At first I was excited when ABC announced that it would burn off the remaining episodes of Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money this summer. Now, I'm not so sure. I enjoyed the run of Daisies, and was even fairly satisfied with the ending. It had just lost a bit of its charm for me, so I was okay with seeing it end. Eli Stone, however, has been turning in some of the best episodes of the entire series this summer. The more I get, the more I want.

I don't know if absence made the heart grow fonder in this case, but the show is firing on all cylinders. And the character progressions? Maggie seems to be finding happiness and love at Pohsner Klein, and a much darker side? The Dowd coming back to Wethersby Stone? Even WS almost going under; sure you knew they were going to win a case to save the firm, but I liked how they had them first lose one to PK to make the situation even more dire. And then find the winning case when Jordan was bitching about his eggs.

(S02E02) Well I think we all know what the big to-do was regarding this whole episode: Mrs. Tom Cruise. If she wasn't married to Tom Cruise, I can guarantee you that there wouldn't have been nearly as big of a deal made about a former star of Dawson's Creek appearing on Eli Stone. Certainly she didn't make herself into an international sensation with her performance on Batman Begins. Hell, she was replaced in that for the sequel.

So how did Mrs. Tom Cruise do? Well, I won't say that she brought a whole new level of magic to the show, because it has plenty of that already. But she proved a nice diversion, and not too distracting from the ongoing plotlines. From her opening musical number, in which she performed very well, to the final moments on-screen with Eli, she showed quite a range of talent. Maybe Tom will let her out of the compound more often to get some more acting gigs. She should remind him that's what she did before she became Mrs. Tom Cruise.

(S02E01) So there were no doubts about what show we were watching, the new season of Eli Stone kicked off with a huge musical number. Okay, actually it started with Eli in a therapist's office talking to guest star Sigourney Weaver, revealing that it's been six months since his surgery and that the aforementioned dance number was the first time he'd heard singing and music like that since.

I kind of liked the approach of filtering our catch-up on Eli's life through his therapy session. But since this is Eli Stone, things aren't always as they appear to be. What is as it appears to be is the fact that Eli Stone is returning to the prime-time lineup in fine fashion. Some of you may recall that I wasn't gushing with praise about this show last season, but I really feel that it's found its feet and evolved into a pretty good little show. I even found myself *gasp* caring about what happened to various characters throughout tonight's episode.

(S01E09) Boy, that George Michael cat is one helluva swell guy, isn't he? Now I'm not sure how many celebrities would feel the need to get involved in a newspaper story, but George got all Oprah and put himself out there for this girl he doesn't even know. As for how he wound up picking Eli to lawyer up and take the case? Would you believe it came to him in a vision? Maybe the case was in the vision, too.

In a way, this episode serves as a closing chapter in the first major arc of the Eli Stone story. Sure, dangling threads keep thrusting us forward, like the unresolved issues regarding Patti's old stomping grounds and the earthquake of ... when was that now? Oh, that's right it hasn't happened yet. But this craziness all started with George Michael appearing to Eli in a vision, so there's a nice symmetry in the real deal serving a significant role as well.

(S01E03) Okay, it looks like we have the formula down pretty well now. Eli's going to have some bizarre visions that will jeopardize his personal and professional life, but those visions will help him make decisions as to what to do. Could it be a brain aneurysm? Sure, if aneurysms can specifically name clients that he hasn't met yet as tonight's does. Instead of creating a compelling long-form narrative, Eli Stone is going to be a typical legal dramedy with a few spot visions thrown in to mess with Eli's life. That's it and it's a shame.

(S01E01) "Oh, Did I mention I recently found out I could be a prophet? Yeah, I was shocked too."

What better lead-in could a show about a guy who may be a prophet having visions of the future (or may just be plain crazy) want than the season premiere of Lost? And in this strike-stripped era of reality television and reruns, any new scripted fare is bound to draw the reddened eyes of those sad and pathetic little viewers asking themselves why oh why did they watch the entire season of Crowned.

But while I went into it expecting something different and interesting, I instead found a fairly standard legal drama with a gimmick. Sure, you could argue that Pushing Daisies is nothing more than a standard mystery show with a gimmick, but the characters and charm of Daisies can win out over that. So far, Eli is missing that ingredient.