Rab C. Nesbitt

Rab C. Nesbitt
Genre Comedy
Created by Ian Pattison
Starring Gregor Fisher
Elaine C. Smith
Iain Robertson
Andrew Fairlie
Brian Pettifer
Eric Cullen
Barbara Rafferty
Tony Roper
Theme music composer David McNiven
Opening theme Theme from Rab C. Nesbitt
Ending theme Theme from Rab C. Nesbitt
Country of origin Scotland
Original language(s) English/Glaswegian Scots
No. of series 10
No. of episodes 66 (inc. 6 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Colin Gilbert
Location(s) Govan, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
Running time 30-50 minutes
Release
Original network BBC Two Scotland 1990-2014
BBC One Scotland 1988
Picture format 576i (4:3) (1988–1998)
576i (16:9) (1999)
1080i (16:9) (20082014)
Audio format Stereo
Original release Original series:
21 December 198818 June 1999
Revival series:
23 December 20082 January 2014
Chronology
Preceded by Naked Video

Rab C. Nesbitt is a Scottish comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice.[1] Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character in the BBC Two Scotland sketch series Naked Video (1986–1990).

Background

The pilot episode, made for BBC Scotland in 1988, was a Christmas special entitled Rab C Nesbitt's Seasonal Greet, which was broadcast on 21 December 1988 and then repeated on the network the following year. The first series began on 27 September 1990 and continued for seven more, ending on 18 June 1999 and returning with a one-off special on 23 December 2008.[2] A ninth series of six episodes began airing on 21 January 2010.

The special sees several important developments, which carry on into the series: Gash now has a daughter, Peaches; Mary and Ella have set up in business together as cleaners (and Jamesie, Rab and sometimes Gash all work for their company, House Mice); and Rab himself has converted to Christianity and given up alcohol. The show's return received a good critical response and high audience figures,[3] leading to a tenth series being commissioned by the BBC for broadcast in 2011. Filming for the series commenced in February 2010, and began broadcasting in October 2011.[4] Following a two-year break, Elaine C. Smith confirmed on her Twitter page that a new year's special had completed filming on 10 October 2013, and was aired on BBC Two on 2 January 2014.

Ian Pattison created and wrote all 65 episodes, and Colin Gilbert produced and directed all 65 episodes as well. They approached darker topics than usually encountered in sitcoms (although almost always in a blackly comedic manner rather than a serious one). Such topics ranged from alcoholism to Neo Nazis to STDs.[4] Often several normally unapproachable subjects were used in the same episode. The series is also known for its uncompromising use of Glaswegian accents and dialect, and its technique of breaking the fourth wall by frequently having Rab address the viewer directly.

The series has featured guest appearances from the likes of Norman Lovett, Peter Mullan, Rikki Fulton, Anita Dobson, Timothy Spall, Stanley Baxter, Kevin McNally, Clive Russell, Jerry Sadowitz, Viv Lumsden, Sylvester McCoy, Russell Hunter, Peter Capaldi and then-unknowns David Tennant, Ashley Jensen, Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill, Karen Dunbar, Jane McCarry and Paul Riley. The series was taken live on tour in 1991, known as Rab C. Nesbitt: In the Flesh, thus meaning that no series was broadcast that year. A live recording of the tour was released on VHS in 1992 as Rab C. Nesbitt: Live. Two script books accompanying the series have also been released, alongside Rab's autobiography, a novel entitled A Stranger Here Myself.

Cast and characters

The Nesbitt family

The Cotter family

Pub regulars

Recurring cast members

Notable one-time characters

Episodes

Series/special Episodes Original broadcast Network
Seasonal Greet 1 31 December 1988 BBC One Scotland
1 6 27 September 19901 November 1990 BBC Two Scotland
Fitba 1 31 December 1990
2 6 14 May 199218 June 1992
Home 1 31 December 1992
3 6 16 November 199321 December 1993
4 6 19 September 199424 October 1994
More 1 29 December 1994
5 6 5 January 19969 February 1996
6 6 1 August 19975 September 1997
7 6 21 August 199825 September 1998
8 6 14 May 199918 June 1999
Clean 1 23 December 2008
9 6 21 January 201025 February 2010
10 6 5 October 20119 November 2011
Hoodie 1 2 January 2014

Ratings

Series 7

Episode Airdates
Total viewers
(in millions)
Rank
1
21 August 1998
3.70
5
2
28 August 1998
3.23
5
3
4 September 1998
2.73
8
4
11 September 1998
2.94
10
5
18 September 1998
3.16
13
6
25 September 1998
3.46
5

Series 8

Episode Airdates
Total viewers
(in millions)
Rank
1
14 May 1999
2.71
11
2
21 May 1999
3.09
9
3
28 May 1999
2.80
9
4
4 June 1999
2.70
11
5
11 June 1999
2.47
8
6
18 June 1999
2.20
19

Series 9

Episode Airdates
Total viewers
(in millions)
Rank
Clean
23 December 2008
3.70
2
1
21 January 2010
2.28
24
2
28 January 2010
2.02
25
3
4 February 2010
1.94
27
4
11 February 2010
N/A
N/A
5
18 February 2010
1.66
30
6
25 February 2010
1.74
27

Series 10

Episode Airdates
Total viewers
(in millions)
Rank
1
5 October 2011
2.32
7
2
12 October 2011
1.92
16
3
19 October 2011
N/A
N/A
4
26 October 2011
N/A
N/A
5
2 November 2011
N/A
N/A
6
9 November 2011
N/A
N/A
Hoodie
2 January 2014
2.32
16

DVD releases

The first five series were initially released on VHS in the 1990s, with each series being split into two parts, with three episodes on each video. "Seasonal Greet" and "Fitba" were each released on separate VHS volumes. A "best of" compilation was also released on VHS. DVD releases of the series began in July 2004, with John Williams productions issuing series one through five on DVD, with "Seasonal Greet" available on a separate DVD volume, and "Fitba" and "Home" being released together on a separate DVD volume. A complete box set of series one through five was later released, including "Fitba" and "Home" but omitting "Seasonal Greet". 2|Entertain then purchased the rights to the series, releasing series six through eight on separate DVD volumes, and all together as one DVD box set, on 15 October 2007. 2|Entertain released "Clean" on DVD three days after its initial airing on TV. In 2009, a complete box set of series one through eight and all subsequent specials was released, making "More" available on DVD for the first time ever. DVDs of series nine and ten were subsequently issued in 2010 and 2011 respectively, leaving the 2014 special the only episode yet to be released on DVD.

Series Episodes DVD release date
Region 2 Discs
Seasonal Greet 1 29 November 2004 1
1 6 5 July 2004 1
2 6 18 October 2004 1
Fitba & Home 2 26 February 2007 1
3 6 28 May 2005 1
4 6 1 August 2005 1
5 6 4 December 2006 1
1-5 32 8 October 2007 6
6 6 15 October 2007 1
7 6 15 October 2007 1
8 6 15 October 2007 1
6-8 18 15 October 2007 3
Clean 1 26 December 2008 1
1-8 53 19 October 2009 10
9 6 1 March 2010 1
10 6 12 December 2011 1
Hoodie 1 TBA TBA

Influence

Johnny Depp based his Glaswegian accent for the role of Tarrant Hightopp, The Mad Hatter in the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland, on Rab C Nesbitt’s.[5]

References

  1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/7738102/Rab-C-Nesbitt-to-return-for-10th-series.html
  2. 'Rab C Nesbitt' to return on BBC Two Digital Spy, 23 August 2008
  3. Rab C. writer on show's return -The Sun, 19 January 2010
  4. 1 2 Gregor Fisher on Rab C Nesbitt - The Telegraph, 15 January 2010
  5. MacDonald, Stuart (14 March 2010). "Rab C Nesbitt inspired Mad Hatter accent says Johnny Depp". The Sunday Times (London). Archived from the original on 15 November 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2010.

External links

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