The Eleventh Hour

When Science Goes Wrong, He Makes It Right
Patrick Stewart stars in fast-paced investigative thriller, The Eleventh Hour

Scientific advances have allowed us to live longer and better than ever before, but there are those who would exploit new technologies to cause great harm. Enter Professor Ian Hood (Patrick Stewart, X-Men, Star Trek), a former physics professor recruited by the government as a roving troubleshooter with a remit to tackle human disasters and potential tragedies caused by modern science. Hood’s acute powers of perception and incredible thirst for knowledge make him a formidable weapon in the fight for good. The Eleventh Hour premieres Monday, December 4, 9:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. PT.

It may sound academic, but Hood’s work is quite dangerous. His willingness to speak his mind and pursue truth proves a threat to a wide spectrum of people, from animal activists to pharmaceutical companies. A death threat made — and acted upon — soon after his appointment means he’s shadowed by a highly trained bodyguard, the coolly efficient Rachel Young (Ashley Jensen, Ugly Betty, Extras). He resents her presence and the restrictions this protection places upon him. As a result, he often makes life difficult for the very person trying to keep him alive.

Patrick Stewart talks about his character and The Eleventh Hour: “He cares deeply about the benefits of science and has very passionate feelings about how science should be used and strong feelings about people who abuse it. His wife died of cancer two years ago, which has left him deeply marked. He’s very much a work obsessed individual. We see nothing of his private life at all — it seems not to exist.”

In each of the four self-contained episodes, Hood follows a trail of corruption, taking on everything from a baby-cloning maverick to the advocate of a fraudulent cancer-cure. Stewart describes the relevance of the series, “In our stories there is a ticking clock, where we’re working against time and Hood is under a lot of pressure. It has nothing to do with science fiction whatsoever. No aliens anywhere in sight, no space time continuum. These four stories deal with very pressing current issues. These are things that a lot of people feel very strongly about and each story is quite controversial.”

British Press:

“Imagine Inspector Morse mixed with Doctor Who” The Independent

“Gripping, intelligent and well acted” Evening News

Episode one

As part of his brief as a roving scientific investigator for the government, Professor Hood (Patrick Stewart) has long been on the trail of a sinister Italian scientist, Gepetto, who is attempting to be the first person to bring a cloned baby in to the world. When he’s alerted to the grim discovery of a field filled with the bodies of fetuses that share the same DNA, he thinks it’s the work of Gepetto. As evidence emerges that the life of a surrogate mother is at risk, the case takes on a new urgency and saving her become a personal mission of redemption for Hood.

Episode one premieres Monday, December 4, 9:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. PT.

Episode two

When a worker who’s been in an old crypt is found dying horribly from a mysterious lethal virus, the government calls Hood in to investigate. His task is to oversee the work of volunteer scientists containing the outbreak and locating the source. The virus is highly infectious — if they don’t act fast, a global pandemic will spread. But once the location of the virus is discovered, Hood realizes that his work is only just beginning. Even worse, his bodyguard, Rachel (Ashley Jensen), has been placed at risk. Hood must call upon all his resources to prevent catastrophe.

Episode two premieres Monday, December 11, 9:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. PT.

Episode three

When he learns that a friend, Dr. Richard Adams (Donald Sumpter), has suffered a breakdown, Hood pays him a visit. Adams sounds paranoid when he says that persons unknown are sabotaging his work and threatening his life, but then he disappears. His work on global warming seems to have vanished, as well — a handful of equations are all that’s left. It’s the beginning of a fascinating puzzle for Professor Hood, as he tries to find his old friend.

Episode three premieres Monday, December 18, 9:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. PT.

Episode four

Hood’s uneasy when he hears a media report about an oncologist named Dr. Williams. She claims that a patient of hers, a young boy called Alfie, has been cured of his cancer by drinking some local spring water. Hundreds of people flock to the source of the spring hoping that they will be similarly cured. Hood discredits the claims, but Dr. Williams is adamant that, unlikely as it seems, Alfie’s cancer was cured by the water. Hood teams up with her to find an explanation for the cure, but just when they are getting close, Dr. Williams is found dead. Trouble really starts when Hood manages to solve the mystery of what cured Alfie.

Episode four premieres Monday, December 25, 9:00 p.m. ET/10:00 p.m. PT.

Interview with Patrick Stewart

Can you tell us about your character, Professor Ian Hood?

Professor Ian Hood is a physicist, an academic now retired and working for the Government as a Science Adviser. He’s not a bureaucrat — he’s in the field following up and investigating criminal, illegal or just down right dangerous science as it’s occurring within society. He cares deeply about the benefits of science and has very passionate feelings about how science should be used and strong feelings about people who abuse it. He’s a widower. His wife died of cancer two years ago, which has left him deeply marked. He’s very much a work obsessed individual. We see nothing of his private life at all — it seems not to exist.

Is there any chemistry between Hood and Young?

Oh yes certainly. She’s a professional policewoman who is fairly discontented at having to be this kind of minder to this retired scientist. She also feels as if her career in the police is passing her by while she’s doing this protection work, but they have quite a frank and confrontational relationship and I think that’s one of the things that gives it a certain charm.

How would you describe the series?

It’s pragmatic and realistic in its view of the way certain things are in our society, but its thrust is investigative thrillers. In our stories there is a ticking clock, where we’re working against time and Hood is under a lot of pressure. In our stories, we deal with very pressing current issues. One episode looks at human cloning. It’s a moving, powerful story about a grieving man who feels the only way to alleviate his grief is to have a copy made of the son he’s lost. Another episode deals with global warming and issues of climate change and features a scientist who has been making some very significant discoveries about the pattern of global warming. A third one deals with the consequences in an urban environment of a dangerous and deadly disease occurring, in this case, smallpox. The fourth story concerns a situation where somebody is claiming that spring water is curing cancer and people are abandoning their conventional treatments to go and drink this water believing it’s going to cure them. How do you deal with something like that, and how do you try to balance people’s emotional needs with the proper aspect of medical science with alternative therapies as well? These are things that a lot of people feel very strongly about and each story is going to be quite controversial.

So this is about science but not science fiction?

It has nothing to do with science fiction whatsoever. No aliens anywhere in sight, no space time continuum. There are some disturbing images used, particularly in the episode that deals with the smallpox virus, but it’s all about the real world, the world of today.

Can you watch yourself back on screen?

Over the years I’ve had to make myself, because I knew that it was the only way I would learn about what works and what doesn’t work. Ashley Jensen and I watched the first episode of The Eleventh Hour together for mutual support. Terry McDonough’s direction was outstanding. The film scared me witless. It’s really quite intense.

Is it strange filming a television series and then going straight on to a multi-million dollar movie like X-men?

I’ve never thought of myself as being anything other than just an actor looking to do interesting and hopefully important work. I never wanted to waste my life or whatever talent I’ve got and it just so happens that I’ve been blessed to be in a situation where I am invited to move between the world of huge budget studio movies, smaller independent movies, and television, which is one of the places I wanted to be. I’ve also just finished a run in the West End and I’m now looking forward to a year in Warwickshire, Stratford upon Avon, being a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for a whole season of plays. I don’t see one genre as being more significant than the other, although I’m very excited about Stratford because that was a huge part of my early career, and it meant so much to me. One of the reasons I became an actor was to do that kind of work, I didn’t become an actor to work in film or television, I had no ambitions for that, it just kind of happened along the way. Money really determines how your days are spent on different productions. On Star Trek – Next Generation we would shoot between seven and ten pages of script a day. On Eleventh Hour we were shooting between five and seven pages a day. On X-Men we were shooting between one and two pages a day, and that’s because there’s so much more money available, so you are able to take much more time and trouble. In television you have to work quicker. So you move into different rhythms of work and I enjoy it because it brings variety to what I do. I’ve just been so blessed to be in the situation where I have this variety.

Interview with Ashley Jensen

How would you describe your character Rachel Young?

She’s a Special Branch Officer who’s been reluctantly appointed as a bodyguard to Professor Hood. She sees it as thwarting her career prospects, because as far as she’s concerned she’s just babysitting an old man, but when they meet, she actually respects him, and she likes him. She’s very professional and very good at her job. I think it’s really good that they’ve cast the character of a bodyguard as a woman, because that’s quite unusual. Also, there’s not the usual sexual tension between the two, which I think makes the relationship more interesting than falling into the conventional storyline. It’s a really nice dynamic. I think she’s from a working class background, and is striving to make a career for herself.

What attracted you to taking on the role?

I think it’s a really cool role for a girl to play. Rachel is a gun-wielding, smart comment-making, character. Also working with Patrick Stewart was definitely a factor! The role also appealed because it isn’t like anything I’ve done previously.

Did you do any research for the role?

Yes, I spoke to some bodyguards, and a guy who actually trained Special Branch Officers. For another role I went out shadowing a police officer a few times. We learnt things like how to use a truncheon, and how to stand, so I felt like I knew what I was doing a little bit.

Do you have any funny anecdotes from your time on set?

I think the funniest thing was my character’s car. I’ve got a really tiny red mini, and in the series Rachel drives this great big automatic Land Rover. Most of the time when I turned on the engine it just rolled back, or occasionally I nearly hit something! Also one time when I had to give chase on foot, I leapt over a wall and just disappeared over the other side. The crew went silent for a minute waiting for me to appear. Luckily I didn’t break any bones, but it was really funny at the time. There were a couple of times that I fell when I was running too, but to my own credit I got up and started running again!