This Stone Keeps Rolling, and rocking, apparently! (Eli Stone)

Member Name: TheChocolateLady

Product:	Eli Stone
Date:	23/02/09 (260 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great cast, script, concept, special effects, music

Disadvantages: Not totally scientifically accurate, but hey, its TV right!

Meet Eli Stone. Eli is a regular, everyday, cut-throat corporate lawyer on the fast-track to becoming a senior partner in a prestigious San Francisco firm. But there's a problem - Eli's been having hallucinations. This leads Eli to force his brother Nathan (a doctor) to give him a second MRI where he discovers Eli has an inoperable brain aneurysm. While that's bad enough, it seems these figments of his imagination are leading him to take specific legal cases. In his case - ones that won't bring money into his firm, and frankly could not only embarrass his bosses, but also lose them clients. Mix in that Eli's acupuncturist thinks he's getting messages from God with the fact that Eli's engaged to the boss' daughter, who is despised by Eli's assistant, and his assistant is suspicious about how strange Eli's acting lately. Ah, little do she and everyone (including the audience) know...

There you have it - a new, bizarre TV series that combines legal cases with the most absurd things you can think of. Oh, wait - I bet you think you've "been there, done that" with shows like "Ali McBeal" or "Boston Legal", don't you? To tell the truth, that isn't far off base. Except that there are many differences as well. For instance, while both Ali and Eli have strange visions, Ali's are just due to her mental instability and minefield of a love life. Eli's visions have a real, physical explanation - even if they aren't totally backed up by real science. The absurd cases that we see on "Boston Legal" are more often than not ones that wealthy or quirky clients bring against someone that's even wealthier or weirder than they are, with the firm hardly ever winning a case that would do much to help really needy people, and the firm ends up making money one way or another. Eli's cases are all based on some type of morality or helping an underdog, even when it may seem the opposite, and all the cases he brings are pro bono. While Ali McBeal had her (then unknown) Vonda Shepherd singing at their local bar, Eli's initial visions all seem to center round songs that are either sung by or made popular by George Michael. Finally, Ali McBeal does see a (much needed, but idiotic) psychiatrist at some time during her show, and the two stars of "Boston Legal" have their whiskey and cigars "therapy sessions" at the end of each show. Eli has an acupuncturist (with a fake Chinese accent for all his customers except Eli) who is convinced that his visions possibly more signs from God than they are a result of his brain aneurysm.

In all three shows we do have to suspend belief for at least part of the time. I should mention that there is no proof that a real brain aneurysm causes visions or hallucinations. And how much can you believe that God could speak to someone through a blood vessel pressing on their brain? In this, Eli Stone seems even more absurd than both "Ali McBeal" and "Boston Legal". But on the other hand, there is something far more endearing about Eli than anything or anyone these other two shows ever offered us. You see, Eli is - on the surface - a bit of a nerd, but a cutthroat one. Then he begins experiencing all these crazy things and suddenly we find out he really has something else underneath it all. What that is, well, I guess you could call it a soul. And with that, we begin to have sympathy, if not empathy for this character, despite everything unbelievable that's presented to us.

It is obvious to me that this endearing main character is the primary reason why I like this show so much. In addition, it helps that I found the actor who portrays Eli - Jonny Lee Miller - to be very talented. He's so good, I had no idea he's actually British until I saw an interview with him and he removed his American accent. Ah, you Brits really are getting the hang of mastering the vocal idiosyncrasies of your cousins across the big pond to star in hit TV series, aren't you? First you sent them Hugh Laurie, then Damien Lewis and now Jonny Lee Miller. By the way, the supporting cast here is no less enjoyable, and I particularly get a kick out of Loretta Devine's portrayal of Eli's secretary Patty Dellacroix. And while Miller might not be the sexiest of stars out there, the male viewers will certainly get some eye candy with Natasha Henstridge who plays Taylor Weathersby, the boss' daughter and fellow lawyer.

Of course, together with some very serious (and fascinating) legal battles, there's lots of fun stuff going on to amuse us. Not the least of which are the cameo parts of George Michael playing himself - both in Eli's visions and in real life in his office. Mind you, I find George Michael looks pretty strange these days, with his almost blind look behind mirrored sunglasses, but he's still a great performer and singer, so it isn't all bad. But Michael isn't the only performer here, and the whole cast get involved with taking the microphone at one stage or another. In truth, if they ever put out a CD of the songs from this show, I'd buy it. And you can't fault the special effects they've been able to put into these shows with Eli moving from reality which dissolves into his visions, much like a chameleon changing its colours. But I must admit that some of my favourite parts of the shows are when Eli consults with his acupuncturist, Dr. Frank Chen played by James Saito (and it helps that I think Saito is kind of hot).

As you can see, this isn't going to be a show that you can fall asleep to, with everything going on here. The concept, while not absolutely unique is still one that isn't churning up something old-hat and over done. The acting is really well done with a great ensemble feel to the whole cast, and some wonderful cameos with musical numbers that really pump up the stories, and lots of fancy special effects to tie them all together. The legal cases that are taken on seem to be ones that aren't as frivolous as the ones we see on shows like "Boston Legal", but neither are they "Law & Order" or harshly realistic. While this is classified as a drama, there's more than enough humour here as well, and the scripts are consistently clever as well as amusing. To top it all off, we also get some great views of the beautiful city of San Francisco. After all that, I can't give Eli Stone less than five out of five stars and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something just a bit different to watch.

Thanks for reading!

Davida Chazan © February 2009

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Technical Stuff:

I understand that this show airs in the UK on the Sci-Fi channel - how strange is that? I would never have classified this as Science Fiction!

The official website for this show can be found at http://abc.go.com/primetime/elistone/index?pn=inde x where you can watch some episodes on-line. Both seasons are available on DVD, but unfortunately, I it hasn't been picked up for a third season. Shame!

Per the comments here, "you can download both seasons 1 and 2 off iTunes USA for $24.99 and $38.97 respectively." Thanks!
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Summary: The newest most bizarre legal TV drama ever produced.