SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

ridiculous rating

Purely Joyful Movie!

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

What worked for McCloud in the 70s worked as well for Due South in the 90s. The idea of a visiting law enforcement official coming into a strange environment and working with local police. In the process everybody learns something. It was certainly a success for McCloud it also worked for the British series Dempsey&Makepeace with an American cop over in London and a shortlived series called Houston Knights where a cop from Chicago works with the Houston PD.In Due South a Canadian Mountie Paul Gross is sent on assignment to Chicago and is partnered with David Marciano, Italo-American detective. Let us say that both fit stereotypes perfectly. And the chemistry was perfect.When Marciano left the show and Gross was partnered with someone else the show definitely lost something. Marciano may have been annoyed at times with Gross's perfect character, a Mountie straight out of Nelson Eddy. But Gross is well read on a seemingly unlimited amount of subjects that actually help on investigations. Marciano learned to respect that.One joke was strictly for Canadians. Gross has his dog as every Mountie since Sergeant Preston did. He called him Diefenbaker. Very few south of the 49th parallel would get calling a dog after one of Canada's Prime Ministers. But Diefenbaker was a blunderbuss of a character and I'm sure Canadians found that hilarious.I wish the show was still running, but only with Marciano and Gross.

When CBS opted to cancel Due South after less than two seasons, a joint group of investors (including the BBC) decided to invest in a third season in the hopes that they could make a profit on the syndication of all three seasons of Due South.The resulting third season of Due South is a drastic change from the first two seasons financed by CBS to say the least.The most obvious difference is the replacement of David Marciano as Detective Ray Vecchio with Canadian actor Callum Keith Rennie as a Ray Vecchio impostor (Stanley Kowolski)after the new investors were unable to meet Marciano's salary requirements. But the change that effected the show the most in its third season was the exclusion of series creator Paul Haggis as a contributor. This is unfortunate because, in excluding the driving force behind the series, Due South lost much of the imagery and symbolism that gave it its devoted cult following and that made it one of the most original, quirky, and satisfying shows on television at the time.After a few episodes in the first season where Detective Ray Vecchio is pitted as a buffoon to contrast Constable Benton Fraiser's (Paul Gross)stalwart virtue- the show makes a subtle but drastic change in symbolism by allowing Ray Vecchio to evolve into a mirror of humanity. Not the kind of greeting card humanity that television shows often sell, but a genuine, and not too pretty humanity that, at the same time it suffers from its own arrogance, cowardice, greed and victimization complexes, strives to be better and is attracted to symbols of goodness, detachment, and virtue. In the case of Due South, this is epitomized by the now mythological Deus of Fraiser, who believes beyond belief, strives for true justice as opposed to easy justice, and believes in the inherent virtue in all human beings- no matter how outwardly unworthy they might seem of such considerations.It's no mistake that Ray Vecchio follows Constable Fraiser around on his seemingly pointless crusades- the uncertain devotion of the common man to absolute truth and justice is one of the primary reoccurring themes in seasons one and two of Due South.This kind of symbolism does not appear in season three of Due South. Instead, Paul Gross (who takes the helm as Executive Producer)opts for a simpler version of the show as a buddy comedy with more of a Saturday morning feel to it (take a look at how Fraiser and Kowolski escape a sinking ship in part two of "Mountie on the Bounty").Fraiser comes "down to earth" in season three, trading in his myhtological qualities for the more human characteristics of loneliness, social ineptitude (as opposed to the kind of social detachment the character exhibited in the first two seasons), and fear of abandonment.Stanley Kowolski, who replaces Ray Vecchio (and impersonates Ray Vecchio at the same time) is painted less as a symbol and more as a caricature. He is not just brash and loud, but he is surprisingly violent- even resorting to slugging Fraiser when they have a disagreement (his excuse? Their working relationship was becoming stale). Kowolski's saving grace is that he is played with mesmerizing charm and adroitness by Rennie who dominates the screen much of the time he is on. Also, the personage of Kowolski is much more Chicagoan than Vecchio- equal parts coffeehouse and slaughterhouse.Also gone from the series is the sense of bureaucracy that permeates the first two seasons. Even Lt. Welsh (Beau Starr), becomes less a grumbling administrator and more of a participant and "crime buster".The third season of Due South, while certainly not on par with seasons one and two, is certainly worth a look. You may not glean the same insights you did with the first two seasons, but the show is still beautifully filmed (thanks to Director of Photography Malcom Cross), well written, and it's fun to watch this group of well drawn characters interact, no matter how watered down.

Although Due South was cancelled more than 6 years ago, it's legacy lives on DVD, albeit not the best DVD sets ever made.Now that I have seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, I started watching the episodes all over again. It feels so fresh! It's wonderful to laugh once more at the best jokes, to ponder about some unusual quote delivered by our favourite mountie (OFM), to pay attention and to understand several layers of symbolism in the most "brainy" episodes...What do we get from Due South? We get several quirky stories, from solving crimes to convincing people to do the right thing. We get wonderful and inspirational music, with some Canadian artists who are now big names, such as Sarah McLachlan and Loreena McKennitt. We get heart-felt monologues of Constable Benton Fraser using some Inuit tale to inspire people to do good. We get several early appearances of now household names, such as Melina Kanakaredes and Jane Krakowsky.Some double length episodes would have been excellent movies in their own right. The Pilot speaks for itself (not included in Season 1, bad Alliance)."Victoria's Secret" (towards the end of Season 1) is an excellent story of betrayal and lost love. It has two of the most poignant scenes ever on TV (SPOILERS!): 1. Fraser imagines Victoria through a revolving door while snows falls on her, all with McLachlan's Possession playing in the background. 2. After being shot, Fraser recites a poem, over and over again, just as Victoria had done when he had saved her life years back."All the Queen's Horses", with Leslie Nielsen, blends a great comedy with a very good action story, including an incredible scene in which OFM and Inspector Thatcher tried to free themselves from ropes using one her hairclips.There other memorable scenes, such as OFM hypnotizing people to find out what they had seen earlier, scenes from the perspective of OFM's deaf wolf (Diefenbaker) and a 1972 or 71? green Buick Riviera exploding in three different occasions.In short, bite the bullet, get the DVDs even if there are no extras and the packaging isn't the best and witness what TV should really be like.PS: Paul Gross (The Mountie) is amazing. He produced Seasons 3 and 4 and also wrote most of the episodes of those seasons. He also played Hamlet in the Canada's Stratford Festival to rave reviews.

Why is it all the good shows get canceled early?Due South was no exception.I didn't even watch the show's first season. I had never paid any attention to it being on. Only after catching an episode of the second season on tape at a friend's house was I drawn into this quirky show. Who would have thought that a TV show starring a Dudley Do Right cloned member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (a mountie) who lives by the rules and a sharp tounged Chicago Detective who lives to bend the rules could be such a fantastic show? This is a prime example of a fantastic show that was canceled way too early.But we had it for 4 years and that is better than nothing.