Like the US, British television has its share of detective shows.  Some are excellent, such as Cracker and Wire in the Blood, and some are solid entertainment like The Last Detective staring Peter Davison.  Then there's Rebus.  Based on a series of books by author Ian Rankin, Rebus is an aging Scottish detective who investigates murders in the streets of Edinburgh.  Unfortunately the characters in the show aren't very engaging, and the mysteries aren't very that intriguing which makes the show a bit on the dull side.

This set comprises the first two episodes of this show, and this is the second time a show has been based on the character.  Rebus (Ken Stott) is an aging detective in Edinburgh who has a young attractive partner Siobhan Clarke (Claire Price).  In the first case, entitled The Falls, the pair investigates a serial killer.  Someone is killing random people by tying them to chairs, slicing their arms open and watching them bleed to death.  After a bit of searching however, they discover that the victims aren't so random after all, and it seems to be related to a case of insect that occurred decades ago.

The second story, Fleshmarket Close, involves immigrants living in public housing where there is a lot of tension.  When a girl from Cairo goes missing, Rebus and Siobhan look into it and though they don't discover the girl, a dead body does turn up.  That's only the start as extortion, suicide, and murder seem to be the order of the day in the housing compound.

This show just didn't work for the most part.  Unlike many other detective shows, the main character doesn't have any personality traits that make him interesting, and he doesn't even come across as a great investigator.  In the first episode he and his partner miss the obvious for a good half of the show, and in the second he doesn't so much solve the mystery as be in the right place as the answer unravels.  His personality is bland too.  Unlike Fitz in Cracker he doesn't have any character flaws that make him interesting, and neither does he have to battle against unbeatable odds like DC Davies in The Last Detective.  The only thing that sets him apart from everyone else is that he's had a fairly active sexual life and is constantly running into old girlfriends.  This is played as more of a running gag than a way to make the character three dimensional though.

Okay, so the detective isn't as exciting as we would like, that doesn't ruin a show if there are enticing mysteries.  Unfortunately the two cases presented in this set are fairly bland as far as detective shows go.  Both of them get bogged down with a large cast of characters, especially the second episode.  In that installment it got to the point where I really didn't care who killed whom, I just wanted the show to end.  Not the hallmark of a good show.

These two episodes, each running about 70 minutes, come on a pair of single sided DVDs.  Each disc comes in its own keepcase and the pair are housed in a thin pressboard slipcase.  I wish they had put both episodes on a single disc though, as it is these two shows take up too much room.

Audio:

This disc comes with a stereo soundtrack in English.  Unfortunately, there are no subtitles and this film could have used them.  Ken Stott has a rather thick accent, and when he speaks quickly or in low tones, it can be hard to understand what he's saying.  At least it was for this yank.  I never could make out what he promised his girlfriend to make her stay when he showed up late in the first episode.  This make the show a little hard to watch, and not nearly as entertaining as it would be otherwise.  Aside from that defect, the show sounds average.  The range was rather narrow but since the show is mainly dialog based that wasn't a particularly grievous fault.  There wasn't any distortion or other noticeable audio defects.  Not an outstanding audio track, but not a bad on either.

Video:

Like the audio, the 1.78 anamorphically enhanced image was about average.  The definition and detail was fine, but the picture wasn't particularly sharp.  The colors were acceptable and digital defects were limited to some minor aliasing.  Overall an solid transfer.

Extras:

The only extras included with this set ate a biography of author Ian Rankin, a trailer, and filmographies of the cast.

Final Thoughts:

While this show isn't painful to watch, there isn't really anything to recommend it either.  The detective is bland and lifeless and the mysteries aren't that mysterious and never really grab the viewers attention.  They are filled with so many characters who have some sort of relationship with each other that it's hard to keep everyone straight without taking notes.  If it's a mystery you're looking for, there are many better ones out there.  I'd skip this one.