So I just finished Eli Stone... by BigRichard

Tell me about it......it was a really good idea for a TV show:

A guy with an inoperable brain tumor has wild visions and discovers some truths. This way you can throw in everything and (if done right) could not be questioned as unusual or wierd because he's not well in the head....PERFECT!

I loved this show and, of course, they cancel it.
It had one of my fav actors playing the father figure - Victor Garber (the dad from Alias).

Why, oh why did they cancel this show?

SGG

Tawabawho?

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 2:02 AM

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

Yeah, Eli was TV at some of its best. And if you see it in high definition, it's TV at its most gorgeous. I don't know how or why, but it always seemed to me that Eli Stone, more than any other show on TV, used the benefits of high-def to great effect. It was just beautifully shot, amazing cityscapes, TONS of intricate details in the interior shots... it just really popped off the screen.

Oh, and Tom Cavanaugh is one of my favorite actors, too. It's a damned shame he isn't in more. And "Trust Me", his new series, just got canceled. :(

Mike

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day...
Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

"You're a idiot." -AuRaptor, RWED, May 27, 2009.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 3:19 AM

Yes, love Victor Garber too (this season he almost seemed to be slipping back into his Alias role with some of the father betrayal stuff!)

and Kwicko...I swear to god, if you are yanking my chain about Trust Me...I will hunt you down....are you SERIOUS that it just got cancelled?!?!?!

I am SO CLOSE to completely losing faith in ALL TELEVISION.

If Chuck, Castle and Dollhouse get cancelled next season, coupled with the end of Lost, I will have practically nothing left to watch on TV.

Just to change the topic slightly, is there anything either of you can suggest I might like, based on the fact that I like Eli Stone, Trust Me, Chuck, Castle, etc. I need some backups in case everything ends.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 4:57 AM

Sorry, Rich - didn't mean to ruin your day. When it comes to bad news like this, though, I prefer to just go ahead and rip the band-aid off...

Do a quick Google search with keywords "trust me cancelled", and it'll confirm your worst fears. :(

Oh, and Reaper has shuffled off this mortal coil as well.

Now, as for shows you might like, I'd humbly suggest Gilmore Girls. I know, it sounds so girly (and it is), but it's really really FUN, and it's usually even uplifting, and there's more than just a little bit of snark involved. Oh, and you get to see Milo Ventimiglia pre-Heroes and Jared Padelecki pre-Supernatural. And a few Buffy alum thrown in.

I *NEVER* expected to like this show, but I ended up loving it. And there's seven seasons worth to watch, and it's almost always on sale somewhere for $20 a season or less...

I'll keep thinking and give you more suggestions.

ETA: Oh, one really quick and easy suggestion that I can pretty much offer a money-back guarantee on that you'll like it, is Burn Notice. Ask ChrisIsAll; he'll back me up on this one! It's fantastic summer viewing, it's FUN, it's smart-alecky, and there's usually some Bond-ish tension and hijinks afoot.

Now, if you like down-and-dirty, nitty-gritty, never make you feel good TV, try The Shield or The Wire. They're nasty, but in a good way. You'll root for the bad guys, and you'll love it. But it's not feel-good TV by any means. The Wire is probably the most reality-based drama I've ever witnessed.

ETA: Oooohh - Just thought of another one. If you like those other shows you listed, and you like Ed and you like Tom Cavanaugh, see if you can track down "Love Monkey". It aired a few episodes on CBS before it got cancelled, and I really liked it. Cavanaugh stars as a record company A&R guy who's trying to steer his record company from mega-hit machines into a more nurturing environment for artists. Needless to say, he runs into a little opposition... Jason Priestley co-stars, if I remember right.

Mike

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day...
Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

"You're a idiot." -AuRaptor, RWED, May 27, 2009.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 5:08 AM

Thanks Kwicko..but...believe it or not...I've already seen all of Gilmore Girls...

I know, I know, i didn't expect to like it either, but I have two sisters, and I just sat down with them one day when they were watching it. It's not one of my favourite shows ever, it was no Eli Stone or Firefly (in my opinion) but it was pretty consistently entertaining through all 7 seasons, which is no easy feat.

I also quite enjoyed the OC, although mainly for the Seth/nerd side to it (always love a good Journey reference).

I suppose along with Ed I have 9 seasons of X-Files to finally watch, and a few other things (Witchblade, Dark Angel, Stargate Atlantis) so all in all I should be ok for a while.

Problem is I just hit holidays, 2 months worth or so, and I always watch a lot of TV during holidays, so who know what I'll be left with afterward!

In regards to Trust Me...at least I found out from you Kwicko, better than waiting and waiting for it, then finding out from some news site after it never starts up again. Doesn't mean I'm happy about the decision, although, as much as I loved Trust Me, I can't wait to see what Tom does next. I hope it gives him a chance to really shine, and show his range, (for example the drama of his Eli Stone appearances to the comedy of his Ed days).

ETA: Also seen Burn Notice. Love that too! As for The Shield/The Wire, I'm game, haven't seen either, although I often don't like those shows if:
A. They try to focus on too many characters.
B. They don't focus on characters at all, it's simply case/crime/whatever.
So am I likely to still enjoy them?

EDited to add again: Haven't seen Love Monkey!! But if it's Tom, I'm there. I'll see if I can track it down.
ALSO, for those wondering, yes, I had to 'acquire' Ed in an interesting way, but I absolutely promise that I will purchase the thing as soon as it's released to DVD. I don't like 'acquiring' these things in this manner, but I've been left with no choice!

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 6:08 AM

RIPWASH

I'm with Kwicko on recommending "Burn Notice." All around fun TV. Action/Drama/Comedy rolled neatly into one package. To give you an idea how good it is, the first season ended rather abruptly IMHO. We were unaware it was the season finale. It was only September I think. At the end of the show, the announcement came that new episodes would return next summer. I literally banged my fists on the floor and yelled, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" Long wait for season 2, but it was well worth it. Season 3 is off to a good start as well.

I would also recommend "Monk." That's been a family favorite for quite some time. Sadly, this summer is it's last season

We heard that and my wife and I looked at each other and simultaneously said "AWWW!"

A couple new shows to be on the lookout for are "The Mentalist" and "Lie to Me."

*********************************************

"It's okay! I'm a leaf on the wind!!!"
"What does that mean?!?!?!"

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 7:10 AM

The Shield/The Wire - The Shield focuses primarily on "the Strike Team" - a close-knit group of four detectives tasked with going after gang leaders and narco-traffickers. That's the set-up for it. It sprawls a bit from there, but once you know who the players are, it's fascinating.

The Wire is far more sprawling and complex from the start. I've just re-watched it from beginning to end (5 seasons worth!), and actually got a lot more out of it the second time around. Lots less of "okay, now WHO is this character? WHERE does he fit in again?"

Neither of them are your standard police-procedurals, by any stretch of the imagination. Both tend to deal more with the politics involved, both at the systemic level and the personal level - and both dealing with it inside the police system AND inside the gangs themselves.

And both involve police and criminals doing some utterly shocking things. The police often do some really bad stuff, and the criminals sometimes to some really good stuff. And both have moments of good snarky fun, although it can be in quite cynical ways...

Mike

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day...
Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

"You're a idiot." -AuRaptor, RWED, May 27, 2009.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 12:29 PM

Hey Big R:

Of the recommended shows by Kwicko and Ripwash -

Burn Notice: saw a couple of eps and really liked it, like the lead character, pace and style. My work schedule has been unpredictable of late so I haven't been able to keep up. I will catch up with DVD viewings.

The Wire: I don't have HBO (beyond my budget) but everyone I've talked to swears by this show.

The Shield: My all-time fav cop show. I know, that's saying a lot, but it's that good. Like Kwicko said, gritty, real and dynamic. A friend at my ex-job turned me onto it mid-season 1 and I was hooked. They just wrapped Season 7 (out on DVD this week) it's final season (sigh*). IT IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL COP SHOW. It will keep you on your toes.

New shows:

If you can get your hands on this show - GLEE. The pilot is on Hulu. I won't say anything more...if you love our BDH and Eli Stone you will love GLEE. It is pure fun.

The Unusuals - Cop show, quirky fun. Comedy-drama done right.

Lie to Me - it's on Hulu. somewhat procedural, but with a twist. Tim Roth is worth the price of admission. Good solid cast, believable stories.

Fringe - sci-fi, like Dollhouse it takes a couple of eps to get going, but oh what a ride. On Hulu.
May be out on DVD soon.

If I can think of more, I will let you know.

SGG

Tawabawho?

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 12:40 PM

Hey Kwicko - you are absolutely dead on about Eli Stone...........

Yeah, Eli was TV at some of its best. And if you see it in high definition, it's TV at its most gorgeous. I don't know how or why, but it always seemed to me that Eli Stone, more than any other show on TV, used the benefits of high-def to great effect. It was just beautifully shot, amazing cityscapes, TONS of intricate details in the interior shots... it just really popped off the screen.

It seemed to me that they used cinema-style filming in both their execution and production values. Vivid and vibrant, like you said, it popped off the screen (much like Pushing Daisies).
Jonny Lee Miller was perfectly cast as Eli.
Shame it didn't catch on.

SGG

Tawabawho?

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 1:37 PM

Thanks, SGG - Eli Stone was one of the first new shows I watched when I got my new TV and HD service, and I was flabbergasted. It was gorgeous. And the writing didn't suck, either. I *REALLY* wanted to see where it was going to go, and now sadly I'll never know... :(

By the way, of those you listed, I'm told The Unusuals isn't coming back, either. Dammit. And Lie To Me probably isn't getting picked up.

If you liked The Shield, you NEED to see The Wire. Rent it. Buy it. I don't have HBO either, but we rented a couple disks to check it out, and I was impressed enough to buy it when BestBuy put it on sale for $85 for the whole series box set.

Also, if you like The Shield, check out Sons of Anarchy, its "replacement". It's got some of the same feel (plus it has Dutch Waggenbach, or rather, the actor who played him), but follows an outlaw biker gang who deals in illegal arms in California. They even reference some of the same gangs as The Shield. I'm hoping it will be back soon.

Ooohh - a quick search reveals that SoA *WILL* be back for Season 2! Woo-hoo!

Also, check out Breaking Bad. Season 2 just wrapped up. Pretty damned wild.

Mike

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day...
Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

"You're a idiot." -AuRaptor, RWED, May 27, 2009.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 1:45 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

I agree with you about Eli. Truly inspired television which I will miss for a long time, and the same goes for Pushing Daisies from the same network, canceled on the same day.

I will also offer up my enthusiastic support for The Wire. Firefly is going to be my favorite tv show for a while I am sure, but The Wire is definitely in the running for #2. The most realistically acted drama I have ever seen, with interesting characters on both sides of the criminal fence. When writers and actors can make you feel sympathy for drug dealers and murderers you know they've done something special.

I'd also recommend Weeds, just starting its fifth season on Showtime, and Supernatural, which just ended its fourth on The CW. It will be back in the fall for what is rumored to be its last season, and they planned it that way from what I gather, so it should be a very tense year.

Other returning shows I'm interested in include Lost, Chuck, Dollhouse, Fringe and Castle. New ones coming up include the remake of "V" (with both Morena and Alan) and Flashforward, based on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer. Both will be on ABC, FF in the fall, "V" in the spring.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 2:18 PM

Wow, thanks guys!

Lets see now...

Burn Notice: as I said before, this show is amazing. I'm kinda surprised it's still on, I like it so much I assumed it would be cancelled by now!

The Wire: Shall see how much it is.

The Shield: see above ^^

Glee: Seen the pilot. Was alright. Liked hearing Journey again. A lot of the teacher stuff was good, but the kids, for the most part, annoyed me. Will watch another few episodes, see how it goes, but I'm not holding my breath.

The Unusuals - Yep! Really liking this one too, GREAT cast. Unfortunately, yes, it's cancelled too. Of course.

Lie to Me - wasn't sure about this one when I saw it up...but...Tim Roth...so....since you recommend it, I'll try it!

Fringe - yep! Fringe was exactly as you say. A bit slow to start (although Walter was ALWAYS fun) but it was fantastic.

Sons of Anarchy - Wasn't a big fan from the clips I saw, so I never got it. Just not a big fan of that culture or anything, so I don't think I'll really get that involved. Just not my thing, but Ron Perlman is 'the man'.

Breaking Bad - I checked out the first few episodes. Was ok, but not fantastic.

Supernatural - Quite like Supernatural although I'm a season behind! Glad to hear they might be ending it to a PLAN rather than just getting worse as time goes on. Shall have to catch up.

New shows:

V: Yes please!
Flashforward: Will see how it goes...

For those interested...
Premiere dates for Castle and FlashForward.

Monday, September 21
8:00-10:00 p.m. "Dancing with the Stars"
10:00-11:00 p.m. "Castle"

Thursday, September 24
8:00-9:00 p.m. "FlashForward"
9:00-10:00 p.m. "Grey's Anatomy"

No wait till March for Castle! Shiny!

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 2:27 PM

The Wire and The Shield... see if you can rent a few disks first. I'd hate for someone to go out and spend money on them and HATE them. The Shield if often on sale for $20 a season or so, but The Wire is usually quite pricey, being HBO (usually $45-55 per season). I got way lucky that I got hooked right around the time the boxed set went on sale at half off!

And if you can get it, Weeds is pretty darned fun. And funny. I just started Season 4 (I don't have Showtime either, so I buy the DVDs when they're on sale). I'm seriously starting to wonder whether I should just sign up for Showtime - it might SAVE me some money, what with Weeds, Dexter, The Tudors...

Oh, and Richard?

Try Dexter if you can. He's a serial killer who works for the police. And you'll love him. Crazy old world, eh?

Mike

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day...
Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

"You're a idiot." -AuRaptor, RWED, May 27, 2009.

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009 3:24 PM

I might try to rent some discs first, yeah, or see if a friend has a copy I can borrow.

Weeds I was just never so sure about. I've seen clips here and there, and it never looked like my sort of thing. But then, I never thought I'd like Buffy from brief clips, so I guess I should give it a shot. Ok, I'll try to catch some Weeds, Shield, and Wire.

And I love Dexter. Been following that religiously since it started! And I DO love him. And feel oh so wrong for doing it, and yet, not...

....anyway.

Thanks for all the suggestions, keep them coming if you have anymore!

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Friday, June 12, 2009 7:23 PM

Thanks for the recs, Kwic.

It seems that we (BR, you, me and others on this thread) have similar tastes in the shows we like.
Man, it's good to be able to share that.

So, on your rec, I'm going to check out SoA, The Wire (I saw an ep on a friends tv once and thought it was quite good). You're right about Breaking Bad. My son had been hounding me for weeks to watch it and so, one day I did. HOOKED! I can't say enough about it, but I have to catch up from the beginning because I recently began in S2.

I was under the impression that Fox was satisfied with Lie to Me and that it was coming back in the Fall. I believe I saw a promo for it. Plus there's this: http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/05/scoop-fox-renew.html

Of course anything can happen, especially when talking about Fox. If the article is true, woo hoo!

You're right about the Unusuals though - :(
Sad to see it go, I was just starting to like it.
Of course, Amber Tamblyn would get me to watch her read a newspaper.

Thanks again for your input.

SGG

Tawabawho?

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Monday, July 13, 2009 10:01 PM

Kwicko,

Just wanted to add a big thanks for telling me about Love Monkey.
After finally tracking it down, I watched all 8 episodes within a few days and absolutely loved it!

Can't believe they cancelled it, I would've thought it'd do quite well!

The cast were all practically spot on, and it could've been great to see a number of famous musician guest stars on the show.

Also watching Supernatural now, up to the first few eps of Season 4...and damn is it getting good! If next season is the last, I can't wait to see what they have in store for us.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:11 AM

ARTCAT81

Funny thing that, I finished eli stone yesterday myself.

It was a good show, while I'm not happy it ended, I am glad they had enough warning to tie some stuff up. Very sad to see this show go.

As for suggestions, Leverage, I don't have cable, but found it online, cute show, think an Oceans 11 type group with a healthy dose of ATeam do gooding. It's a bit slow at times, but cute show.

I watched the Glee pilot too, I like all the music, but not too sure of the show.

Browncoats are the shiniest folks in the 'verse
www.texasartcat.com/bluesun.html <--my bluesunshop

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009 4:05 AM

JAKE7

Leverage is a great show and I'm looking forward to the season premiere tomorrow night!

Other great shows:
In Plain Sight (USA)
Psych (USA)

Actually, USA has been coming up with really good shows lately. I even like Royal Pains, though not as much as the other shows mentioned.

I, too, will miss Eli Stone. Great show, unusual premise and just fun. I always loved it when the visions would come on at the worst times and how Eli would react -- as well as how everyone around him would react!

--------------
MAL: Everybody's makin' a fuss.
***********
"They just float out there, sending out raver breeding parties..."

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009 8:02 AM

SAVEWASH

Now I am learning about scary.

Jake7, thanks for mentioning "Psych"! I love that show and I'm looking forward to its return next month.

I've never tried "Eli Stone" but based on some of the comments here, maybe I should.

(Here's another vote for "Burn Notice," too!)

"We need to keep our heads so we can ... keep our heads."

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009 8:17 AM