What the hell is up with Eli Stone?

Over the Summer, Channel Seven/Prime is showing Eli Stone twice a week.

I've been looking forward to seeing Eli Stone since it started airing in America. I've had a policy of not downloading shows because I can't stand watching things with poor sound and picture quality. So finally I got my chance.

For those who haven't watched it, Eli Stone is about a lawyer who starts to see visions. He is diagnosed with an inoperable brain aneurysm, but begins to believe he may be a prophet and that his visions are leading him to lead a more ethical life. Instead of taking on the cases of big, morally bankrupt companies, Eli starts taking cases of more deserving regular people. Much like the characters of Boston Legal.

Jonny Lee Miller, who plays Eli Stone is a really charismatic actor who has been in Aeon Flux and Trainspotting. The supporting cast are just as great with Natasha Henstridge and Victor Garber from Alias. But there is a problem with the show, and it's the fault of the writers and the researchers.

Dialogue isn't the problem. The actual lines the actors speak are just as good as any other show on television. When it comes to the cases however, it could be argued that Eli takes the type of cases that clog up American courtrooms unnecessarily with frivolous lawsuits. Of course, Boston Legal do this too, but their cases tend to show that there are two sides to every story and no-one is ever absolutely right. Eli Stone's cases do no such thing.

Take the 1st episode for example. In it, Eli Stone represents a mother and her child in a lawsuit against the manufacturers of a Mumps, Measles, Rubella (MMR) vaccine which the mother says gave her child autism. This very debate has been raging, particularly in America, for the past few years. Celebrities have been getting involved too, with Jenny McCarthy and her boyfriend Jim Carrey leading calls to stop vaccinating children until alternatives can be developed.

Trouble is, the argument that vaccination causes autism has been widely disproved by the scientific community. See: http://health.howstuffworks.com/vaccines-autism.htm
In the episode, the family was given many millions of dollars. Which would no doubt help the family get the best help for the autistic child, but autism is a health condition we do not yet know the cause of. It is a growing, yet so far blameless, problem.

This week on Eli Stone there was a far greater cock-up in the morality department.
Eli re-tried a case he had won 5 years previously. It was a case against a SUV company who made a car that rolled. The passenger had swerved to avoid a "metal thing" and his SUV had rolled. The man ended up in a wheelchair. The police who attended the scene couldn't find anything that the driver may have swerved to miss.

Oh yeah, the guy was also drunk.

Eli ended up settling the case because of a technicality. The drunk driver got millions of dollars. Within the series, this was considered a win for morals. The message seemed to be that if you get in an accident which is your own fault, sue the company. Because driving a car isn't meant to be dangerous.

What utter bollocks.

RAGE! (kinda pt.2)

This week in my quest to rid my house of old Rage Tapes I found 2 Grunge Documentaries. One was directed or put together by Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. The other was just a Doco about Nirvana made up of mostly archival footage. My Aunt had taped them off Channel V for me. This was a few years before Channel V was mostly repeats of 'My Super sweet 16'.

After the grunge docos were a few strange film clips which brought back memories of exactly how bad commercial pop can be.


There was a song by a singer called Rhianna, except it wasn't the one that is around now. She was much, much worse. I won't post a link to the song because I would rather forget it exists.

This was followed by an ad for a 'new' Sprite variety which long since died. Nacho Pop, one of the choreographers from 'So you think you can dance Australia' was in it. He wasn't dancing, just doing the money shot of someone drinking the mouthwash looking Sprite.



The best clip from this tape was also the worst. It was appalling. It really, really was.
Watch at least the first 15 seconds. It gives you a good indication of how bad it gets. Oh yeah, they are Australian too. Shame on us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUKPowfmbOA

After all this crap (the docos were boring as hell.) I was praying that there would be a reprieve from the mediocrity. Thank god for Slash.

Programming Rage one time while out here with Velvet Revolver, he programmed 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash (which has been played most weeks since Cash died) and then Weezer's 'Hash pipe' which he played because he knows Buckethead! (which will mean absolutely nothing to people who aren't Weezer fans but very important to people who are.)
Slash also chose 'Doll Parts' by Hole, and 'Window Licker' by Aphex Twin. I may have mentioned this before, but every band who programs Rage puts an Aphex Twin song. Usually 'Come to Daddy' or 'Window Licker'. They truly are clips everyone should see once though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Az_7U0-cK0 -Come to Daddy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P3Wc-37pC4&feature=related -Window Licker.

Slash closed the night by playing Sublime's song 'Date Rape' which stars Ron Jeremy, who comes in toward the end. Pardon the pun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtb73qp0mmc

If anyone wants to see Twilight when it comes out, contact me through Facebook. :)