Eli Stone is a mystery - a statement that's true of both the character and the show. The show, debuting this Thursday after Lost, tells the story of a San Francisco lawyer played by Jonny Lee Miller (Trainspotting) who is having a bit of an existential and neurological crisis. One day, while having sex with his fiancee (Natasha Henstridge of Species fame), Eli has a vision of George Michael singing "Faith" in his living room. Naturally, he does what most people do when they see George Michael. He passes out. It only gets worse. Soon there are choirs and dance numbers, followed by a vision of a trip up a snow-covered mountain that leads poor Eli to the edge of a balcony ledge. He gets himself checked out by his neurologist, who happens to be his brother (Matt Letsher), and learns that he has an aneurysm that might be to blame for his visions. But is there more to it? Eli's visions don't seem to be random. They seem to be guiding him in a certain direction and they mirror the behavior of his now-passed father (played in a flashback by Ed's Tom Cavanagh). They say every generation is granted a prophet. Why not make this generation's a San Francisco lawyer?
It's a great concept for a show and could allow for an interesting examination of science and religion, but I have to admit that the first two episodes leave me kind of cold and I'm not sure I'll be back to continue that examination. A show that could easily be summed up as "Boston Legal of Arcadia," Eli Stone doesn't exactly do anything wrong, but even with the strike that's not enough to merit a weekly time commitment. There have been several shows recently - Chuck, Life, Bionic Woman, Dirty Sexy Money - that fell into that gray area, where they weren't necessarily bad shows, but they also never hooked an audience enough to turn them into a loyal one. Eli Stone can be added to the list. A great ensemble, a unique concept, but nothing remarkable enough about the execution to make it memorable.
So, how can Eli Stone reverse the trend and become 'Season Pass TV'? There's nothing wrong with the ensemble, so don't mess with them. Miller proves he can carry a show and Victor Garber (Alias) continues his excellent TV work. You also won't find many critics willing to say a bad word about Loretta Devine (Boston Public). She's typically fantastic. No, what the writers of Eli Stone need to do is take more chances. Separate themselves from their concept. After the first two episodes, viewers are likely to remember the George Michael songs (Eli hears "Freedom" in the second episode) but not much more. The dialogue needs to be smarter. The plots need to twist in more unpredictable directions (with its illegal immigrant case, the second episode signals that the actual legal writing might be a little boring on Stone). Make the viewer as "off-his-guard" as Eli himself. Make us feel the mystery. Eli Stone may be a unique character, but he's on a show that doesn't live up to its title.
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