Continuing with ABC's theme of new, quirky, mishmash fantasy/romance/drama/comedy shows, "Eli Stone" is the story of a young, successful lawyer who, after experiencing visual hallucinations and strange coincidences, is forced to consider the possibility that he's a prophet. The show is amusing, but in glossing over certain questions, it lands just short of being great.
Eli spends what should have been a normal Monday morning at the office hearing distant organ music. While lying in bed with his beautiful fiancée, Taylor (played by the sweet Natasha Henstridge of "Commander in Chief" fame), he suddenly realizes what song it is and rushes to the living room to find pop star George Michael of Wham! standing on his coffee table and singing his finger-snapping hit, "Faith."
It's a good song and a great introduction to the beginning of the breakdown of Eli's life. While he had previously lived for buying expensive clothes and winning court cases for big bad corporations, the introduction of daily hallucinations encourages him to start living a moral life. While Eli's neurologist brother Nathan (Matt Letscher, "The New Adventures of Old Christine") initially chalks up this stunt to stress, it later comes out that Eli has an "inoperable brain aneurysm." This condition leads him to reconsider his life and, eventually, to "fight for the little guy" to try to prove a correlation between a childhood vaccine and autism.
This show comes from the collective creative genius of Greg Berlanti ("Everwood") and Marc Guggenheim ("Law & Order"). It comes as no surprise that together, Berlanti and Guggenheim try to use Eli Stone as the bridge between the legal drama and comedy genres, while giving it a new, supernatural twist.
At first, the formula appears to work; the script is well written with well-timed punchlines and genuinely funny situations. However, as the episode builds toward what should be the dramatic conclusion, the writers appear to forget a rule that every third grader knows: "Show, don't tell." When Eli and his acupuncturist meet for a couple of beers, Eli confesses guiltily that he's an atheist.
In response, "believing in God" is quickly defined as believing in "right and wrong, justice and fairness, and of course, love" by the gentle Dr. Chen (James Saito, "I Think I Love My Wife"). Then, to end the scene, there is a slight swell in the background guitar music and a shot of the sun setting over San Francisco Bay.
While the sentiments expressed were in no way offensive, and in fact beautiful, they felt empty. Any show that decides to attack the biggest, most complicated and frequently asked questions in the universe should give an answer that takes longer than 30 seconds. Or at least wait until the second episode to conclude the matter.
As if to support the show's aversion to serious thought, the theme song, "Faith," isn't about anything deep at all. "Well I guess it would be nice/ If I could touch your body/ I know not everybody/ Has got a body like you." It would appear that the faith George Michael is crooning about is that someday, he will get laid.
Luckily, star Jonny Lee Miller has a habit of scene-stealing. His current project, "The Flying Scotsman," opened the Edinburgh Film Festival and earned him a BAFTA Best Actor nomination. Maybe what makes him so remarkable are his "average" features: his brown-haired, blue-eyed twenty-something look is that of someone you'd pass on the street.
However, when his character is faced with an incredible situation, like, say, being handed his father's ashes in a coffee tin, the audience is interested in how he handles it. By accepting each catastrophe calmly, meeting each twist and turn with only a puzzled look, he makes this storyline flow. It appears that this show will base most of its appeal on pushing the envelope of believability. Only with the genuine talent of Miller will it find success.
As for the supporting characters, they're very well cast, and that's about it. Despite the actors' best efforts, their roles are generally static. With their minimal screen time, they have no way to develop beyond their initial labels: scary boss (played by the straight-faced Victor Garber of "Alias"), rival lawyer (Sam Jaeger), beautiful fiancée (Henstridge), neurologist/brother (Letscher) and sassy office assistant (the wonderful Loretta Devine, "Crash").
This show really does have it all: comedy, tragedy, courtroom drama and '80s pop. In order to give the show greater direction and appeal, though, the writers need to make a commitment to give the bigger puzzles and questions more attention than the more trifling matters the characters routinely face.
