Eleventh Hour (1994)

I want my money back.

A non-mutant or alien filled sci fi show with Patrick Stewart? Made by the BBC?! This should be great!! The only way they could screw this up would be to ham-handedly make political statements in EVERY episode...

And so they did. This show was bad in so many different ways. In order to build suspense, they use bad keyboard music and choppy, stilted camera angles. At least once per episode there is a speech about how science is the final arbiter of Truth and will save us all....even as the charecters fight against things like science-created viruses that threaten to kill an entire city.

The ubiquitous episode on how global warming is going to kill us all was particularly bad. In it, it shows 50-75% of the UK being covered by a 2 meter rise in ocean levels. This means that the bulk of Britain is a flat plain about 6 feet above sea level. Clearly, this is not the case.

In the US CBS is remaking the series and, from the clips I've seen, are doing the exact episodes as this version. Save your money, watch the propaganda for free.
July 18, 2008

Too Short of a Series to be a 'Box Set'

First of all, I am a huge Patrick Stewart fan. I can watch anything of his and be enthralled by his superior acting ability. Now, let's get to the fine print: buy or not buy? If you are a sci-fi fan, especially of the world catastrophe science type, you will enjoy this. The writing could be better, but Stewart holds it together.

My biggest beef of 'Eleventh Hour' is that is only 4 episodes of approx 70 minutes each! Within just a few short hours you've watched the whole thing. I'm just not a fan of 4 episode Series'. A consumer just doesn't get the bang for the buck. If you can cabbage onto this for under $20, including shipping, you will probably just break even on satisfaction level. I personally think NO show should be called a series if it involves only 2 DVDs and four hours of total running time. November 30, 2007

Wonderfully unique and well written

All four shows were very well done. Though the last two differ in style than the first two, they are equally as watchable. Nothing trite about these episodes. They tackle scientifically contraversial issues in a candid way and leave you in suspense through the first half of the episodes. July 21, 2007

A Professor in need!

This short series proves to be a fascinating experience. The quality surpases the current popluar US series CSI type thriller. The hero, Dr Ian Hood (Patrick Stewart), a special scientific adviser to the British Government, troubshoots evidence of pollution, cloning, pandemics desease and even a possible miracle 'water cure'. A clever juxtapositioning of his Scottish 'minder' (special branch detective) Rachel Young (Ashley Jensen) creates the perfect 'odd couple' defending citizens against evil doers. The script is Sci-fi style - written by Stephen Gallagher (Doctor Who), and each episode provides a thriller, that intrigues and facinates and holds the viewer's attention to the last minute. Great viewing! May 18, 2007

Very disappointing.

With the caliber of an actor like Patrick Stewart one would have expected much better. The stories as written border on absurd. For example, in the first episode - "Resurrection" - Stewart's character, who is a government investigator, is on the trail of a rouge scientist who is trying to clone a human being. After find 27 buried fetuses in a field the local police wash their hands and tell him they simply aren't interested, leaving Stewart and his government bodyguard to fend for themselves. In the second episode - "Containment" - a virus is loose and is being tracked down. Officials search all over town, with some in biohazard gear while others wear just regular clothes; and all just waltz in and out of hot zones like they were shopping at the supermarket. Ultimately the show reveals itself to be nothing more than propaganda for causes such as stem cell research, scientific humanism, etc., while masquerading as a television drama series. No joy. May 16, 2007

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