Rebus - Set 1 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ken Stott looks the part of Rebus more than John Hannah, and Claire Price DEFINITELY looks the part of Siobhan more than Gayanne Potter. The supporting cast is equally effective, and the stories (Ian Rankin's The Falls and Fleshmarket Close) are translated to the screen reasonably well.
Still, things are definitely lacking here. Gone was every ounce of Rebus' ongoing personal narrative, and the stories are much weaker for it. Gone also was that sense of self-destructiveness that is so very Rebus. These two stories have been reduced to simply average British mysteries. Not bad by any means, but no where near as gripping as Hannah's Rebus. If you're looking for Ian Rankin's stories to come alive on the screen, pick up John Hannah's Rebus.

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Based on Ian Rankin’s bestselling crime thrillers Ken Stott (Shallow Grave, The Vice, Messiah) brings the brooding Inspector John Rebus to life on screen, straight off the pages of Edgar®-winning Ian Rankin’s crime novels. Haunted by his own failings and the human tragedies that he faces every day, Rebus relentlessly pursues truth under the leaden skies of modern-day Edinburgh. His eager young sidekick, DS Siobhan Clarke (Claire Price, Poirot: The Hollow, The Whistle-Blower) resents Rebus’s condescending manner at first, but grudgingly comes to respect her gruff partner’s abilities. Together, they conduct their investigations under the watchful and sometimes jealous eye of their boss, Chief Super Gill Templer (Jennifer Black, Local Hero)-Rebus’s former flame. With its sardonic, hard-drinking hero, twisting plots, and atmospherics as dense as fog off the firth, Rebus serves up two engrossing mysteries in the best film noir tradition.

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Rebus (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)With wonderfully complex plots and recurring characters, Rebus is an absolutely first-rate crime drama based on the novels by Scottish author Iain Rankin. Though set in Edinburgh, it is not the charming, picturesque, historic old city as seen by the casual visitor that we are privy to; rather, the viewer is taken on a journey through the dark, gritty, cankerous underbelly of what, on the surface, is one of Britain's loveliest old cities. This is a series peopled by characters who are all too human, and it holds back no punches in its realistic portrayal of the criminal world.
Detective Inspector John Rebus (John Hannah (McCallum)) is one of the most curious, indeed fascinating, DIs I've come across. He's a competent and committed police officer, but a flawed human being with his own set of personal demons with which he must contend. He's a deep, multi-faceted character for whom nothing is black and white, and he's not immune to making serious errors in judgement, to lying in order to achieve his objective, or to experiencing the temptation of a "pact with the devil." He often makes decisions which shock the viewer, for we know that, even though we may understand his motivation, they are decisions which would never be condoned by the police. Indeed, is it any wonder he drinks a little too much and has more than a little trouble sleeping? Nor are we surprised to find that he has more than a little trouble forming and holding on to relationships with women.
Rebus is a wonderfully rich, dynamic, and interesting character, and I personally felt that John Hannah did a superb job in bringing him to life. I don't know why Hannah left the series or if he did any more series after this one, but I do know that I prefer these episodes and Hannah's portrayal much more than the recent pair of episodes wherein Ken Stott has taken over the title role (I just didn't warm to the character as portrayed by Stott).
The set consists of four 100-minute episodes and a very interesting dvd extra on the making of the series, which features informative comments about the nature of the series and the character of Rebus by both John Hannah and Iain Rankin.
In conclusion, this is a series I recommend unhesitatingly to fans of British mysteries and crime drama in general. There may be less in the way of comic relief, but I would still say that if you enjoy shows like A Touch of Frost or Delziel and Pascoe, chances are you'll really enjoy this one.
Highly recommended!


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Rebus is adapted from the novels of award-winning writer Ian Rankin - the UK's number one best-selling crime writer. At the center of each story is Detective Inspector Rebus, an enigma, fighting his own weaknesses, while dealing with the sad consequences of human frailty. He's seen it all before, but his cynicism is redeemed by an unexpected humanity that reveals he is more disillusioned with himself than others. As he scours the streets looking for answers, Rebus is actually seeking the truth about himself. Episodes The story of a copycat killer from 15 years ago comes back to haunt Rebus in Black and Blue. He finds himself taken off the case when an official investigation is opened into the death of a convicted murderer, who Rebus helped put behind bars, 15 years ago… True to his nature, Rebus refuses to let the matter lie. He soon finds himself in pursuit of two killers, past and present. The Hanging Garden follows Rebus as he pieces together the trail of a war criminal who appears to have gone into hiding in a respectable part of town. After rescuing a young Chechen girl from a local gangster he is drawn into a vicious running battle between rival gangs. But when his daughter Sammy is deliberately run down in the street, it soon becomes plain he will stop at nothing to find the man responsible. Rebus and his colleague catch sight of a known convicted pedophile taking photographs at the zoo in Dead Souls. It transpires he has been released early from prison, is under police protection and is the key witness in the trial of two suspected abusers. The next day, Rebus' colleague is found dead in the center of Edinburgh in what appears to be suicide. Devastated, Rebus sets out to discover what exactly happened. And in Mortal Causes, the case of an underworld execution unfolds as Rebus makes a link with racist attacks that raises the chilling specter of terrorism on the streets of Edinburgh.

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Rebus - Set 2 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)First of all, let me get this out of the way... I just love this series as well as the character of Rebus. Ken Stott is just the ideal candidate to fit the role of Ian Ranklin's DI John Rebus. Rough, unrefined, unpolished, Rebus is mostly detested but you as the viewer can't help admiring him. The plots are scary and twisted. Some of the Edinburgh scenes are downright spooky. The self-destructive traits of Rebus, including his drinking, seem to inspire feelings of affection from women and this makes the stories more interesting because of the little personal twist. If you have a problem with Scottish accents, this series can be a bit of a problem- it's thick!

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Four thrilling mysteries: The Black Book A Question of Blood Strip Jack Let It Bleed Ken Stott (Casanova, Messiah, The Vice) returns as rumpled, hard-drinking Detective Inspector John Rebus, hero of Ian Rankin’s perennially bestselling novels. Rebus bulldogs violent criminals in modern-day Edinburgh, from young toughs and drug dealers to corrupt captains of industry and commerce. His earnest, ambitious partner, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke (Claire Price, Poirot: The Hollow, The Whistle-Blower), learns plenty of lessons from her mentor -- not all of them in the best interest of her career. Although Rebus’s disdain for procedure and politics earns him the ire of his superiors, no one can argue with his results.With his black humor, blacker moods, and relentless pursuit of the truth, Rebus inherits the mantle of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler’s hard-boiled detectives -- with a distinctly contemporary, Scottish twist. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE Rebus: Behind the Scenes, a 50-minute documentary, featuring interviews with Ian Rankin, Ken Stott, Claire Price, Jennifer Black, and more; Ian Rankin bio; trailer; and cast filmographies.

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Rebus - Set 3 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Rebus Set 3," as seen on BBC America, is newly-released. It was made by Britain's Independent Television (ITV), although it's being seen on the BBC channel on these shores. Like the others in this superb series, it's a police procedural excellently filmed in Edinburgh, though not the bits of it with which tourists are familiar. Furthermore, scenes, whether on the streets or in the police station, are crowded with people and cars, of correct-looking vintage, rushing around. The people have also apparently been encouraged to speak in the local dialect, which adds immeasurably to the engrossing "foreign" flavor of these productions; although the dialog might be impenetrable to those of us on these shores without the unadvertised subtitles thoughtfully provided by Acorn. The series is, of course, based on the Inspector Rebus novels, also set in Edinburgh, written by prize-winning, best selling Scottish author Ian Rankin. He's tipped by such of his colleagues as best-selling American crime novelist James Ellroy, as the progenitor and #1 practitioner of "tartan noir,"the Scottish adaptation of noir fiction: bloodier and more bloody-minded than the usual, boasting that scorching Scottish humor.
This series features four more taut offerings from the hit British series of crime thrillers, including "Resurrection Men," based on the Edgar-Award for Best Novel-winning book of the same name; and "The Naming of the Dead," based on the book of the same name that won the British Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year. Also"Knots and Crosses," based on an earlier book, the first Rebus novel, published in 1987 to great critical acclaim. And "The First Stone," apparently an original screenplay using Rankin's characters.
These characters continue to be played by the excellent cast assembled for post-John Hannah productions: admired television actor Ken Stott, man of a thousand faces, in the title role, that of Detective Inspector Rebus. Claire Price as his earnest, ambitious partner Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke. And Jennifer Black as Detective Chief Superintendent Gillian Templer, Rebus's boss, and one of his many former lovers. Black's character appears to have beefed-up parts in this series -- and good for her -- though it looks to me as if she and Price are having trouble with the wardrobe department: the ones they've been given are dowdy, and quite meager. It's a good thing they're not making "Sex and the City."
"Resurrection Men" has been just about totally rewritten from the book; that's probably just as well; as many people complained the latter was confusing. "The First Stone," an original script, is a riveting, gutsy attack on the Church of Scotland. "The Naming of the Dead" has also been largely rewritten from the book; also, undoubtedly, just as well, as many readers complained about that book,too. Finally," Knots and Crosses" is excellently done. It features actor Nicholas Farrell, who's virtually grown-up on TV and movie screens before us, as its villain.
In "The First Stone," when Templer is asked how she sleeps at night, with the things she's been forced to see as a cop, she answers, "a wee dram." If you're watching this exciting series at night, you just might need similar help.


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As Seen on BBC America Four gripping mysteries:
Resurrection Men
The First Stone
The Naming of the Dead
Knots and Crosses In Detective Inspector John Rebus, the hero of Ian Rankin’s bestselling crime novels, Ken Stott (Charlie Wilson’s War, Casanova, Messiah) has found what critics call "a role he was born to play."Incorrigible, insubordinate, and deeply troubled, the hard-drinking Scottish detective plays by his own rules, hounding down murderers in modern-day Edinburgh with a single-mindedness that his superiors barely tolerate. Rebus’s partner, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke (Claire Price, Poirot: The Hollow, Twelfth Night), learns from him even while she covers for him.These four grim, hard-boiled mysteries-including those based on Resurrection Men (Edgar Award®, Best Novel) and The Naming of the Dead (British Book Award, Crime Thriller of the Year)-show Rebus at his wiliest and most willful. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE Ian Rankin biography and cast filmographies.

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