Eli Stone Explained

Composer:Blake Neely
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:2
Num Episodes:26
Location:San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, United States
Cinematography:Michael O'Shea
Camera:Single-camera
Runtime:45–48 minutes
Network:ABC

Eli Stone is an American legal musical comedy-drama television series that was 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 series originally aired on ABC from January 31, 2008 to July 11, 2009, for two seasons.

The series follows Stone (Jonny Lee Miller), a San Francisco lawyer who begins to have hallucinations (such as a George Michael soundtrack that only he can hear and getting dive-bombed by a World War I biplane on a busy San Francisco street) which leads him to two possible conclusions: side effects from his potentially fatal brain aneurysm, or the chance that something greater is at work. His visions lead him to accept cases with little monetary gain but a lot of moral goodness, while alsooccasionallyaccurately predicting things like earthquakes or plane crashes. Other such events occur throughout the course of the series, but the series was cancelled before reaching a coherent conclusion.

The series has been met with generally favorable reviews from critics, and both seasons have been released on DVD.

Premise

Greg Berlanti, who co-wrote 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".[2] Eli suffers from an inoperable brain aneurysm that causes him to have realistic hallucinations often relating to the plot of the episode to the extent that he may be considered a modern-day prophet.

Pop singer George Michael was featured prominently throughout the first season of the series, and each episode was named after one of his songs.[3] Berlanti is a fan of Michael and made an effort to have him appear on the show. As luck would have it, Michael claimed he was 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.[4]

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.[5]

Production

Produced by Berlanti Television, After Portsmouth, and ABC Studios, the series was officially greenlit and given a thirteen-episode order on May 11, 2007,[6] and it aired as a mid-season replacement in 2008.[7] Eli Stone premiered on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 10:00 Eastern/9:00 Central, following the return of Lost;[8] 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.[9] Moreover, in Canada, CTVglobemedia announced that they would send down the series to CTV's relaunched "A" television system for the 2008–2009 season.[10] Season 2 premiered on Tuesday, October 14 at 10:00 Eastern/9:00 Central.[11]

On November 20, 2008, however, 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 aired.[12]

The last scheduled episode of Eli Stone aired on December 30, 2008. The final four episodes of the series aired on Saturdays at 10:00 Eastern/9:00 Central on ABC starting Saturday, June 20, 2009.[13] The final episode, "Flight Path", aired on July 11, 2009.

The unaired episodes, starting with "Sonoma", were broadcast in Ireland by RTÉ starting on March 13, 2009. The British Sci-Fi channel aired the final four episodes starting on March 16, 2009. The episode aired in Israel's Yes Stars Drama/HD channel and German TV channel Pro7 starting on March 31, 2009. Finally, in Australia, the Seven Network aired the final four episodes in the month of April, on Tuesdays at 22:30.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Special guest stars

On November 6, 2008, TV Guide reported that Jamey Sheridan would guest-star as an evening news anchor.[14] On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Gregory Smith would make a guest appearance in the show's finale.[15]

Episodes

Season 2 (2008 - 09)

Reception

Ratings

SeasonTimeslot (EDT)Season premiereSeason finaleTV seasonRankViewers
(in millions)		18-49Network
1Thursday 10:00pm
Sunday 10:00pm (April 13, 2008)
Tuesday 10:00pm (October 14-December 30, 2008)
Saturday 10:00pm (June 20-July 11, 2009)

Critical reception

Season one was met with generally favorable reviews, and currently holds a Metacritic score of 62 out of 100, based on 24 collected reviews.[16] Season two was met with a more enthusiastic response, and holds a Metacritic score of 72 out 100, based on 9 collected reviews.[17]

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[18] and treats the hypothesis as being credible and legally compelling.[19] This hypothesis is not supported by scientific evidence, but has contributed to decreased vaccination rates.[20] [21] 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.[22] 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",[23] with a second card directing viewers to the autism web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[23] [24]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Eli Stone! Year !! Award !! Category !! Result
2008ALMA AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Television Series - Julie Gonzalo
NAACP Image AwardsOutstanding Actress in a Drama Series - Loretta Devine
Satellite AwardsBest Actor - Musical or Comedy Series - Jonny Lee Miller
WGA AwardsEpisodic Drama - "Pilot"
2009Prism AwardsDrama Series Multi-Episode Storyline - "The Humanitarian," "Happy Birthday, Nate," "Help"

International airings

Eli Stone premiered on ABC on January 31, 2008. It premiered on Fox Life in Greece, and AXN in Japan in 2010. In the UK, the show was first shown on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2008[25] and was then broadcast on Fiver in June 2010.[26] In Malaysia, the show premiered on TV2 in June 2009, airing all the complete 26 episodes until December 23, 2009. The series was later re-run in 2010.

Home media

On September 2, 2008, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (under the ABC Studios brand name) released the complete first season of Eli Stone on DVD in Region 1.[27] Season 1 was also released in Region 4 on March 18, 2009.[28] The second and final season was released in Region 1 on August 18, 2009.[29] By February 2013 the First Season had also been released as Region 2 in a combined Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland set. This set includes the original English dialogue with no captions as the default.

DVD nameEp #Release dates
Region 1Region 2Region 4
13
13

Future

The series lasted two seasons with 26 episodes. Series creator Marc Guggenheim revealed that, if the show had been renewed for a third season, Eli would have had a complete wrap-up, including Taylor giving birth to a baby girl and Matt being a surprisingly good father with a better attitude to others, Jordan meeting his ex-wife for the first time since the divorce, and Eli briefly meeting Grace again. The planned series finale would have shown that Eli eventually gained a high profile as a prophet sharing his visions and message of hope and compassion with the world, hinted at in the first season episode "Patience", though predictably placing his life in danger.[30]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Devwatch: Eli Stone. The Futon Critic . January 31, 2008 .
  2. News: Berlanti sets series at ABC . Variety . August 3, 2006 . June 21, 2009 . Denise . Martin.
  3. Web site: George Michael Signs Up for New US Sit-com . Entertainmentwise . June 21, 2009.
  4. Web site: On the Futon with... "Eli Stone" co-creator Marc Guggenheim . January 31, 2008 . June 21, 2009 . Sullivan . Brian Ford . The Futon Critic.
  5. News: Eli Stone goes for quirky, Ally McBeal style, but after a while, kooky can start to get irritating . Goodman . Tim Goodman . San Francisco Chronicle . January 30, 2008 . June 21, 2009.
  6. Web site: ABC adds 20 newcomers, renews Notes, Road. The Futon Critic . January 31, 2008 . May 11, 2007 .
  7. Web site: ABC unveils 2007–08 primetime schedule. The Futon Critic . January 31, 2008 . May 15, 2007 .
  8. Web site: ABC unveils midseason primetime schedule. The Futon Critic . December 14, 2007 . January 31, 2008 .
  9. Web site: ABC upfront, take one. The Star Ledger . May 13, 2008 . May 13, 2008 .
  10. Web site: Fall 2008 Schedules Announced for CTV and A . CTV . June 3, 2008 . June 5, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080605031438/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/show/CTVShows/20080602/ctv_fall_launch/20080602/ . June 5, 2008 . mdy .
  11. Web site: Eli Stone – Home . ABC . September 8, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080530130241/http://abc.go.com/primetime/elistone/index?pn=index . May 30, 2008.
  12. News: Life on Mars saved, but Daisies and Eli Stone shelved . November 21, 2008 . November 22, 2008 . Levin . Gary . USA Today.
  13. News: ABC Announces Its Summer Schedule . April 8, 2009 . June 21, 2009 . The Futon Critic.
  14. Web site: Criminal Intent Alum Needs Eli Stones Help . . November 6, 2008 . November 7, 2008.
  15. Web site: Everwood Alum Gregory Smith Returns to TV Which ABC show grabbed him? . TV Guide . December 1, 2008 . December 3, 2008.
  16. Web site: Eli Stone - Season 1 Reviews. CBS Interactive Inc.. February 9, 2014.
  17. Web site: Eli Stone - Season 2 Reviews. CBS Interactive Inc.. February 9, 2014.
  18. News: New York Times . ABC drama takes on science and parents. January 23, 2008 . January 29, 2008 . Wyatt . Edward .
  19. News: Boston Globe . Perpetrating the autism myth. January 31, 2008 . January 31, 2008 . Allen . Carole . Benjamin Kruskal .
  20. New England Journal of Medicine . 2007 . 357 . 13 . 1278–9 . Thimerosal and vaccines—a cautionary tale . Paul Offit . Offit . Paul . 10.1056/NEJMp078187 . 17898096 . free .
  21. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences . 2006 . 33 . 4 . 341–6 . Immunizations and autism: a review of the literature . Doja . Asif . Wendy Roberts . 17168158 . 10.1017/s031716710000528x. free .
  22. Web site: Jenkins . Renee . Letter to Anne Sweeney, President, Disney-ABC Television Group . January 25, 2008 . January 29, 2008 . American Academy of Pediatrics . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081123044932/http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/LettertoABC.pdf . November 23, 2008 . mdy .
  23. News: New York Times . ABC show will go on, over protest by doctors. January 29, 2008 . January 29, 2008 . Wyatt . Edward .
  24. Web site: Autism information center . 2008 . January 29, 2008 . National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  25. News: George Michael stars in Eli Stone trailer . London . The Guardian . September 30, 2008 . Mark . Sweney.
  26. Web site: Drama - Channel 5 . https://archive.today/20120731033451/http://www.five.tv/programmes/drama/eli-stone . dead . 2012-07-31 . Channel 5 .
  27. Web site: Amazon.com: Eli Stone: The Complete First Season... . Amazon . July 21, 2008.
  28. Web site: Eli Stone R4 release . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090226210854/http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/804443 . February 26, 2009 . mdy .
  29. Web site: Eli Stone R1 release S02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090524063607/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Eli-Stone-Season-2-Announced/11935 . May 24, 2009 . mdy-all .
  30. Web site: Eli Stone: The Future Revealed . Natalie . Abrams . August 16, 2009 . . 2024-06-20.

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