Due South

I have long since packed away the Due South videotapes I own and stashed them in an unobtrusive corner, but that didn't stop me from checking out the IMDb entry and the fans' comments while surfing through here. I want to put in my two cents worth because I loved that show and I hope that one or two other persons who read this will seek it out and come to enjoy it too. Other fans have written great things about the overall quality and the subtle humor of the series - two of the best reasons to watch, so I shall stick to how I feel about the show.

Due South is a courageous show. Week after week, the writers put the comically unflappable Mountie Fraser in center court, fighting crime in his bright red ceremonial uniform. This raised eyebrows and started snickers. It was ridiculed for its ostentatiously feel-good storylines and ignored as "another one of those cop buddy series". But those who overcame their initial cynicism and stayed to watch a full hour of the show discovered a gem. The message of the show was - don't be afraid to show what's in your heart and mind. Due South the series, by being on air and gaining a loyal following, led by example.

Due South promotes old fashioned virtues. Mountie Fraser opens doors and helps old ladies cross streets. He always goes the extra mile for everyone he knows. Detractors claimed that the character was cartoonish. But again, they missed the point. I am reminded of a forwarded e-mail that encouraged the reader to wear bright colored clothes to improve the mood, spike the energy level and increase productivity in general. Another e-mail said to smile frequently so that one will feel better about oneself and be attractive to others at the same time. Due South embodies the spirit of those quaint but universally sound advice. You bring out the best in others by exhibiting the best in yourself. In our modern world of depressing grays and browns, Fraser's scarlet served as a flashing reminder that passion, over any issue, causes us to care about others and may yet redeem us from the selfish, individualistic blackhole that society is sleepwalking towards.

And my favorite reason, Due South is about friendship. Fraser and Ray took bullets for each other. I can recall a few other cop and soldier shows that had the lead characters do the same but more often than not, it's done to grandstand the machismo of the protagonists. Due South says what's really important is to be a hero for your loved ones, the people who actually need that from you. In real life, those who were passionate about the show became good friends, making full use of the (then) infant Internet to clamor for the revival of the show after its first season. I made friends with fantastic people who shared my love for Due South, people who understood and placed a high value on the kind of "through thick and thin" relationship that the show emphasized.

Due South resounds with the hope that we will remember to have love in our hearts and empathy in our actions. It doesn't try to shock or sensationalize. Instead, it requires the viewer to reflect a little after the television set is switched off. It appeals to the brain as much as it does to the heart and the funny bone. It will always be one of the best shows I know.

I loved the show first-run and was thrilled last December (2002) when a local tv station in southern Sweden began to replay every episode as a daily filler. It's extremely clever, with wonderful, witty dialogue. The exchanges that Fraser has with the deaf Dief and his father's ghost are priceless as is the subtle (and not so subtle) sarcasm.

Just a few complaints:

*My favorite storyline was "Victoria's Secret" -- but what happened to Victoria? There should have been an ending there.

*By the time I got used to the "other" Ray (Stanley) being in the cast, they made him cartoonish and dumb.

*I think at the end, there was too much junk about women mooning over Frasure. All the googly-eyed stuff from his superior just plain embarassed me.

*Fraser should have ended up with a woman -- a good woman who would make him more human and save him from his own perfection.

It was a clever, clever bit to use actor Paul Gross' (Fraser) real-life wife as the ghost of his mother in the last episode. I have read that Gross "is sick of" this show and resents being remembered for it. If it's true, that's a shame. "Due South" will forever be one of my favorite television programs.

The appeal of this show is very difficult to put into a few paragraphs. Its an extended modernizing of Shakespeare's Hamlet, only the Prince in this case is a Canadian Mountie, sent to Chicago to pursue his fathers killers, haunted by his father's ghost. It's more light hearted than it sounds, Benton Fraser(the Mountie) begins to get more acquainted with his father in death than he ever had been in life, courtesy of journals and interacting with Fraser Senior's ghost. The characters are both exaggerated but ultimately very believeable and Benton Fraser is by far one of the most intriguing fictional characters I have seen on television. The first season especially really does ask probing questions and deal with issues, notably the last 3 episodes featuring Fraser's warped love affair with a woman he had to imprison!

Many episodes are modernized derivatives from notable literature, one case is an episode entitled "Gift of the Wheelman", a reference to "Gift of the Magi" featuring the wheelman in a bankrobbery throwing his life away in exchange for the loot to give his son (played by Ryan Phillipe in his first major appearance) whom only wants his father's company and compassion. If you have the means you should really check into this show, if you are an avid reader it's incredible. Next to the Simpsons this is my favorite television series to date.

In my opinion this is probably the best TV show ever made, which explains why it didn't last that long. Originality is the key even though it sits within the much copied police genre. A mountie, on the trail of his fathers killer, winds up in Chicago where he befriends a streetwise detective and together they solve the crimes, both big and small, of the Windy City. It's the fact that humour and characterisation take first place over gritty realism (Overrated to be honest) that separates it from, well, every other cop show ever made. Benton Fraser is undeniably one of the greatest characters ever to grace the small screen and his relationship with Ray Vecchio is both touching and humourous. I admit that the dramatic episodes, such as 'Victoria's Secret' and the magnificent 'Juliet is Bleeding' overwhelm the other, lighter, episodes but that is simply because they are so brilliantly written. When Ray and Fraser are sat in the hospital at the end of 'Juliet' and Ray speaks out about his childhood romance with the deceased Irene (Incidentally played by 'The Matrix's' Carrie Anne Moss) you can honestly feel his pain and the expression on Frasers face says more than any amount of comforting words could. It's little scenes like that which show up the show as truly great and worthy of more than three seasons. My favourite scene however, is at the end of 'The Deal' when, after Fraser is badly beaten by the local Mafia boss, Ray takes revenge on his age old nemesis by humiliating him in front of his subordinates, even though he knows that that action might cost him his life. The bonds of friendship between the two have always been shown to be tighter than steel, that's why the show was so great.The acting too was always top notch and if life is even remotely fair both Gross and Marciano should have no problem finding other work. I love this show and it always made me feel good inside. Even though it's gone I'll always have a special place in my heart for it's warmth and humour. It will be sorely missed.

"Less is more" is the concept that makes this series so compelling and fun to watch. The cast displays rare talent, with Paul Gross portraying a unique leading man, a refreshing change from other carbon-copy cop shows. Gordon Pinsent, as his ghost-of-a-father, is delightful and completely at ease as he appears to Gross to guide, advise and torment. He is, indeed, one of the most underused and underrated actors of our time. This series is a perfect example of what good quality television the United States is missing.