Thank you kindly.

July 1, 2017 10:04 AM

For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, Canada's Sesquicentennial is as good an excuse as any to discover what is arguably* that country's greatest cultural achievment: the television series due South.

Watching due South was my first experience of rulebreaking television—of that strange sense of being inside one person's idiosyncratic vision. A Canadian production, it wasn't a cop show (although there were cops), it wasn't a drama (although there was drama), it wasn't a comedy (although there were jokes). It had morsels of everything and yet was different from them all.

*FIGHT ME

Wikipedia:

Set in Chicago, the show follows the adventures of Constable Benton Fraser (Paul Gross), an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who is attached to the Canadian consulate but works with Detective Raymond Vecchio of the Chicago Police Department to solve crimes, assisted by Fraser's companion Diefenbaker, a deaf white wolf. From season three, Fraser works with a Detective Stanley Kowalski (Callum Keith Rennie), who is placed in the department to impersonate Detective Vecchio, who goes on an undercover assignment.

The premise of such a working relationship is established in the pilot episode when Fraser is temporarily posted to Chicago to assist Vecchio in the investigation of the murder of Fraser's father, who was also of the RCMP. In the process, he also exposes an environmental corruption scandal involving some members of the RCMP, causing much embarrassment and loss of jobs in his native Northwest Territories, which leaves him persona non grata in Canada and within the RCMP and posted permanently to Chicago.

A police comedy-drama, it plays on the stereotypical differences between Canadian and American culture, and in particular, Fraser's extremely polite persona and exceptional tracking and detection abilities, contrasted with Detective Vecchio's lack of manners and corner-cutting methods.

Relentlessly Canadian, right down to the soundtrack by Jay Semko, filming was mostly done in Toronto, which was used as a stand-in for Chicago. But in a move typical of the production, Chicago was used in one episode to represent Toronto.

The best source of information about the show was the lovingly-curated fan page [archive.org] of William Rydbom and Elyse Dickenson. There's also a lengthy retrospective by Carole Gordon on Paul Gross's non-maintained site. And of course, there's a wealth of information at IMDB.

posted by Johnny Wallflower (35 comments total)

Gotta love a wolf named after a Prime Minister.
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:20 AM on July 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

And a love interest and line manager named after a Prime Minister (of a different country), too.
posted by ambrosen at 10:22 AM on July 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

My wife got deeply into the fan fic slash community that spun off Due South. She still says things like "I swing both Rays". There's a still stack of the stuff in her reading pile. I can't even.

Due South for me is sort of a healing experience. It's not without its drama but it's not burdened with grimdark gravitas. It had plenty of laughs but as noted above it wasn't a comedy either. There were some story arcs, especially concerning Benton's dad, but you could just drop into a rerun and not get lost. And it was never an insult to my intelligence. Not too many plot-holes or idiot plots, characters would evolve but not in ways that were ridiculous or ill-conceived. It just hit a sweet spot. You could rest assured that by the end of the episode, things would be resolved but you never quite knew how they were going to pull it off.

Also thanks to the show for introducing me to Stan Rogers. And damn, they used Stan in one of the most satisfying series finales ever (SERIOUSLY HEAVY SPOILER ALERT).
posted by Ber at 10:36 AM on July 1, 2017 [13 favorites]

I watched it, and loved it, with the accompaniment of these remarkable recaps from author Sarah Monette. And I learned so much about how to be kind, gentle and considerate from it. And also it was the first real in-depth literary criticism I engaged with.

But here's what she said about why she realised it wasn't cliché:

It's not a Mountie with a wolf in Chicago.

It's a Mountie, who is haunted by his dead father, with a deaf half-wolf, in Chicago.

And here's her analysis of the character introduction scene for Benton:

But the really interesting thing here is the way that Fraser plays to their preconceptions. He dumps his captured felon, says, "The last time he'll fish over the limit," and walks off, exactly like the hero of a Western. In the interview with his superior officer, he lets the man walk into the trap, endures the chewing out for the moment when his unwitting straight man feeds him the line he wants. How far over the limit? Four and a half tons over the limit. And control of the conversation is squarely in Fraser's hands.

And there's so many great episodes: the pastiche ones The Gift of The MagiWheelman, Some Like It HotRed and An Invitation to Romance all spring to mind. But yes, there's a lot to it.
posted by ambrosen at 10:53 AM on July 1, 2017 [10 favorites]

Sold. Thanks!
posted by janey47 at 11:08 AM on July 1, 2017

I've heard rumblings about the significance of this show for years (was there alt.tv.due-south perhaps?), but the closest I ever got to seeing it on real life California TV was that other show about the gas station.
posted by rhizome at 11:09 AM on July 1, 2017

Dissenting Canadian Opinion: The show is terrible, truly terrible, writing, acting (aside from Pinsent), filmmaking, all of it, it is a terrible show.

(Corner Gas is also awful)

Any American mefites, please do yourselves a favour, skip this bite of banality and watch Twitch City instead.
posted by Cosine at 11:25 AM on July 1, 2017 [7 favorites]

Cosine, that's the kind of opinion you should post on fandom_secrets - where all wrong and terrible opinions you're afraid of posting under your name should go.

The fact that you're posting it so brazenly is troubling.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 11:37 AM on July 1, 2017 [9 favorites]

Dissenting Canadian Opinion: The show is terrible, truly terrible, writing, acting (aside from Pinsent), filmmaking, all of it, it is a terrible show.

(Corner Gas is also awful)

As a Canadian with no particular opinion on Due South, I must momentarily derail just to say that Corner Gas is painfully unfunny. I'm just glad that it was CTV Cancon, otherwise I'd have to concede a few points to the "defund the CBC!!!" types.

I've always felt deep in my bones that it was a shameless ripoff of the Dead Dog Cafe.

As you were.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:50 AM on July 1, 2017 [5 favorites]

Canadian-by-marriage here: I also have no opinion on Due South, but for chrissakes: Everyone, everyone, please follow Cosine's advice and go watch Twitch City.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 12:00 PM on July 1, 2017 [4 favorites]

Twitch City!! Oh my lord. Saw it right from the first episode, the first time it aired, and I remember thinking, "What am I even watching? God love the CBC." I can't even put my finger on what was so funny about it but I also remember laughing till my stomach hurt.

I had a good friend who was deeply in love with Paul Gross and Due South--she introduced me to it and I definitely enjoyed it more because of her sheer unadulterated delight. PG was definitely a charmer in that Mountie uniform.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:22 PM on July 1, 2017

As long as the Ray Wars don't start here (Ray K foreva!)...
posted by TwoStride at 12:24 PM on July 1, 2017 [7 favorites]

The 2006 documentary Ride Forever on youtube.
posted by juv3nal at 12:32 PM on July 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

TwoStride, do you often have problems where you mean to press a button with your left index finger, but actually press with your right middle finger? Because you definitely typed a K instead of a V there.
posted by ambrosen at 12:34 PM on July 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Dissenting Canadian Opinion: The show is terrible, truly terrible, writing, acting (aside from Pinsent), filmmaking, all of it, it is a terrible show.

(Corner Gas is also awful)

Knee-jerk hating on anything Canadian is actually the default, not the dissenting, Canadian opinion, and it's boring. I never watched the show when it was on because of this assumption that if it is Canadian it must be some kind of slush fund for camera operators and actors who had trouble getting US visas. But the post here has a ton of meat in it and I adore PG from Slings and Arrows so I'm going to give it a shot.
posted by Space Coyote at 12:34 PM on July 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

I think this clip (just skip past the intro) is a good litmus test for whether or not Due South is up your alley.

On the other hand, if you want to know if you'll like Twitch City - and I don't say this out of any nationlist fervor - I humbly submit the second episode of season one as one of the best episodes of television of all time.
posted by Alex404 at 12:35 PM on July 1, 2017 [4 favorites]

(Corner Gas is also awful)

Understood. Nevertheless, that will be the subject of next year's Canada Day post. You might want to set a warning reminder.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:53 PM on July 1, 2017 [4 favorites]

If I may, the thing about Canadian TV is perfectly encapsulated in that DS clip: "Hey, there's Leslie Nielsen...or is it?" It's always like an uncanny valley of pop culture.

There must have been a CanCon syndication package that made it to California long about 10 years ago. No DS, but Corner Gas and that detective show with Canadian Ray Wise (or Canadian Paul Oakenfold if you prefer).
posted by rhizome at 12:54 PM on July 1, 2017

Thank you so much for the documentary link, juv3nal!
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:59 PM on July 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

I ignored Due South when it first aired because it seemed kinda corny. I watched a few episodes years later in cable reruns, and the dialogue writing was funnier than I had expected.
posted by ovvl at 2:40 PM on July 1, 2017

Not trynig to derail this great post but for anyone who is interested in a different take on Canadian culture and how its portrayed on television, I urge you to try to find North of 60.

North of 60 is a 1990s Canadian television series depicting life in the sub-Arctic northern boreal forest (north of 60° north latitude, hence the title). It first aired on CBC Television in 1992 and was syndicated around the world. It is set in the fictional community of Lynx River, a primarily Native-run town depicted as being in the Dehcho Region, Northwest Territories.

Most of the characters were Dene. Some non-native characters had important roles: the restaurant/motel owner, the band manager, the nurse and (during the show's first season) the town's main RCMP officer. The show explored themes of Native poverty, alcoholism, cultural preservation, conflict over land settlements, and natural resource exploitation.

Originally somewhat light-hearted (a CBC response to the very successful Northern Exposure on CBS), it quickly became a more dramatic series.

posted by Fizz at 3:06 PM on July 1, 2017 [6 favorites]

I watched Due South in my teen years, religiously. Watched it mostly with my mom, sometimes dad would join in. During a bout of homesickness years ago, I'd put it on to fall asleep to -- never boring, obviously, but it was just comforting to have it on in the background through some rough times. I still say "thank you kindly".

I keep meaning to watch Slings and Arrows but school ate up a lot of my time in the last few years; probably time to finally rectify that.

I'll also be looking into some of the other recs in this thread.

Thank you kindly for the post.
posted by curious nu at 3:54 PM on July 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

I really liked this when it came out and watched it more attentively with my SO a few years ago still enjoyed it, at least until Ray left its crap after that.
posted by biffa at 4:24 PM on July 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Wait there are Canadians who have watched and liked Due South? I find that surprising. The only people I have ever met who were fans of the show were mostly non-Canadians. I was always under the impression it was designed for export. Wanna watch a real show for real Canadians? Seeing Things.
posted by Ashwagandha at 4:41 PM on July 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

I loved Due South, although I'm not sure what I would think if I watched it now.

I absolutely loved how they replaced Ray in the last season and Frasier was the only one who noticed and thought he was going crazy. It was a perfect send-up of every show that has ever replaced an actor.

"Seeing Things" was amazing though. My favorite show in the 80s.
posted by mmoncur at 7:03 PM on July 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm a Canadian and I watched Due South when it aired, Ashwagandha. The show was always one of those that felt like it had a lot more potential than was actually realized. Yes, it was corny, but it wasn't terrible. It's just that as Canadians we expect our media to be so much worse than what we get from the States. The trick is remembering that the Americans produce so much stuff, that most of it--the mediocre stuff--can be ignored. The really bad stuff might stand out for being so terrible it's good or just being dreadfully bad, and the good stuff gets noticed. Here, due to the lack of volume we don't have that luxury. What's produced has to be seen as good or even great, because it can't hide.

Now, having said that, Due South is not my favourite Mountie-US lawman team-up. That honour goes to Bordertown, which not only had a Mountie and a Marshall but also a female French doctor out in the frontier. The worst part about this show is the format--it was a half-hour western, which I don't think had been done since the 1960s. It would have really benefited from an hour time-slot.
posted by sardonyx at 8:38 PM on July 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Unlike practically all popular TV from that era Due South is very watchable now. It, IMO, doesn't suffer from pacing issues and doesn't very often suffer from (this could be solved in a second with a cell phone) situations. I binge watch the whole run every few months.

One of the things that makes the show great is Ray isn't an idiot. So often the foil in these sort of shows is stupid or incompetent or both but Ray is neither.
posted by Mitheral at 9:44 PM on July 1, 2017 [5 favorites]

Mmmmmmm Fraser. One of those characters, like Nero Wolfe, who I can never abide fans referring to by his first name.
posted by praemunire at 10:13 PM on July 1, 2017

Back in 2011, the New Yorker ran a 20,000-word article about Paul Haggis and his separation from the Church of Scientology. I clearly remembering ctrl-F'ing for "Due South" and getting no results and feeling disappointed.
posted by mhum at 10:20 PM on July 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

I will say one word for some mefites reading this thread:

Bindlestitch.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 10:27 PM on July 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

I loved this show, even through my Canadian friends mocking me, and I still love it - though I think it's in large part because of where/when/who I was when I first saw it. But it also brought me to Slings and Arrows, so there's that.
posted by rtha at 11:30 PM on July 1, 2017

Eggs. The egg hatching/accident episode was the best (to me.) I learned a lot about chicken egg stuff that I never knew; was actually cool. egg matters
posted by pjmoy at 8:45 AM on July 2, 2017

I live next door to a building which was used for exterior shots of Fraser's apartment. I learned this by googling my address one day and coming across a carefully curated fan site detailing the show's shooting locations.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 9:56 AM on July 2, 2017 [2 favorites]

Of course Canadian television shows are awful. That's the point!
posted by blue_beetle at 1:05 PM on July 2, 2017

I respectfully submit that all you Corner Gas haters must be from the city. Maybe you just needed to have grown up in a town small enough to feel like living in a bottle episode?
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 10:08 AM on July 3, 2017 [2 favorites]