Review: Eli Stone Season Premiere

Generally speaking I liked the abbreviated first season of Eli Stone. It had a considerable amount of charm; Eli's experiences with the visions he was getting unfolded nicely, and told him interesting things about himself and his family, friends, and coworkers. A number of the performances I liked a lot, including Jonny Lee Miller as Eli, Matt Letscher as Nathan, and Tom Cavanagh in a recurring role as Eli's father. The way Eli was positioned, as someone experiencing aneurysm-induced visions and the possibility that this visions might be connected to a higher purpose, worked.

But something has changed. The new season of Eli Stone, which premiered Tuesday, is a little less subtle, a little less enchanting. The show could be taken as a storybook last season, but some of the fantasy has been sluiced off, moving the show more directly in the direction of becoming the joke made when it premiered, that it was essentially Touched by a Lawyer. I defended Eli against that kind of talk last year; but after seeing "The Path" I'm not so sure. Of course there's nothing wrong with espousing religious ideas like faith and grace on television; but giving them a more prominent role in Eli Stone has changed the tone and balance of the show, and not, I think, for the better.

For details, check out my review of the premiere episode.