Due South - The Complete First Series [DVD]

To the un-initiated, Due South may seem a bit of a rum do - Imagine Frank Kapra writing 'Jeremiah Johnson' and getting James Stewart to play him as Atticus Finch dressed as a Mountie.

Call him Benton Fraser and send him to uptown Chicago to track his father's killer with only a deaf wolf - (Diefenbaker. Named after the popular Canadian President of the 1960's) - for company.

Partner him with the savviest, street smartest, jive talking Italian-American cop in the district, and Voila! you have one of the most genuinely enjoyable odd couplings since Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

Yet, it's in the observance of contrasts that Due South works best. Ray Vecchio's brash Italian family the counterpoint to Fraser's draconian upbringing in the frozen wilds of Toktoyuktuk (Yes really..) Where His only childhood companions were a grandmother and an Otter.

Without turning either protagonist into a caricature, Talented scriptwriter Paul Haggis deftly uses the duo to highlight differing Canadian/American cultural attitudes. The result is frequently hilarious and greatly enhanced by the odd flash of Brit-style surrealism.

David Marciano and Paul Gross as Cop and Mountie respectively, exude camaraderie and do a stellar job in delivering a believable and memorable screen friendship.

Gordon Pinsent, as the deceased father Fraser discovers through posthumous diaries, is also wonderful.

Heck, you even get deadpan Canadian comic genius Leslie Nielsen as Buck Frobisher - Fraser Snr's ageing Mountie pal - thrown into the mix for an episode.

As you may already know, Leslie Nielsen's Dad was a real-life Mountie. Small wonder he knows how to make those preposterous Yellow stripey trousers look good tucked into his boots.

With more than it's fair share of 'Hamlet' references, (Episode titles, 'Hawk and a Handsaw' and 'Heaven and Earth' for instance) The notion of Fraser's dead father turning up throughout the series - In less skillfull hands could have ended up a nonsense.

But in a neat twist on the usual father/son relationship themes, we get to discover Fraser's redoubtable father along with him. And Like Hamlet, Fraser's sense of loss and need for retribution is lessened by the fact that the old man keeps popping up all over the shop.

Throughout the first series, Due South raised the bar for each episode. Even the frequent bouts of in-car banter between Ray and Fraser is so good you'll find yourself repeating it with a frequency that guarantees you the loss of any remaining friends.

The standout episodes of this season though, have to be 'Victoria's Secret.' A stunning two-parter which, at the time it was aired drew a huge prime-time BBC audience. And Rightly so.

The final shots of Fraser at the train station are exquisite, and stay with you long after the scene ends. You may also find Sarah MacLaclan's beautiful song 'Possession' (included on Volume One of the Original Due South Soundtrack) burrows into your brain faster than a sand weevil from 'The Wrath of Khan', only in a good way, obviously...

If, when you think of Canadian-made comedy-drama the words 'smart' 'offbeat' or 'quirky' are the first to come into your mind, then Due South season one is definitely the thing for you.

If, when you think of Canada the word 'Bonspiel' is the first thing to come into your mind, you have been watching way too much Curling and you may need to seek medical attention.

In trying to spot a pattern in what shows I have liked the most over the years, common elements seems to be interesting characters, good humour, clever dialogue, and well-chosen accompanying music. Due South has all of these.

In addition, it has what seems to make good shows great: an interesting central character. Benton Fraser (the mountie) does for Due South what David Addison did for Moonlighting, and what Frank Drebbin did for Police Squad (Airplane was good, but Drebbin made Police Squad and Naked Gun wonderful).

Do note, though, that if you like clever whodunnits or detailed crime investigations, Due South may not be your cup of tea. Even though Fraser is a very capable detective (very Sherlock Holmesian at times), the cases do tend to take something of a back seat to character development and relationship issues in many episodes.

As already noted by a previous reviewer, it was something of a disappointment that the double pilot episode was not included on the Region 1 version of the Season 1 boxset, however, somewhat incongruously, it was included with the Season 3 Region 1 set, so perhaps the Region 2 sets will follow the same arrangement.