DVD/TV Series Review: Due South: The Ultimate Collection

 

Due South was a buddy-cop series that ran from 1994 to 1999. The first two seasons aired on CBS and the final season(s), which was really one long 26-episode season) aired in syndication from 1997-1999. The show was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural but did have some serial aspects that carried over throughout the series.  The series actually started as a made-for-tv movie that aired on CBS, and when it did better than expected in the ratings it was picked up by CBS. The premise is that a member of the Canadian Mounties (played by Gordon Pinsent)  is shot and killed in the Canadian wilderness. His son, a straight-laced Canadian Mountie named Benton Frasier (played by Paul Gross) investigates his father's death, which leads him to Chicago where he enlists the help of the detective assigned to the case, Ray Vecchio (played by David Marciano). When Frasier helps Ray solve one of his cases, Ray agrees to help Frasier with the investigation. Fraiser ends up staying in Chicago, working at the Canadian Consulate and along with his wolf, Diefenbaker, helping Ray solve cases as a liaison to the Chicago police. During the series, Pinsent would return as a ghost or hallucination of Benton's and "help" and/or irritate his son. The show was a mix of comedy, action, and drama and did very well with the "fish out of water" as Benton was overly helpful and polite in the harshness of Chicago. The show blended elements of comedy, drama, and action perfectly.

The key to the show was that it was always well-acted. Even in the last season after David Marciano left and the story became a little more campy, the acting was always great. One thing I had forgotten was how many guest appearances were made on the show. Leslie Nielsen was the big one, who appeared in a few different episodes. But Ryan Phillipe and Mark Ruffalo also guest starred in very early roles for both of them, as well as Maria Bello, Carrie-Ann Moss, and Malina Kanakaredes. Callum Kieth Renne joined the series in the third (and if you count it, the fourth season) when Marciano could not agree on a new contract.

I originally thought that the show should have gone on longer, but after watching the series again from beginning to end, I think that the show went out at exactly the right time. It told as many stories as possible, without getting extremely repetitive. It was definitely a show that was always being kept alive. It barely got a second season on CBS, then survived a couple more in syndication. A couple of the episodes from the series are on my list of all-time favorite TV episodes. 

In the end, I felt it did a fine job wrapping up everyone's stories and leaving the "continued adventures" to the imagination. It was one of the best series on the air at the time. It did not rely on gratuitous sex and violence to be entertaining. The stories always had a point, and the acting was great. It was a very underrated series, is definitely worth watching, and deserves a spot in any fan's collection.

DVD Review: Due South Season 2

 

The second season of Due South was the last one to be broadcast on CBS. It kept the case-of-the-week procedural format but did have callbacks to prior storylines. One of which resulted in the wonderful mid-season episode Juliet is Bleeding, which returned to the storyline between Ray and Frank Zuko, and guest-starred Carrie Ann Moss, who would of course go on to star in The Matrix in a few years. The Victoria storyline was mentioned a couple of times but never revisited, which I think was unfortunate. This season also introduced new characters that would appear multiple times throughout the series' remaining run including Camilla Scott as Fraiser's new boss, Inspector Thatcher, and bringing back the compulsive liar, Ian MacDonald, from season one. Leslie Nielsen also made his first appearance as the Mountie Sgt. Buck Frobisher. Romana Milano who played Ray's sister Franchesca also had a larger role this season.

The DVD series does not include any extras, just the episodes. The season continued to be well-written and acted. In the second season, the show was mostly still serious, with some comedic elements mixed in. It was not until after the CBS cancellation and picked up by Alliance and aired in Canada and in syndication in the US that it transitioned into a dramedy. As the show does not stream anywhere (that I am aware of) if you want it getting the DVDs is the only way to watch it these days (as I do not think it plays in syndication any longer either). It is definitely worth the pickup.

DVD/TV Series Review: Due South Season One

 

Due South was a twist on the cop-buddy drama created by Paul Haggis back in the mid-1990s. It was supposed to just be a two-part TV movie, but when it aired on CBS it got good enough ratings that it was picked up for a regular series run. It starred Paul Gross as Benton Fraiser a tried and true member of the Royal Candian Mounted Police. When his father, also a mountie, is killed he traces the killer to Chicago and enlists the help of a wise-cracking detective, Ray Vecchio, played by David Marciano. Fraiser ends up installed at the Canadian consulate in Chicago, and along with Ray, his wolf, and the hallucination of his dead father (played by Gordon Pinsent) solve crimes with their clashing styles providing hilarity along the way.

The show was very well-written and acted. It had a good blend of action, comedy, and drama. It also served as the big break for a lot of actors that would hit it big after appearing on the show including Mark Ruffalo, Maria Bello, Carrie Anne Moss, Jonathan Banks, Melina Kanakaredes, and Ryan Phillipe. Leslie Nielsen made numerous appearances, and the show would also It also include numerous recognizable character actors including Beau Starr, Dean McDermott.

The first couple of seasons were more of a straight drama with some comedy mixed in. Later in the show's run, it was more of a dramedy, with the comedy being more silly. The first season was almost exclusively a case-of-the-week procedural, but events from prior episodes do get referenced. The season ends with really a three-part series of episodes that are set up earlier in the season when Fraiser regales the other detectives with the story of the love that got away. All of the actors get to show off their acting chops at some point during the season with Marciano's standout episode being "The Deal" in which he confronts the local mob boss who was a spoiled brat that he grew up with as a kid.

The show was definitely not a carbon copy of anything else. While it did have some of the themes that nearly all buddy-cop dramas have it was definitely different. It was one of the only shows that included indigenous people and/or customs (Northern Exposure being the other one that easily comes to mind) on a fairly regular basis, and having the straight-laced, polite, by the book Mountie play off the mouthy cop not adverse to cutting corners worked well. It also had a very good soundtrack. The DVD presentation is okay but does not have any extras. Given, however, that the show does not stream anywhere that I know of, if you want to watch the show, grab the DVD set when you can.