Eli Stone Season 1
Eli Stone season 1 DVD Boxset
Touchstone/Disney
Reviewed October, 2008
Spirituality is a hot topic right now on TV. Shows like Ghost Whisperer, Heroes, Life on Mars, and Pushing Daisies, have all become firm fan favorites due in part, according to Beliefnet.com, to the themes of spirituality that are woven into the story lines.
One such show is Eli Stone, season 1 of which has recently been released on DVD. The show, that debuted earlier this year to rave reviews and high ratings, focuses on the life of the titular character, a hard working, focused lawyer, whose ethics leave a lot to be desired. That is until he begins to have visions (or prophecies) concerning the cases he is working on.
Johnny Lee Miller as Eli Stone – Is he mad, sick, or hearing from God?
At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Eli Stone, partly because of the “one size fits all” depiction of God that it presents; a God who’s seemingly more concerned with helping people through difficult court cases than actually saving souls. I must admit, after a couple of episodes I was a little confused by the shows theology, but hooked nonetheless.
As the show went on I began to warm to it’s characters, especially Eli himself, a man who is suffering from either delusions, due to a medical condition which are slowly driving him over the edge, or a bad case of conscience. Or maybe he’s actually seeing visions, or prophecies, from God; you’ll have to watch and judge for yourself.
God is a central character in Eli Stone, and although staunch Christians may have a problem with God being portrayed in a couple of episodes by singer George Michael, I thought the fact that God was being depicted at all was a major breakthrough for prime time TV, especially given the fact that the show is, for the most part, respectful towards God.
Standing somewhere between Highway to Heaven and Ally McBeal, Eli Stone is far from being a “Christian” show, or even a religious show. Instead it deals with spiritual and moral issues. Saying that, the show is a mixed bag when it comes to religion. Lines are blurred between the God of Christendom and the God of other religions; as noted above the God presented is a “one size fits all” God. There are no absolutes in this show, as exampled by Eli’s spiritual guru, himself a student of all faiths, and there’s a definite pick and mix feel to the religion, theology, and spirituality presented.
Sometimes this is problematic, as many religious teachings (Christian/Muslim/Hinduism, etc.) are opposed to one another. However, Eli Stone avoids the many pitfalls of theological/philosophical argumentation by keeping the idea’s about morality, spirituality, and even God on an easy to swallow surface level, thereby avoiding the who’s right, who’s wrong arguments and questions of the religious folk.
When all is said and done, I really liked this show. In fact I found it to be a breath of fresh air amidst all the CSI’s, NCIS’s, and Psychic mumbo jumbo’s out there. There were some good points made, as well as some clever metaphorical and allegorical idea’s in the story lines; I even used one as an illustration in a sermon earlier this year. The acting was top notch as was the production. I didn’t even mind the quirkiness, or the singing and dancing that was peppered throughout, as this really summed up the whole show; light, feel good, fluffy fare, not to be taken too seriously.
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
Image: Michael Ansell – Sourced from ABC.com
