Eli Stone

This show is starting to sink into a disturbing trend of having a great over-arching story (Eli and his visions) and enfuriating self-contained stories (namely, the cort cases). After the episode about the soldier of five years who milked the country for money until they asked her to do her job AS a soldier, and she sued for release (see my review here: ), I didn't think this show could piss me off more.

Then they do this show. As soon as they said the girl was in trouble for interrupting a school assembly on abstinence, I knew there was going to be problems. First of all, the girl knew damn well that what she was doing was against the rules. She knew she would get in trouble. She did it anyway. Then she decided to moan about the punishment. That's crap already.

Then they get to court, and the start rambling off these heavy-handed leftist "facts" that are total lies. She starts by talking about how the abstinence assemblies are about "never having sex." Not true. They're about waiting. They're about discouraging teens, who are not only not legally allowed to have sex, but are unready and ill-prepared for the possible consequences, from having sex. Waiting until you're ready is not "never." And I'm sick and tired of people acting like it's impossible to wait, it's impossible to EXPECT anyone to wait, and that's it's just some completely inevitable thing that kids are going to have sex, so you might as well just throw your hands up, toss some rubbers at them and tell them to have a good time. When the hell did people stop having any faith in their kids?

Then they get into the court claims that the seminars teach that contraception doesn't work. Not true. They teach that abstinence is the only contraception that works 100% of the time. That even if you use a condom, it is still possible to get pregnant or catch a STD. And that's true. Then she states that that kids who are in abstinence programs are less likely to use contraception. Bull crap. Totally made up. Then they ask her how she's been affected by the seminars, and she lists here friends who have gotten pregnant, or got STD's. Here's the thing: there were four pregnancies in my graduation class, NONE of whom had ever attended an abstinence course. There were at least three with STD's. Again, no abstinence course. Alright, so her friend got pregnant, and the other one got the clap. That doesn't mean those thing wouldn't have happened had the abstinence assembly not been held.

Then Michaels takes the stand and reiterates what she said. I sometimes wonder if the people writing this crap have ever actually ATTENDED one of the assemblies they so viciously rally against. The point isn't that "condoms don't work." The point is that "condoms can fail" and "abstinence is the ONLY thing that always works." And it's true. Condoms can rip. They can tear. They can leak. It is not only POSSIBLE that they fail, they DO fail. It happens every day. Yes, they are very effective. Yes, the VAST majority of the time, they do their job. But I'm sick of hearing "how can I be pregnant? I don't understand, I used a condom!" or worse, "I should be able to have an abortion because I was responsible and used protection." The problem (and this part is key, so please, pay attention), is that when condoms are the main focus of sex ed, the signal that is sent is "go ahead, have sex, it's fine, don't give it a second thought, just wear a condom, and you'll be fine!" No addressing how much it can change a young person's life. No mention of the drama it tends to bring, but worst of all, it takes away the very real need to consider the very real consequences that are possible every time you have sex, protection or not. Consequences that no one is ready to face in high school.

And that's what it all comes down to: consequences. The girl did something she wasn't supposed to, and when the consequences rolled away, she insisted that she shouldn't have to face them.

And that attitude is exactly why it's so important to teach both abstinence and that condoms can fail.

I love this SHOW!!! more each week! So want my DVD!

This was a great episode! George Michael is a FINE actor, who would have guessed it. He is a musical genius, but that was a nice surprise! I am so in love with victor Gerber right now, he should get an Emmy or something!



Please watch, please don't cancel it is jusr toooo good entertaining!!!



This needs to be 100 words!



Love this show, reminds me a littl bit of Ally Mcbeal, Boston Legal, Journyman but more heartfelt! More feel good factor!!! My favorite shows ever are: Friends, West Wing, Sex in the City, Seinfeld, ER, Grey's Anatomy, Boston Legal, Ally Mcbeal, Studio 60, 30 Rock, Everwood, Lost, Heroes, Brothers and sisters. There you have it, my taste! Sometimes Survivor!

I have really enjoyed this show but this episode seemed like the writers joined a strike for a week and Planned Parenthood took over the show. The arguments on both sides of the "sex ed" case were so weak it just felt like propaganda. George Michael should have been standing behind a pulpit on top of a soap box instead of sitting behind the witness stand. If you're going to take on an important issue at least bring intelligence to the argument. The other case's arguments weren't much better and the usually important visions have very little relevance. Overall if you missed this episode you were fortunate (no earthquakes). Hopefully the show gets back on track. Any more of these and I'll be hoping it gets canceled. Maybe we could replace it with a Planned Parenthood/ George Michael Concert Tour Paid Advertising Infomercial. At least we would know the agenda upfront.

Cannot tell you how flabbergasted I am at how far this show has come in such a very short time. Last night's show had so many twists and turns, chutes and ladders that you would have thought it was a two-hour special.



From the George Michael/freedom of speech story - with, surprise-surprise, Jordan (Victor Garber) showing his true colors - to the judge/father, abandoned son/donor thread and then the brother/brother/ex and Eli/Taylor/Matt love triangles, it would have been hard to keep score without my trusty DVR for replays.



Garber was at his best and WILL be nominated for this role. He continues to show his exceptional, over-looked veteran skills and grow into this demanding part. Taylor (Natasha Henstridge) did a 9.9 over 10, slightly tipsy declaration of love-lost and a Cher impersonation that reminded me that she is not just eye-candy, but a more than solid actress. Matt (Sam Jaeger) is also rounding into form very nicely and gets a lot more screen time as the inter-office romances are heating up here.



The writing delivered not only exceptional plot lines, but, as always, crisp/snappy dialogue that keeps sending me back to the quote-blurb section one more time.



Patty, Maggie, Posner and Dr. Chen (four of my many favorites on this show) were missing in action and I still gave it a 9.9. I deducted 'point-one' because George Michael just had to do 'that' song - you know the one - didn't he?

The more I watch this show, the more I love it. The episode starts with Jordan, brillantly played by Victor Garber, singing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" in Eli's vision. Eli then sees George Michael standing in front of him and thinks he's part of the hallucination. Hired by George Michael, Eli and Jordan team up to represent a young girl who was expelled from school for playing "I Want Your Sex" over the school loudspeaker. Jordan only steps into the case because he is a secret George Michael fan but he has a small epiphany when he realizes how good it feels to represent the underdog. I loved the bonding between Jordan and Eli at the end.



As for Eli's love life, he decides to ask his old girlfriend, Beth, out. He thinks it's a date but it turns out she's dating his brother. Eli also forsees Taylor pairing up with Matt in the form of a vision of Matt and Taylor as Sonny and Cher singing "I've Got You Babe." He asks Taylor about it, she denies it. She then thinks Eli is dating Beth so she gets drunk and ends up sleeping with Matt. And, of course, it turns out Matt has a cat named Sonny Bono. I love those visions.



There are also some powerful scenes. Matt's examination of Judge Doyle was moving, though it turns out he was a big liar. Also, Eli's scenes at the end with first Jordan and then his brother, Nathan. This was definitely a must-see episode. Though, I must say, I really missed Patti and Dr. Chen. They weren't in this episode and they are two of my favorite characters. It would have been a perfect episode with the two of them in it!