TV Jots » Eli Stone

‘Eli Stone’ Returns This Weekend

Chandra — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:51:45 +0000

Canceled Dramedy Has Four Episodes Left

Canceled Pushing Daisies finished burning off its remaining three episodes last Saturday, June 13, and now it’s time for the ABC show’s fellow axed sophomore dramedy Eli Stone to do the same starting tomorrow.

At 10pm ET, ABC will begin airing the last four episodes of the series, starting with “Sonoma.” When we last saw Eli way back on December 30 of last year during “Two Ministers,” his vision of Beth and Nate not getting married had come true.

The surprising part, at least to me, was that his brother seemed angrier that Eli hadn’t shared the premonition than he was about the last-minute change in wedding plans. The episode closed with the siblings engaged in a heated argument, just before Eli’s nose started bleeding and the lawyer began to collapse.

Up next on “Sonoma,” Taylor, Matt, Eli, and Maggie take a road trip to the title city to assist a client. Unfortunately, the judge overseeing the case has an unpleasant past with Matt, which complicates matters.

Of course, working together ignites Eli and Maggie’s feelings for one another (again), but I’m betting Eli won’t reveal to her that he now has two brain aneurysms instead of the former one, thanks to that Dark Truth treatment Chen warned him about over and over again.

Need an Eli Stone refresher? Catch up on full previous episodes of the show at the official ABC website.

Eli Stone photo courtesy of Bob D’Amico/ABC

The Best Night of TV So Far This Year Is Here

Chandra — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:16:00 +0000

ABC and The CW Slay the Competition

Tonight’s primetime schedule is one to die for if you’re a fan of fantasy and science fiction. Not only will Lost return to kick off its eagerly anticipated fourth season at 9pm EST, but The CW will air new episodes of the network’s perfectly partnered staples Smallville and Supernatural for the first time in seven weeks.

The parallel scheduling is a pain for those who, like me, follow both networks’ Thursday-night lineups. I think it’s safe to assume, though, that the majority of such viewers will tune into Lost, the more acclaimed show, and record The CW series to watch later.

I’m doing the opposite, not due to any particular preference, but simply because I need to have Lost recorded to accommodate my frequent need to return to an earlier point and view events again. In other words, the multilayered ABC series requires more involvement and thinking from me than the fairly straightforward CW shows do.

So, here’s how tonight’s fantastic ABC/CW roster looks:

ABC

8:00pm: Lost—“Past, Present & Future” illuminates the first three seasons of Lost for both longtime fans familiar with the series and newcomers.
9:00pm: Lost—On “The Beginning of the End,” we’ll hopefully finally find out who the heck Naomi really is and what she and her unseen colleagues have planned for our unsuspecting island castaways.
10:02pm: Eli Stone—The pilot episode introduces the title character, a successful attorney who suddenly starts suffering from George Michael hallucinations that prompt a marked change in his world view.

The CW

8:00pm: Smallville—On “Persona,” James Marsters returns to reprise his sixth-season role as Brainiac, while Bizarro continues to dupe Lana into thinking he’s Clark.
9:00pm: Supernatural—The episode “Malleus Maleficarum” finds Sam and Dean stopping by Massachusetts, the original home of American witchiness, for a little demon hunting and a few encounters with demoness Ruby. Watch a preview clip here.

Lost photo courtesy of ABC

Tags: ABC, Eli Stone, Lost, Smallville, Supernatural, television, The CW, tv

Mad About ‘Eli Stone’

Chandra — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:30:00 +0000

And Not in a Good Way Either

Note: After the current sentence, this post won’t mention Ally McBeal even once—I promise. Now on to the story…

According to a press release issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics on January 25, the organization of 60,000 pediatricians is hopping mad about an implication in the pilot of the new ABC legal dramedy Eli Stone that a link exists between vaccinating infants and the potential for autism to arise as a result. How hopping mad is the AAP? Hopping mad enough to demand that ABC cancel the series’ premiere scheduled to air on Thursday, January 31.

This outrage stems from a pilot plotline that has the title lead character, a lawyer played by English actor Jonny Lee Miller who suffers from hallucinations due to a brain lesion, winning a case by successfully arguing that a child’s autism was caused by a vaccine. The AAP insists the plot is a dangerous fabrication since “[n]o scientific link has been found between vaccines and autism.”

AAP president Renee R. Jenkins states:

A television show that perpetuates the myth that vaccines cause autism is the height of reckless irresponsibility on the part of ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Co. If parents watch this program and choose to deny their children immunizations, ABC will share in the responsibility for the suffering and deaths that occur as a result. The consequences of a decline in immunization rates could be devastating to the health of our nation’s children.

Predictably, ABC has given no indication whatsoever that it cares what the AAP thinks or wants—the premiere of Eli Stone will go on as planned. It does seem odd, however, that Walt Disney, a company known for its child-friendly entertainment fare, would allow ABC to air such a storyline that’s so contrary to conventional medical wisdom. If a viewer watches and exposes their child to unnecessary harm because they decide based on the episode not to have their child vaccinated, it really would be tragic. I hope TV watchers aren’t that gullible, but…

Eli Stone airs Thursdays on ABC at 10:02pm EST

Eli Stone photo courtesy of ABC

Tags: AAP, ABC, American Academy of Pediatrics, autism, Eli Stone, television, tv, vaccines