Due South: season 1 (ep. 0-6)
{FILM DIARY}
Note: Please refer to this post for more details and links to other Due South reviews.
"Due South" (Canada/USA, 1994)
Viewed: late May 2010 & early June 2010
Rating: +1 (Loved It)
Video
Episodes:
- 0: Pilot
Fraser comes to Chicago to make sure the murderer of his father is found and convicted.
- 1: Free Willy
Fraser convinces Ray to help him save a 12-year-old purse snatcher from being unjustly charged with a bank robbery.
- 2: Diefenbaker’s Day Off
Fraser tries to help 6-year-old Lucy who is worried about her father’s strange injuries. Journalist Mackenzie King suspects Fraser is part of a large insurance scam. Diefenbaker roams the streets without a license.
- 3: Manhunt
Buck Frobisher, a close friend of Fraser’s father, goes missing one week before his retirement.
- 4: They Eat Horses, Don’t They?
Fraser realizes that the meat in a local supermarket is actually horse meat and enlists Ray’s help to solve the case.
- 5: Pizzas and Promises
Fraser and Ray go undercover as used cars salesmen to find out who stole the car of a pizza boy on parole.
- 6: Chinatown
Ray and Fraser solve a kidnapping case in Chinatown.
Memorable Moments:
- Fraser doing guard duty at the Canadian consulate
I love the concept of Fraser standing there without being able to move. It makes for some great humoristic situations throughout the series.
- Fraser gets shot in the hat (video)
The conversation between Ray and Fraser is priceless :)
- Lieutenant Welsh’s sarcasm
Welsh amuses me almost every time he comes on screen. He’s so real (I can easily imagine a boss being like that) and yet so funny.
- Ray in the shower
Ray takes a shower while Fraser’s in the bathroom talking to him and Ray’s whole family keep interrupting. I loved that scene *grin*
- Ray and Fraser get found in the closet (video)
Elaine finds Ray and Fraser in the closet - how much better can it get? ;)
General Comments:
It’s interesting to watch the early episodes now. I’m surprised at how conventional the initial concept was. It wasn’t until later that they started mixing things up and making the whole thing feel insane which is when I fell in love with it *grin*
Initially, it seemed like Due South was meant to be just another police detective series, but with a Canadian twist. The pilot episode is very cliché - Fraser is the pure hero taking revenge for his father’s death (although perhaps a little less violently than would usually be the convention), while Ray Vecchio is the sidekick that brings in most of the comic relief. I tend to associate Due South with its particular brand of humour, but the pilot doesn’t even feature that. The jokes in the pilot are few and far between and the few comedic repartees between Ray and Fraser are very conventional.
After the pilot it gets much better - they started introducing some of the absurd humour that I associate Due South with (as well as using more humour in general), but they were still playing safe. The comedic dynamic between Fraser and Ray remains relatively conventional and crude. Fraser, for the most part, is still the classic and pure hero, although he does have some amusing quirks. And Ray is the comic relief, his character doesn’t really get explored on any other level.
