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Eli Stone

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Eli Stone
Eli Stone title screen
GenreComedy-drama, Musical
StarringJonny Lee Miller
Victor Garber
Natasha Henstridge
Loretta Devine
Sam Jaeger
Laura Benanti
James Saito
Matt Letscher
Julie Gonzalo
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes11 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersGreg Berlanti
Marc Guggenheim
Ken Olin
Production locationsSan Francisco and Los Angeles, California
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseJanuary 31 2008 –
present

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]

Eli Stone is a lawyer who in the first episode is discovered to have an inoperable brain aneurysm which is causing hallucinations. A theory presented to Eli by his accupuncturist Dr. Chen, whose real name is Steve Lebecowski, is that they are really divinely inspired visions, which has a lot of support since to date, only one vision has failed to come to some form of meaningful fruition. It is foreshadowed by the trailer for the next episode that the earthquake predicted by Eli will in fact happen.

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 is airing as a mid-season replacement in 2008.[3] It will also air on Channel Seven in Australia,[4] CTV in Canada,[5] and Antena 3 in Spain.[6] Eli Stone premiered on January 31, 2008 at 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central, following the return of Lost.[7]

Premise

Co-written by Marc Guggenheim and Greg Berlanti, the series was described by Berlanti in Variety magazine as "a Field of Dreams-type drama set in a law firm where a thirty-something attorney, whos name happens to be the title of the show, begins having larger-than-life visions that compel him to do out-of-the-ordinary things".[8] 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 appeared on the show, and each episode has been named after a song of his.[9] 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, which led to the singer agreeing to do several episodes, including one in which Stone will represent him for real.[10]

Autism

The debut episode, dated January 31, 2008, 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,[11] and treats the hypothesis as being credible and legally compelling.[12] This hypothesis is not supported by scientific evidence, but has contributed to decreased vaccination rates that endanger children.[13][14] 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.[15] 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",[16] with a second card directing viewers to the autism web site[17] of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[16]

Cast

Episodes

Main article: List of Eli Stone episodes

References

  1. ^ "Devwatch: Eli Stone". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ "ABC adds 20 newcomers, renews 'Notes', 'Road'". The Futon Critic. 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ "ABC unveils 2007–08 primetime schedule". The Futon Critic. 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ "New US shows set to hit Aussie TVs". Australian Associated Press. 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Brendan Kelly (2007-12-04). "CTV banks on U.S. fare: Network acquires 'Terminator,' 'Eli Stone'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-31. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Emiliano de Pablos (2007-10-09). "Antena 3 takes ABC trio: Pact includes 'Dirty Sexy Money'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-31. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "ABC unveils midseason primetime schedule". The Futon Critic. 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  8. ^ "Berlanti sets series at ABC". Variety. 2006-08-03.
  9. ^ George Michael Signs Up For New US Sit-com - Entertainment News, Movie Reviews, Competitions - Entertainmentwise
  10. ^ From The Futon Critic
  11. ^ Wyatt E (2008-01-23). "ABC drama takes on science and parents". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  12. ^ Kruskal B, Allen C (2008-01-31). "Perpetrating the autism myth". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  13. ^ Offit PA (2007). "Thimerosal and vaccines—a cautionary tale". N Engl J Med. 357 (13): 1278–9.
  14. ^ Doja A, Roberts W (2006). "Immunizations and autism: a review of the literature". Can J Neurol Sci. 33 (4): 341–6. PMID 17168158.
  15. ^ Jenkins RR (2008-01-25). "Letter to Anne Sweeney, President, Disney-ABC Television Group" (PDF). American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  16. ^ a b Wyatt E (2008-01-29). "ABC show will go on, over protest by doctors". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  17. ^ "Autism information center". National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
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