybe this week it will be YOUR town!  It's your phonebook as only Victor Garber can present it!  This series is both dramatic and cost-conscious.  There's no need to pay for scripts, other actors, special effects, or sets - just give Victor Garber a phonebook and a microphone and maybe a bottle of water and you've got an INSTANT SMASH!

Victor Garber presents Shadow Puppet Theater - The Man is so talented that he can tell a story with just his hands and a bright light!  Each week Victor interprets a classic tale from literature throught the magic of shadow puppetry!  You haven't fully appreciated James Joyce's Ulysses until you've seen it interpreted by the shadows cast by Victor Garber's hands!  Yes!

Unleashed on the Street:  Victor Garber Super Ambush Mega Prank Attack - We might have to work on shortening the title a little, but the concept is solid gold.  Join Victor Garber and his team of guerilla pranksters as they hit the streets of Tokyo to pull outrageous stunts on unsuspecting pedestrians and Japanese school girls!  It's hidden camera mayhem and comedy from the outrageous mind of master thespian Victor Garber!

Hmm...  Some of these concepts could use a little work, I'll admit. 

You know, it would probably be easier for all involved if Eli Stone returned and we could all get our Victor Garber fix that way.  I know the pedestrians of Tokyo would probably sleep easier...

--Dave Campbell

ELI STONE - The Big One

This week the status quo on Eli Stone was er, shaken as one of Eli's predictions comes  true in a very dramatic and public way.  SPOILERS lay ahead, so beware.

In this penultimate episode of the season, Eli makes plans for his impending brain operation and the massive earthquake due to hit the Bay Area in a few days - according to his vision, that is.  Meanwhile, Marci Klein plots to oust Taylor from his leadership role in the firm.  Will evil prevail, or will faith triumph?  And will the Golden Gate Bridge make it through the episode intact? 

The answers are no, yes, and no.

There's only one Eli Stone episode left for this season:  the big operation.  From the promos it looks like there are complications - and I'm just saying right now that if the season ends on a big cliffhanger, you're  going to be looking at a Class A Hissy Fit. 

Of  course, a cliffhanger may mean that ABC has picked up Eli Stone for another season, so I guess I should be happy if that comes to pass, huh?

--Dave Campbell

ELI STONE - Of profits and prophets

Things got a little bit weird on this week’s Eli Stone.  Weirder than normal, I mean.

Last week Eli took a trip into the past to relive his father’s death, while this week Eli had a vision of his possible future as a prophet in a black turtleneck – a prophet that is married to Maggie Dekker and is the father of their child! 

This week’s episode was three-pronged:  Eli and Keith file a class action suit on behalf of prisoners abused by an eee-vil warden, Taylor and Matt flirt while trying to reunite a pair of gay chimpanzees (no, I’m not making that up, why do you ask?), and the untimely appearance of Marci Klein, a ruthless partner in the law firm who thinks that Eli's altruism and pro bono cases are cutting into the firm's profits.

As we have come to expect, Eli’s visions tie in to his current court case, but this week we get a little head-fake from the writers – we think that Eli’s client is the subject of the vision as he gives a speech to a packed crowd in Times Square, but (SPOILER ALERT!) it turns out that Eli himself is the subject of the vision.  His client’s speech was merely a preamble to introducing the man the crowd has assembled to see – Eli Stone.  In the vision, Eli stands in the crowd next to his wife Maggie and their baby, then takes the stage wearing a black turtleneck and blazer. 

Now, unless this hallucination means that Eli is going to be a Tony Robbins-style motivational speaker, I’m thinking it means that Eli is a full-on prophet with thousands of followers.  For some reason I found the whole thing weird and vaguely creepy – maybe it was the mass rally, maybe it was the black turtleneck.  Is this a real vision of the future, or just a possible future?  Eli’s visions aren’t always literal and aren’t always correct, so the whole thing is open to interpretation.

We get a bonus Eli Stone episode this Sunday after the re-premiere of Desperate Housewives, so maybe they’ll shed a little light on the situation.  I’m also interested in seeing what happens with Marci Klein, played by Married with Children’s Katy Segal, who is always great.   Will she succeed at running Eli out of the firm and wresting control from Jordan?  Will Eli end up wearing the Prophet Turtleneck?  We shall see…

--Dave Campbell

ELI STONE - Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink

Does anybody in TV court rooms ever drink from the customary pitcher of water on their table?  Just something I think about whenever I watch Eli Stone.  I have yet to see one person on the show drink a glass of water while in court - and I've watched every episode.

I think in real life you'd probably have a drink of water.  If you're an attorney, you want to keep your throat from getting parched during cross examinations.  If you're a defendant, you'd be nervous and would likely want something to occupy yourself.  Either way, you've got to get thirsty after hours in the court room.  Yes, I think in real life you would drink from the pitcher the court so generously provides.

So, as a viewer, I am hereby requesting that in upcoming episodes of Eli Stone (or Boston Legal for that matter), a character takes a drink of water in court.

I clearly spend too much time thinking about things that are not important.

--Dave Campbell

*UPDATED!*  Thanks go to reader Ksal, who explains why in real life nobody drinks the water in court:

"Actually, I am a lawyer, and for the most part, lawyers (and their clients) are not supposed to drink water unless they have to. Why? Because the jurors don't have water and they're not allowed to drink it.  You don't want the jurors resenting you for your ability to drink cool clear water while they're dying of thirst!"

ELI STONE - Special Bonus Trivia Post!

This was a good episode, didn't you think?

It had just the right mix of courtroom dramatics, mysterious and confounding visions, humor, and love triangle action.  Or is it love quadrangle action now that Matt Dowd has slept with Taylor?  The only thing that was missing was a characteristic surreal musical number - but you can't have those every episode, can you?  Gotta mix it up a little bit.

This week Eli has a vision/flashback where he occupies his brother Nathan's body on the day his father died.  As it happens, these visions coincide with Eli defending Nate from a malpractice lawsuit and lead to a shocking revelation about Nate's involvement in their father's death.  I won't spoil it for you, but the revelation is actually shocking and is kind of a big deal in the world of Eli Stone - go watch this week's episode on ABC.com if you haven't already seen it.

Aside from the court case involving Nate, we got to see Maggie again, which was nice.  I kinda missed her last week.  Well, she's back and she has a surprise for Eli.  The kind of surprise that you wear on your left hand.  On the ring finger.  Yes, she's engaged.  To whom?  No idea.  All we know is that it's not Eli.

Taylor also deals with the fallout from her ill-advised one-night stand with Matt Dowd.  She tries to blow him off by telling him that her father Jordan, the senior partner at the firm, wouldn't approve of her dating him.  This is a poor strategy, because Matt not so subtly draws Jordan into the whole mess.  He is positively aghast (in a cool, professional way) at the thought of Taylor hooking up with Matt - and comedy ensues.  I actually felt kind of bad for Matt.  You can occasionally glimpse real unfiltered emotion behind his cocky smile, and I think his feelings are kind of hurt by the whole thing.  He clearly wears the Cocky Guy mask as a defense mechanism to hide the fact that he's really insecure.  That's my amateur psychoanalysis for you.

The episode ends with a really heartbreaking hospital room scene where Eli (in flashback mode) gets the chance to say goodbye to his dying father.  I have to hand it to Johnny Lee Miller, who plays Eli - they guy can cry at the drop of a hat.  He really sold that last scene and provided this episode with a little extra emotional punch.

Trivia time!  Did you know that Johnny Lee Miller is British?  He's got his American accent down pat.  If I had never seen him in Trainspotting, I would have never thought he was a Brit.

More trivia time!  Do you know who Johnny Lee Miller was married to?  Angelina Jolie.  I kid you not, they were married for four years.  Thanks IMDB for making me look smart.

--Dave Campbell

ELI STONE - The George Michael Episode

It dawned on me while watching this week's Eli Stone that just about the only character who hasn't sang or danced on the show is Eli himself.   This week we got to see Eli's boss Jordan once again break into song, which is always awesome, and a Sonny and Cher duet by Taylor and Matt Dowd.  I think at this point everyone in the law firm has had a turn at the mike with the exception of Eli himself. 

Usually Eli is a bewildered witness to all these hallucinatory musical spectacles, a passive observer.  It would be great if Eli had a fully interactive vision/hallucination that actually required him to sing and dance.  Just once is all I ask.  Get on that, Eli Stone producers!

"I Want Your Sex" was the name of this week's episode as well as, duh, the name of the George Michael episode at the center of the plot.  The Man himself hires Stone's firm to defend a high school student who was expelled from her school for playing "I Want Your Sex" during a school abstinence assembly as a protest.  Why Eli?  Because George Michael had a dream that told him to seek out Eli Stone, and George Michael listens to his dreams.

The best part of the episode was - no surprise here - Victor Garber's performance as Eli's normally unflappable boss Jordan, who is reduced to star struck awe by George Michael.   The scene where Victor first meets George Michael (pictured above) was priceless -  he just stares in wonder at George Michael like a 13 year old girl.   Well, a 13 year old girl from the year 1987 anyway.  The whole episode added a new dimension to Jordan's character and was funny to boot.   Who knew Jordan was a George Michael fanboy?

Other noteworthy events this episode:  Taylor sleeps with Matt Dowd after he bares his soul in court, but is outraged when she learns that his emotional courtroom revelation was a lie designed to win their case.  Poor Taylor hasn't had the best luck with men.

This episode was also noteworthy for the relatively small cast.  We didn't see Maggie Dekker,  Patti, Dr. Chen, or Keith Bennett, or what's his name, Jordan's unscrupulous right hand man whose name I can never recall.  I guess that's what happens when you bring in superstar George Michael - you have so much awesomeness packed into your show that there's no room for anybody else.

Hey, I just thought of something else - Eli's brother Nate has never sung on the show either, has he?  He appeared as a knight in the dragon/Dr. Agon episode, but I can't remember ever seeing him sing, or even hum a few bars.  They need to have Nate sing, too.

Maybe an Eli/Nate duet...?

--Dave Campbell

ELI STONE - Praying for Time

A whole lot happened on this week’s Eli Stone episode, “Praying for Time.”  That’s one of the things I enjoy about Eli Stone; they always have a nice balance between episodic stories and the bigger aneurysm/prophet plotline.  There’s a rewarding sense of building momentum in each episode of the series.

This week we finally see the resolution of the baseball player steroid murder storyline, and although it’s a win for the firm, things don’t turn out well in terms of the whole Cosmic Scales of Justice thing.  Poor Matt Dowd gets a brutal reality check when he realizes his sports idol may not have committed premeditated murder, but that doesn’t mean he’s a decent human being.  This storyline fleshed out the Matt Dowd character a little more and pushed him in a more ethical direction, which was nice.  I really thought this case was going to tie in with the main Eli Stone narrative thread, but I was wrong – no intervention from Eli and his visions.

Speaking of visions, this week it’s earthquakes.  Eli thinks the violent earthquakes he’s hallucinating mean that the low income neighborhood his real estate tycoon client is trying to evict may be the epicenter of an impending disaster, and unless he helps kick the folks in the neighborhood out of their homes, they’ll all die.  Will Eli cross an ethical line in order to serve the greater good?  Mmmaybe…

The Eli/Taylor/Maggie love triangle continues to wreak havoc in Eli’s world, as the competing objects of his affection burst into song while an earthquake tears apart the law office.  Taylor and Maggie sing Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move” in a cute special effects packed musical number.  “I must say, their singing was surprisingly good,”  Eli says later. I agree, although Taylor (Natasha Henstridge) has a stronger voice, didn't you think?

Last episode Maggie spontaneously kissed Eli, so this week it’s Eli’s turn to get all overcome with emotion and go in for a kiss… only to be rebuffed by a confused and torn Maggie.  Ouch.  That sucks when you go in for the kiss and get shut down.  Chin up, Eli, we’ve all been there.

Next week:  George Michael in the flesh and in court!  I am so there.

--Dave Campbell

ELI STONE - Bullet points!

Today I’ve organized my thoughts about this week’s Eli Stone episode in easy-to-read bulletpoints. I love bulletpoints, they can lend the illusion of structure to a disorganized jumble of totally unrelated points. Bulletpoints: making people look smarter for centuries!  

Let’s begin, shall we? 

• The George Michael connection.  This week featured yet another appearance by singer George Michael, only this time it wasn’t Phantom George Michael but the real thing, live in concert. The title of this episode was “Heal the Pain,” which was a song on 1991’s Listen Without Prejudice, Vol 1. BTW, the smooth song George was singing was “Older,” which he released on an EP in 1997. Thanks Wikipedia! 
• Paging Dr. Chen!  I think this was the first episode that had no Dr. Chen at all. Maybe it was because Eli’s hallucinations were fairly straightforward (Dragon = Dr. Agon) and Eli didn’t require Dr. Chen’s West Coast Zen wisdom this time out. I missed him. 
• Maggie fu.  This was a Maggie-centric episode, and she actually got to kick a little butt this time out – with a heavy assist from Eli, of course. Maggie got some good lines, too, like when she told Eli, “Go find yourself another peon to pee on.” That cracked me up, I’m going to store that in the back of my mind because some day – and it may be 5 or 10 years from now – I will have the perfect opportunity to use that line. Some day...  
• Adult supervision?  Eli’s client this week is a 15 year old boy who seems wise beyond his years, but still: where was the kid’s grandma? It seems like any lawyer would refuse to meet with an underage kid without an adult guardian present. Am I wrong?  I'm no lawyer. 
• Different recap/intro.  They broke with the usual pattern of having Eli recap the story so far with a voiceover narration and went with a more conventional “previously on Eli Stone…” Here’s what I think: because they have the baseball player subplot and wanted to include it in the recap/intro, they couldn’t have Eli do the voiceover because as a character he has no reason to be involved in or care about the case. It would be weird if he was explaining his brain aneurysm and hallucinations to, say, a parking attendant and he just slipped in, “Oh, and by the way, my colleagues are defending this baseball player…” 
• Here be dragons.  Man, what is the special effects budget for this show? This episode had a giant computer-generated dragon strafing San Francisco and breathing flame and stuff.  This qualifies as cool in my book.  I vote for Godzilla next episode – although they’re promising an earthquake, which is just as good, really. Fake TV earthquakes, I mean. Real earthquakes are bad. 
• Nate’s dope bachelor pad.  We got to see Nate’s condo this episode, which looks pretty cool. I don’t have the interior design vocabulary to describe it, but it screamed, “I’m a wealthy young doctor with no kids.” You know, Nate should get a girlfriend. They should work that in somehow. 
• The kiss.  They ratcheted up the romantic tension between Maggie and Eli with that impromptu kiss. Who are we supposed to be rooting for here, Maggie or Taylor? Right now I’m leaning towards Maggie.  You?

--Dave Campbell

ELI STONE - Who's your mama?

How come we never see Eli Stone's mother? 

Sure, his crazy alcoholic visionary dad shows up in flashbacks all the time, but we never see Eli's mom.  She's mentioned, of course, and she did appear in the pilot episode, but she never shows up in any of Eli's numerous flashbacks.  When Eli was giving his little speech before the State Bar of California, he explained how his father suffered from a brain aneurysm as well, but that despite all that he still managed to raise his two sons, who turned out to be a a doctor and a lawyer.  I was thinking, "I call B.S. on that - your mom raised you despite your father's frequent drinking binges and vacations from reality."  I guess Eli was trying to make a point and keep his license to practice law, but he and his brother rarely talk about how great their mom must have been.  Has anybody else noticed this?  Eli needs to give more credit to his mom and stop whining about his dad.

This week's episode, "Something to Save," brought the story arc about the detrimental effects that prophetic visions have on Eli's career to a climax as he was dragged before the State Bar of California to defend his ability to practice law.  Will his brother Nathan perjure himself to protect his brother?  Will Eli admit to lying about his condition to his boss?  Will he come clean about his aneurysm?  If you watched the episode you know the answers already, and if you haven't watched it, you should head over to ABC's handy streaming episode player and watch it online.

This episode was particularly satisfying because a) the resolution of Eli's crisis was handled in a logical and satisfying manner and b) we got to see Eli's boss Jordan (Victor Garber) and all the other lawyers in the firm singing and dancing and frolicking about like merry elves.  I love that Victor Garber, his formidable Jordan is the best part of the show.  They should do a spin-off series called Don't Cross Jordan.

I thought I finally detected a break in the Eli Stone pattern of naming each episode after a George Michael song, but a quick Google search proved me wrong.  "Something to Save" is indeed a George Michael song.

Eli Stone:  educating us about George Michael every week.

--Dave Campbell