Rebus on TV, this time Fleshmarket Close...

Now, I watched "The Falls" just after reading the book.  I watched the episode based on "Fleshmarket Close" tonight, a really long time after reading the book.  So what I am saying is this:  I cannot remember the detail of the book so much and thus I am likely to be far less critical of the latest episode than I was before.

And so it is thus...

I still rate Stott as Rebus (very highly) and Claire Price as Siobhan.  And I know they have to find a way to give every detective a quirk, a difference etc., but honestly, in this series and particularly in this episode, they way overdid it on sexism.  There were so many bad comments to Siobhan from supects, but even Rebus treated the poor woman as a PA, and a drudge, if I'm honest here.  No PA today would accept a request to bring the latest forensic report to the Oxford Bar so Rebus could take a look at it.  No PA today, or Detective Sergeant come to that, would accept a direction to "pay the man" to look after the boss's car.  And Siobhan has it bad financially.  She scooped the cash to pay "the man" as well as the round of drinks in the Oxford Bar when Rebus wanted to review that forensic report.  I hope the expenses policy is in her favour!

Really, if you watch an episode of Morse from the 80s, the women are power-shouldered
(if not full power-suited), but still making a life for themselves without the hindrance of sexism that was so evident then.  They were fighting it all and Dexter met it full on, with good plots to match.

Now we have "Rebus", a series of the new millennium, with Siobhan a victim of a culture of blatant sexism.  Not quite within the date I think...  Get a grip writers, please.  And don't concentrate on the legal cases you see in the news.  Those are the now and the "big fight" was then; the book was in between.

Oh, how I hated seeing Siobhan as the perfect drudge  - she was never that and will never be that.

But for the rest of it - OK, honestly.  Good telly.  Not sure about the plot being worthy of the book, but that's book to telly and one and a half hours of escapism on the screen.

I enjoyed the telly version.  But I still hate the character of Siobhan being treated in that way...

Otherwise, thumbs up!  I enjoyed it.