Lately I’ve been watching a lot of the television show Eli Stone. The show has an interesting concept to say the least. I don’t consider myself spiritual, but I believe there is an unknowable reason why we must be good to each other. It would be nice if we were guided by signs to do what is right, but I don’t believe that happens. You’re left to your own wits to find the way and manage the consequences.

Rumor is the show will be back for a second season. That would be nice, but I hope they refine the writing. The second to last episode was poorly written. They reached too far by having The Big One hit San Francisco, destroying the Golden Gate Bridge. The show was more interesting when he was helping individuals. Saving the city is a storyline for a character that wears a cape and tights.

The first episode I saw nearly turned me off from the series forever. It was the third episode and the premise was stupid. In case you haven’t seen the show, here’s the concept. Eli is guided by visions supposedly from God to use his position as a lawyer to do good and help people. In the third episode, a married woman who is in the National Guard is trying to get sole custody of her son. There’s a bit more storyline, but basically the woman, her husband and son work together to create the perception that while the mother was deployed the father beat the son. This is all for the purpose of her not having to go back to Iraq, because she’s afraid she may die. In the end the father is arrested and presumably goes to prison for child abuse. Eli figures out the scheme after he wins full custody for the mother and asks her why they did this. Their rationale is that the father will get out of prison, but she may never come back from Iraq.

I understand the writers are basically protesting the war in Iraq, but if you’re writing a legal drama/comedy, get the law straight. She didn’t have to go back and she didn’t need to use some scheme to avoid her sworn obligation. She could have chose to disobey orders. No member of the military can be forced to deploy. There is a choice and with each choice comes consequences. She chose the dishonest choice. If she didn’t want to go back, she should have refused and she’d be court-martialed. She would likely serve time in prison, but the alternative the writers concocted resulted in the father wrongfully going to prison. If the show is going to based upon doing good and “the right thing”, why have a storyline that is based upon sanctifying dishonest actions?

By chance I was flipping through channels one day and caught another episode that was much better. It’s pathetic when writers get so focused on sending a message that they lose sight of the concept or make wild leaps beyond fact.