TV Show Offends Doctors, Lawyers, Asians, Good Writers, British Actors, Purist Wham! Fans...

The New York Times reports today that the debut episode of ABC's "Eli Stone" will air as scheduled Thursday night, despite protests from the American Academy of Pediatrics that the program propagates a long-time, unsubstantiated link between vaccination (or as an actress in the promo clip pertly stresses, a vaccine preservative) and autism. The AAP's statement, which can be found here, justifiably expresses concerns regarding the irresponsibility of the show's producers. Although the show includes statements refuting the association between routine childhood vaccination and autism, the episode's conclusion, in which the autistic child's mother is awarded more than $5 million in damages, leaves viewers with the opposite impression.

An online preview of the show can be found here, along with a description of the premise of the series in all its idiotic glory. The main character, Eli Stone (played by British actor Jonny Lee Miller*), is a young, incredibly snarky, corporation-defending lawyer^† in San Francisco, who somehow undergoes a transformation into a prophet (I'm assuming an affable, do-gooder prophet here), which is catalyzed by or realized by or inexplicably accompanied by the hallucination of George Michael singing his 1987 hit "Faith." Maybe the association between the lawyer's conversion and George Michael is solidified while watching the episode in its entirety, but I can't help but think that some writer or producer or somebody's personal assistant thought it would be way cool if the song was used in conjunction with the main character's conversion, and then somebody later found out that George Michael was actually available (hell, even eager) to appear on the show.

In any event, Eli just so happens to have a neurologist brother, in whom he confides about his "delirium," only to be told by his brother (again, according to the online synopsis) that there's not a bit that is wrong with Eli. I have no idea what Eli's brother's lame backstory is, but visual hallucinations require more than reassurance, and at the very least 21st-century brain imaging should be performed on Eli toute de suite. Nevertheless, in the meantime, Eli consults an acupuncturist and practitioner of holistic medicine, named (I s%*t you not) Dr. Chen. (A link to the Anti-Defamation League can be found here.) If the online promo is any indication, all of this takes place in the quirky, rapid-fire, never-heard-in-nature dialogue style of the "Gilmore Girls." 

While Eli continues to experience visions (fold in something about putting his life in danger and some other nonsense that connects with Eli's father), his neurologist brother wises up by reading a medical textbook or attending a medical conference or something, and an MRI finally reveals that Eli has an inoperable brain aneurysm. (Hey, it is a comedy!) Nevertheless, Dr. Chen thinks Eli's visions indicate that Eli is this already mentioned prophet (or possibly the second coming of David Miscavage). The 13-year-old who evidently wrote the show's online synopsis (and possibly the show itself) advises that Eli's brother represents science, and that Dr. Chen represents faith. Ooooh, thanks for the clarification, Brandon.

*Evidently still trying to recreate the success of Hugh Laurie as the maverick doctor on "House," producers continue to cast otherwise very fine British actors in lead roles of less-then-enthralling American TV series (eg, Damien Lewis in "Life" and Kevin McKidd in "Journeyman.")

†In fact, if the promo clip is a guide, every lawyer in the world is either incredibly snarky and insensitive or just plain clueless.