ELI STONE: ONE MORE TRY (TV)
Summary
One in this drama series about a San Francisco attorney that experiences potentially prophetic visions after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain aneurysm.
The episode begins as Eli and Maggie arrive in Hawaii, apparently on work-related business. Three days ago, Eli is assigned a retrial of a case he won five years ago under the supervision of Posner, despite his belief that he will not have to. Maggie aids him in the case, eager to meet Jeffrey Powell, the lawyer whom Eli will be litigating against. Mr. Wethersby reveals that Taylor has been hired by the firm, much to Eli’s surprise.
Eli confronts Taylor about her hire and suspects that it is because she wants to get back together with him, but she denies it. As they speak, Eli hallucinates seeing a band of surfers running past, he follows them into the men’s room and hallucinates seeing a bright, sandy beach.
Meanwhile, Matt Dowd’s ex-girlfriend Jessica appears in his office and asks for his help: her lesbian partner is carrying a child conceived using her embryo, but has now converted to Christianity, turned heterosexual, and wants sole custody of the child. Dowd agrees to help her.
Eli and Maggie meet with Powell and it is revealed that one of the key witnesses in Eli’s case, an automobile engineer named Stanley Lyme, mysteriously disappeared just before he was to have given his deposition five years ago. The case involved a man suing the motor company for faulty design; he was in a car accident which rendered him paraplegic. During the original trial, Eli convinced the jury not to see the injured party in person, but Powell will have the man appear in person this time.
Maggie attempts to locate Stanley Lyme, but Eli tells her he already tried and not to waste time. She is uncomfortable representing the motor company, but will go through with the trial anyway. Patti approaches Eli and is incensed about Taylor’s new position, asking Eli to get her fired. He refuses, telling her about his recent sexual encounter with Taylor, which further infuriates Patti.
Dowd and Jessica meet with the opposing lawyer and they argue over the legitimacy of each side’s parentage. Dowd finds he has difficulty relating to both sides, and asks Taylor for help in the case, owing to her expertise in family cases. Taylor agrees.
At Eli’s case, Eli makes a point about the relevance of Powell’s argument and of the culpability of the motor company. However, before he can finish, he hallucinates that the jury is a gospel choir singing the George Michael song “One More Try.” He drifts off in the middle of his argument to dance to the song, prompting a confused reaction from the rest of the court. Upon realizing what he’s done, Eli ends his statement.
He talks to Dr. Chen, who believes that the song’s significance could refer to either the fact he is in a retrial, or perhaps a message pertaining to his relationship with Taylor. Eli realizes how much he misses Taylor. Meanwhile, at Dowd’s trial, Donna, the parent of Jessica’s child, says she never thought of herself as homosexual, that she went back to her church after her ultrasound and is now being accepted by her family once more. Dowd questions why she asked for Jessica’s embryo if it wasn’t necessary for her to conceive.
Eli, at his trial, makes a case that the accident was caused by a combination of alcohol consumption and agitation caused by a fight the plaintiff had with his fiancée on the night in question. At his office, Eli’s co-workers are ashamed at his insensitivity. Eli hallucinates seeing the surfers and beach again and passes out on the bathroom floor. He pleads with Taylor not to call Nathan. She confesses that she joined the firm to get closer to Eli and that she wants him back in her life. Eli guesses that the “one more try” message from his hallucinations refers to Taylor, and asks her out to dinner to talk things over. She agrees.
At Dowd’s trial, the opposing lawyer reveals a waiver signed by Jessica forfeiting parental rights to Donnna, seemingly dissolving her custody claim. Dowd tells Jessica that she may have to accept the possibility of not being a part of her child’s life. He tries to comfort her in his office.
During Eli’s trial, the plaintiff’s wife testifies and Eli gets her to confess that their argument was severe and could have influenced his driving behavior on the night of the accident. Later, Maggie appears and says she found a link to Stanley Lyme’s location, but Eli says he already found that link five years ago. It turns out that Posner intentionally hid Lyme to keep him from deposition. Bringing him to court could have cost Eli his job. Eli berates her for her foolish idealism and she storms out. Eli once again hallucinates seeing the choir, this time led by Patti.
Eli talks to Patti and admits that despite his efforts to change himself, he still considers himself “pond scum.” Patti, moved by his newfound conscience, reveals that she knows where Stanley Lyme is: Hawaii. Eli tells Maggie they’re flying out to Hawaii together to find him. He tries to tell Taylor that he has to cancel their dinner date, but she assumes it is because of Maggie and walks off.
Meanwhile, Dowd continues working on Jessica’s case when Taylor comes to visit him. Taylor talks to him about the case and about her relationship with Eli. She finds out that Dowd recorded footage of Jessica and Donna’s baby shower, and suggests they use it in court.
Eli and Maggie find Lyme in Hawaii and he tells them about his involvement with the trial. He conducted tests for the motor company about their rollover risks and found a fatal flaw in their procedure. His protests went unheeded. Posner then bribed him into departing. He is unwilling to appear in court and won’t return with Eli. However, Eli recorded their conversation and uses it to try and blackmail Posner into allowing him to settle out of court. Doing so could very well cost him his job.
Dowd and Taylor reveal footage from Jessica and Donna’s baby shower that demonstrates the love they had for one another. Eli and Maggie settle out of court with Powell and Maggie reaffirms her faith in Eli’s intentions. Meanwhile, Posner meets with Patti about her revealing Lyme’s location to Eli. They once had a relationship but Patti left him after the trial five years ago. Posner attempts to rekindle their relationship, but Patti declines.
In Dowd’s case, the judge finds in favor of Jessica, saying the spirit of the law supersedes the letter. Donna announces that after she gives birth she’s moving back home and leaving the baby in Jessica’s care. Eli tries to explain himself to Taylor, but to no avail. He is called into Mr. Wethersby’s office and told that the CEO of the motor company has issued a formal grievance in response to Eli’s dance in court. Because of this, Eli could face disbarment. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: February 28, 2008 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:56:37
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:92874
- GENRE: Drama, legal; Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Comedy
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, legal; Drama, fantasy /science fiction; Comedy
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series - 2008-2009
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV – Commercials – Behr paint
- TV – Commercials – Cadillac automobiles
- TV – Commercials – Coldwell Banker real estate
- TV – Commercials – DirectTV television service
- TV – Commercials – DonateLIFE.net organ donor service
- TV – Commercials – Federal Student Aid
- TV – Commercials – Ferrero Rocher chocolates
- TV – Commercials – Girl Scouts
- TV – Commercials – JCPenney department stores
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- TV – Commercials – Olive Garden restaurants
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- TV – Commercials – Staples office supply stores
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- TV – Commercials – TGI Friday’s restaurants
- TV – Commercials – Target department stores
- TV – Commercials – Toyota automobiles
- TV – Commercials – Verizon Wireless phone service
- TV – Commercials – Volkswagen automobiles
- TV – Commercials – “101 Dalmations” DVD release
- TV – Commercials – “College Road Trip” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “The Other Boleyn Girl” motion picture
- TV – Commercials – “Vantage Point” motion picture
- TV – Promos – “20/20: the Royal Family”
- TV – Promos – “Dancing with the Stars”
- TV – Promos – “Eli Stone”
- TV – Promos – “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
- TV – Promos – “Here Come the Newlyweds”
- TV – Promos – “Jimmy Kimmel Live”
- TV – Promos – “Oprah’s Big Give”
CREDITS
- Christopher Misiano … Executive Producer
- Greg Berlanti … Executive Producer, Created by
- Marc Guggenheim … Executive Producer, Created by
- Alex Taub … Co-Executive Producer
- Andrew A. Ackerman … Co-Executive Producer
- Leila Gerstein … Co-Producer, Writer
- Michael Cedar … Co-Producer
- Melissa Berman … Co-Producer
- Jennifer Lence … Co-Producer
- Chris Chermie … Associate Producer
- Carl Ogawa … Associate Producer
- Andrew Kreisberg … Supervising Producer
- Ron Underwood … Director
- Steve Lichtman … Writer
- Blake Neely … Music by
- Zach Woodlee … Choreographer
- Jonny Lee Miller … Cast, Eli Stone
- Natasha Henstridge … Cast, Taylor Wethersby
- Loretta Devine … Cast, Patti Delacroix
- Matt Letscher … Cast, Dr. Nathan Stone
- Sam Jaeger … Cast, Matt Dowd
- James Saito … Cast, Dr. Chen
- Julie Gonzalo … Cast, Maggie Dekker
- Victor Garber … Cast, Jordan Wethersby
- Jason George … Cast, Keith Bennett
- Alexandra Lydon … Cast, Cori Mitchell
- Rob Nagle … Cast, Jeffrey Powell
- Kathleen Rose Perkins … Cast, Donna Milton
- Scottie Thompson … Cast, Jessica Benson
- Michael Trucco … Cast, Adam Mitchell
- Alann Ubach … Cast, Cathy Bonilla
- Marc Vann … Cast, Stanley Lyme
- Lorna Raver … Cast, Judge Gilberg
- Tom Amandes … Cast, Martin Posner
- Brooke Geiger … Cast, New Bride
- Bennet Guillory … Cast, Judge Daniel Heep
- Eric Laciste … Cast, Surfer Dude