Eli Stone: The Complete First Season follows the title character as he tries to go about his daily life under those specific circumstances. At the beginning of the show, Eli (Jonny Lee Miller of Aeon Flux note) is one of the most ruthless lawyers out there and he is quickly on the rise to partner. In fact, not only has he been groomed to replace his boss (Jordan Wethersby, played by Victor Garber from Alias) for quite some time now, but he is getting to marry his boss' daughter, Taylor (Natasha Henstridge, Species).
But when he starts seeing singer George Michael in odd hallucinations, Eli and Taylor visit his brother and doctor, Nathan (Matt Letscher) who diagnoses Eli with the same type of aneurysm as their father. In an attempt to retain some semblance of normalcy, Eli doesn't tell anyone else about his problem, but Taylor dumps him (almost immediately). But Eli's visions get stronger and he eventually goes to acupuncturist, Dr. Chen (James Saito), who not only attempts to convince Eli that these visions are from God himself and that Eli is this generation's profit, but he also becomes one of Eli's close friends and confidantes during his ordeal.
Okay, so now we have Eli, a lawyer who is having strange visions that seem to lead him towards cases he can't possibly win, a failed engagement, and a possible impending death. How could things possibly get worse? Well, his attempts to keep these visions (that tend to have a lot of song and dance to them) a secret means that no one really knows why he is diving for cover at imaginary planes or ranting about dragons or seeing George Michael all over the place. Plus, a new first-year attorney enters the company and latches onto Eli as a mentor. Feelings start to build between Maggie (Julie Gonzalo) and Eli, but Eli's medical condition keeps him from wanting to get close to anyone, and Maggie's impending engagement causes obvious conflicts with the growing love triangle... actually square when you consider both Taylor and Maggie's significant others.
Needless to say, Eli's life is not easy, but it is a lot of fun to watch. All of the actors do a superb job, and the show's overall themes concerning faith and belief, as well as basic moral teachings, are solid and great for pretty much any family member. Throughout the season, various people in Eli's life flip flop between believing in his prophetic visions or believing that they are just random images brought about by his aneurysm (including Eli himself) and that constant battle is what really helps to drive the show forward and keep its momentum up. I especially loved Eli's assistant, Patti (Loretta Devine), who basically steals the show every time she is on camera. She is witty and loves Eli's change to becoming more of a humanitarian in his work, seeing as he is taking on more pro bono cases and helping the little people a lot more. Plus she really, really doesn't like Taylor, and the sparks that fly between those two actresses are astounding.
Special Features aren't lacking either. Besides deleted scenes, and an extended pilot episode (with commentary), there is also a great bloopers reel and several featurettes that cover everything from the creation of the show, to George Michael's frequent appearances in the show, to the visual effects involved in Eli's visions.
If you like law dramas or shows about people righting wrongs (i.e. Tru Calling, Joan of Arcadia), then Eli Stone is most likely a series you will want to start watching, and what better place than The Complete First Season.
