Eli Stone

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Eli Stone

Eli Stone title screen
Genre Legal drama, Comedy-drama
Starring Jonny Lee Miller
Victor Garber
Natasha Henstridge
Loretta Devine
Sam Jaeger
Laura Benanti
James Saito
Matt Letscher
Julie Gonzalo
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 13 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Greg Berlanti
Marc Guggenheim
Ken Olin
Location(s) San Francisco and Los Angeles, California
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run January 31, 2008 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Eli Stone is an American television comedy-drama created by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, who also serve as executive producers alongside Ken Olin who directed the pilot, with Melissa Berman producing.[1]

The show stars 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 predict 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] It also aired on Channel Seven in Australia,[4] CTV in Canada,[5], Antena 3 in Spain[6] and on AXN in Slovakia[7], Czech Republic[8] and Bulgaria.[9] Eli Stone premiered on January 31, 2008 at 10 PM Eastern/9 PM Central, following the return of Lost;[10] 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 and will air on Tuesdays at 10 PM Eastern/9 PM Central.[11] Moreover, in Canada CTV announced that they will send the series down to the relaunched A for the 2008-2009 season.[12]

Contents

[edit] 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."[13] 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 has figured prominently throughout the series, and each episode has been named after a song of his.[14] 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 I Want Your Sex in protest of an abstinence-only sex education program in her school.[15]

[edit] 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,[16] and treats the hypothesis as being credible and legally compelling.[17] This hypothesis is not supported by scientific evidence, but has contributed to decreased vaccination rates that endanger children.[18][19] 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.[20] 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",[21] with a second card directing viewers to the autism web site[22] of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[21]

[edit] Cast

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Eli Stone episodes

According to Tvshowsondvd.com, The Complete 1st Season will be released on DVD on September 2.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Devwatch: Eli Stone. The Futon Critic. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ ABC adds 20 newcomers, renews 'Notes', 'Road'. The Futon Critic (2007-05-11). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ ABC unveils 2007–08 primetime schedule. The Futon Critic (2007-05-15). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ "New US shows set to hit Aussie TVs", Australian Associated Press, 2007-06-01. Retrieved on 2007-06-11. 
  5. ^ Brendan Kelly (2007-12-04). CTV banks on U.S. fare: Network acquires 'Terminator,' 'Eli Stone'. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ Emiliano de Pablos (2007-10-09). Antena 3 takes ABC trio: Pact includes 'Dirty Sexy Money'. Variety. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  7. ^ AXN
  8. ^ AXN
  9. ^ AXN
  10. ^ ABC unveils midseason primetime schedule. The Futon Critic (2007-12-14). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  11. ^ ABC upfront, take one. The Star Ledger (2008-05-13). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  12. ^ Fall 2008 Schedules Announced for CTV and A. CTV (2008-06-03). Retrieved on 2008-6-05.
  13. ^ "Berlanti sets series at ABC", Variety, 2006-08-03. 
  14. ^ George Michael Signs Up For New US Sit-com - Entertainment News, Movie Reviews, Competitions - Entertainmentwise
  15. ^ From The Futon Critic
  16. ^ Wyatt E. "ABC drama takes on science and parents", New York Times, 2008-01-23. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 
  17. ^ Kruskal B, Allen C. "Perpetrating the autism myth", Boston Globe, 2008-01-31. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
  18. ^ Offit PA (2007). "Thimerosal and vaccines—a cautionary tale". N Engl J Med 357 (13): 1278–9. doi:10.1056/NEJMp078187. 
  19. ^ Doja A, Roberts W (2006). "Immunizations and autism: a review of the literature". Can J Neurol Sci 33 (4): 341–6. PMID 17168158. 
  20. ^ Jenkins RR (2008-01-25). Letter to Anne Sweeney, President, Disney-ABC Television Group (PDF). American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved on 2008-01-29.
  21. ^ a b Wyatt E. "ABC show will go on, over protest by doctors", New York Times, 2008-01-29. Retrieved on 2008-01-29. 
  22. ^ Autism information center. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-29.

[edit] External links

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George Michael
Studio albums
Compilations & EP
Solo singles
Duet singles
Tours
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