And the Lord gave us Eli Stone

Opening with similar bells and a snowy mountain scene as Northern Exposure, you feel ready to put on your North Face jacket and sit down to watch Eli Stone, but that’s not what you are in for here. We are introduced to our protagonist Eli Stone, played by Johnny Lee Miller, a lawyer for a large firm that tends to take advantage of the lower class citizens that can not defend themselves. 

When Eli explains his background, we are supposed to get the sense that he is a bad, materialistic man that follows the holy trinity of “Armani, accessories and ambition.” This impression is something that should have been gained over other episodes so we could get a sense of who he is actually meant to be and the big change he plans to make with his life. It does not come off as believable. He is a likable guy from the beginning which leaves no changes to happen for him in the end. If they were to give him more of a diabolical personality that audiences could hate, that would attach them more to the changes that he makes in his life, which seems to be the premise of the series. He seems like the goofy underdog that people will already root for where his problems don’t seem relatable at all. He get s brain aneurysm and it is hard to have any feelings with just meeting the guy.

It must be Eli’s most pivotal moment in his life. Not only is he encountered by a client, which whom he lost his virginity to, but he has began hearing and seeing George Michael’s “Faith” played out on his coffee table and in the law firm he works. After learning he has an inoperable brain aneurysm, he decides to take his life in a new direction and defend those less defenseless. He is sort of like a Superman with a law degree, excluding the red tights and large biceps. Eli is put in a situation by his new client, Beth Keller, whose son has developed autism from a large pharmaceutical company’s child vaccine. The firm that Eli works for defends this company and forces Eli to take the risk to do good or go along with his life with no care for the “little people.” All through out this Eli must endure the rejection of his fiance and figure out if these visions are the signs of him being a modern-day prophet. The shows premise is a very intriguing one that may be difficult to carry on for seasons to come. It does tend to hold true to its message of doing good.

The characters, even Eli, tend to have a flatness to them. It feels as if there is something missing to each one. Their dialogue does not seem real enough, and there place in the story seems inferior. Eli’s mother and brother hopefully play a larger part in the series, revealing more of Eli’s father and his possibly hereditary aneurysm that causes divine visions. As of the pilot they tend to add no depth what so ever to the story, only pity for Eli. His fiance, Taylor Wethersby comes of as shallow, which assumably fits her for the future. She doesn’t make much of an appearance only to dump Eli and try and rekindle the spark by the end. Patti Dellacroix is Eli’s secretary and plays a great voice of reason and is what you would find in the dictionary if you looked up the word Gospel. Dr. Frank Chen is an acupuncturist with a fake chinese accent. He is the one that proposes the idea that Eli may very well be a modern-day prophet and that there are two explanations for everything that are “scientific and divine.” He will make a good ally for Eli. Jordan Wethersby is the father of Taylor and Eli’s boss. That already screams cliche’ from the top of its lungs. The only thing we find out about Jordan is that he forgives to easily when Eli wins against him in court. He comes off too fluffy to a guy that is marrying his daughter. There needs to be some sort of conflict between Eli and Jordan.

Eli Stone doesn’t focus on that of a single religion. It plays into the idea that there may be a God but more along the lines that people should do good even if it is difficult. It’s a better message then a lot of other shows out there that just tend to corrupt the youth. It has a “Thank You For Smoking” type dialogue that is clever and funny and a “Bruce Almighty” premise that combines into a hearty, wholesome show. It needs to focus more on the characters and their relationships more than anything. If that happened then Eli Stone could be a good show with a good message. Moses raises his staff to Eli Stone.