The 11th Hour: The Complete Series – DVD Review

Sometimes very interesting shows just don’t make it in the competitive television market. Such is the case with The 11th Hour, a program that showed much promise, but was cancelled after 18 episodes. Acclaimed film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean, CSI) is back again in the nick of time with… ELEVENTH HOUR.

Acclaimed film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean, CSI) is back again in the nick of time with… ELEVENTH HOUR. Fans and other interested viewers now have the chance to own and view the series from start to finish. This series is based on a British miniseries of the same title, created by Stephen Gallagher and the American series is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.Rufus Sewell stars as Dr. Jacob Hood, a brilliant scientist who is employed by the FBI to investigate the criminal misuse of scientific discoveries and to diffuse any crises that develop from them. The series begins with a shocking case of cloned humans that immediately captured some viewers and possibly turned others off, but established the series’ penchant for tackling the difficult questions that crop up in today’s technological society. Along with scientific advancements come ethical and moral obligations for the use of the new science. Unfortunately, if there is to be financial gain, ethics are often tossed aside, and many of the episodes featured individuals or groups who were ignoring their duty in order to achieve wealth. In the series short run, Dr. Hood and his FBI handler Rachel Young (Marley Shelton) investigated and exposed both the willful misuse of science in episodes like “Pinocchio” and the oblivious offenders in cases such as“Miracle.” Although advertised as science fiction, The 11th Hour has a gritty, real-life feel in both the filming and in the stories. These are happenings that could easily be taken from today’s news headlines, making viewers feel the immediate dangers of the cases. Frightening stories such as “Electro” in which a ten minute storm causes mass deaths from lightning strikes make one hope that there is a real Dr. Hood out there somewhere looking into the bizarre things that happen. From cloning to genetically engineered (and unwittingly fatal) pesticides to artificial intelligence gone wrong, and governmental kidnapping, The 11th Hour never fails to entertain with stories of the dark side of science.The 11th Hour is presented on six discs in a single keeper box. The 18 episodes are in widescreen format and have a running time of 775 minutes. It is noted on the back of the box that these discs are for play-back only, and will possibly not work in pc’s or other devices that have a recording capability. There are no inserts or program notes for the episodes, the titles are listed on each disc. There are no extras or special features with this set. The 11th Hour: The Complete Series is now available at The Warner Archive Collection.