Television Review - The Eleventh Hour

CBS, 10 PM EST, Thursdays

Rating (after 5 episodes): 2.5 out of 5 stars

There are people out there who would use the advances of science to their own personal gain and/or to the detriment of others. In doing so, sometimes things get out of hand and the threat of these abuses could reach catastrophic proportions. It is at this “eleventh hour” that special science investigator Jason Hood is called in to help out. Thus the premise of this new CBS series based on the British show of the same name which starred Patrick Stewart.

Like several other new series from the current season, this one skirts along the edge of the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre. It does not go quite as far as FOX’s Fringe, which has much stronger Science Fiction leanings, but it definitely has more genre elements than CBS’s The Mentalist, which is just a crime procedural with a twist. I have viewed two episodes of the British original, and American version follows it closely. In fact, the first and fifth episodes (“Resurrection” and “Containment), are essentially remakes of episodes from the British pilot (though scaled back to 60 minutes from the original’s 90 minute run time).

Rufus Sewell brings a different interpretation to the Jason Hood character than the venerable Patrick Stewart’s portrayal. Stewart played Hood as a rather grim and crotchety character who has little patience with those who would misuse science. The younger Sewell’s character still shows this lack of patience, but his Hood has more people skills and is someone you can more easily warm up to. And as much as I like Stewart as an actor, I prefer Sewell in this role.

Mary Shelton plays Rachel Young, Hood’s FBI handler/partner. She is the tough “guy” to his more cerebral investigator. In the British series, the Young character was necessary as an aid for the elderly Hood. In this version, Young’s presence is explained because of previous attempts on Hood’s life.

The series does not have the same X-Files feel than Fringe has despite the fact that they cover similar territory. Instead, The Eleventh Hour seems more like CSI with a few cutting-edge science concepts thrown in for good measure (which makes sense seeing as they share the same executive producer, Jerry Bruckheimer). This does make for some interesting stories, but I can see where the show would appeal more to the CSI crowd than Science Fiction fans. The remakes of the British episodes have had the most genre appeal so far, and when that material runs out (only four episodes were made across the seas), I wonder if the series will veer even further away from the Science Fiction elements. No story arcs have developed at this point either, though it looks like the Geppetto character introduced in the pilot could become a recurring villain.

Ratings-wise, CBS can definitely count this one as a hit. It has not pulled the same number of total viewers as their other hit new series, The Mentalist, but it’s not too far behind. It also does not skew as high with the more coveted 18-49 demographic as say Fringe, but that’s typical of shows on CBS. The network can’t like that it loses a fair number of viewers from its CSI lead-in, but this should not put the show’s status in jeopardy. In fact, this series might be a likely candidate to move to the slot following The Ghost Whisperer on Fridays (recently vacated by the failed Ex-List) should CBS consider shuffling its schedule.

The Eleventh Hour is a decent show, though not engaging enough that I will tune in each week. Its primary strength comes from Sewell’s portrayal of Jason Hood, but it needs to keep a close tie to its cutting-edge science elements to make it stand out as more than just another crime drama.

-John J. Joex

Buy the Original British Eleventh Hour at the Axiom's Edge Webstore

Watch The Eleventh Hour Online at CBS.com