Due South

[Nahtmmm]

I was given the DVD collection of this series for Christmas. It's an action-comedy series from the mid-'90's. A Mountie, a wolf, and a cynical cop deal with crime and criminals in Chicago. KJ and I have been watching it and enjoying it quite a lot.

To some extent it's based on formula. You have the straight man and the buddy. They're solving or attempting to prevent crimes. Occasionally some social commentary or the like leaks in. There's an occasional love interest. This much is nothing you haven't seen before.

But the way it plays out is what makes it fun. The straight man (Benton Fraser, the Mountie) gets as many laughs as the buddy, as he tries to treat his surroundings in darkest dirtiest Chicago the same as if he were in a small village full of respectable people. He's also got a bit of Sherlock Holmes in him, in terms of having specialized knowledge and picking up on miniscule clues. The wolf is deaf but tends to understand the gist of commands, which makes for amusing scenes as Fraser tries to get his attention. And the cop (Ray Vecchio) is a cynical man with a rather dysfunctional family who stresses his appearance (physically and professionally), which makes for fun when Fraser decides to go dumpster-diving or gets Vecchio "embarrassed" at the office.

The best part for me is the humor. Largely in the dialogue and the friction between the two men's viewpoints and thinking.


I have a few memories of watching this on TNT when I was young, just scraps and scenes here and there, so it's been interesting to go through and see the parts I remembered and the parts I didn't and how they all fit together.


Anyway, anyone else remember this series? Thoughts? Opinions? Etc.?

[RJDiogenes]

I don't remember this show, but it sounds like a high-concept detective show of the type we had lots of back in the 70s. As you say, little of it is something you haven't seen before, but it all depends on the characters (and actors); tuning in is like visiting friends. This one sounds a bit like a cross between McCloud and Starsky & Hutch. The wolf is a nice touch; it's especially interesting that they decided to make him deaf.

[Santaman]

Yeah I remember that series, quite liked it as well.