Third-episode verdict: Eleventh Hour

The CarusometerA Carusometer rating of 3

Eleventh Hour, yet another remake of a British series, has now managed to notch up three episodes. Unlike Life On Mars, which chose to start with two remake scripts and an original script, Eleventh Hour has gone for one remake and two original, so we can get a firmer idea of what the show’s going to be like.

As predicted, it is indeed shaping up to be the new Doomwatch, although it’s also the new CSI, which is handy, given it’s on CBS. While episode one was less daft and science-fictiony than the UK original script, episode two was pretty much an episode of CSI – and a stupid one at that – with a science label hung on it; episode three, however, was a relatively interesting piece on GM food with overtones similar to the Doomwatch pilot The Plastic Eaters.

Rufus Sewell is a good lead; Marley Shelton can’t really act, but her character’s more useful than Ashley Jensen’s original, offering FBI skills rather than simple "falling over" skills, and she could plausibly do the job, at least. Not really interesting dramatically, yet, but the science in the plots separates it from a standard procedural – just. There needs to be more chemistry between Sewell and Shelton for the show to be of true interest though and they need to steer clear of the science-fiction UK originals as well as the more obvious "who’s the techno crim?" scripts, too.

Predictions
Already booked for a whole season, but needs to make the central format more interesting for it to really appeal.

Carusometer rating
Two or Partial Caruso

Author

  • Rob Buckley

    I’m Rob Buckley, a journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of although you might have heard me on the podcast Lockdown Land or Radio 5 Live’s Saturday Edition or Afternoon Edition. I’ve edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for TV producers magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and was regularly sarcastic about television on the blink-and-you-missed-it “web site for urban hedonists” The Tribe. Since going freelance, I've contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly, Action Network, TV Scoop and The Custard TV.

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