Due South

Due South
[DVD Due]

Due South is one of my all-time favorite "buddy cop" shows. Airing new episodes from 1994-96 on CBS and then straight-to-syndication in 1997-98, this was a classic fish-out-of-water story, of Canadian Mountie Benton Fraser (played to perfection by Paul Gross), who ends up coming to Chicago from the Canadian wilderness. There, he gets teamed up with Ray Vecchio (David Marciano), a street-wise Chicago cop from a wacky Italian family. Though the series played the distinct differences between the characters for occasional laughs, their odd friendship grew quite strong, and the stories were frequently very serious police action tales. The supporting cast, including Fraser's pet wolf/dog Diefenbaker, and the ghost of Fraser's father, was terrific, and the series featured noteworthy guest stars in key roles - including Leslie Nielsen. After the two CBS seasons, there was a one-year production hiatus, then a new actor replaced David Marciano as a different "Ray" and the character chemistry shifted accordingly. You definitely want to watch this series from the pilot forwards, due to the growing relationships. Great stuff!

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ Due South episode guide at epguides.com ]

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