A couple of months ago, 10 p.m. on Tuesday night would mean a new episode of Eli Stone.
Eli Stone showed a lot of promise from the get go. The title character, played by a very solid Jonny Lee Miller, is a lawyer living in San Francisco who has a fairly normal life until he has a vision of George Michael performing "faith" on his living room coffee table. It turns out that Eli has a brain aneurysm that often leads to visions of a musical variety. Visions that may be God's way of telling Eli he is a modern day profit.
If that all sounds quirky, well it was. It was also original and often times very moving. Not to mention that the show featured a stellar ensemble including the always great Victor Garber and Loretta Devine.
Besides its emotions, the show wore its politics on its sleeve. Eli's cases varied from a mother suing a pharmaceutical company because she believed that their vaccine caused her son's autism, to a case involving prisoners' rights. Most focused on topical "liberal" issues, but all the cases approached the politics respectfully and thoughtfully.
Tough Reality
The show last aired an episode December 30th. The episode ended on a cliffhanger, with Eli's aneurysm bursting after an argument with his brother. However it was not the last episode produced. The show received a 13 episode order after its first season and there are four episodes waiting to be aired. The financial realities mean the episodes will most likely be burned off this summer. They will air though, and there is always a likely season 2 DVD release.
Who knows if Eli Stone could have fulfilled its promise. Many shows that air for a long time don't. But it aired 22 episodes that reached for a quality a show like CSI:Miami has never approached in its more than a 100 episodes.
Eli Stone got a decent shot at survival, but like many shows, just couldn't find an audience. That is a reality for most shows. In a time when more and more procedurals are replacing shows that attempt to create anything that is different or challenging, it's important to remember what can be accomplished when show runners go for unique and not just more of the same old stuff (CBS, I'm talking about you).
If you are looking for something a little different, or if you just really like George Michael (you will find no judgements here), the first season dvd set available on amazon.
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