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Here are some of the recent articles on “Eli Stone.”

The kooky, mystical Eli Stone asks, “What Would George Michael Do?”

There is one Cop Rock–style sort of production number in every episode of Eli Stone, but only one. Not all feature George Michael in person—taking one energetic turn will be Garber himself, a Broadway song-and-dance man before he enlisted as Jennifer Garner’s spooky father on Alias—but many of Michael’s songs are referenced. This baffles me as much as it does Eli. But when Eli sees Michael’s name spelled out in blocks by an autistic little boy, he is all of a sudden moved to represent that boy’s mother in a suit against a pharmaceutical company whose flu vaccine may have contributed to the autism.

A look at “Lipstick Jungle,” “Eli Stone,” and “Welcome to the Captain” and some other stuff

The fantasy elements, so far, have been lame. The George Michael bits are not interesting at all. The dance routine in the second episode was terrible (it was funny seeing Garber dance, though). And because we still don’t have a full understanding of who Eli Stone is the bigger fantasy elements (like the attack plane) just don’t work. We don’t understand his personality, we don’t fully understand what exactly he could feel guilty or concerned about, and so when something odd happens it’s just stupid. Again, yes, the show is only two episodes old at this point and hasn’t found its voice yet, but it’s going to have to find it fast and I don’t think it can. I get the feeling that this show could go thirteen episodes or more and not find its voice and balance. That’s a serious problem.

‘Lost’ leads ABC to win

As for “Eli Stone,” it averaged a second place 3.3/9 in 18-49 and 8.83 million viewers overall — finishing behind a repeat of CBS crime drama “Without a Trace” (2.7/7, 10.20m) in total viewers but winning its slot in the 18-49, 25-54 and 12-34 categories.

“Eli” was down 18% in 18-49 from its premiere, while lead-in “Lost” (6.5/16, 15.29m) posted a smaller 3% falloff. The drama about a lawyer who just may be a prophet is outperforming another rookie drama to air in the timeslot this season, “Big Shots.”

George Michael came out on top for a poll of most intriguing character on “Eli Stone” with  a stellar 66.2%.  You can read more about it in Review: “Eli Stone” Freedom.

I thought, perhaps, some of you would like to respond to the following article, Primetime Prophet, which says:

Thus far, Stone has “seen” a few dance numbers and performances by George Michael - who is a little scary, by the way - but none of these visions have been particularly outstanding.

Here’s a nice recap of last night’s episode of “Eli Stone” if you missed it: ‘Eli Stone’ Recap: Biplanes, And Choirs, And Bad Lawyers! Oh, My!

There’s a nice comment about George Michael in “Eli Stone” keeps the “Faith”:

ABC’s new series “Eli Stone,” from “Brothers and Sisters” creators Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, had audiences keeping the “Faith” during its premiere episode last night. It has a charming story line played by a stellar and diverse cast, not to mention the highly produced musical number performed by Wham! front man George Michael, which makes this show much more compelling and entertaining than anticipated.

We all love George Michael, but is the U.S. ready for George Michael regularly during prime time?  Here’s an article that says that George Michael may alienate viewers: Eli Stone” Pilot Thoughts And More Fun Stuff.

The Ugly

Will George Michael sing several times in every episode? I like him as much as the next guy, but it could get tiring pretty quickly. What about viewers who aren’t amongst the George Michael faithful. The writers don’t seem to understand that may alienate viewers who dislike the pop singer. It would be a shame if the show lost fans because George Michael was rammed down their throats. (No pun intended)

Okay, this writer’s contact information is at the end of the article if you want to complain or give him a list of George Michael’s hits: Dave on Demand: George Michael visions

The show certainly represents an image upgrade for George Michael. The last time we saw him in prime time, in the series finale of Extras on HBO, he was playing himself, cruising a park in London for anonymous gay sex.

In Eli Stone he gets to play his old pop-star self. But I can’t help but wonder: If they use one of Michael’s songs each week, won’t they run out of hits pretty fast? By next month, I’m afraid there will be episodes of Eli Stone set to claptrap like “The Strangest Thing” and “Flawless (Go to the City).”

Not even the streets of San Francisco can redeem that.

“Eli Stone” kept most of the “Lost” audience, according to Nielsen Ratings.  It’s interesting that in the following article, George Michael is being credited as being a draw for “Eli Stone.”

Nielsen Ratings - Jan 31, 2008: ABC Gets LOST

More surprising to me was the performance of the premiere of ABC’s Eli Stone following the Lost premiere.  The results for the first half hour will likely change some as Lost technically ran past 10pm, but Eli averaged ~12.5 million for the first half hour and 10.75 million in the second half hour.  This is not dramatically great performance, but given the George Michael tie-in, many more gave it a chance than I would’ve thought. 

E! Online has a new poll for Eli Stone.  You can Save It or Sink It: Eli Stone.

 At this moment, here are the results:

• 67.3% Save it
• 9.3% Sink it
• 23.4% Haven’t seen it yet

Yes, we all know George Michael is irreplaceable.  And I still want him in MY living room (aka the office of Yours Only George)!  From: On the Futon With … Eli Stone Co-creator

Brian Ford Sullivan: Let’s start with the question on everyone’s minds - why George Michael?

Marc Guggenheim: [Laughs.] Oh God. You know, let me explain, I’ll answer the question by explaining what life was like without George Michael. Because we wrote the show with George Michael in mind. And we wrote it basically like, we picked George because of a lot of different reasons I’ll get to - but we picked him sort of knowing that he probably wouldn’t do it… wouldn’t do it in a million years. So we wrote George Michael, we got word back from his agents saying that he wasn’t interested. So then we went about the part of trying to find a replacement. And through the process of finding a replacement, we learned - or rather, really saw - it was impossible to replace him. Because no one had the right mix of ’80s icon, but not overexposed today… fun, the right song, the right name, there were like all these elicit elements that worked perfectly with George. [There were] like five elements, another artist would satisfy maybe three out of the five. George was just perfect from day one. And I don’t think we realized how perfect he was until we tried to replace him. Luckily, a different agent of his learned about the script and said, “You know, I think this is something that George would like to do.” And he went to George - and George is a big television fan, a total TV-ofile. Even when he’s in England he downloads everything off of iTunes and watches a lot of American television. And he really responded to it - as a show, as something he wanted to do - so we really got lucky because I think I did four of five drafts for different artists and they were never as good as the original one we had for George.

BFS: And he comes back beyond the pilot?

MG: Yup. We bring him [back] in episodes seven, nine and 13. And in episode nine actually he appears, not as a vision, but actually as his flesh and blood self, and wants Eli to represent him in a legal case.

There are many reviews of “Eli Stone” online today, most of which just in passing mention George Michael.  I’ve selected a few that go into more detail (good and bad.)

‘Eli Stone’: Spiritually, law and a few laughs

The show has whimsical touches. Michael appears as himself in four episodes as part of Eli’s visions and, in one, as a client.

‘Eli’ is great

Eli Stone (Jonny Lee Miller) is a tough, successful lawyer who starts having hallucinations. Who wouldn’t be unsettled if George Michael was suddenly singing “Faith” in their living room?

‘Eli Stone’ needs some tuning

Eli’s first vision - ominously, for all - is George Michael singing “Faith.”

‘Eli Stone’ goes for quirky, ‘Ally McBeal’ style, but after a while, kooky can start to get irritating

If Ally (McBeal) had her dancing baby, Eli has his George Michael.

Yes, that George Michael.

Don’t even ask why Thursday’s pilot essentially revolves around Michael singing “Faith” in the main character’s living room or why the two episodes ABC sent along with it are called “Freedom” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.” Berlanti, who created “Everwood” and is also an executive producer on ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters,” apparently has a soft spot for the former Wham! frontman, solo artist and troubled celebrity. He’s also, judging from the ABC schedule, insanely creative and overworked.

Eli Stone: Jonny Lee Miller Takes a Leap of Faith

“I used to be able to fill places like this!” shouts George Michael as he looks out at the middling crowd inside the Wil­tern Theatre in Los Angeles. In fact, there’s not a single paying customer in the house: The people here are extras, crew members on the new ABC series Eli Stone and connected folks who’ve wrangled an invite. (Yep, that’s Bo Derek sitting in a chair by the railing.)

But this afternoon’s shoot, one of several appearances Michael will make during the season, centers less on the singer on stage than the guy in a dark suit who sits at a table watching him. Eli Stone, played by British actor Jonny Lee Miller, is an ethically challenged San Francisco lawyer who’s told he has a brain aneurysm and suddenly begins to have visions, many involving the pop idol known for a string of No. 1 hits in the ’80s and an infamous scandal a decade later.

 ‘Eli Stone’ explores new life inside his head

There are two explanations for everything, Chen tells Eli, “the scientific and the divine.” But as is usual in our sentimental world, the divine is given the edge here. Chen’s pidgin injunction to “Make peace George Michael,” for instance, later turns up in a wall of alphabet blocks that a client’s autistic son is building. And the client, who has convinced Eli to take her case — a lawsuit against a vaccine manufacturer represented by his own company — also happens to be the woman to whom he lost his virginity, while a George Michael tape played in the background. Everything is connected.

 Victor Garber, who plays Eli’s boss, Jordan Wethersby, on “Eli Stone” said the following in ‘Eli Stone’: A Supernatural Comedic Legal Drama?

Garber has seen his share of legal roles, including Fox casualty Justice. “I didn’t need to play another lawyer,” he says. But, for an actor with a Broadway background, “a lawyer who bursts out into song? A George Michael song? That’s up my alley.”

The initial page on the official George Michael web site is promoting George Michael’s performance on “Eli Stone” with a photo from the show.

Natasha Henstridge talks about George Michael in Natasha Henstridge puts ‘Species’ behind her as she debuts two new TV roles:

Henstridge said Michael was affable on set and even joked around after suffering an embarrassing fall.

“He took a little trip once on the stage,” said Henstridge, who has a cottage in Triton, N.L.

“There was a stage built for one of the scenes and he had a little trip. Everybody else around him … made such a big deal about him being there and yet he was the most humble of them all which is really funny. We had a good time.”

The Access Hollywood web site has an interview of George Michael on his part in “Eli Stone.”

George Michael cast in “Eli Stone” says to tune into the television program “Extra” today.  It also quotes George Michael as saying:

“I said yes the minute I heard. They said they wanted to name each episode after a song of mine. It’s all flattering to the ego, isn’t it?”

Admitting he wasn’t the show’s first choice, Michael says, “Apparently, the studio didn’t think I’d say yes. They wrote it again for, I think, Phil Collins.”

Not only does Michael belt out his tunes, his co-stars sing his songs as well. “I think Loretta Devine sings One More Try… Victor Garber gets to sing some of them which he says is very nerve wracking,” Michael says.

ABC.com now has a 7-minute clip of the pilot for Eli Stone, which includes the clip of George Michael singing “Faith” in Eli Stone’s living room.  It is available under full episodes.

Also, there is one photo of George Michael in the photos section for Jonny Lee Miller.

Okay, everyone!  Let’s show ABC that we love George Michael on Eli Stone by nominating the Yours Only George news blog as your favorite Eli Stone fan site! From the ABC site:

What’s your favorite Eli Stone fan site?   Nominate your favorite Eli Stone fan site and share the love!   We’ll feature the top fan sites in an upcoming feature on ABC.com.

You can vote for Yours Only George (http://www.yogworld.com/blog/category/eli-stone/) on the ABC site:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/elistone/index?pn=mb&cat=76380&tid=189500

Let’s show ABC that we want to continue to see George Michael on Eli Stone!

The following “Eli Stone” titles are based on George Michael song titles:

Episode 1.01 - 31 Jan 08 - Pilot
Episode 1.02 - 07 Feb 08 - Freedom
Episode 1.03 - 14 Feb 08 - Father Figure
Episode 1.04 - 21 Feb 08 - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Episode 1.05 - 28 Feb 08 - One More Try
Episode 1.06 - 06 Mar 08 - Something to Save
Episode 1.07 - 13 Mar 08 - Heal the Pain
Episode 1.08 - 20 Mar 08 - Praying for Time

Much more is listed at the above link.

Here is a positive review of “Eli Stone” from someone who has seen the pilot: Strike TV: “Lost”, “Eli Stone”, “Law & Order” are Scripted Bright Spots

… premiere of Eli Stone, a super new drama series from Greg Berlanti (Everwood, Brothers & Sisters) about a successful attorney at a cutthroat law firm who begins to experience life-changing visions. I saw the first cut of the pilot for this show last spring and thought at the time that it was the second best freshman show of the 2007-08 season (after Pushing Daisies). ABC chose not to schedule it last September, but the fall’s loss is the spring’s gain. If the overall quality of its pilot holds up, Eli will do much to help fans of scripted programming through the prolonged ordeal of the strike.

(On a side note, I read at an “Eli Stone” unofficial forum that the pilot had been leaked to the Internet.  Has anyone seen it?)

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