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Rebus (TV)

Rebus
Genre Crime drama
Created by Ian Rankin
Starring John Hannah
Ken Stott
Gayanne Potter
Claire Price
Sara Stewart
Jennifer Black
Ron Donachie
Ewan Stewart
Jenny Ryan
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 4
No. of episodes 14 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time 60–120 mins.
(inc. commercials)
Production company(s) STV Productions
(Scottish Television)
(2000-2007)
;
Clerkenwell Films
(2000-2004)
Release
Original network ITV
Original release 26 April 2000 (2000-04-26) – 7 December 2007 (2007-12-07)

Rebus is the title of the detective drama TV series based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin set in and around Edinburgh. The series was produced by STV Productions (previously known as "SMG Productions") for the ITV network.

Four series have been aired; series 1 starred John Hannah and was made for STV by his own production company, Clerkenwell Films. A new cast featuring Ken Stott as DI John Rebus was introduced for the second and subsequent series (which went into production in 2005, made in-house by STV).

The fourth and final episode was originally due for broadcast on September 20, 2001, but following terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, was indefinitely postponed, and did not air until some four years later during a re-run of the series on ITV3, having never been aired on ITV1.

"The First Stone" is the first and only story to be featured throughout the series which is not based upon a full Rebus novel, rather a novella from a collection of short stories. "Knots and Crosses" was due to be broadcast on October 19, 2007, but was postponed for reasons unknown. It was eventually broadcast on December 7, 2007.

The first four episodes, starring John Hannah, are very different in both format and style. Hannah's portrayal of Rankin's world-weary detective was questioned by many who knew the books, as he did not physically match their image of John Rebus; Hannah himself has said he felt forced into the role, having been executive producer, when his own choice for the role, Peter Mullan, was rejected by STV. However his interpretation of the inspector is acknowledged to be deeper than the later productions, using narration to expand the viewers insight into the characters thoughts, or to reveal background information, (which never occurs in Ken Stott's appearances). The earlier stories also retained the darkness of the novels and were more faithful to the original storylines, while the longer run times meant they could be less ruthless with Rankin's many asides and sub-plots.


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