Season 1, Episode 1 - Pilot

Eli Stone is the story of an attorney from a top San Francisco law firm who suddenly finds himself experiencing visions. These visions drive him to take a case against his own lawfirm (a case that has brought about some real-life controversy). One would presume that Eli will continue to take “unwinnable” cases in future episodes.

Many of the concepts in Eli Stone are far from original. The die-hard, no-holds-barred lawyer who must go through a time of soul-searching to discover his true calling is a cliche that is over-used, at best. The use of a mental-deficiency and the question of whether or not it is the work of a higher power is not exactly a novel idea, either.

So what sets Eli Stone apart from the rest? Um…let’s see…not much. Boston Legal pretty much corners the market on the hot-button legal issues. Ally McBeal even did the hallucinating lawyer thing with the dancing baby. Besides causing a bit of a ruckus for the world on this side of the TV screen, the case contained in the first episode is not exactly memorable. There are some humorous moments sprinkled throughout, but all-in-all, it came across as pretty forgettable.

Grade: B-

We’re just hours away now from the (hopefully) phenomenal Season 4 premiere of Lost. So, from wheelchairs to sea urchins, here are the five greatest moments from the show’s past three years.

Don’t tell me what I can’t do!!!

This was the moment that Lost kicked into high gear. Up until this episode, it was just some sci-fi-ish drama that used a flashback device. But in Walkabout, the show jumped to a whole new level. The history of Locke, who we had known as the ultimate boar-hunting hero, was revealed, and we realized that this show was infinitely deeper than we ever had thought.

So I dug up that grave…

Benjamin Linus is arguably one of the coolest characters on the show. But when we first met him, we knew him as Henry Gale from Minnesota. Viewers, such as myself, were conflicted over his true allegiance. He claimed to be a good guy, but there was that subtle, brooding evil that you could just feel pouring off of the guy (a sure sign of Michael Emerson’s brilliance). The truth was revealed in one of the most fantastic moments of the show.

Read the rest of this entry »

When the cameras stop rolling on the final episode of Montel William’s 17th season, the daytime mainstay will officially be ending this season, after 2 major FOX markets refused to renew the series for another season.

Montel’s show will live on in “best of” episodes for the foreseeable future.

As for Montel Williams himself? Well, he may be making the jump to “full time” actor in the near future. Regardless of how successful he is in that arena, people will forever remember “The Montel Williams Show”.

I greatly hesitate to even mention this. As many rumors as there are pointing one way, there are several rumors pointing the other way. But what the heck…here we go.

Virtually everyone who knows someone on the inside of the WGA/AMPTP negotiations is saying that a deal has been reached, and all that’s left is the formal announcement. And apparently today, January 30 is going to be the day that announcement is made.

Of course, those same reporters are saying in the same breath that they’ve heard from other sources that the deal is not even close to being done. For example, TVGuide’s Ausiello:

Nothing’s official, but the buzz is that a tentative agreement has been reached, with an announcement coming as early as tomorrow [January 30]. But it’s hard to tell what’s solid intel and what’s just spin. To wit: In the past 24 hours, one source close to the negotiations insisted that talk of a resolution was way premature. “There’s no deal,” maintained my spy. “That’s just misinformation put out by the AMPTP to pressure the WGA.” But moments before I put this column to bed, I heard from another very plugged-in source that the deal is done. Short story shorter: There’s cause for optimism, but not celebration. Yet.

…and eOnline’s Kristin:

It’s official. Everyone in this town has heard from someone—their writer friend, agent or dog sitter’s ex-boyfriend—that the strike “should” end sometime this week…Despite the rampant rumor that “the end is coming,” a few inside sources report today that they have heard the latest WGA/AMPTP proposed deal has not been accepted. So, let’s hope for the best but…you know the rest.

So…don’t break out the bubbly just yet. But guarded optimism is okay.

Some pediatricians are calling for ABC to pull the first episode of the new drama, Eli Stone.

In the episode, Eli leads a case against a major pharmaceutical company regarding the fictional drug mercuritol, a stand-in for the controversial real-life drug thimerosal, which, in the show, bears a strong correlation to cases of autism. The pediatricians are upset because they feel that the settlement that the plaintiff is rewarded (not really a spoiler, the good guy always wins in the pilot), and the one-sided case made in the show would deter parents from having their children vaccinated for fear of autism.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) president Dr. Renee Jenkins had this to say…“A television show that perpetuates the myth that vaccines cause autism is the height of reckless irresponsibility on the part of ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Co. If parents watch this program and choose to deny their children immunizations, ABC will share in the responsibility for the suffering and deaths that occur as a result.”

I’m not sure that there’s really a right or wrong side in this one. On one hand, I would say that the majority of viewers have a healthy disconnect when it comes to medical facts on television shows. To think that there would be a mass departure from vaccinating because of an episode of a fictional television show would be asinine. Now, it may get them thinking, and encourage them to do some research on the matter, but I think that’s what shows like this should be doing.

On the other hand, on this particular case, the facts are very shaky. Wired had this to say:

Thimerosal was largely pulled from the U.S. market in 1999 after the FDA belatedly realized that an expanding routine immunization schedule had led to infant mercury exposures far beyond the EPA’s suggested safety limits.

Some parents and scientists hypothesized that thimerosal was responsible for a sudden and disturbing rise in autism diagnoses. Eight years later, a growing body of evidence has cleared thimerosal: even though it’s off the market, autism rates haven’t fallen.

So…playing devil’s advocate here…if there really is no connection between thimerosal and autism, and this show drives some parents to hold back perfectly safe vaccinations because of an unfounded fear…well, that’d be an issue. But I can’t say I agree with Dr. Jenkins’ blatant fear-mongering.

I’m obviously undecided here…what are your thoughts? Is ABC acting irresponsibly here, or is the AAP blowing it out of proportion? Sound off with your opinion in the comments!

Check back in on Thursday for an early review of Eli Stone, which debuts Thursday, January 31 at 10/9c after Lost (whoop!).

Remember a few years back when Brokeback Mountain was chosen by basically everyone to win the Academy Award for Best Picture…only to have the virtually unknown film Crash step in and…well…crash the party?

Starz has stepped in and ordered up a 13-episode series based on the award-winning film. What’s really amazing about this is the fact that essentially all of the film’s behind-the-scenes talent will be on board. Director, co-writer and producer Paul Haggis, co-writer and producer Bobby Moresco, producer Bob Yari, producer Don Cheadle, producer Mark R. Harris and executive producer Tom Nunan are all back on board to bring this show to air. Due to the star-studded cast in the film, it’s likely the show will see a major recast, though.

Crash, the film, dealt with race relations in Los Angeles. If, like me, you feel like that topic could get a bit strained over an entire season of a show, producer Don Cheadle has addressed that very issue. “This series will present an opportunity to delve into many subjects, not just race relations in LA. I don’t think you can do 13 episodes on that subject and keep people interested. The challenge will be to craft the series characters in such a way as to get beneath the skin that supposedly differentiates them and create entertaining story lines that show the hurdles and obstacles we all struggle to overcome day to day.”

And lastly, Crash will be developed by Lionsgate, which means, as we reported yesterday, that the writers will be able to get to writing immediately, vastly speeding up the development process, I’m sure.

(Source: Zap2It)

Some news comes across the wire today about casting for the third season of Heroes.

The newest actor to hop onto the NBC comic-book drama is Jamie Hector. He’s had bit roles in several programs, including the memorable role of “Pedestrian” in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. His largest role is that of Marlo ‘Black’ Stanfield in HBO’s The Wire.

Heroes is still at the mercy of the strike, however, so no telling on when this will actually be, or what kind of role he’ll be playing.

(Source: CBR News)

Hopefully this is a move that foreshadows an end to the writers strike. Lionsgate, the company that produces Showtime’s Weeds and, more relevant for me in this case, AMC’s Mad Men, has struck an interim deal with the WGA.

This means that the writers of these two phenomenal shows are working as you read these words. It’s so nice to see the wheels of progress turning.

(Source: TV Guide)

The Smallville team continues to provide us with interesting online extras to the series. Below is a deleted scene from this week’s upcoming episode.

Check it out…

Mezco Toyz will soon be releasing a line of action figures based on NBC’s Heroes. The first series consists of Peter Petrelli, Hiro Nakamura, Claire Bennet, Mohinder Suresh, and Sylar. Also included in the wave, but not pictured, is Peter Petrelli in Flight Mode.

Frankly, I think they look pretty awful…Mohinder is the only one that has any resemblance to the actor at all. Click the below images for higher-res shots.

Mohinder Suresh - Activating Evolution Book, Messenger Bag, & Painting

Claire Bennet - Wounded Head, Wounded Arm & Painting

Hiro Nakamura - Sword, Messenger Bag & Painting

Peter Petrelli - Glowing Hands, Messenger Bag, & Painting

Sylar - Brain, Baseball Cap, Glass Shooting Hand, & Painting

(Source: ToyNewsI)