Granted…this sounds like a bizarre topic for this blog…but did you happen to catch the premiere episode of the new TV show Eli Stone? I was anticipating the show ever since I heard a few weeks back that the pilot episode would be addressing a topic I have discussed here several times…the vaccine/autism connection. I was so happy to find out that a major network television station was going to be brave enough to trounce vaccine manufacturers in their fictional courts. I was also hopping mad when I heard that the Academy of Pediatrics was lobbying to get the show cancelled so as not to make any silly viewers think that there actually might a be a vaccine/autism connection and therefore refrain from getting their kids vaccinated.
Not only did the pilot episode premier as planned it was one awesome show! I am now a loyal viewer and my TiVo is already set to record every morsel. It had everything you could want… George Michael, magical trolleys, visions, prophets, mystical Chinese doctors….LOL. It was a bit unusual but that is what I loved about it.
Basically the show is about Eli Stone…you know…THAT guy…the powerful attorney with lots of money, a Barbie doll girlfriend, and the world at his feet. He has everything he could ever want and then things get a bit screwy when he starts having visions and hallucinations. It all starts shortly before a woman (Beth) walks into his firm to sue his client (a pharmaceutical company) because her son developed autism after being vaccinated with one of their products. The additive she mentioned as the causative sounded strangely enough like mercury (thimerosol), I think they called it Mercuritol (get it: Merck Cure It All, LOL) on the show. Anyway, she refuses the $100,000 hush offer they put before her but at about the same time she appears in Eli’s life he starts hearing music that no one else can hear and that night at his home he finds George Michael singing “Faith” from his living room couch. He subsequently faints and gives himself a concussion.
The next day Beth comes to his office and asks him to switch sides and represent her and her autistic son instead. He politely refuses to do so feeling it would put his job in jeopardy but as Beth leaves, the sly way she says goodbye to him and then the onslaught of more music, leaves the audience and maybe Eli as well, to think that there is something about this woman that is familiar to Eli. He runs after her only to find a full blown concert by George Michael inside his law firm. Once again no one else but him can see this.
In a panic Eli consults a Chinese medicine man to get acupuncture treatments. In doing so he remembers where he knows Beth. They knew each other 15 years prior in college and he had lost his virginity to her and in the background “Faith” by George Michael was playing. He goes to her house to visit her and see her son and something remarkable happens that makes him take her case.
Another wild hallucination leads him to a medical diagnosis that rocks his world and gives him some insight into his bad relationship with his father. The Chinese medicine man also tells Eli that science might explain the visions…but perhaps something more spiritual might be causing them to manifest, aka the music might have been a hallucination but the subsequent appearance of Beth wasn’t. The medicine man claims that Eli might be some sort of modern day prophet and this coincides with something his father had said to him not long before he died.
I won’t go into the whole show because you HAVE to see it. All the court action between Eli and the vaccine company was awesome…especially his closing arguments about having faith in people to do the RIGHT thing. It was superbly written and superbly acted and I have been a fan of Jonny Lee Miller for a long time so it was refreshing to see him again. Loved it, loved it, looooved it!
If you missed it don’t despair…I did too. :) I bought it via iTunes. If you did catch it, did you like it as much as I did?
Edited to add: BTW it seems many people are searching this topic so they can leave nasty comments about stupid people who don’t vaccinate. If you get the inclination to post something non-constructive and meant to be just plain rude like that…it will be deleted!
Okay, you’ve definitely piqued my interest. I’ll *have* to check this show out!
You’ve got me intterested now! lol I love that name, by the way. It’s a name that we’d consider if we had another boy.
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We missed it too, and watched it for free on abc.com the next day. Absolutely loved it too, and we will be watching it… either with the DVR or on the computer.
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I’m going to have to download the show! What strikes me as annoying is that in “real life” the producers of vaccines are sheilded from liability. That’s right. The government has a fund to pay off those harmed by vaccines. Grrr.
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I am not a big watcher of tv and happened to catch that show sort of by accident. I honestly didn’t think it was that good of a show and doubt I’ll watch it again, unless it is by accident.
However, I did appreciate the topic! I agree the network deserves a big kudos for taking on such a sensitive topic and I’m glad the case won in “court”.
Now, get the women on the show to breastfeed in public without covering up or putting a blanket on their baby’s head and I’ll be a dedicated fan!
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I don’t have kids, so it’s not really a hot button for me, but I loved the show and will definitely be tuning in again.
mystical Chinese doctors
As Eli later said, who isn’t all that mystical or all that Chinese. *g*
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Tiffany, thanks for your comment on my blog, here:
‘
http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2008/01/abc-engaging-in.html
Unlike you, I do not delete comments with which I disagree.
Personally, I like facts. There is no factual basis for believing that there is a correlation (let alone causation) between vaccinating a child and the child’s autism.
Further, I am old enough to remember the polio epidemics, and am grateful that there are vaccines to prevent polio, tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis.
You can see the pilot episode for free on abc.com at http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing (if you have a High Defination monitor it is available under ‘HD Showcase’ in HD as well).
LIz, I don’t delete opposing comments…nice try. I will delete comments that say nothing constructive except “you are stupid” essentially…which I have gotten a few of today.
I like facts too. FACT: my son had a violent reaction to a DPT vaccine that nearly killed him. FACT: 3 neurologists concur. FACT: vaccines have HUGE risks.
Parents need to know.
Thanks for the link Sandra. :)
You are welcome Tiffany. I LOVE “Eli Stone”! I was anticipating this series for weeks, counting down the days, I’m glad I was not disappointed. I love quirky characters so Eli is right up my ally. I liked it so much I did a search on blogs to see what others were saying and came across your lovely site. Well my TV is not HD but my computer monitor is so I am going to go check out the show in HD on the abc site. Whee!
I liked the show too regardless of content. It was nice that they aired the show as is with out caving to the big pharma.
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I haven’t seen the show, but the previews made me think of Ally McBeal. Does anyone know if the show has the same kind of feel?
Yes, they are channeling Ally McBea l and I thinbk they do a pretty good job. The shows was hilarious..I was laughing constantly. Although Ally McBeal had a huge cast of funny people. The hilarity is really reserved to one or two in this show. I am excited to see what they do in the future though.
We watched it and really liked it. Not just the subject (which we did dig a bunch!) but the show in general. I think we’ll be watching. :)
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I have to comment for clarity: Vaccines do NOT cause autism. There have been several NIH and CDC funded studies that show that although children happen to get vaccinated around the same time as autism is typically diagnosed (around age 2), the vaccines are not a cause. In any case, thimerisal (mercury) is no longer in vaccines so if you are concerned about injecting mercury into your children (whilch I can completely understand), you can now feel more comfortable giving vaccinations.
Side effects of vaccinations do occur in a very small percentage of people, but autism is not one of them.
Personally, I feel that if you have no reason to assume your child will have a reaction, it’s better to get them vaccinated than for them to contract measles, mumps, polio, etc.
Good luck.
Sarah,
Though mercury is no longer in vaccines, there are plenty of other horrible toxic chemicals that are still there. Also it is known that vaccines do not last forever and there have been many instances of vaccinated children catching the disease for which they have been vaccinated. There was an outbreak of pertussis in “vaccinated” children last year.
To David~Mercury is still in vaccines. The flu vaccine is the first one to come to mind.
Glad to see a mainstream TV show about this topic. I did giggle when I saw the disclaimer at the end of the show. I should have guessed that one was coming.
I didn’t catch it, I wish I had. I’ll be downloading it though.
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