Eli Stone: Happy Birthday Nate

It feels rather sad to be writing about Eli Stone knowing that is has definitively been cancelled.  Soon it will be forgotten, another countless footnote in the history of failed tv shows.  It sure didn’t fail for lack of trying though.  The show boasted really solid performances across the board, glossy production values and a stream of juicy guest stars.  Can’t say I’m surprised it has been axed though, for a couple of reasons.  For one, it’s not a reality show that consists of guys not being able to get a date with a Lego figure suddenly being introduced to a buffet of supermodels.  More importantly, how successful could a show about a man trying to transcend his existence and serve an ideal for the good of humanity be in this day and age, when expressing optimism and hope is a revolutionary act?

All fans of the show can do now is try to savor the remaining episodes, and this one is another good one, picking up where the last one left off: Eli being called to represent J.J. Cooper, the sixteen-year-old son of recent client Jim Cooper.  The elder Cooper is a power-mad, practically maniacal rich twit forcing his son to participate in medical trials for his MS using legally sanctioned marijuana.  J.J. doesn’t want to participate because using marijuana will disqualify him from Olympic trials for swimming, and enlists Eli to help him get emancipated from daddy.  Jordan initially forbids Eli to take the case but changes his mind when Cooper struts into the firm and threatens to end Jordan and Eli’s legal careers.  The showdown is on.

The case gets even more tense when Eli and former fiancée Taylor team up to defend JJ only to find that Cooper’s new legal team consists of turncoats Maggie and Matt.  So Eli has to deal with ex-flame Taylor and almost-flame Maggie, and of course Taylor is now shacking up with Matt.  And having his baby without his knowledge.  Meanwhile, it’s also Eli’s brother Nate’s birthday, which prompts the siblings to deal with their unresolved daddy issues.  It sounds like a soap opera writing all this, but the cast is so talented that they make it all seem natural and plausible.

It’s good to see Nate get involved in a major way in this episode, becoming vital to Eli’s case.  We also learn more about their childhood and the prophecies their troubled father saw for them.  The dialogue remains intelligently written, and my only complaint is that the writers devote more time to the romance crap between Keith and Patti’s daughter.  Who cares?  There’s enough drama and conflict already with Eli and Nate and the prophecies from The All-Knowing Invisible Man Living in the Sky.  Does there have to be a romantic subplot in every episode of every scripted show on television?

Season 2, Episode 6: Happy Birthday Nate (originally aired December 2, 2008)

For another take on this episode, check out Fanning the Flames by Kaitlyn Edsall.

For more on Eli Stone, click here.

Tuesdays at 10/9C on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC