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Eleventh Hour (British TV series)

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Eleventh Hour
US DVD release artwork
GenreCrime drama
Thriller
Created byStephen Gallagher
StarringPatrick Stewart
Ashley Jensen
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerAndy Harries
ProducersKen Baker
Stephen Smallwood
Running time90 minutes
Production companyGranada Television
Original release
NetworkITV
Release19 January (2006-01-19) –
9 February 2006 (2006-02-09)
Related
Eleventh Hour

Eleventh Hour (originally titled Dark Matter) is a four-part British television series developed by Granada Television for ITV, created by writer Stephen Gallagher.

Plot

The show follows the adventures of Professor Ian Hood (originally Alan Hood), played by Patrick Stewart, a Special Advisor to the government's Joint Sciences Committee, who troubleshoots threats stemming from or targeting "scientific endeavour." He is joined by Rachel Young, played by Ashley Jensen, a Special Branch operative who acts primarily as his bodyguard, as Hood has made powerful enemies through his work. The first episode was broadcast on 19 January 2006.[1]

Cast

Production

When Eleventh Hour went into pre-production in April 2005, it raised considerable interest and media attention, both because of Stewart's involvement and the budget allocated to the series by ITV, which was reportedly around £4.5 million. Gallagher, himself a two-time writer for Doctor Who, made the distinction that Eleventh Hour will be "science-based," not science fiction or speculative fiction.[2]

Changing crew

Material was added to the scripts by producer Simon Stephenson after the early episodes went into production, and creator Stephen Gallagher left his role on the series because of it. Gallagher claimed that the reason behind his departure was because his essentially "science-based crime-drama" had unwanted sci-fi material written into it without his consent.[3] The subject matter and direction of the later stories appear to differ from synopses that were originally announced in April 2005.[4]

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions) [5]
1"Resurrection"Terry McDonoughStephen Gallagher & Simon Stephenson19 January 2006 (2006-01-19)5.04
After the discovery of a large number of malformed fetuses in a field, Ian Hood (Patrick Stewart) and Rachel Young (Ashley Jensen) are called in to help with the police investigation to find the perpetrator. Hood thinks that the discovery is the latest act of 'Gepetto', an unidentified culprit responsible for a black market human cloning experiment across Eastern Europe. Young befriends a cocky DS, Doug Cook (Jack Pierce), who provides her and Hood with confidential information on the case. Hood interrogates the caretaker of the farm where the fetuses were found, and his questioning leads him to discover a makeshift laboratory and delivery suite on an industrial estate, being run by a doctor who was struck off from the medical register nine months ago for malpractice. As Hood suspects that a local businessman, Peter Gifford (Clive Wood), devastated at the death of his son, may be behind the operation, Cook receives a call to say that a 19-year-old mother, Kelly Fox (Joanna Horton), whom they suspect is the latest surrogate for Gepetto (Jane Lapotaire), has been admitted to a local hospital. Hood faces a race against time to save the young girl from harm, whilst bringing his prime suspect to justice.
2"Containment"Terry McDonoughStephen Gallagher & Simon Stephenson26 January 2006 (2006-01-26)N/A
The discovery of the decomposed body of excavator Christopher Fisher in a church construction site leads the police to suspect an outbreak of the plague, having stemmed from the rotten bodies discovered beneath the church floor. Hood, however, realises that it is something much more serious, and along with colleague Martin Callan (Nicholas Woodeson), orders a quarantine of the excavation staff working on the site. Junior staff member Ned (Michael Begley), desperate to attend his son's fifth birthday party, breaks out of the quarantine, forcing Hood and Young to give chase. Meanwhile, tests on the Fisher's body show that he was infected with a hybrid of both the Smallpox and Tanapox viruses. Hood realises that he was infected long before working on the site. Young discovers that Fisher was moonlighting at a funeral home, where he came into contact with a factory engineer who fell to his death while repairing a refrigeration system. Tests show the engineer was also infected with the virus. The trail leads the team to a hostel where a number of illegal Chinese workers from the factory are living. However, it soon transpires that factory owner Ellis Gibson (Jack Deam) is harbouring a dangerous secret.
3"Kryptos"Roger GartlandStephen Gallagher, Simon Stephenson & Mike Cullen2 February 2006 (2006-02-02)N/A
Hood is called upon to help an old friend, Richard Adams (Donald Sumpter), who has recently been fired from his job at the Institute of Environmental research due to his increasingly erratic behaviour. Company boss Destrano (Tom Mannion) is glad to see the back of Adams, worried that if his 'flawed' research were to be leaked, it could have a damning effect on the reputation of the institute. As Adams continues to try and get his research into print, Hood meets with one of his colleagues, Martin Godley, who claims that Adams' research was intriguing and possibly just the tip of a major environmental iceberg. When Adams later disappears, suspected of having committed suicide, Hood tries to decrypt a file sent to him by Adams, which contains an encoded file. Meanwhile, Godley is killed in a suspicious hit-and-run accident, and Hood suspects that a serial killer - linked to Destrano - is trying to silence anyone connected with Adams' research. As Hood begins to crack the code, Young follows a trail of clues which lead her to suspect that Adams is still alive. But with Destrano's hitmen now on the trail of both men, it becomes a race against time to get the research into print - before it is lost forever.
4"Miracle"Roger GartlandStephen Gallagher & Simon Stephenson9 February 2006 (2006-02-09)4.27
Following the miraculous cure of a young boy who is suffering from cancer, Hood and Young travel to his home town to investigate claims that he has been cured by local spring water, just as the area becomes a focal point for cancer sufferers desperately seeking a cure. When these victims start to experience even worse symptoms, Hood becomes convinced that there must be something in the water. All of the tests prove to be negative, however, and it appears increasingly likely that the boy's surgeon, Dr. Williams (Clare Holman), has made the entire story up. But shortly after Hood reaches this conclusion, Williams is found dead in a nearby reservoir, having been the victim of an apparent suicide. A chance phrase in the suicide note referring to a Geiger Counter, a term Williams would never use due to Hans Geiger's known Nazi sympathies, leads Hood to begin an investigation into her death, and he uncovers a Government conspiracy to produce heavy water, which he is able to demonstrate is found in the spring. By blackmailing leading government figure Drake (Roy Marsden), Hood is able to clear Williams' name, but is not able to expose the secret service's involvement in the affair.

Home media

The complete series was released on Region 1 DVD on 26 September 2006.[6] It was re-released on 24 May 2016 with new cover artwork, additional features and subtitles.[7]

Remakes

Main article: Eleventh Hour (American TV series)

An American remake, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and starring Rufus Sewell as Hood (now known as Jacob Hood), aired on CBS from 2008 to 2009.[8] American actress Marley Shelton co-starred as FBI Special Agent Rachel Young. The series aired on Thursdays at 10 pm (ET/PT).[9] The remake was a joint venture between Jerry Bruckheimer Television, Granada Television International and Warner Bros. Television.

References

Notes
  1. ^ "ITV Studios - Eleventh Hour". Archived from the original on 15 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Itv Now Goes Sci-fi". 8 April 2005.
  3. ^ "Eleventh Hour - We're Cancelled". 19 May 2009.
  4. ^ "Ashley Jensen: Don't call me babe". Independent.co.uk. 21 December 2005.
  5. ^ "Viewing Data — Top Tens". BARB. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Eleventh Hour". Amazon. 26 September 2006.
  7. ^ "Eleventh Hour". Amazon. 24 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Don't Blow It". 25 August 2008.
  9. ^ "CBS PressExpress - Eleventh Hour - About the Show". CBS. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
Bibliography
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