|
Ian Rankin's Rebus |
|
John
Rebus: "What's happened to ya?" Jack
Morton: "I looked at myself one day É É
got off the booze and the cigies, É
joined a health club" John
Rebus: "You look great!" Jack
Morton: "I wish I could say the same for you, John" Scottish author Ian
Rankin's testy Detective Inspector John Rebus is the well-worn and crumpled star of stories which
belong to the genre of police procedural detective fiction, but with a
hardboiled aspect that has led to them being dubbed 'Tartan Noir'. The novels involve murders,
suspicious deaths or disappearances, with Rebus taking on the task of solving
the mystery. The resulting investigation depict a stark, uncompromising
picture of Scotland,
characterised by corruption, poverty, and organised crime. Along the way,
Rebus has to struggle with internal police politics, a struggle exacerbated
by his tendency to bend the rules and ignore his superiors. He also has to
deal with his own personal issues, which are often directly or indirectly
related to the current investigation, risking further friction with his
colleagues. Rankin has won critical
praise for his elaborate and inventive plots and are now must-read favourites
of British crime fiction. Rebus first appeared in Rankin's 1985 book Knots
and Crosses and there have been a
further 16 novels featuring this charismatic character. Rebus became more famous in
2000 when John Hannah bought the
character to TV with 4 well received TV movies. A second series was launched
in 2006 with Ken Stott taking
the role for a further 10 appearances. This latter interpretation of Rebus
has proven to be extremely popular and the announcement in February 2008 that
Stott was finished with the character was met with widespread regret. Thus far five Rebus books
have been dramatized for radio: Let it Bleed in 1999, The Falls in 2003, Resurrection Men in 2004, Black & Blue in 2008 and Strip Jack in 2010. Ron Donachie has played Rebus in the last 4 radio dramatizations
(with Alexander Morton
fulfilling the role in the initial presentation: Let it Bleed). Similarly Bruce Young has directed the 4 most recent outings with Gaynor
MacFarlane helming the first. Let
it Bleed Struggling
through another Edinburgh winter Rebus finds himself sucked into a web of
intrigue that throws up more questions than answers. Was the Lord Provost's
daughter kidnapped or just another runaway? Why is a city councillor
shredding documents that should have been waste paper years ago? And why on
earth is Rebus invited to a clay pigeon shoot at the home of the Scottish
Office's Permanent Secretary? Sucked into the machine that is modern
Scotland, Rebus confronts the fact that some of his enemies may be beyond
justice... Dramatized
by Roger Danes and starring Alexander Morton as Detective Inspector John Rebus. Great Rolling
Stones soundtrack, directed by Gaynor
MacFarlane The
Falls When
a student vanishes in Edinburgh, there is pressure on Rebus to find her,
particularly as she is the scion of a family of extremely rich bankers.
Needless to say, this is more than just the case of a spoilt rich girl
breaking out of the cage of family responsibilities, and a carved wooden doll
in a coffin found in her home village leads Rebus to the Internet
role-playing game that she was involved in. And when DC Siobhan Clarke, a key
member of Rebus' team, tackles the Virtual Quizmaster, Rankin finds himself
struggling to save her from the same fate as the missing girl. Dramatized
by Bert Coules and starring Ron Donachie as Detective Inspector John Rebus.
Directed by Bruce Young. Resurrection
Men Detective
Inspector John Rebus is thrown off a murder inquiry, just days after the
brutal death of an Edinburgh art dealer, and he is sent to the Scottish
Police College for "retraining". He is put with a team of officers
in similar circumstances and together they are given an unsolved case to work
on. This turns out to be one in which many of the team are already involved,
and they all have their own secrets that they wish to keep hidden.É Dramatized
by Bert Coules and starring Ron Donachie as Detective Inspector John Rebus.
Directed by Bruce Young. Black
& Blue Inspector
John Rebus investigates the murder of a North Sea oil worker in Edinburgh,
with ramifications that include an old and new serial killer, an
investigative TV program claiming a miscarriage of justice and vicious
gangland drug operations. Then these seemingly unrelated strands begin to
come together É Dramatized
by Chris Dolan and starring Ron Donachie as Detective Inspector John Rebus.
Directed by Bruce Young. Strip
Jack A
police raid on an Edinburgh brothel captures (seemingly by accident) popular
young local MP Gregor Jack. When Jack's fiery wife Elizabeth disappears, and
two bodies are found, suspicion falls on a famous local actor Rab Kinnoul.
Detective Inspector John Rebus is sympathetic to the MP's problems, and
interviews a member of Jacks' social circle, Andrew MacMillan, who is locked
up in a psychiatric hospital after murdering his own wife many years before.
It becomes increasingly evident that somebody has 'set up' Jack, with the
intention of stripping him of his good name, political standing and maybe
even his life. Dramatized
by Chris Dolan and starring Ron Donachie as Detective Inspector John Rebus.
Directed by Bruce Young. Want
to check out an episode? - why not "taste & try"? The
episode available for download below is the first from the Black &
Blue dramatization. An intriguing
set-up gives weight to the opinion that this is on of the best Rebus stories.
Interestingly it was the Black & Blue novel which really "took off" in terms of
sales (compared to the previous books). This
episode can be freely downloaded to your computer - just right button click
on any link below and chose "Download Linked File" (or words to
that effect). The file is on an average about 23Mb - download time will
depend on your (broadband) speed IRRBAB_2008-06-28
Episode No. 1.mp3 This
MP3 CD consist of all 5 BBC Rebus dramatizations. Also
included is a 2007 interview with Ian Rankin which coincides with the 20
anniversary of the publication of his first Rebus book. Running for 30
minutes, Rankin talks candidly about the development of the Rebus character
and his plans for the 17th (and, at the time, untitled) novel
which supposedly sees the final instalment for this legendary crime-fighter
from Edinburgh. A. Let
It Bleed (3 x approx 30 mins) 1. IRRLIB_1999-05-31
Episode No. 1.mp3 2. IRRLIB_1999-05-31
Episode No. 2.mp3 3. IRRLIB_1999-05-31
Episode No. 3.mp3 B. The
Falls (4 x approx 30 mins) 1. IRRTF_2003-01-25
Episode No. 1.mp3 2. IRRTF_2003-01-25
Episode No. 2.mp3 3. IRRTF_2003-02-01
Episode No. 3.mp3 4.
IRRTF_2003-02-01 Episode No. 4.mp3 C. Resurrection
Men (4 x approx 30 mins) 1. IRRRM_2004-06-26
Episode No. 1.mp3 2. IRRRM_2004-06-26
Episode No. 2.mp3 3. IRRRM_2004-07-03
Episode No. 3.mp3 4. IRRRM_2004-07-03
Episode No. 4.mp3 D. Black
& Blue (4 x approx 30 mins) 1. IRRBAB_2008-06-28
Episode No. 1.mp3 2. IRRBAB_2008-06-28
Episode No. 2.mp3 3. IRRBAB_2008-07-05
Episode No. 3.mp3 4. IRRBAB_2008-07-05
Episode No. 4.mp3 E. Strip
Jack (4 x approx 30 mins) 1. IRRSJ_2010-08-07
Episode No. 1.mp3 2. IRRSJ_2010-08-07
Episode No. 2.mp3 3. IRRSJ_2010-08-14
Episode No. 3.mp3 4. IRRSJ_2010-08-14
Episode No. 4.mp3 F. Interview
with Ian Rankin (30 mins) 1. IRRI_2007
Ian Rankin Interview.mp3 |