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(More customer reviews)WARNING: SPOILERS!!
Because the nearest ABC station is over 100 miles away, and has been in a running spat with the two satellite/dish companies, up until I got my HD converter hadn't seen a ABC show in two years. (Life's too short to try to watch all the downloads) Wish I'd had the chance to see this show first run -- thank heaven for reruns.
Wildly funny with a lot of heart, this kind of series is very difficult to pull off. If the creators aren't careful it's easy to drown in syrup, and too hard an edge grinds down your characters. "Eli Stone" threads this needle with precision. Themes of belief, faith, whether higher powers are guiding Eli, and a not-so-subtle call for social justice. The first season's arc grows everyone, not just Eli, and Eli and Nate's father grows the most -- a sweet trick since he's been dead for ten years. Sliding relationships, office politics, courtroom drama and cases drawn from real life problems are balanced by the rowdy goofiness of his visions' musical numbers. It seems there's never a good time to have a full-on hallucination. ("Good Lovin'" from #4 and "I Feel the Earth Move" from #8 are favorites.)
The cast is consistently wonderful. Have loved Victor Garber for years, way before "Alias", and it's great to see him not only act but perform. Julie Gonzalo, Natasha Henstridge, Loretta Devine, Matt Letscher, and James Saito are all excellent, not a clunker in the bunch.
But the show hangs on Jonny Lee Miller, and I must admit, he's been amazing. Miller has an marvelously expressive face. From confusion and embarrassment to desperation, sympathy, sarcasm, cunning, panic, innocence and sometimes fury when he's defending his clients. You can always see what's passing in Eli's head. But Miller's voice is just as amazing, practically every line has an softness or an edge that pulls your attention, makes you listen. Full blown drama to light comedy, he's been incredible to watch.
(Warning: spoilers ahead!) Glad the show has been renewed. The creators have carefully planted a half-dozen story threads. Eli and Maggie are destined for each other, but she's currently engaged. His ex-fiancee, Taylor, still loves Eli, but can't believe in his visions. In episode 12, Eli both accurately predicted an earthquake and prevented a disaster. But the season's finale neatly sidestepped how the city will view him, Eli has to go public now. But the most intriguing question is: how has he changed? Has he changed? Eli had the aneurysm causing his visions removed. While the surgery was a success, a hemorrhage and heart attack so damaged his brain his brother was about to pull the plug. Odd thing though, even without the aneurysm, even while comatose, Eli was still fulfilling his mission and trying to convince a dying cancer patient to fight to live. Did the aneurysm give Eli his visions, or was it just a scientific excuse? Will the visions still come? And now Eli has brought himself back, out of the coma. A miracle that everyone will have to accept or deny.
Hope the suits at ABC keep their fingers off this show, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim have proved they know what they're doing. Really looking forward to the fall.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Eli Stone: The Complete First Season
Follow Eli Stone (Jonny Miller) on his quirky quest for answers in this exciting and upbeat comedic drama. When Eli awakens to an unending George Michael soundtrack that only he can hear, gets dive-bombed by a WWI biplane on a busy San Francisco street, and faces a fire-breathing dragon outside his office window, there are two possible explanations: delusions caused by a potentially fatal brain aneurysm or the chance that something greater is at work. He might just be a prophet sent to change the world. Victor Garber and Loretta Devine lead an acclaimed supporting cast in this wonderfully wacky new series, ELI STONE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON. Complete with every Season One episode, exclusive bloopers and behind-the-scenes footage, this 4-disc box set will surprise, inspire and leave you feeling like you gotta have faith.
Click here for more information about Eli Stone: The Complete First Season
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