Eli Stone returned for its second season bigger and better than ever. The season 2 premiere featured a big musical number, powerful visions and a dramatic court case involving Jordan Wethersby trapped in a collapsing bank. But this wasn't any normal bank, it was Credit Dauphine.
Fans of the J.J. Abrams spy drama
Alias let out a collective squeal of delight at the mention of the bank's name because Credit Dauphine was the bank Sydney Bristow pretended to work at as a cover for SD-6. The reason this reference was so positively awesome was that it involved Jordan, played by
Alias star
Victor Garber.
The inside joke was a blessing for
Alias fans, who luckily have had plenty of opportunities to relive the show. ABC's
Brothers and Sisters stars three Alias veterans -
Ron Rifkin, Balthazar Getty and Patricia Wettig - while
Alias villain
David Anders is back on
Heroes (along with
Greg Grunberg) as yet another bad guy and his partner in crime, Melissa George, will soon show up on
Grey's Anatomy. The best part of the Credit Dauphine reference was that it came in such an amazing episode of
Eli Stone.
Presumably cured of the brain aneurysm that gave him visions from God, Eli Stone (Johny Lee Miller) sought psychological help from a therapist (guest star Sigourney Weaver) who, in a typical
Eli Stone-twist, was actually a vision, a messenger from God. Meanwhile, Eli's brother Nate was having visions of his own, a side effect of Eli's aneurysm removal.
The show's scope increased as Eli made a deal to have the visions (and the brain aneurysm) placed back in him to save his brother's life, meaning Eli Stone is back, only this time, his mission is greater. The show is evolving and branching out, moving the scope from helping individuals to helping the world.
Few shows bother to deal with religion in any serious manner, but
Eli Stone's strength is that it doesn't hide its beliefs. The show, at its core, is about a man tasked with saving the world through divine intervention, a modern prophet and messiah sent to guide humanity to greatness. That's a tall order, but the writers and producers handle it beautifully.
Season 2 also adds disciples, as the people who surround Eli have given up their doubts and now believe in his powers. Taylor and her father Jordan both expressed a newfound faith in Eli's visions in the premiere, the first step on a long path to salvation.
If this sounds like
Eli Stone is a preachier version of
7th Heaven, you could not be more wrong.
Eli Stone is a responsible, moral, entertaining series, and as if its renewal for a second season weren't enough of a miracle, the fact that it's better than ever certainly is.
Whar is your favorite part of Eli Stone?
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)