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PEARSON: In new 'Stone,' comedy meets the inexplicable

By Mike Pearson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 29, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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George Michael sings in the title character's living room in ABC's Eli Stone. Jonny Lee Miller, left, stars.

Photo by Dean Freedman © ABC

George Michael sings in the title character's living room in ABC's Eli Stone. Jonny Lee Miller, left, stars.

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If you thought the writers' strike meant new series were history, think again. Already this month we've seen Fox unveil Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, NBC roll out American Gladiators and ABC serve up Cashmere Mafia.

Now comes Eli Stone, a new ABC series in the spirit of Pushing Daisies. Throw in a pinch of Boston Legal and you've got the formula nailed.

Jonny Lee Miller plays the title character, an ambitious San Francisco lawyer who inexplicably begins hearing and seeing odd things. It might be a World War I biplane chasing him down the street, or George Michael (yes, that George Michael) singing Faith in his living room. A trip to his M.D. brother reveals that poor Eli has a brain aneurysm. No wonder he's hallucinating.

Of course, it's not that simple. Eli consults a Chinatown acupuncturist (James Saito), who tells him, in no uncertain terms, that he's a prophet. These visions are from God - aural and visual clues, as it were, to his mission in life.

And that mission? In the first episode, it's to make peace with his dead father. In subsequent episodes, it includes fighting deportation on behalf of two illegal immigrants. Needless to say, Eli's boss at the upscale law firm (Alias' Victor Garber) is perplexed. The firm represents major business interests. Now Eli wants to sue one of their bread-and-butter clients?

There's also the boss' daughter - Eli's fiancee - a woefully underused Natasha Henstridge. When they're making out on the couch and Eli suddenly imagines them surrounded by a war zone, she gets freaked out. You want to hear music at amorous times, fine. You want to see grenades fragmenting, no dice.

For comic relief, there's Loretta Devine as Eli's sassy secretary, Patti. She hates his fiancee and takes it personally when she learns of his illness from someone else. The role is pretty formulaic, but Devine makes it memorable.

As for Miller (Trainspotting, Mansfield Park), his Eli Stone straddles the line between boy and buffoon. We like him because he reacts to his sudden sensory overload just as we might: with astonishment, denial and fear.

ABC has scheduled only six episodes of Eli Stone, so its future remains in limbo. Even if it's a hit, it could be months before more shows are forthcoming, given the writers' strike.

Based on the first few episodes, I think this humorous drama has a future. (It premieres following the season opener of Lost.) Then again, I could just be seeing things.

Eli Stone

* When and where: 9:02 p.m. Thursday, KMGH- Channel 7