Eli Stone
Eli Stone | |
---|---|
![]() Eli Stone title screen | |
Genre | Musical legal dramedy |
Starring | Jonny Lee Miller Victor Garber Natasha Henstridge Loretta Devine Sam Jaeger Laura Benanti James Saito Matt Letscher Julie Gonzalo Jason Winston George |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 26 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Greg Berlanti Marc Guggenheim Ken Olin |
Production locations | San Francisco and Los Angeles, California |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | January 31 – December 30, 2008 |
Eli Stone was an American television comedy-drama created by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, who also served as executive producers alongside Ken Olin who directed the pilot, with Melissa Berman producing.[1]
The show starred Jonny Lee Miller in the title role of attorney Eli Stone. In the first episode, Stone is discovered to have an inoperable brain aneurysm which is causing hallucinations. His acupuncturist, Dr. Chen, suggests that his hallucinations are actually divinely inspired visions of the future. These visions often foreshadowed future cases and events, including an impending earthquake.
Produced by ABC Studios, After Portsmouth and Berlanti Television, the series was officially greenlit and given a thirteen-episode order on May 11, 2007,[2] and it aired as a mid-season replacement in 2008.[3] Eli Stone premiered on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central, following the return of Lost;[4] its first season finale aired April 17, 2008.
On May 13, 2008, ABC officially announced that the show had been renewed for the 2008-09 season.[5] Moreover, in Canada, CTVglobemedia announced that they will send down the series to CTV's relaunched "A" television system for the 2008-2009 season.[6] Season 2 premiered on Tuesday, October 14 at 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central.[7]
On November 20, 2008, ABC told the show's producers that it had opted not to order any new episodes, signaling that the series would be cancelled once all the episodes were used up.[8]
The last scheduled episode of Eli Stone aired on December 30, 2008. Four episodes remain unaired and it is currently unknown whether ABC will air these episodes.
ABC is in negotiations to bring unaired episodes of Eli Stone to ABC.com without broadcast rights.[9][10] Some overseas networks may air these episodes.
The first of these unaired episodes, Sonoma was broadcast in Ireland by RTE on March 13, 2009 with the further three episodes due to be aired in the following weeks.
Premise
Greg Berlanti, who co-writes the show with Marc Guggenheim, described Eli Stone in Variety as "a Field of Dreams-type drama set in a law firm where a thirty-something attorney, whose name is the title of the show, begins having larger-than-life visions that compel him to do out-of-the-ordinary things."[11] Eli suffers from an inoperable brain aneurysm that causes him to have realistic hallucinations which often relate to the plot of that episode, and he may in fact be a modern day prophet.
Pop singer George Michael figured prominently throughout the first season of the series, and each episode was named after a song of his.[12] Berlanti is a fan of Michael and tried hard to get him to appear on the show, and it turned out that Michael is a TV junkie. This led to the singer agreeing to do several episodes, including one in which Stone represents him in the case of a teen girl who plays the song "I Want Your Sex" in protest of an abstinence-only sex education program in her school.[13]
In Season 2, Episode 21, Eli reveals he is a graduate of UCLA and Stanford Law School.
The show's legal setting, mixture of comedy and drama, and use of fantasy sequences has drawn comparisons to the series Ally McBeal from some critics.[14]
Autism controversy
The debut episode attracted controversy due to its plot line, which depicts the hypothesis that autism is caused by a mercury-based preservative formerly used in common childhood vaccines,[15] and treats the hypothesis as being credible and legally compelling.[16] This hypothesis is not supported by scientific evidence, but has contributed to decreased vaccination rates that endanger children.[17][18] The American Academy of Pediatrics asked ABC to either cancel the episode or include a disclaimer emphasizing that mercury is not used in routine childhood vaccines, and that no scientific link exists between vaccines and autism.[19] ABC instead decided to present a written notice and voice-over after the episode saying "The preceding story is fictional and does not portray any actual persons, companies, products or events",[20] with a second card directing viewers to the autism web site[21] of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[20]
Cast
- Jonny Lee Miller - Eli Stone (Young Eli is played by Justin Lieberman)
Eli Stone is a successful attorney in San Francisco who is diagnosed of an inoperable brain aneurysm which is causing hallucinations. The hallucinations caused Eli to become alienated by his peers and soon his life took a detour. Despite that he is not religious, he takes his hallucinations as signs, he helps people in accepting lawsuits in hopes to better their lives.
- Natasha Henstridge - Taylor Wethersby
Taylor Wethersby is Eli's ex-fiance who is also an attorney. She formerly works in another company, and later joins in Eli's firm after they broke up. Although taken aback by Eli's episodes of hallucinations, she is determined to help him at any means. She is the daughter of Jordan Wethersby, the head of Wethersby, Posner & Klein.
- Loretta Devine - Patti Dellacroix
Patti is Eli's helpful and sassy assistant. She considers Eli as a dear friend of hers and she is always blatantly honest to Eli.
- Matt Letscher - Dr. Nathan Stone
Nathan is Eli's caring elder brother who is a doctor. He is the first who discovered Eli's conditions and he is also skeptical about his visions. Nathan dated Beth, a girl who Eli lost his virginity to in college after Eli introduced each other at his engagement party.
- Sam Jaeger - Matt Dowd
Matt is Eli's co-worker and rival in the law firm. He is described as sarcastic, arrogant and having a frat-boy personality.
- James Saito - Dr. Chen
Dr. Chen is an acupuncturist who explains Eli's conditions as a prophetical message. He helps Eli to analyze the visions Eli has and advises Eli to pursue them. He studied acupuncture in Beijing as well as holistic medicine. It is revealed that he is not a Chinese descent, and "Dr. Chen" is merely an alias.
- Julie Gonzalo - Maggie Dekker
Maggie is a junior attorney who is ambitious and enthusiastic to her work. Much to Eli's dismay, she often assists him in his cases in hopes of moving up the career ladder. She is considered a religious person who is the first person to believe in Eli's visions without hesitations. She was engaged to Scott, who is in Eli's visions of the earthquake.
- Jason George - Keith Bennett
Keith is a criminal law attorney who sued an employer for racism. After Keith lost the lawsuit, Jordan hired him as he saw Keith's potential.
- Victor Garber - Jordan Wethersby
Jordan is the co-owner of the firm and Taylor's father. He is often skeptical of Eli's imaginations. However, He is a father figure to Eli and represented Eli when Eli is prosecuted for illegibility to perform his work.
Recurring characters
- Laura Benanti - Beth Keller
Beth is a friend of Eli back in college who has an autistic son. She is currently dating Nathan.
- Tom Amandes - Martin Posner
Martin is one of the co-owners of the firm. He had a relationship with Patti in the past.
- Katey Sagal - Marci Klein
Marci is one of the co-owners of the firm. She is unfriendly and is more interested of the financial benefit of the firm. She is not fond of Eli's intentions of helping more individuals than major cooperations.
- Pamela Reed - Mrs. Stone
- Tom Cavanagh - Mr. Stone
The late father of Nathan and Eli, he also had a brain aneurysm which causes hallucinations. He suffers from depression and is an alcoholic, which causes Nathan and Eli to resent him. He died from an heart attack 10 years ago.
- George Michael - as himself
Casting news
On November 6, 2008, TV Guide reported that Jamey Sheridan will guest-star as an evening news anchor. [22] On December 1 2008, TV Guide reported that Gregory Smith will make a guest appearance on the show's finale.[23]
Episodes
US Nielsen ratings
Season | Premiere | Final | Timeslot | U.S. ratings | Network | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2008 | January 31 2008 | April 17 2008 | Thursday 10:00 PM EST | 7.68 million | ABC |
2 | 2008 | October 14 2008 | December 30 2008 | Tuesday 10:00 PM EST | 6.43 million | ABC |
DVD release
On September 2, 2008, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the complete first season of Eli Stone on DVD in Region 1.[24] ABC Studios will release the First Season in Australia, which may not include the commentary on the 9th episode.
DVD Name | Ep # | Region 1 | Region 4 |
---|---|---|---|
The Complete First Season | 13 | September 2, 2008 | March 18, 2009[25] |
The Complete Second Season | TBA | TBA | TBA |
International broadcasters
Australia || Channel Seven 8:30pm Tuesdays and Thursdays timeslot for Season 1, Season 2, which is currently airing, has been scheduled in the Tuesday 10:30pm timeslot.[26]
Netherlands || Net 5 the show premiered on November 24, 2008
Israel || Yes Stars Drama Season 1 premiered on October 21, 2008. Season 2 premiered on January 20, 2009, with all 13 episodes (including those not aired in the US) confirmed to air.
United Kingdom || Sci Fi Channel and Sci Fi HD at 9.00pm Mondays
and on Sony in Latin America.
References
- ^ "Devwatch: Eli Stone". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "ABC adds 20 newcomers, renews 'Notes', 'Road'". The Futon Critic. 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "ABC unveils 2007–08 primetime schedule". The Futon Critic. 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "ABC unveils midseason primetime schedule". The Futon Critic. 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "ABC upfront, take one". The Star Ledger. 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- ^ "Fall 2008 Schedules Announced for CTV and A". CTV. 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
- ^ "Eli Stone - Home". ABC. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
- ^ Levin G (2008-11-21). "Life on Mars saved, but Daisies and Eli Stone shelved". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ ABC Likely to Give Up on Unaired Episodes, Post-Gazette, January 17, 2009
- ^ ABC Drags Out Finales?, Hollywood.com, January 16, 2009
- ^ "Berlanti sets series at ABC". Variety. 2006-08-03.
- ^ George Michael Signs Up For New US Sit-com - Entertainment News, Movie Reviews, Competitions - Entertainmentwise
- ^ From The Futon Critic
- ^ Review by Tim Goodman, San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ Wyatt E (2008-01-23). "ABC drama takes on science and parents". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ Kruskal B, Allen C (2008-01-31). "Perpetrating the autism myth". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Offit PA (2007). "Thimerosal and vaccines—a cautionary tale". N Engl J Med. 357 (13): 1278–9. doi:10.1056/NEJMp078187. PMID 17898096.
- ^ Doja A, Roberts W (2006). "Immunizations and autism: a review of the literature". Can J Neurol Sci. 33 (4): 341–6. PMID 17168158.
- ^ Jenkins RR (2008-01-25). "Letter to Anne Sweeney, President, Disney-ABC Television Group" (PDF). American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ a b Wyatt E (2008-01-29). "ABC show will go on, over protest by doctors". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ "Autism information center". National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
- ^ Scoop: Criminal Intent Alum Needs Eli Stone 's Help" TV Guide. November 6, 2008. Retrieved on November 7 2008.
- ^ Exclusive: Everwood Alum Gregory Smith Returns to TV Which ABC show grabbed him?" TV Guide. December 1, 2008. Retrieved on December 3 2008.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Eli Stone: The Complete First Season..." Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/804443 Eli Stone R4 release
- ^ "New US shows set to hit Aussie TVs". Australian Associated Press. 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
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(help) - ^ "Eli Stone". TVSA. 2008-12-14. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
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(help) - ^ Brendan Kelly (2007-12-04). "CTV banks on U.S. fare: Network acquires 'Terminator,' 'Eli Stone'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
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(help) - ^ Emiliano de Pablos (2007-10-09). "Antena 3 takes ABC trio: Pact includes 'Dirty Sexy Money'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
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External links
- 2000s American television series
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- American Broadcasting Company network shows
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- Fantasy television series
- Legal television series
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