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| Due South | |
|---|---|
 Due South title screen |
|
| Format | Comedy-drama |
| Created by | Paul Haggis |
| Starring | Paul Gross David Marciano Callum Keith Rennie |
| Country of origin |  Canada |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| 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 |
Due South is a Canadian television police comedy-drama from the 1990s. It was created by Paul Haggis and produced by Alliance Communications. The show first aired in 1994, and ran until 1999. It followed the adventures of fictional Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Constable Benton Fraser and his wolf companion, Diefenbaker, who find themselves 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, a wolf named Diefenbaker, though deaf, could read lips.
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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. However, CBS moved its time slot continuously, and often preempted it with other programs, so maintaining an audience was a challenge.
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, ProSiebenSat.1 Media 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 have been labelled a spin-off from the original series by some references, but were in fact titled Season Three and Season Four. 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 most highly rated regular series ever aired on a Canadian network and remains highly regarded and popular in the United Kingdom, where it was initially broadcast on BBC One in 1995,[1] and later shown on BBC Two between 1996 and 2002 and on ITV3 since 2006.
The basic premise of the series centres 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 three 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 cynical 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 completely spotless and unwrinkled, 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 helpful and absurdly useless. When the latter, Benton is moved to ask 'Are there any psychologists in the afterlife? People who can help you?' The scenes are played deadly seriously by the actors. The tone of the show and much of the comedy derived from Fraser's supernormal detective ability. For instance, in one episode, Fraser tracks down a suspect by smelling the breath of a rat to determine the brand of barbecued ribs it had been eating. Another recurring gag is Fraser standing guard motionlessly in front of the Canadian consulate, while a passerby plays attempts to make him move or speak.
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, Stella. In the last episode, Benton and his father's ghost finally solve his (Benton's) mother's murder. This results in his father's departure. 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.)
| Character | Actor/Actress | Seasons[2] |
|---|---|---|
| Constable Benton Fraser | Paul Gross | 1-4 |
| Detective Raymond Vecchio | David Marciano | 1-2,3 (1 episode) & 4 (2 episodes) |
| Diefenbaker | Newman (pilot) Lincoln (Seasons 1-2) Draco (Seasons 3-4) |
1-4 |
| Lieutenant Harding Welsh | Beau Starr | 1-4 |
| Elaine Besbriss | Catherine Bruhier | 1-3 |
| Detective Jack Huey | Tony Craig | 1-4 |
| Detective Louis Gardino | Daniel Kash | 1-2 |
| Francesca Vecchio | Ramona Milano | 1-4 |
| Inspector Meg Thatcher | Camilla Scott | 2-4 |
| Detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski | Callum Keith Rennie | 3-4 |
| Detective Thomas E. Dewey | Tom Melissis | 3-4 |
| Constable Renfield Turnbull | Dean McDermott | 2-4 |
| Sgt. Buck Frobisher | Leslie Nielsen | 1-2,4 |
| Sgt. Bob Fraser | Gordon Pinsent | 1-4 |
The show has featured a number of respected and well-known Canadian actors and celebrities, including:
In addition, the show has featured a number of guest appearances by well-known Hollywood stars, as well as actors who have since become more famous in later roles, including:
Diefenbaker (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 Inuktitut. 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:
The only reason why the use of these… names would be funny to Canadians… was because such references would be unknown to Americans who Canadian viewers knew would be watching the show in the United States.[12]
Filming was mostly done in Toronto, Ontario, which was used as a stand-in for Chicago. In many episodes 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. The U.S. Consulate in Toronto was used for exterior shots of the supposed Canadian Consulate in Chicago. In a move typical of the production, Chicago was used in one episode to represent Toronto.
The 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 bears a resemblance to the cascading chorus interlude from Deep Blue Something's Breakfast at Tiffany's. However it was written and composed by Jay Semko working with Jack Lenz and John McCarthy. Semko 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 which has been referred to as an unofficial Canadian anthem.[14]
Over 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 Canadian 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:
| Winner | Award |
|---|---|
| Paul Gross | Gemini, Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (1995) |
| Gemini, Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role (1996) | |
| Gordon Pinsent | Gemini, Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series (1996) |
| Gemini, Earle Grey Award (1997) | |
| Brent Carver | Gemini, Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role Dramatic Series (1998) |
| Wendy Crewson | Gemini, Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role Dramatic Series (1998) |
| Production Awards | Gemini, Best Dramatic TV Series - (Paul Haggis, Kathy Slevin, Jeff King) (1995) |
| Gemini, Best TV Movie - (Paul Haggis, Jean Desormeaux, Jeff King) (1995) | |
| Gemini, Best Writing in a Dramatic Series (Kathy Slevin and Paul Haggis for The Pilot) (1995) | |
| Gemini, Best Dramatic Series - (Paul Haggis, Jeff King, Kathy Slevin, George Bloomfield) (1996) | |
| Gemini, Best Writing in a Dramatic Series - (Paul Haggis and David Shore for Hawk and a Handsaw) (1996) | |
| Gemini, Best Direction in a Dramatic or Series - (Jerry Ciccoritti for Gift of the Wheelman) (1996) | |
| Gemini, Best Sound - (Brian Avery, Allen Ormerod, Keith Elliot, Michael Werth, Jann Delpuech for Victoria's Secret) (1996) | |
| Gemini, Best Dramatic Series - (Jeff King and Bob Wertheimer) (1997) | |
| Gemini, Best Writing in a Dramatic Series - (Paul Gross, Robert B. Carney, John Krizanc for Mountie on the Bounty - Part 2) (1998) | |
| Gemini, Best Visual Effects - (Jon Campfens, Barb Benoit, John Cox, Mark Savela for Call of the Wild, Part 2) (1999) |
The 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 allusion that conflates iconic ice hockey commentator Don Cherry with politician Jean Charest, who for most of the show's run was the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada), 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 (the "Dewey" was named Thomas E. Dewey, alluding to the 1940s New York governor and unsuccessful U.S. Presidential candidate). 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' a reference to the actor who plays his father, Sgt. Bob Fraser, Gordon Pinsent. In the episode 'North', Steve Smith appears as a ticket agent in a small Canadian airport playing a character reminiscent of Red Green, and is actually credited by that name, rather than Smith. Vecchio angrily calls him 'Mr. Funny-hat.' Finally, Fraser's pet Diefenbaker is named for former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
In the episode "Dead Men Don't Throw Rice," the names of real-life professional hockey players Tie Domi, Teemu Selänne, Pavel Bure, and Esa Tikkanen are mentioned as menu items in a restaurant.[15] Ironically, only Domi is a native of Canada.
The radio and television series Sergeant Preston of the Yukon was an influence on writer Paul Haggis;[16] 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.[17]
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.
Due 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.
The 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.
In 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,[18] 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.[19]
| DVD Title | Region 1 (US) | Region 1 (Canada) | Region 2 | Region 2 (France) | Region 4 (Australia/New Zealand) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Due South: Season 1 | May 20, 2003 | November 26, 2002 | January 30, 2006 | February 7, 2008 | August 16, 2006 |
| Due South: Season 2 | January 27, 2004 | August 5, 2003 | May 29, 2006 | September 29, 2007 | |
| Due South: Season 3 | October 19, 2004 | September 21, 2004 | September 4, 2006 | N/A | |
| Due South: Season 4 | September 27, 2005 | ||||
| Due South: The Complete Series | May 6, 2008 | October 23, 2006 | |||
A number of fan conventions were organized by Due South fans during the 1990s, the biggest and best known of which was RCW 139, so named after the recurring license plate number. RCW 139 was held annually in Toronto between 1996 and 1999, attracting approximately 300 fans from more than 10 countries in both 1998 and 1999. The convention featured games, discussion panels, a formal dinner, and guest panels. Numerous cast and crew members have attended, including David Marciano (1998), Paul Gross (1999), Gordon Pinsent (1998), Tom Melissis (1997, 1998, 1999), Tony Craig (1997), Catherine Bruhier (1998, 1999) and Jay Semko (1998, 1999). Furthermore, Draco (Diefenbaker) and his trainer, Gail Parker, were guests in both 1998 and 1999
After a nine year hiatus, the convention was revived in 2008, and was highlighted by guest panels from David Marciano, Jay Semko, Tom Melissis, Catherine Bruhier, and Gail Parker with Cinder, Draco's sister and stunt-double. Plans are currently underway for another RCW 139 convention, to be held in August 2010.
The following is a list of RCW 139 conventions:
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''Due South, originally a Canadian television show (1994 - 1996) , follows the comical adventures of Constable Benton Fraser, a Mountie from the Yukon Territories, and Detective Ray Vecchio,a no-nonsense cop living in Chicago. Although the series was canceled in 1996, after a year's break, it was decided that Due South would run for two additional years.
[Fraser is on duty outside of the consulate and not moving a muscle]
[The bum who borrowed $100 from Fraser at the airport walks down the sidewalk]
[The landlord yells down to Fraser and Ray]
[referring to a juvenile accused of robbery]
[Fraser gets settled in his blankets on the floor]
[pause]
[after leaving Mr. Hamlin's office]
[Morgan is holding Ray at gunpoint, as Fraser appears]
[Morgan has just shot Fraser. Ray runs over to check Fraser out and we see a shocked expression on Fraser's face]
[Fraser looks slightly uncomfortable at Ray's comment]
Fraser: [Sees 'no dogs' sign outside of
restaurant] Oh, dear. [To Dief] You see that sign?
That includes you.
[Dief growls]
Fraser: No, no, no, you can't take that attitude!
It's a health regulation, there's a very good reason for it.
Vecchio: Yeah - you stink!
Fraser: Ray, please. He's already feeling
excluded.
Vecchio: Well, he should feel excluded. He's an
animal!
[Dief whines]
Fraser: Well, there you go. Now you've done it.
Satisfied?
Vecchio: Strangely, yes!
Vecchio: Oh, no, Benny, not the window! I don't think they have doors in Canada.
Fraser: Sir, perhaps I can be of
assistance?
Agent Ford: Who's he?
Welsh: He's a Mountie.
Ford: What's he doing here?
Welsh: I'm never entirely sure.
Vecchio: Are you nuts? The kid's done for! The FBI guys couldn't find Waldo if they took the book home for the weekend!
Vecchio: I'm sitting in a closet with a Mountie
being licked by a deaf wolf! ...That was the wolf, wasn't it?
Fraser: Yes, Ray.
Vecchio: Oh, thank God.
Fraser: [to Dief] Well, are you
coming?
[Dief turns and runs away]
Fraser: You know, you let a wolf save your life...
they make you pay, and pay, and pay.
Vecchio: That's why I don't own a wolf.
Vecchio: Why do I feel more and more like Dale Evans? Hey, Roy! Wait for me!
Fraser: We're eavesdropping! Aren't we?
Veccio: I'll make sure they take away your merit
badge later.
Thug: You're a cop. You won't shoot me.
Vecchio: I'm not that good a cop.
Fraser: Nice shot, by the way, knocking it out
of the guy's hand.
Vecchio: Oh, you liked that?
Fraser: I was impressed.
Veccio: I thought you would be.
Fraser: You were aiming for...
Vecchio: His chest.
Fraser: Oh. I think I should adjust your
sights.
Vecchio: I'd appreciate that.
Fraser: [to Dief] You know, I don't even know why I bother talking to you when you're in these kinds of moods. May I be frank? I only started talking to you on the ice floe out of sheer boredom. Now you've got an opinion on virtually everything!
Welsh: Do we have cause of death?
Coroner: Judging from the hole in his back, I'm
ruling out asphyxiation.
Fraser: [in S&M club] Would anyone
happen to have a pair of handcuffs?
[everyone in club holds up a pair]
Fraser: Thank you!
Fraser: Madame DeFarge, Detective Vecchio and I
are on the trail of a particularly brutal killer, and we'd be
appreciative of any assistance you could give us.
Madame DeFarge: Make him say please.
Fraser: Ray?
Vecchio: I'm not gonna say it.
Fraser: Ray.
Vecchio: No.
Fraser: Ray.
Vecchio: No.
Fraser: Ray.
Vecchio: No!
Fraser: Ray.
Vecchio: [grudgingly] Please.
Christina: What were you running away
from?
Fraser: Oh, it was a very tortured scenario. It
involved a gold mine, a boomerang, and a tank full of gasoline.
It's all ancient history, though.
Fraser: Eddie was after the purse, and
Christina dumped the purse out in her hotel room.
Vecchio: It's not there.
Fraser: Not now, but it was. If Eddie didn't take
it, and Janice didn't take it, then somebody else must have taken
it.
Vecchio: There's nobody else! We're all out of bad
guys!
Fraser: Just keep your elbows out to the side -
it'll slow your descent. [He jumps down the trash
chute]
Vecchio: My descent?! God, the most
annoying man in the world... [Climbs into chute after
Fraser]
Fraser: You are under - [Criminal pulls out gun] Oh, dear!
Fraser: Run.
Christina: No!
Fraser: I said run!
Christina: You told me to stop running.
Fraser: Yes, but I was talking about running away
from the problems with your father, this is about running away from
someone who quite probably will shoot you, that's an entirely
different thing!
Louise: The Mountie! Have you guys seen the
Mountie?
Wino (Jesse): Do you have an appointment?
Vecchio: Your hair is who you are, Fraser. It
makes a statement.
Fraser: Oh, I see. What does it say?
Vecchio: What?
Fraser: Your hair. What is it saying?
Vecchio: At the moment?
Fraser: Yeah.
Vecchio: Well, let's see. [Uses napkin
dispenser as a mirror] It's, uh, straight and slicked-back, so
I guess it's got that mess-with-me-and-you're-dead style, good for
the job. The contouring around the ears... that's unexpected, uh,
that says... watch out, this guy might be dangerous. And then the
feathering around the back? Well, that's a nod to the female
demographic. So, what's it saying? It's saying, deadly and
dangerous but not afraid to cry.
Fraser: Really! [He picks up the napkin
dispenser] What does my hair say?
Vecchio: Oh, that's not hair, Fraser - that's
pelt.
Vecchio: Oh, come on, Fraser, don't give me that big-eyed Mountie look!
Fraser: And make the puffin face.
[Fraser makes a face. The baby giggles]
Vecchio: I am not gonna make the puffin
face!
Fraser: Make the puffin face.
Vecchio: I don't even know what a puffin is!
[Fraser makes the face]
Vecchio: Oh, you look ridiculous.
Louise: They... they say that you believe in
people. That you're the only one in the neighborhood without locks
on his doors.
Fraser: Yes... well, that's not entirely
intentional.
Vecchio: Someone stole 'em.
Vecchio: Okay, we saved his life for fifteen
seconds, now what?
Fraser: You take the big one, I'll take the bigger
one.
Vecchio: Fraser, there's three of them. Can't I
just shoot them?
Villain: Are you gonna call him off?
Fraser: Diefenbaker, off! He never listens.
Vecchio: I think she was nearsighted.
Fraser: Who?
Vecchio: Chick with the bike.
Fraser: Oh, you mean at the coffee shop?
Vecchio: Yeah.
Fraser: Well, she was probably too young for you,
Ray.
Vecchio: No, no, it's not her, it's just that she
didn't notice my je ne sais quois.
Fraser: [puzzled] From the French,
meaning 'I don't know what'?
Vecchio: Ohhhh, no. I know that tone in your
voice. You think I'm being cheap.
Fraser: No! I think there's nothing wrong with
being frugal, Ray, and if you can't afford to buy presents, well,
getting them for opening a bank account is a viable if not
inventive alternative.
Santa 1: You know how much money I'm losing
right now? Every kid that sits on my lap I get two bucks.
Det. Jack Huey: Yup.
Santa 1: I can go through forty kids an
hour!
Santa 2: I can do fifty.
Santa 1: Bull. No one can do fifty and live!
Welsh: In our zeal to solve this case, I can't help but wonder if we haven't been... I don't know, how do you say it? 'Excessively stupid'?
Vecchio: Look, kid, you're not the only one who
saw a face. This guy was so close to you he could count your pores.
How hard do you think it'll be for him to find out where you live?
You put the finger on this guy and we can protect you, but if you
don't -
Fraser: - we'll still protect you.
Vecchio: Maybe he will, but I won't, and no other
cop will either!
Vecchio: [on phone] I brought over the wire tap request in person, sir, but his Honor had consumed a great deal of Christmas cheer and started cursing at me in Norwegian. [pause] I wasn't aware he spoke it either, sir!
Vecchio: I learned two things from my father. One, timing - mostly when to duck. And two... you never hit a kid, 'cause it doesn't teach them anything.
Fraser Sr.: [as ghost] Hello,
son.
Fraser: Hello, dad. How are you?
Fraser Sr.: I'm dead, son. Other than that, do you
mean?
Fraser: No, that's what I was asking.
Fraser: Is there any insanity in our
family?
Fraser Sr.: No, not that I'm aware of.
Fraser: [relieved] Good.
Fraser Sr.: Well, there was your uncle Tiberius
who died wrapped in cabbage leaves, but we assumed that was a freak
accident.
Jimmy Donnelly: Everyone gets to make one
mistake. [shoots Robert] And that was yours. [to his
brother] See what he got us.
Cameron Donnelly: Far Side calendars!
Jimmy Donnelly: Oh, I love those!
Fraser Sr.: Count to three and rise up together
shooting!
Fraser: I don't carry a weapon.
Fraser Sr.: You what?
Fraser: I don't carry a weapon!
Fraser Sr.: Is that smart, son?
Fraser: Well, it's the law, dad.
Fraser Sr.: No time for niceties. [pulls out
his gun] Here, use mine.
Fraser: Well, I appreciate the offer, but it's
imaginary.
Fraser Sr.: [disappointed] Oh. So it
is.
Fraser Sr.: What you need, son, if you don't
mind me saying, is a good solid plan.
[Fraser picks up a rock]
Fraser Sr.: Or, you could just throw a rock.
Fraser: Drive, quick! Before he comes
back!
Vecchio: Who?
Fraser: My father. Drive. Go!
Vecchio: Fraser, your father's dead!
Fraser: I know, and I don't mean to speak ill of
him, it's just he's driving me nuts.
Vecchio: Your father.
Fraser: He's not really here. I know that. It's
all in my mind. It's just he refuses to stay there, or rather, he
refuses to leave there. I don't really understand it, but I'll tell
you, it's beginning to wear a little thin! I mean, does he think
I'm completely ignorant? The next thing he's going to do, he's
going to try to show me how to light a fire! You know, Ray, I've
got half a mind just to tell him to pack up and move out?
Vecchio: Of your mind.
Fraser: Yes.
Fraser Sr.: Hello, son.
Fraser: Oh, god, he's back.
Vecchio: Fraser, parking illegally in this town is a sport.
Vecchio: What about the woman?
Elaine: You know, funny thing, I'm a having
trouble matching the word 'exquisite' to a lot of mug shots.
Det. Louis (Louie) Gardino: Look, I can't see
why we aren't playing for real money. I mean, we're cops! What are
we gonna do, arrest ourselves?
Vecchio: No, but he will.
Fraser: I'm sorry. I would feel honor-bound.
Fraser: You know... there was a woman once,
Ray. We were, uh... I don't know what we were. In the end I tracked
her up above the 62nd parallel, to a place called Fortitude Pass. A
storm had been blowing for days, the whole world was white. By the
time I found her I'd lost everything - my packs, my supplies...
everything. She was huddled in the lee side of a mountain crag. She
was almost frozen, very near death, so I staked a lean-to, draped
my coat across it, and dragged her inside and I covered her body
with my own, and I just held her, while the storm closed around us
like a blanket, until all I could hear was the sound of her
heartbeat. Weakening. I forced her to speak to me, just... talk to
me, say anything just to keep the cold from taking her. And it
snowed for a day, and a night, and a day, and I was delirious. I
almost gave up. The only thing I had to hold onto was the sound of
her voice, which never wavered. She recited a poem. You know the
funny thing? I must have heard that poem... a thousand times that
night, but I never heard the words. It ended... badly. She had a...
she had a darkness inside her... and the most beautiful voice. The
most beautiful voice you ever heard.
[He looks over at Ray. Ray has fallen asleep.]
Frank Bodine: He's a Mountie. These Mounties,
they catch you sooner or later. I hate that.
Suzanne Chapin: That's not real life, Frank.
That's Rocky and
Bullwinkle.
Huey: You're never gonna track a cell. It's a
nightmare.
Fraser: Not really. Not if you've tracked
caribou.
[Louie rolls his eyes]
Vecchio: Fraser? Let's try this one more time,
okay? We're in Chicago. We're not tracking caribou. We're tracking
gunrunners.
Fraser: Ray, I don't mean to press the point,
but we're standing behind a 1971 Buick Riviera. They, on
the other hand, are hurtling down a hill at roughly 47 miles an
hour in a six-ton steel-plated military weapons carrier.
Vecchio: Works for me!
Louie: See, that is the great thing about love. It evens the odds. Anyone can be completely humiliated.
Vecchio: That kiss meant something.
Chapin: Yeah - it meant 'step closer so I can hit
you'.
Vecchio: Why are you doing this to me,
Fraser?
Fraser: Well, I told him I'd help.
Vecchio: You tell that to everybody!
Vecchio: Fraser, there's a guy on my corner who
asks me every morning if I've seen God. Do you think he really
expects me to point him out?
Fraser: Well, you know, if you did, Ray,
perhaps he'd stop asking.
Fraser: You know, the Inuit have sixty words to
describe snow, Ray. One third of them concern the color.
Vecchio: Eskimos don't have a lot to do in the
winter, huh?
Fraser: Delusional people don't simply make
things up.
Vecchio: Yes, they do! That's the unique quality
that makes them delusional!
Fraser: There's something going on inside that
hospital, Ray.
Vecchio: You're crazy!
Fraser: That's a good idea.
Psychiatrist: So you're a Mountie, are
you?
Fraser: A Constable. Royal Canadian Mounted
Police, yes.
Psychiatrist: Here in Chicago.
Fraser: Well, you see, I used to live in the
Yukon. But I uncovered a plot that involved drowning caribou, and
then some men who were dressed in white came after me with
homicidal intentions. It's a rather long story - it takes exactly
two hours to tell - but the upshot of it was that I was sent here.
[conspiratorially] I think I embarrassed some people in
the government.
Psychiatrist: Do you have anyone who can vouch for
you here?
Fraser: Well, yes. There's my wolf. Although, I'm
not sure he would vouch for me - if you know anything about lupine
behavior you know how moody they are, and on top of that, he's
deaf.
Fraser: [notices peephole in the wall]
Ray, who did you tell you were coming here?
Vecchio: Nobody, why? [he is grabbed by a thug
with a gun] I misunderstood the question, I told everybody I
know! I told the State's Attorney, I told the Sheriff, I even told
my mother!
Martins: Don't come out here! Not unless you
want them scraping us both off the pavement.
Vecchio: Am I wearing a funny hat? Do I look like
a Mountie? Jump! What do I care?
Vecchio: This what's wrong with you, Fraser.
You see a problem and you've gotta fix it. You can't even go to the
men's room without stopping to tell some simple, stupid, charmingly
witty Inuit story that inspires people to take on the world's
social ills.
Fraser: Well, I'm sorry, Ray, but I fail to see
how a small group of people banding together to form a neighborhood
watch constitutes a form of political anarchy.
First Old Man: No! This is my post! Sixteenth
and Morgan, it's marked right here on the map!
Second Old Man: You're guarding my building? You,
who twice cheated me at canasta?
First Old Man: I didn't cheat you, old fool! You
fell asleep and missed your turn!
Vecchio: Oh, the neighborhood's definitely in safe
hands now.
Vecchio: Aw, no, Fraser - not another dumpster! I am not getting in a dumpster with you.
Vecchio: Gimme the bat!
Kid: No!
Vecchio: Come on! Now be a good kid, and give the
detective the bat.
Kid: No! I found it. Get your own!
Vecchio: Give it!
Kid: No!
Fraser: Ray. Ray. Now, children are just like
people, only smaller. All you have to do is reason with them.
[crouches down] Now, son, that bat is important evidence
in a criminal investigation, and we'd be most grateful if you'd
cooperate.
Kid: A hundred bucks!
Fraser: I see. Ray?
Vecchio: Okay, kid - can you spell 'penitentiary'?
Let's try it together: P-E-N-
Kid: Okay! Here!
Fraser: Leftenant, the responsibility for this
is entirely mine.
Welsh: Oh, I'm sure it is. You know, just once I'd
like somebody who isn't a Mountie to come into my station and
confess.
Fraser: Thank you very kindly, Leftenant - and
as usual, our conversation has been extremely helpful.
Welsh: I'm so glad, Constable.
Fraser: Also, sir, I think you'll be pleased to
know that I've taken the liberty of officially reprimanding
myself.
Welsh: Good, good. Put it in the file with the
rest of them.
Vecchio: You're not a mind reader, Fraser, you're just Canadian. Come on - maybe he'll blurt out a spontaneous confession.
Fraser: Ray, gates.
Vecchio: I know. [drives through
them]
Fraser: Ray, sapling!
Vecchio: Where?
Fraser: Twelve o'clock.
Vecchio: [runs it over] Got it!
Vecchio: Fraser, what are you doing?
Fraser: I thought I'd let him shoot me, Ray. All
Mr. Colling has to do is shoot me, and then he can shoot him.
Vecchio: Well, as long as you've got a plan.
Vecchio: Yo, you guys wanna move, or do you want to find out what fine Italian footwear tastes like?
Welsh: So, you really thought you could get
this assignment by sucking up to me, Detective?
Vecchio: Oh, no sir - a man of your considerable
intelligence would see right through that, sir!
Vecchio: Okay, so, at ninety-five miles an
hour, how long's it gonna take?
Fraser: I can't tell you that, Ray. It would
recklessly endanger the lives of thousands of motorists.
Vecchio: Okay, so, say ninety?
Vecchio: You know what your problem is, Fraser? You can't do around compulsively telling people the truth. They just don't want to hear it.
Fraser: Well, I explained the situation to him,
and he was extremely helpful.
Vecchio: Did he rent you a car?
Fraser: No, but he doesn't have any.
Vecchio: What do you mean he doesn't have any?
There's gotta be a hundred cars in this lot!
Fraser: Unfortunately, they're all reserved. I
didn't realize Spiro Agnew's birthday was that widely
celebrated. Also, I thought it was in November...
Vecchio: This is a 1971 mint condition Buick
Riviera.
Fraser: You know, Ray, you really don't have to do
this. I'm sure I can find someone who will lend me a car.
Vecchio: How many people have we asked?
Fraser: Well... uh, basically, everyone I know. It
does seem rather curious they've all decided to leave town at
exactly the same time...
Vecchio: Now, in the care and operation of this
vehicle there is one thing to remember and hold above all else:
never, I repeat never use the lighter. Of all the original
parts in this car it was the most difficult to replace. It took me
seven years to find that lighter and since I've owned it
it's never been depressed.
Fraser: Then... how do you know it works?
Vecchio: I know in my soul.
Ian: Are you sure you know where we are?
Vecchio: Yeah, halfway between freedom and
incarceration.
Ian: Aw, come on! I haven't eaten since the
lock-up! I know my rights. You have to feed me every six
hours.
Vecchio: Yeah, well, it's only been five.
Ian: Six! We passed a time zone.
Vecchio: That doesn't count! Fraser, you tell
him.
Fraser: Well, actually, Ray, the legal scholars
seem to be fairly equally divided on this point. One argument,
extended to its logical conclusion, would provide that if you were
traveling west at a rate of speed high enough to cross one time
zone every hour, then you would never actually have to feed the
prisoner. That is, of course, until you crossed the international
date line, at which point you would have to force the prisoner to
immediately consume four meals.
Vecchio: Are you telling that story for my benefit? Because a) I don't believe it and b) I don't care.
Vecchio: All right, MacDonald - you wanna tell us who wants you dead, excluding the immediate occupants of this car?
Ian: All right, you want the real truth? Here
it is: those guys are part of the Canadian mob.
Vecchio: There's no such thing!
Fraser: On the contrary, Ray, organized crime is a
growing problem in Canada.
Vecchio: Oh, yeah? What are we talking about here,
conspiracy to commit jaywalking? Organized littering?
Ian: The guy in the hat? Danny 'The Bull'
Brock. One of his guys stiffed him on a count so he took him into
an alley and shot him eight times.
Vecchio: So is that one time with eight bullets,
or eight separate times? Because in America, after the third trip
down the same alley we'd start to get a little suspicious.
Vecchio: My shoe! Mother Nature just ate my shoe!
Fraser: My father said something that's always
stuck with me, Ray.
Vecchio: Your father never shut up, did he?
Fraser: He said a man with no future will always
run to his past.
Vecchio: And when did this come up, Fraser? Were
you sitting around at breakfast when he came up with these things?
Or did he come running into your room and just blurt 'em out?
Fraser: Ray, there's no need to be
sarcastic.
Vecchio: No, I'm just curious. How did he work
these things into every day conversation? Did he say, 'Son, did you
see the size of that moose? And by the way, a man with no future
will always run to his past'?
Fraser: He went that way.
Vecchio: Why? Does a man with no future always
turn left?
Vecchio: Fraser, look at me. I have one shoe,
I'm covered in mud, and I'm standing with a wolf and a guy dressed
as who-knows-what. No one in their right mind is gonna stop and
give us a lift without the threat of deadly force.
Canadian Motorist: You folks stranded, eh?
Vecchio: Canadian?
Motorist: Go on, eh! How'd you know?
Canadian Motorist: If you're ever in Sarnia, drop by!
Fraser: Oh, thank you kindly!
Vecchio: Thanks! [aside] Fraser, if I'm
ever in Sarnia, shoot me with a big gun.
Vecchio: [firing gun blindly] I think
I got their windshield!
Fraser: Every little bit helps, Ray.
   | William & Elyse's due South Page - William and Elyse's due South Page |
| | BBC website - BBC - Cult Television - Homepage |
| | A ''due South'' retrospective at PaulGross.org - due South (1 of 7) |
| | The Internet Movie Database - The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) |
| | See also Pratchett's tacit confirmation, e.g., in alt.books.pratchett, http://groups.google.com/group/alt.books.pratchett/msg/b881c937e0c424d5. - The Annotated Pratchett File v9.0 - Reverse Annotations |
| | Amazon.co.uk - Due South - The Complete First Series [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Paul Gross, David Marciano: DVD |
| | Exwood - due South Fiction Archive |
| | The Music of Due South - Music used in Due South |
| | Walter Klassen FX -- Dogs - Walter Klassen FX -- Dogs |
| | KEEKAWA SIBERIANS on TV series "DUE SOUTH" - KeeKaWa Perm Reg'd Siberians, Our Siberian's appear on "DUE SOUTH" & Disney's movie "SNOW DOGS", Info |
| | Amazon.co.uk - Due South - The Complete First Series [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Paul Gross, David Marciano: DVD |
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