“Eli Stone” kept most of the “Lost” audience, according to Nielsen Ratings. It’s interesting that in the following article, George Michael is being credited as being a draw for “Eli Stone.”
More surprising to me was the performance of the premiere of ABC’s Eli Stone following the Lost premiere. The results for the first half hour will likely change some as Lost technically ran past 10pm, but Eli averaged ~12.5 million for the first half hour and 10.75 million in the second half hour. This is not dramatically great performance, but given the George Michael tie-in, many more gave it a chance than I would’ve thought.
Eli Stone stars Jonny Lee Miller as a lawyer who begins to have hallucinations that lead him to a higher purpose. Episodes from the first season include George Michael songs, with occasional appearances of George Michael in a hallucination or as himself.
All titles of the first season are George Michael songs, including “Faith,” “Freedom,” “Father Figure,” “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “One More Try,” “Something to Say,” “Heal the Pain,” “Praying for Time,” “I Want Your Sex,” “Heartbeat,” “Patience,” “Waiting for that Day,” and “Soul Free.” Many of the musical numbers also include George Michael songs.
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
Yes, we all know George Michael is irreplaceable. And I still want him in MY living room (aka the office of Yours Only George)! From: On the Futon With … Eli Stone Co-creator
Brian Ford Sullivan: Let’s start with the question on everyone’s minds – why George Michael?
Marc Guggenheim: [Laughs.] Oh God. You know, let me explain, I’ll answer the question by explaining what life was like without George Michael. Because we wrote the show with George Michael in mind. And we wrote it basically like, we picked George because of a lot of different reasons I’ll get to – but we picked him sort of knowing that he probably wouldn’t do it… wouldn’t do it in a million years. So we wrote George Michael, we got word back from his agents saying that he wasn’t interested. So then we went about the part of trying to find a replacement. And through the process of finding a replacement, we learned – or rather, really saw – it was impossible to replace him. Because no one had the right mix of ’80s icon, but not overexposed today… fun, the right song, the right name, there were like all these elicit elements that worked perfectly with George. [There were] like five elements, another artist would satisfy maybe three out of the five. George was just perfect from day one. And I don’t think we realized how perfect he was until we tried to replace him. Luckily, a different agent of his learned about the script and said, “You know, I think this is something that George would like to do.” And he went to George – and George is a big television fan, a total TV-ofile. Even when he’s in England he downloads everything off of iTunes and watches a lot of American television. And he really responded to it – as a show, as something he wanted to do – so we really got lucky because I think I did four of five drafts for different artists and they were never as good as the original one we had for George.
BFS: And he comes back beyond the pilot?
MG: Yup. We bring him [back] in episodes seven, nine and 13. And in episode nine actually he appears, not as a vision, but actually as his flesh and blood self, and wants Eli to represent him in a legal case.
Eli Stone stars Jonny Lee Miller as a lawyer who begins to have hallucinations that lead him to a higher purpose. Episodes from the first season include George Michael songs, with occasional appearances of George Michael in a hallucination or as himself.
All titles of the first season are George Michael songs, including “Faith,” “Freedom,” “Father Figure,” “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” “One More Try,” “Something to Say,” “Heal the Pain,” “Praying for Time,” “I Want Your Sex,” “Heartbeat,” “Patience,” “Waiting for that Day,” and “Soul Free.” Many of the musical numbers also include George Michael songs.
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
There are many reviews of “Eli Stone” online today, most of which just in passing mention George Michael. I’ve selected a few that go into more detail (good and bad.)
Eli Stone (Jonny Lee Miller) is a tough, successful lawyer who starts having hallucinations. Who wouldn’t be unsettled if George Michael was suddenly singing “Faith” in their living room?
If Ally (McBeal) had her dancing baby, Eli has his George Michael.
Yes, that George Michael.
Don’t even ask why Thursday’s pilot essentially revolves around Michael singing “Faith” in the main character’s living room or why the two episodes ABC sent along with it are called “Freedom” and “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.” Berlanti, who created “Everwood” and is also an executive producer on ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters,” apparently has a soft spot for the former Wham! frontman, solo artist and troubled celebrity. He’s also, judging from the ABC schedule, insanely creative and overworked.
“I used to be able to fill places like this!” shouts George Michael as he looks out at the middling crowd inside the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. In fact, there’s not a single paying customer in the house: The people here are extras, crew members on the new ABC series Eli Stone and connected folks who’ve wrangled an invite. (Yep, that’s Bo Derek sitting in a chair by the railing.)
But this afternoon’s shoot, one of several appearances Michael will make during the season, centers less on the singer on stage than the guy in a dark suit who sits at a table watching him. Eli Stone, played by British actor Jonny Lee Miller, is an ethically challenged San Francisco lawyer who’s told he has a brain aneurysm and suddenly begins to have visions, many involving the pop idol known for a string of No. 1 hits in the ’80s and an infamous scandal a decade later.
There are two explanations for everything, Chen tells Eli, “the scientific and the divine.” But as is usual in our sentimental world, the divine is given the edge here. Chen’s pidgin injunction to “Make peace George Michael,” for instance, later turns up in a wall of alphabet blocks that a client’s autistic son is building. And the client, who has convinced Eli to take her case — a lawsuit against a vaccine manufacturer represented by his own company — also happens to be the woman to whom he lost his virginity, while a George Michael tape played in the background. Everything is connected.
Eli Stone is the story of a lawyer who suddenly starts to have hallucinations … of George Michael. It starts out with George Michael singing “Faith” on his coffee table. What’s so fun about the first season of this television show is that George Michael makes multiple appearances. All of the show titles are George Michael or Wham! songs, and many of the musical numbers are also George Michael songs.
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
Garber has seen his share of legal roles, including Fox casualty Justice. “I didn’t need to play another lawyer,” he says. But, for an actor with a Broadway background, “a lawyer who bursts out into song? A George Michael song? That’s up my alley.”
Eli Stone is the story of a lawyer who suddenly starts to have hallucinations … of George Michael. It starts out with George Michael singing “Faith” on his coffee table. What’s so fun about the first season of this television show is that George Michael makes multiple appearances. All of the show titles are George Michael or Wham! songs, and many of the musical numbers are also George Michael songs.
Melanie is the co-founder of Yours Only George and has been the webmaster of the site since 1997. Melanie has been a George Michael and Wham! fan since "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" in 1984.
