DVD Review: Complete Set For ‘Eleventh Hour’ Available Online

CHICAGO – There simply wasn’t space on television for both “Fringe” and “Eleventh Hour”. As soon as I saw them, I knew one or both of the fall 2008 shows would have to go. With the strong lead performances by the great Rufus Sewell and beautiful Marley Shelton, I thought “Eleventh Hour” had the edge, especially after it did pretty well in its first season.

As many of us know, “Fringe” is currently struggling for ratings on FOX and CBS’ “Eleventh Hour” has been reduced to a cheap, online-only, feature-free complete series set. The show was far from perfect but it deserved better than this fate.

DVD Rating: 2.0/5.0

The problem with “Eleventh Hour” is clear just after disc one of the series set - it wasn’t original enough to distinguish itself from not just “Fringe” but countless other shows. The program often feels like “CSI: The X-Files,” being clearly inspired by the procedural shows that still serve as the backbone of CBS. It’s just another variation on a well-played tune. Only strong performances from its two consistent leads made it an occasionally entertaining diversion.

Eleventh Hour: The Complete Series was released on DVD on October 22nd, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Home Video

Sewell plays Jacob Hood, who could easily be called a combination of Adrian Monk and Fox Mulder. The overly eccentric Hood swoops in when mysterious cases involving science gone out of control rear their head. In a world of cloning and chemical warfare, the DNA-collecting teams of “CSI” are not always enough. Sometimes you need someone willing to look at a case from another angle and Hood definitely sees things that other detectives do not.

Hood is overseen by Rachel Young, the consistent but always underused Marley Shelton. With upcoming turns in “(Untitled)” and “Women in Trouble,” Shelton is one of those young actresses that seems perpetually on the verge of stardom without ever quite getting there. She was woefully used as second fiddle on “Eleventh Hour,” always playing back up to the mystery of the week and Sewell’s lead.

“Eleventh Hour” was canceled after not being able to hold its “CSI” lead-in audience, but the move, especially now with NBC giving up on the 10pm timeslot, was surprising, especially when one realizes that the show finished 22nd on the year with an average of 12.11 million viewers a week, above its premiere numbers. CBS made a number of unusual decisions at the end of the 2008-09 season. Canceling “Eleventh Hour” was definitely one of them.

The only eighteen episodes of “Eleventh Hour” ever produced are included in a six-disc set that is exclusively available through the Warner Brothers Shop. Sadly, it includes no special features and the technical presentation is below average with night scenes looking downright embarrassingly dirty.

A decent show with decent ratings was canceled and has now been given a sub-par complete series treatment. It’s a mystery worthy of Jacob Hood.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com