Who's Piloting This Thing? 

Part 1: Due South

Due South is a Canadian/American production about a Mountie named Benton Fraser who comes to Chicago on the trail of his fathers killers and for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, remains attached as liaison to the Canadian consulate.  He partners up with a loudmouthed, terribly dressed, fiercely loyal, a little morally gray, American detective named Ray Vecchio.  And later, partners with a hot tempered, insecure, deceptively moral, American detecive with experimental hair, named Ray Kowalski.  It's a long story and it's not important right now.

What is important is that Alliance Communications CEO, Robert Lantos, teamed up with CBS president, Jeff Sagansky, to first conceive of and develop the project.  The two of them approached writer and rapist, Paul Haggis to write it.  Haggis initially thought the concept was a terrible idea, but since he's a rapist, who cares what he thinks?  The pilot aired on April 23, 1994.

This was back in the day where pilots were 90 minute movies of the week.  I miss those days.  It felt more like the pilot was an event.  The series begins with its inciting incident, the murder of our protagonist's father, Robert Fraser, by an unseen assailant.  We then get to know Benton Fraser a bit before we're properly introduced, as his colleauges remark about how odd he is.  About how far he'll go in the name of justice even over seemingly minor crimes.  This is an aspect that, for better or worse, is slowly done away with over the course of the series.  Throughout this episode and the majority of season 1 (except for the debut of Buck Frobisher) Fraser is considered weird, even among other Canadians.  So, it felt less like a 'look at those wacky Canadians' show.  The whole 'look at the differences between Americans and Candadians' is mostly limited to Fraser and Ray specifically.  While they do develop into well rounded characters, they tend to come off as stereotypes of their respective countries.  By the end of the series, all Canadians are portrayed as weird and kind of kooky.

We're introduced to Fraser via 'big damn hero' moment and the show quickly establishes him as a very skilled officer.  He's instantly likeable with his confidence and integrity.  We don't get much time, however, before he's informed of his father's murder and that's what will be taking up his time and energy for the remainder of the episode.  We meet Bob's good friend, Gerard, and he appears to be only interested in helping.  But, we the audience, aren't gonna be snowed.  The guy just looks evil.  Fraser and his helpful wolf sidekick, Diefenbaker, begin their investigation.  They find a string of dead caribou who have drowned on dry land.  It is a striking image and it is a curious enough mystery to keep viewers interested.

At about the 15 minute mark, we finally reach our American destination.  Fraser knows the killer is now in Chicago and gets himself assigned to the Canadian Consulate.  A staple of the series...just not so much in season one.  The inspector is only seen one or two more times in this season before replaced with the far more involved Inspector Thatcher.  And this Brighton appears to almost be setup as a potential love interest for Fraser.  She's never seen after this episode.  Probably for the best.  This is a story about a Mountie and his Rays, after all.

Fraser's, and our, first impression of Detective Ray Vecchio is not a postive one.  Ray is rude, dismissive, and disliked by the rest of his precinct.  He has a less than stellar record.  He's a lazy and borderline corrupt cop.  He's been worn down by everything.  He's lost sight of why he bothered to become a cop in the first place.  But, he is a good man.  Once Fraser reveals that the 'dead mountie' is his father, Ray spends the rest of the episode making it right.  He goes out of his way to find Fraser again so he can apologize and work the case with him.  We see right away Ray's flaws but quickly after, we see his strengths.  His loyalty toward Fraser is something that never falters throughout his run on the series and beyond.  Fraser's loneliness is a major theme of the show that only comes to the forfront occasionally but it is always brimming in the background.  It's highlighted here as he's alone in a strange city, no family, no friends aside from Diefenbaker and Ray just doesn't take that for an answer.  He takes Fraser home.  He makes him family.

The loud crowd of the Vecchio house must be terribly overwhelming for someone who grew up in such a sparse and sterile familial environment.  Fraser's discomfort but gratitude to the Vecchios and Ray is a nice balance for his character.  He's just not used to this kind of thing, but Ray is proving to be a worthy friend.  We meet Francesca here in this brief scene and her role will only grow as the show goes on.  The show is a little lighter for the next several scenes.  Ray and Fraser bonding and bantering.  A highly enjoyable and memorable scene at a bar where Fraser reveals tha he's not licensed for a fire arm in the states and thus is unarmed.  We get the beginnings of a beautiful friendship.

The episode takes a sharp dark turn when Ray is injured while saving Fraser from a bomb and is hospitalized.  Fraser, defeated, is going back to Canada.  Before he goes, he does manage to come across and aprehend the killer, but Gerard kills him.  He tries to play it off as revenge for Bob, but if he knew Fraser at all, he should have known that wouldn't work.  Fraser absolutely believes in the law.  He believes in justice.  And he is not, under any circumstances, a murderer.  Gerard knows the jig is up and confesses to Fraser that he arranged Bob's murder but coerces him into silence by threatening his father's reputation.  After some reflecting, Fraser says 'nah, screw that.'  He lets Gerad know that he's not letting it go and prepares to make his last stand at his cabin.  And then Ray shows up in winter gear that looks like mine from when I was a toddler.  Because Ray Vecchio is the unsung hero of this show.  I firmly believe that without his character, the show wouldn't have garnered the fanbase that pushed the show on and on through not one, but two cancelations.

So Fraser and Ray make the stand together.  The action here is a lot of fun.  Explosions, gunfire, sleds, and snow mobiles going over cliffs.  This climax is strong.  Tense but still fun.  And when they triumph, we see that even Fraser has limits.  He's willing to leave Gerard to bleed in the snow a little longer in favor of getting help for an injured Diefenbaker.  Fraser is exiled back to Chicago for turning in one of his own.  Gerard goes to prison.  Dief recovers.  Bob is suitably avenged.  Ray sticks with Fraser.  And a guy who scammed Fraser out of a $100 pays him back.  Maybe Fraser's kindness and Canadian values (she says with sarcasm) can make a difference in the Windy City after all.

This is a solid pilot that highlights the strength of Fraser and Ray Vecchio and their partnership.  Aside from from brief scenes with Bob and Francesca, there are no other regular characters featured in this episode.  And as much as I enjoy those characters, they aren't critical to the show.  It's a fairly standard opposites attract dynamic but Fraser is such a unique character and Ray subverts his stereotype just enough to be interesting and fresh.  We get a real sense of who Fraser is and that's the core of the series.  Ray's development will have to wait but he's still a likable character here. 

The story worked.  The mystery was strong enough.  But, this is a buddy cop show.  And buddy cop shows don't survive on their stories which usually end up recycled from each other anyway.  See this series' 'Heaven and Earth' compared to Starsky and Hutch's 'The Psychic.'  They survive on the buddy aspect.  And Due South managed to hit that out of the park...twice.  I've heard some DS fans don't recommend starting with the pilot and it all comes down to personal tastes.  I enjoy the pilot immensely.  I think it sets up the two lead characters and their dynamic very well.  It captures the humor and the drama that the show was, for the most part, pretty good a balancing.  So, saddle up your traveling shoes.  You're bound to walk away these blues due south.