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ELI STONE |
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Eli Stone - Johnny Lee Miller Jordan Wethersby - Victor Garber Taylor Wethersby - Natasha Henstridge Patti - Loretta Devine Frank Chen - James Saito Maggie Dekker - Julie Gonzalo Matt Dowd - Sam Jaeger Nathan Stone - Matt Letscher 
OTHER ELI STONE SEASONS Season 1 OTHER VISIONARIES Medium Ghost Whisper Haunted 
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The PathEli's brother has a vision of a crane crashing down on the bank where Jordan is having an important meeting with corporate clients. The vision shows that the rescuers are looking in the wrong place, so Eli sues the city to force them to look in the right place. He also comes to realise that his new, peaceful life has come at a price and a price that is more than he is willing to pay. It's a few months since Eli's successful operation to have the aneurysm removed from his brain, vision-free months, and life is getting back to how it was before the illness was ever detected. This has left a few people more than a little conflicted. They're all glad that he's not in imminent danger of death, but they're all missing something - perhaps the excitement, the adrenaline of the unknown, the change he wrought in the way they thought or even perhaps just the glimpse of the divine that brought into their lives. It's an ambivalence that he is feeling himself and it is the very core of the opening episode of this second series and the very best episode that the show has yet produced. Opening with a huge production number that states its entertainment intent from the start, this brilliantly written script moves into what appears to be just another court case before slowly revealing its true intent, character drama of the highest order. Everyone's reaction to Eli's recovery and return to normality is unconventional, but realistically complicated. This bleeds through into the story of the week which is Eli taking the city to court to get them to search for Jordan in what he knows is the right place. This is the only false note in the whole thing (is it really possible to sue for this sort of thing in court and at less than an hour's notice? We have to take their word for it). The conflict this brings between Eli and Taylor is rooted in something deeper than the heat of the moment though. And then there is Sigourney Weaver's much vaunted first TV appearance as Eli's psychiatrist who may be more, or less, than she seems. This is the core of the opening episode's plot and the core of Eli's dilemma. It's tightly plotted, expertly scripted and wonderfully played. This is what this show does best. Welcome back, counsellor. Written by Andrew Kreisberg and Marc GuggenheimDirected by David Petrarca Top GraceEli has a vision about a beautiful woman in a sexy dance. In real life, she turns out to be clumsy and adorable. Eli is instantly smitten. She, however, is planning to leave for Kenya in 48 hours. Is that enough time for Eli to win her heart and get her to stay? The appearance of Katie Holmes in this episode has been widely advertised and that's OK because she is utterly adorable in it. Her character is warm, vulnerable and just lovely. You can't help feeling what Eli's feeling for her and that manages to keep the side order of schmaltz at bay. Only just mind. This is the first time that the show has come this close to oversentimentality. What this means for Eli's relationship with Maggie is unclear. Jordan's move to take the firm in a more moral direction bring everything back to earth and ground things in a more cynical view of the world. Written by Alex Taub and Leila GersteinDirected by David Petrarca Top UnwrittenJordan is fighting for his firm after being accused of making decisions based on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by wanting to get rid of his socially unacceptable clients. Eli, following a vision, refuses to take on the case and instead looks at the case of a child made sick from lead poisoning in paint. Neither of these cases will go the way he thinks, but they will show him things about the future that he must change. Not a classic ELI STONE episode, but a solid one. The character drama is centred around Jordan's case and for once it is the supporting cast that prove to be more interesting than Eli's story. The paint case is another individual against insidious corporate greed story with very little other than the final twist to distinguish it from all the others. Fortunately there is still plenty of snappy dialogue, the characters are still wonderfully quirky and even when not at the top of its game the show remains eminently watchable. Written by Andrew Kreisberg and Leila GersteinDirected by Vincent Misiano Top Should I Stay or Should I Go?With the firm splitting in two and Jordan's partners holding all the high paying clients, Eli takes on a deportation case in order to persuade Matt Dowd to stay for Taylor's sake and his visions have far reaching effects for Maggie's impending wedding and future career. You can forget Eli's visions because this episode certainly does. Apart from two quick trips to the showers in the guise of Maggie's boyfriend, there is nothing supernatural going on. This is character drama pure and simple as the people working for the firm have to make up their minds between going with their principles or following the money. Sometimes even doing something that you know is right comes at too great a cost. Forget also the central case of the woman whose deportation from the US will lead to her death for dishonouring her father because that's just window dressing for the motivation behind Matt Dowd's decision. Maggie's decision comes as a greater shock, but one that we were prepared for by the end of last week's episode. This is surprising and fascinating stuff. It is a testament to the quality of the show that we have come to identify so much with these characters that their problems are so compelling. Written by Steve Lichtman and Brett MahoneyDirected by Jamie Babbit Top The HumanitarianThe new firm is going badly as their rivals seem able to steal all of the clients they make a move on. One last ditch effort brings a hugely rich philanthropist into the fold, but the visions are telling Eli not to take the case and when he finds that the man's son doesn't want what his father is doing on his behalf, Eli is caught in a conflict of interest. Despite fiery visions and strangely superfluous production numbers, this is an episode that is more about the business of the law and the business of the firm. Eli ignores the visions, but less is made of that than might have been expected and there's even an explanatory passage at the end to make the point. The side story of Patti's daughter is also a pure distraction from more interesting matters. There is a sense that the show is drifting dangerously towards legal soap opera. Fortunately, the performances remain top notch and the relationship between Eli and Maggie is still compelling. Written by Wendy Mericle and Dahvi WallerDirected by David Petrarca Top Happy Birthday NateHaving brought the firm its one and only biggest client, Eli then goes and messes it all up by representing that client's son against him. This brings visions of the conflict between his father and his brother Nate. The case will either bring the brothers closer together or it will destroy Nate's career. It will also bring Eli and Taylor up against Maggie and Matt Dowd for the first time since they left the firm. The ongoing stories running from episode to episode are underlining the soap opera nature of the show and the schmaltz levels get disturbingly high towards the end, but there is still enough in the way of snappy dialogue and quality performances to get by on. The show will, however, have to pull itself back onto the tightrope soon. Written by Brett Mahoney and Alex TaubDirected by Perry Lang Top HelpEli has a vision of Patti crying out for help and it turns out that her daughter has been caught stealing drugs from the hospital to cover a drug debt. Eli's vision tells him that she is innocent, but it turns out not to be the crime that she's innocent of. Matt finally gets up the nerve to tell Taylor that he loves her and Jordan has news on the home front. Bringing the court cases into the immediate circle of friends and family emphasises the soap opera basis of the series to a dangerous degree. Whilst the plights of outsiders reflected the characters' inner turmoils that was fine, but this takes subtlety and shows it out the 15th floor window. It's all a bit worthy as well. The dialogue isn't as crisp or light and the excellent cast suddenly find themselves struggling a bit. The guest appearance by Seal for no other reason than they can also smacks a little of desperation to catch the lightning of using George Michael in Season 1. Written by Andrew Kreisberg and Steve LichtmanDirected by Michael Grossman Top Owner of a Lonely HeartAfter making it into bed with his girlfriend, Eli wakes up to a vision of a woman winning the Nobel Prize for cracking the problem of Cold Fusion and saving the planet. He tracks the woman down to find that she's a brilliant college dropout about to be arrested under suspicion of building a nuclear bomb. Taylor, meanwhile, finds out some worrying things about her father's first divorce. The soap opera aspect of ELI STONE continues to dominate as the court case of the scientist is merely a sideshow to Eli's own problems as the woman he is making a connection with freaks out at the news of his visions and the truth about Jordan's behaviour during his first divorce is revealed. Despite the best efforts of the cast, these storylines dominate and dampen down the light frothiness that first attracted us to this show. That said, the cast are still excellent and there are some nice moments when everyone reacts to Eli's 'morning after' happiness. Written by Leila GersteinDirected by Ron Underwood Top Two MinistersEli takes on the case of a transgender priest who has been sacked because of the sex change operation at the same time that he has to deal with his brother's wedding having received a vision that the bride isn't going to go through with it. Taylor and Matt Dowd get some worrying news about their unborn child. The various stories playing out in this episode all manage to undermine each other so that none of them really works to their best. Taylor and Matt's news that there might be problems with their child is pure soap opera and the audience just really isn't invested enough in them for that to really matter. The court case around the priest is also a little too obvious to have the impact that it ought to have. It's obvious who is in the right and no real effort is made into writing a decent opposing argument. The main story, however, is Eli's vision of the future in which he is responsible for the bride not marrying his brother. It's pure soap opera, but for once it's soap opera that works, thanks to the performances. At times, such as the piano recital that suddenly takes place, it does get close to falling into a crevasse of melodrama. And finally it pulls itself around with a final scene that leaves Eli bleeding and his eyesight fading. We need to be there next week. Written by Wendy Mericle and Dahvi WallerDirected by David Petrarca Top SonomaIn order to get to a witness Eli, Maggie, Matt and Taylor all travel to the small town of Sonoma. There Taylor and Matt have to deal with an ex-lover of his who also turns out to be the judge and to still to be more than annoyed with him. Maggie and Eli, however, find a way to fall into bed and then find a way to screw it all up again. You want a vision? Well you're not going to get one. There is a dream sequence included, but it's there for the sake of having it not to further any sort of plot point, which is very disappointing. Fortunately, this is one of the funniest episodes that the show has produced in a while so there is plenty of fun to be had to make up for it. The court case in question is hardly relevant and gets short shrift because the writers are more interested in the bumpy paths of true love. They have produced a witty script that the cast make the most of, providing laughs along the way without descending into farce. And then there is the revelation bomb that Frank Chen drops about the dark arts that Eli has been indulging in and its effect on his father. Now that's an interesting dramatic twist. Written by Brett Mahoney and Alex TaubDirected by Vince Misiano Top Mortal CombatFollowing events in Sonoma, Eli finds Maggie is trying the case like a vendetta and that he is singularly incapable of beating her. When a deal comes that might be lucrative, he decides it is best to cut and run. Gladiatorial visions appear in this episode, but the series is showing less and less interest in Eli's talent and more and more interest in the soap opera that is the lives of the major characters. The visions feel almost like an afterthought, something that the makers put in reluctantly, remembering the initial premise of the show. It's not so important because for once the soap opera is more interesting than usual. Matt Dowd is forced into having a crisis of conscience whilst Maggie Dekker announces just how over Eli she is at the moment he was about to profess his potential love to her. Oh, and the new firm is looking like it's going to go broke. Pitch perfect performances from all involved once again, so whilst the genre content is becoming unmeasurably small, we're not yet complaining. Written by Leila Gerstein and Marc GuggenheimDirected by Michael Schultz Top TailspinWhilst Jordan takes on a class action suit against a big company CEO for corporate negligence, Eli has a vision about a plane crash that has personal connections in more ways than one. The visions grow rarer and rarer as ELI STONE drifts further and further away from its original remit. The legal drama and the soap opera (albeit very classy soap opera) have taken over and don't leave a lot of space for the more fantastical elements. In fact, in this case, the visions actually play into the soap opera of Eli's life rather than what's going on in court. That said, it's a nice story that comes together very well and for once has something nice to say about Eli's father. As for the CEO story, how more current could that be and could we do this to the leaders of the banking world please? Written by Greg Berlanti and Marc GuggenheimDirected by Bethany Rooney Top Flight PathEli has a vision that someone in his firm is going to die in a plane crash. He has to find out who and stop them whilst at the same time suing bereaved parents for the heart of their comatose daughter. This is the last ever episode of ELI STONE and it reads like the writers were aware that the show wasn't going to get picked up and so gave us a story that would serve as a finale, but leave enought loose ends open in case of a change of heart. No such luck, but as it is this will do. It's mainly business as usual with an impressive vision, some sparky dialogue, mainly between Taylor and Matt as they discuss marriage this time around, and a fairly shallow trawl through a thorny current issue (religion and organ transplant!) But then Eli has a vision of his father, something that could have been sugar overload but is actually quite moving and provides a nice bookend to a series that was original, interesting, funny, dramatic, clever and brilliantly played. What a shame that it didn't catch the public interest more. Written by Lindsey Allen and Oscar BalderramaDirected by David Petrarca Top |
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