Due South
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- This article concerns the television program. For the television listings magazine, see Due South Magazine
| due South | |
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 Due South title screen |
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| Format | Comedy-drama |
| Created by | Paul Haggis |
| Starring | Paul Gross David Marciano Callum Keith Rennie |
| Country of origin |  Canada |
| No. of episodes | 67 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 minutes approx. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CTV CBS |
| Original run | September 22, 1994 – December 10, 1999 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Due South is an award-winning Canadian television police comedy-drama created by Paul Haggis and produced by Alliance Communications (now part of Alliance Atlantis), first aired in 1994. It followed the adventures of fictional Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Constable Benton Fraser and his half-wolf companion Diefenbaker living and working in Chicago. Fraser's methods, usually more sensitive and understanding than is typical for police work, gave the series a reputation for well rounded characters.
Being overly polite, Fraser's probably best known short quotes were: 'thank you kindly'; when he found himself in trouble – an understated 'oh dear'; and when faced with contradictory circumstances from other characters – an all knowing and eloquently stated 'understood'. Another humorous angle of the show was that his sidekick wolf Diefenbaker, though deaf, could read lips.
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[edit] History
Due South originally debuted as a made for television movie aired on CTV in Canada and CBS in the United States. After higher than anticipated ratings Due South was turned into a continuing drama series with its first season launching late in 1994. It was the first Canadian-made series to earn a prime time slot on a major US network.
After the 24 episode first season CBS cancelled the series but due to the show's success in Canada and the United Kingdom the production company raised sufficient money for a second 18 episode season which ran from 1995 - 1996. The show was once again shown on CBS in late 1995 (CBS ordered an additional five episodes but aired only four of them) but again in 1996 CBS refused to renew the series.
After a one year hiatus CTV revived the series in 1997 with international investment (from the BBC, Pro Sieben AG in Germany, and the French company TF1) and it ran for two further seasons until 1999. In the United States seasons three and four were packaged together as a single third (26 episode) season for syndication. The post 1997 episodes could be considered a spinoff from the original series but were in fact titled as Season Three and Season Four of the original series. Despite critical acclaim and a consistently warm reception by American audiences Due South never became a huge hit in the United States; however it was one of the highest rated regular series ever aired on a Canadian network and remains highly regarded and popular in the United Kingdom where it was aired on BBC2 between 1996 and 2002 and on ITV3 from 2006.
[edit] Story overview
The basic premise of the series centers on an Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) constable named Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) who travels to Chicago to solve the murder of his father; this is how he first meets his soon-to-be partner, Ray Vecchio (David Marciano), a tough, streetwise cop. Accompanied by his half-wolf Diefenbaker (who adopted Fraser after saving his life, and is deaf, but can read lips), the investigation leads Fraser to uncover a plot by a company building a dam that is slowly killing the environment. This leads to the dam being shut down and many people losing their jobs. He also implicates corrupt members of the RCMP in the affair. This along with the loss of so many peoples' jobs makes him persona non grata in Canada, and he chooses to live in Chicago. This plot line is referred to repeatedly during the series, and from season 3 on he introduces himself to many by saying:
I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father and, for reasons which don't need exploring at this juncture, I have remained, attached as liaison to the Canadian consulate.
Benton Fraser is the archetypal Mountie, dogged, polite, and compulsively truthful; the themes of the series often featured his rigid moral code being tested by the realities of Chicago life. A little more unusual is his encyclopedic knowledge of virtually everything, however obscure (this is attributed to his grandparents having been librarians), a range of uncanny abilities, most notably his ability to sniff and lick refuse from the streets to gain clues about crimes, the way he can fall into a dumpster or other waste heap and emerge looking like he was 'hand laundered,' and the way every woman he encounters falls madly in love with him, including his boss Margaret (Meg) Thatcher and Ray's sister Francesca; his total obliviousness to this, and the fact that he rarely pursues any of the offers the ladies extend to him, is part of his charm.
The show falls somewhere between a cop show and a comedy show. Although superficially following the police drama format, the comedy derives from outrageous plots, the self-deprecating Canadian and the American stereotypes, and the occasional fantasy elements such as the regular visits paid to the Mountie by his father's ghost, whose advice varies between observant and helpful, to so maddeningly useless that Benton is moved to ask 'Are there any psychologists in the afterlife? People who can help you?' The acting is played deadpan by the actors. Much of the comedy, as well as setting much of the tone of the show, was provided by Fraser's supernormal detective ability. For instance, in one episode, Fraser tracks down a suspect by smelling the breath of a rat to detect which brand of cooked ribs it had been eating. Another recurring gag is Fraser standing guard outside the consulate, always with someone messing with him because they know he can't move or speak during this duty, or trying to talk to him because they don't understand that.
Marciano, the original Ray, did not appear in the post-1997 episodes, save for the first and last episodes, but was replaced by Callum Keith Rennie as Stanley Raymond Kowalski, a detective who was under orders to impersonate Vecchio while the real Vecchio was undercover. Marciano did return for the series finale, in which Vecchio ran off to Florida with Kowalski's ex-wife. In the last episode, the ghost of Benton's father finally solves his wife's murder. With no further crime fighting advice to give, it's time for him to depart for good. The series ends with Benton and Kowalski in search of the graves of the Franklin expedition. (This missing expedition to the far north is immortalized in Canadian folk song by Stan Rogers: 'Northwest Passage', which Paul Gross sings in the episode.)
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main characters
[edit] Guest appearances
[edit] Other notable appearancesBoth Maria Bello (reporter Mackenzie King in season 2 episode 'One Good Man') and Ryan Phillippe (Del Porter, the son of the getaway driver in Season 1 episode 'Gift of the Wheelman') went on to star in films. Amanda Tapping appeared in one episode working for a secret government organization looking for extra terrestrial life, and later went on to star in Stargate SG1, a science fiction program about a secret government organization fighting aliens. Mark Ruffalo portrayed Vinnie Webber, a mixed-up father, in the season 1 episode 'A Cop, a Mountie, and a Baby.' Jane Krakowski, who portrays Jenna Maroney on NBC's 30 Rock appeared in the season 1 episode 'An Invitation to Romance' Michael Hogan, who portrays Colonel Saul Tigh in the new Battlestar Galactica, appeared in the season 3 'Mountie Sings the Blues' playing a business manager for country star Michelle Wright. [edit] DiefenbakerDiefenbaker (Dief for short) is one of the major characters. He is part dog, part wolf,[3] originally from northern Canada, who now lives in Chicago with his owner, Fraser. He is named after former Prime Minister of Canada John George Diefenbaker. He has several puppies, two of whom are named Sunshine and Buster, by a husky named Maggie.[4] Diefenbaker first met Fraser when the Mountie found him in an abandoned mine. Diefenbaker later pulled Fraser out of Prince Rupert Sound, saving the Mountie's life, but also bursting the wolf's eardrums - which resulted in, according to Fraser, Diefenbaker's deafness. Whether Diefenbaker is actually deaf, and not just suffering from selective hearing, is up to the viewer. Diefenbaker is apparently able to read lips, in both English and Inuit. Diefenbaker has stayed with Fraser ever since and has gone wherever the Mountie is posted. Diefenbaker is extremely loyal to Fraser, if sometimes disobedient, and will attack someone if required to defend Fraser. He is usually quite laid back - for a wolf. Since moving to Chicago (for which Fraser's friend Detective Ray Vecchio forged him a special "wolf permit"), Diefenbaker has developed a taste for junk food, much to Fraser's despair. The role of Diefenbaker was played in the pilot movie by a mixed breed named Newman, then in the rest of seasons 1 and 2 by a purebred Siberian Husky named Lincoln.[5] When the show was brought back for seasons 3 and 4, Lincoln was replaced by another purebred Siberian Husky named Draco[6], whose sister, Cinder, did most of his stunts.[7] A variety of stunt dogs were used throughout the series, and fake dogs have also been used in some scenes.[8] [9] Diefenbaker received the first fan mail for the series.[10] Draco appeared on the officially licensed merchandise t-shirt of Diefenbaker.[11] Naming this character after a famous Canadian particularly appeals to the Canadian audience of the series. Aniko Brodroghkozy asserts in an article in Hop on Pop:
[edit] ProductionFilming was mostly done in Toronto, Ontario, which was used as a stand-in for Chicago. In one episode a Toronto Transit Commission bus can be seen to pass by in the background. In others, prominent city landmarks such as the CN Tower and the Union Station can be glimpsed. [edit] SoundtrackThe producers of Due South sought to showcase various Canadian artists within the show's episodes, with many of the featured tracks eventually being released on to CD soundtrack. The original theme for the show was written and composed by Jay Semko, after which, working with Jack Lenz and John McCarthy, he went on to score the first two seasons of Due South.[13] In November 1996, the first album was released containing 17 tracks, one of which was an in-character soliloquy by Paul Gross on the subject of bravery, taken directly from the episode An Eye For an Eye. When the show returned for its third and fourth seasons Semko returned once again to complete the second soundtrack.[13] The second soundtrack album was released in June 1998 containing 16 tracks from the final two seasons. Both albums are filled largely with the vocals used in the series; most of the incidental music has not yet been released on CD.
The final scene of the series was set to Stan Rogers' 'Northwest Passage', a classic Canadian folk song. [edit] AwardsOver the four-season run of the series, Due South and its cast and crew earned a number of awards. Most significantly, the show earned 53 Gemini nominations, winning 15 in total, including Best Dramatic TV series three years running (1995-1997). Paul Gross won Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role two years running (1995-1996) and creator Paul Haggis won Best Writing in a Dramatic Series the same two years running. The following table summarizes awards won by the Due South cast and crew:
[edit] Cultural referencesThe series was known for its extensive use of in-jokes for character names. The characters who appeared over the course of the series included Dawn Charest, an RCMP inspector named Meg Thatcher (alluding to Margaret Thatcher), Doctor Esther Pearson (an allusion to Lester B. Pearson), newspaper reporter Mackenzie King, and a trio of police agents named Huey, Dewey and Louis. As well, Stanley Kowalski's wife was, unsurprisingly, named Stella. When Fraser was asked by an official for his mother's maiden name, he answered, 'Pinsent.' In the episode 'North', Steve Smith appears as a ticket agent in a small Canadian airport playing a character reminiscent of Red Green, Vecchio angrily calls him 'Mr. Funny-hat.' Finally, Fraser's pet Diefenbaker is named for a Canadian Prime Minister. The radio and television series Sergeant Preston of the Yukon was an influence on writer Paul Haggis;[14] Diefenbaker's being named after a Prime Minister may be an allusion to Sergeant Preston's dog, who was named 'King.' There are also significant resemblances to Corporal Carrot and the werewolf Angua of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.[15] The names 'Fraser' and 'Frobisher' are references to Canadian explorers, both connected to the search for commercial passages to the Pacific. Simon Fraser journeyed from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in 1808. However, the Fraser River (named after him) turned out to be unusable as a trade route. Sir Martin Frobisher was a 16th Century explorer who attempted three voyages in search of a Northwest Passage, but did not make it further than Northeastern Canada. [edit] Published media[edit] BooksDue South: The Official Companion by Geoff Tibballs was published in May 1998 containing basic information on the series and cast and brief episodes synopses up to the end of the third season. Another illustrated companion, Due South: The Official Guide by John A. Macdonald, was published in December 1998. It contains some interviews with the characters and bios of the cast. A number of paper-back novelizations of a selection of episodes by Tom McGregor were later published including, Death In The Wilderness based on the pilot movie, An Invitation to Romance based on the episodes An Invitation to Romance and Gift of the Wheelman, All The Queen's Horses based on All the Queen's Horses and Red, White or Blue, and Vaulting North based on North and Vault. [edit] VideosThe pilot two-hour movie was originally released on VHS in 1996, but individual episodes had been released prior to this throughout 1995 on VHS with two episodes per tape. Finally, in 1998, the season three and the season four two-part finales were released. In November 2002, the Due South Giftset was released containing the pilot movie and episodes Mountie on the Bounty and Call of the Wild. [edit] DVDsIn 2002, Alliance Atlantis began releasing the series on DVD, starting with the first season in Canada, followed by releases in the US. The final season was released in Canada in 2005, and part of the season three and four combination in the US. In the UK, the first season was released in January 2006,[16] and the other seasons followed later that year, including some special features such as a new documentary Ride Forever. Note that the UK release entitled Due South: The Complete Third Series does in fact contain all 26 episodes from the third and fourth seasons. Note that the US DVDs are allegedly of poorer quality than the Canadian releases; the pilot episode is included on the first season Australian, UK and US release but on the third season Canadian release.[17]
[edit] EpisodesThe following is a list of titles of the broadcast episodes broken down by seasons:
[edit] International
[edit] Show information
In the Season 2 episode "North" Steve Smith is seen as he appears in The Red Green Show (Seasons 1 - 3 and 8 - 15) and The New Red Green Show (Seasons 4 - 7) of said series.
[edit] References in other media
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
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