CBS' upcoming “science drama” Eleventh Hour has already been hyped as one of the more buzz-worthy series that will premiere this fall.  In fact, some even think it will be one of the most successful series this year, an honor it shares with the new J.J. Abrams project Fringe and the Simon Baker-starrer The Mentalist.  But will it live up to expectations?

Eleventh Hour, which is set to hit the airwaves on October 9, is an adaptation of the British series of the same name.  The original, which aired in 2006, starred Patrick Stewart and Ashley Jensen.  It is about Professor Ian Hood, a member of the British government's Joint Sciences Committee, whose main job is to tackle and troubleshoot threats against, or resulting from, “scientific endeavor.”  The series was created by Stephen Gallagher, who was a writer for Doctor Who; his claims that the show will be “science-based” rather than science fiction attracted media attention.

The four-part British drama got generally positive reviews, praising Stewart's performance and the scientific focus of the show.  The question is, will the American version—which is overseen by star producer Jerry Bruckheimer—live up to the expectations?

The American version stars Rufus Sewell and Marley Shelton.  There are, of course, some changes—for one, the main character's named Jacob, rather than Ian, Hood.  Also, there will be 13 hour-long episodes rather than four 90-minute ones.  The American pilot is a shot-by-shot remake of the first British episode, which sees the protagonists investigate a man who funds a black market human cloning experiment, while they rescue a mother who carries one of the clones.

Now, a noteworthy feature of British dramas is their ability to explore storylines further, especially given the 90-minute length of an episode.  But the American version is limited to one hour, so Bruckheimer must be able to squeeze all those elements in that short a time.  It could end up feeling like CSI, another Bruckheimer project, but the story might suffer.

Finally, the British version really focused on the scientific content, at one point managing to squeeze in a debate about stem cells while tackling the plot.  If Bruckheimer is going to base the American version primarily on the British one, then we might see viewers slowly losing interest after being bombarded with all these facts and statements.  The British version became boring as time passed; perhaps Bruckheimer would throw in something spectacular to keep audiences hooked?

We still have two months to go before most of us can see Eleventh Hour's premiere, and we can only hope that the result is a series that is engaging, exciting, and ultimately, lives up to high expectations.


-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Sources: CBS, News.com.au, UGO.com