Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell) is an advisor to the FBI, called in to investigate scientific crimes and crises. He's received death threats for reasons unspecified, so he travels with Rachel Young (Marley Shelton), an FBI bodyguard.
Essentially, this is yet another CBS crime procedural with a science twist: CSI meets The X-Files (though the science, it appears from the first episode, isn't going to get quite as far fetched as The X-Files sometimes did). Week 1 finds Dr. Hood in Seattle, where someone is attempting to clone a human being.
Given the pervasive influence of House on series protagonists in the last few years, it comes as a pleasant surprise that Hood is not an abrasive, anti-social jerk; he actually gets along reasonably well with people and has a normal level of empathy for them. That's not to say that he can't be manipulative when it's called for; he uses a sob story about his late wife (a story which may or may not be true) to get the bad guy to do the right thing.
He does seem to be a difficult charge for the FBI, though. Rachel makes reference to previous bodyguards having burned out on his unpredictability and refusal to take reasonable safety precautions, and she is determined not to let him treat her the same way. Another refreshing surprise is that there doesn't seem to be a shred of romantic chemistry between the two leads.
The relationship between the two is appealing, though; there's a playful banter and a constant tension as Hood keeps testing the limits and Young tries to maintain control. Sewell and Shelton do solid work in the roles. With only those two series regulars, though, the show's long-term survival will rely more than usual on the quality of each week's guest actors.
With that caveat, Eleventh Hour has a lot of promise, and I look forward to seeing how the show develops.
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