The Return Of Ally McBeal

Last night's premiere of "Eli Stone" on ABC introduced America to a principled thirtysomething lawyer filled with contemporary angst taking on some of the thorniest legal cases in the nation while plagued by hallucinations.
Sound familiar?
As David Spade might say, I think I liked this show better the first time, when it was called "Ally McBeal."
Ally meet Eli, Eli meet Ally. I doubt the similar sounding names are a coincidence.
"McBeal" was a runaway hit of the mid-90s, and featured Calista Flockhart as the angst-ridden lawyer who would occasionally find dancing babies, unicorns or the ghost of her dead ex-boyfriend in her office between rounds in court. Produced by legal aficianado David E. Kelley, who also created of "The Practice," "Picket Fences" and
"Boston Legal," the show routinely had Ally and her quirky law partners arguing in Boston court room cases that would ordinarily end up on the Supreme Court docket because of their complexity and controversy, and of course wrapping them up neatly in about an hour.
Instead of the angst of a single woman, Eli Stone is grappling with a committed man's drive for purpose. Adding to the urgency is his diagnosis with a brain aneurysm that could go at any time. That gives the writers a chance to explore themes of religion, spirituality and how, as brilliantly rendered in the first episode featuring cameo guest star George Michael, the 80s Wham frontman, "You gotta have faith."
"Stone" co-creator Greg Berlanti acknowledged the Ally connection in an interview with USAToday.
"I don't think you can do a law show with humor now without it being a descendant" of Ally, says Berlanti.
Outside of "Lost," which is in a category of its own and is the lead-in for "Eli Stone," it's hard to come up with anything original on network TV these days. But "Stone" is worth watching for the solid performance of Johnny Lee Miller, a fresh face on TV, and some decent writing.
And, of course, you never know who may pop up in the next hallucination. Boy George, maybe?