The Eleventh Hour...

[fajrdrako]

I'm so happy to have found a new show I love. On the strength of the first episode, anyway. That's The Eleventh Hour, "Resurrection". I watched it primarily because I have been a fan of Rufus Sewell since I first saw him ride onscreen as Fortinbras in Branagh's Hamlet.

And here he's playing an American. Who'd have guessed?

What I loved most about the story (besides intelligent, suspenseful writing and an interesting plot) was that Rufus Sewell plays a genius who is not dysfunctional in any way I could see. He isn't quirky, antisocial, or rude. He may have his flaws (and no doubt we'll get to see them) but he's smart, insightful, kind, brave, and even wise. Humanist values that matter to him. A heroic hero - I love the concept. A genius who isn't crazy - I love it even more.



Other thoughts: The show kept reminding me of other shows, in good ways rather than derivative ways.

• The styles of Dr. Jacob Hood (Sewell) and his bodyguard/partner Rachel Young (Marley Shelton) reminded me of Mulder and Scully in the prfessional dynamic and the way she dresses.
  
• Her visual style reminded me of Rebecca Locke in The Inside, definitely not a bad thing, though I don't find either of them particularly compelling in looks - just interesting. I like it that she's the fighter, he's thinker; and that she's the type that thugs would underestimate.
  
• The plot seemed to me more like Century City than X-Files, in that it relied on a scientific-style crime and new scientific advances rather than spookiness and weirdness.
  
• I really liked the cop on the murder case. I thought his name was McNeill but it seems to be (from IMDb) Officer McEachern, played by Andrew Hedge. He reminded me both of James Spader in The Watcher (though maaseru didn't see it) and Crewes' new boss Captain Tidwell on Life.

Nice setting. Took me a while to twig that it was Seattle. Cool. Seattle is one of my favourite American cities. I'm so glad they aren't in a fictional place.

Bring on the second episode!

Comments

[rosiespark.livejournal.com]

I may have to give this a try!

At the moment have just got hooked on Dexter (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/) and am about to embark on the second season. If you can stand a bit of gore - I only occasionally have to look away, and it hasn't given me nightmares yet! - it's really excellent.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I want to risk the gore of Dexter - though I admit I've been curious about it.

[rosiespark.livejournal.com]

I'd definitely recommend risking it - there's so much more to the series than the gore.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

And maaseru and maaboroshi are telling me that The Sarah Connor Chronicles is worth watching now - I have long since run out of time to watch everything I want to watch. Sigh. Dexter is in its second season now, isn't it?

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

I felt that once was enough for this show, but with your glowing review, I'll give it another try.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'once was enough' - do you mean you saw "Resurrection" and didn't like it?

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

I didn't hate it, but it seemed like it was created from a checklist - tough female agent, damaged genius, potentially controversial main plot backed up with a smidge of science that didn't really require a genius to figure out, an arch-nemesis who gave herself a clever alias...
I too liked the interaction between the Rufus Sewall's character and the bodyguard/agent, but that wasn't enough to make me a fan of the show even though I'm a long-time fan of RS. It is good to see him being the good guy, though. He is more often the good guy (or the ambiguous guy)than he is the bad guy, but he's often the baddy in big budget movies like Knight's Tale or Tristan & Isolde, so I suspect that might be the association more people have with him. I don't know exactly how I'd characterize Seth Starkadder, come to think of it.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

damaged genius

Did I miss something? I was enjoying the genius because I thought he wasn't damaged!

I liked the 'clone' plot because it reminded me of a similar clone plot from Century City that I'd liked. And that's a rather obscure source, not to mention a show with a theme such as I haven't otherwise seen. I haven't seen clone plots on other shows, but ... as you may have noticed... I don't watch a lot of TV.

I also loved it that it wasn't a CSI-type forensic show.

Yes, I love seeing Sewell as a good guy. It seems rare! It isn't that he's bad as a villain, he's terrific, but it seems a waste. I haven't seen Tristan & Isolde yet - it's sitting on my shelf, unwatched - hope to get to it soon.

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

I thought that he was supposed to be worrying so much about the clone mom because his wife died young, or something. Just an impression.

I only watched a little of Tristan & Isolde. If you haven't already watched the BBC-produced "Shakespeare Re-told" series, you could start with that. They're available through Netflix, and possibly online. RS plays Petrucchio in the Taming of the Shrew episode (and Damien Lewis plays Benedick in Much Ado). As heretical as it might sound, I think the re-tellings are an improvement in some plot aspects, although only bits of the lovely language are left.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I saw Rufus Sewell as Petrucchio, and enjoyed him very much. Haven't seen the other "Retold Shakespeare" series yet, though.

[lilithilien.livejournal.com]

It is a great story (primarily I think because it's another rip off of a British series) and I like Rufus. A lot. But you should definitely check out the original with Patrick Stewart. It's more graphic (they show the fetuses) and there are lots fewer guns.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Not sure I like the idea of 'more graphic' but I do like 'fewer guns'. Yes, I have a copy of the British version and plan to watch it.

[lilithilien.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the fetuses were definitely kinda gross, but at least you really see what's happening rather than them just being in the opaque jars of horror.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I can see the point of that. I'm not sure I want to see it - the idea was awful enough. (There is no limit to my wimpiness.)

I am forewarned and forearmed!

[saffronrose.livejournal.com]

I saw him first in Cold Comfort Farm--and ws he ever stunning.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Not a bad version, although I prefer the 1968 3 episode one, with Peter Egan as Seth. In comparison, Rufus was wearing far too many clothes!!!

But Rufus is a gorgeous creature. I first noticed him in Middlemarch some years ago. He's adorable in The Woodlanders, too.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched Middlemarch yet, but I'm hoping to watch all his shows eventually.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes - beautiful there. I watched it because of him, and I was glad I did.

[auriaephiala.livejournal.com]

Is it actually on broadcast TV, or how can we see it?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

It's on Thursdays at 10 p.m. on channel 6 and channel 13. Or you can always watch it at my place, since I'm planning to record it.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

I meant to catch the first episode, too, and missed it, darnit. Set in Seattle, huh? It'll be interesting to see if they get the details right. Thursday is evidently Seattle night, between this and Grey's Anatomy.

And I've liked Rufus Sewell ever since Cold Comfort Farm. His Fortinbras in Branagh's Hamlet was just icing on the cake.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Is Grey's Anatomy set in Seattle? I'd forgotten.

I've never seen Rufus Sewell in a role I didn't like, though I've seen him in movies I didn't like.

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, although like Frasier some of the views are really seriously wrong.

They did do a good job of portraying one of our rare snow "events" (as the meteorologists call them) in the season premiere. People here panic at the first flakes because we're so not used to snow, and they got that part right, which was nice.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think that happens in a lot of cities. Here in Ottawa we just say, "Oh, no, not again."

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

I really wanted to like this, because I love Rufus, but I couldn't finish watching the first ep because of all the American weirdness about abortion that was in the pilot (every time someone said "baby" in the first fifteen minutes and looked at Rufus like he was from Mars because he was trying to be calm and sensible about this, I wanted to kill something). I hope the second ep will be less unpleasant.

I deeply fear that books and fic are making me too smart to watch TV, except for Numb3rs and House.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Hee - I didn't even notive the 'baby' looks. Didn't find it unpleasant, I'm happy to say, but then I have no political stakes in the abortion controversy (mostly the attitude I see here is "what controvesy?") so I didn't even notice that American politics were being referenced - a function no doubt of my almost-complete ignorance of American politics. Hmm, occurs to me that this is a downside of the LMB list's ban on the subject - I often don't even know what the issues are, let alone what people think of them.

One of my reactions was that here at last was a show with nothing annoying in it!

Why do you like Numb3rd and House? Actually, The Eleventh Hour reminded me quite a bit of Numb3rs - with 'science' in the place of 'math'.

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

Um. I love watching Charlie twitch and Don shoot things and be a total slut? (It amazes me that Don Eppes only got 3 votes on the skank poll, I can't think of the number of times he's cheated on a girl or taken a call from one while in bed with another--but I think they're so interchangeable sometimes that people don't realise they're all different people!)

Actually there are things on both shows that annoy the crap out of me, but they don't overshadow the whole. Mostly, the characters on Numb3rs and House have personalities that change slowly and in response to events and I am not asked too very often to hang my disbelief by the neck until dead rather than simply suspending it.

I am also liking True Blood these days. And Mad Men, and Dexter.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I love watching Charlie twitch and Don shoot things and be a total slut?

LOL - that makes sense.

So do your other comments.

maaseru and maaboroshi are both very much enjoying True Blood because it is 'different'. I saw the first three episodes and while I agree that it's different and has things I like it in, I didn't like any of the characters and had an only mediocre enjoyment factor. I'm a hard sell on TV shows, obviously!

I watched some of first season Numb3rs and ditto House, and liked the characters in both, but the plots didn't hold me. I find that I only watch things if they really, really excite me - which is maybe one or two shows every couple of years. It's not that I mind watching them, necessarily, just that I'd prefer to be doing something else, and I might at any point go back to watching Numb3rs and House.

But I'm always looking for recommendations of shows, and you're the second person in three days who has recommended Dexter.

I don't even know what Mad Men is - don't think I've heard of it.

[elebridith]

Eeep - Rufus has a new show??? Oh and yes, he looks good!
I finally got the Shakespeare Retold DVD, it had some longer delivery time, but now it's here. Haven't seen it yet, but it also has Imelda Staunton, Billie Piper and James McAvoy, I didn't expect that! Oh, and my to-watch-list is far too long... *sigh*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Rufus has a new show, and it's good. Or at least, the first episode was. Haven't seen the second one yet.

Imelda Staunton and Billie Piper - I didn't know that either. I must get it, too!

My to-watch-list is long too, but that's good. I like to have things to anticipate.

[elebridith]

Things to anticipate is great, but not when you really can't decide your priorities... *g*

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Flipping a coin is always a good idea. Or just... let things pile up till the priorities become self-evident.