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Rebus rebooted, because TV has run out of ideas.
This one is a “a dark, fresh take” to a detective. Hmm… we’ll see.
The 2024 version quickly sets the scene as grumpy Rebus (Richard Rankin – Thirteen) tells a regular cop to “get lost” before he goes to harrass the man in the ambulance, local nomark Ger Cafferty (Stuart Bowman – Karen Pirie), but if you acted to me as he does ot the cop, I’d be putting in a complaint quick smart!
Plus, he thinking nothing Cafferty up, even though… wouldn’t there be CCTV in an ambulance?
Meanwhile, his wife and kid no longer live with him, because he’s an arsehole who solves an argument with his brother, Michael (Brian Ferguson – The Ipcress File (2022)) – by thinking with his fists. Both of them are former soldiers, but instead of Afghanistan, they look more like they’ve been on a tour of the local pubs.
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Elsewhere, there’s a new murder, and his boss expects him to be professional. Well, good luck with that, and good luck even more so, to his new cop partner, Siobhan (Lucie Shorthouse – We Are Lady Parts).
For Michael, as an Amazon delivery man, I figured leaving parcels on view in his car overnight on a dodgy estate wasn’t the greatest idea anyone could have, but soon, new employment is on the horzion, and it’s not exactly 9-5.
Plot-wise, McJagger (Gilly Gilchrist) and Cafferty are the big baddies at each other’s throats, but after watching the first two episodes, Rebus is only ‘dark’ in that there’s a lot of unnecessary violence and the c-word, but ‘fresh’? Nope.
This has got something to say about the neglect of former servicemen after they come back to civvy street, as they’ve been let down by successive governments, but I can’t really get into another random crap cop with personal issues, and what a surprise, his boss is on the verge of retirement. The clichés are just racking up! For now, The Responder is enough.
Rebus begins tonight on BBC1 at 9.25pm, and is already available on the BBC iPlayer. It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD.
Series Directors: Niall MacCormick, Fiona Walton
Producer: Angela Murray
Writers: Gregory Burke
Novels: Ian Rankin
Cast:
John Rebus: Richard Rankin
Michael Rebus: Brian Ferguson
Siobhan Clarke: Lucie Shorthouse
Chrissie Rebus: Neshla Caplan
Sammy Rebus: Mia McKenzie
Ger Cafferty: Stuart Bowman
Jimmy McJagger: Gilly Gilchrist
George Blantyre: Sean Buchanan
Maggie Blantyre: Michelle Duncan
Jack: Seamus McLean Ross
Gill Templer: Caroline Lee-Johnson
Lockie Moncrieffe: Nick Rhys
Rhona Moncrieffe: Amy Manson
Malcolm Fox: Thoren Ferguson
Kai: Craig McLean
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.