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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Echo Bridge Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 37206
Released: November 23, 2005 |
| Our Price: $11.04 |
| Used Price: $6.20 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Gemini Award Winner for Best Dramatic Series. Featuring 24 Episodes including the 2-Part Pilot Episode. Due South is a lightning-paced action/comedy in which a quintessential, polite, by-the-book Canadian Mountie from the frozen North is teamed up with a wise-cracking Armani-clad Chicago cop with a flexible sense of morality. Brought together in the Windy City by a mysterious murder which has personal ramifications for both men, these unlikely buddies must find a common ground amidst overwhelming differences. Canadian actor Paul Gross (Buried on Sunday, Aspen Extreme) stars as RCMP Constable Benton Fraser, with David Marciano (Civil Wars, Harlem Nights) as his reluctant partner, Ray Vecchio.
Due South: Season One (4-DVD Digipack) Reviews:
Due South:Season one (4-DVD Digipack) 
2009-08-10 - There are many complaints about the picture quality of this set. Sure...If you view the US and Canadian versions,the Canadian version has a slighty better picture and yes Platinum Disc did pack a lot of content on each disc. Six episodes per disc.This would be a draw back if this set were EXPENSIVE but its not.
I mean lets face it for the price ... DVD set is a BARGAIN!
But no one mentions the AUDIO of these two versions.The Canadian version is in 2.0 Stereo.
I guess this is the standard in these older dvd sets. Remastered in 2.0 and sounds OK.
The US version has a remastered 5.0 STEREO soundtrack and in my opinion,it sounds great.
DUE SOUTH has one of the best soundtracks of any TV show at the time.Each episode featured great Canadian artists. Most memorable are Jay Semkos opening theme and guitar driven score,Sarah McLachlan's Possesion and Fumbling towards ecstasy,Guess Who's American woman,Loreena McKennitt Prospero's speech just to name a few. So along with the acting and writing,the music played a big part of this show appeal.
First Season Musical highlights:
1 Pilot
FROM A MILLION MILES **
Single Gun Theory, "Like Stars in My Hands"
Nettwerk Productions
X2-13113
Fraser arrives at O'Hare Airport.
SUPERMAN'S SONG
Crash Test Dummies, "The Ghosts That Haunt Me"
Arista/BGM International (c) 1991 BMG Music Canada
ARCD-8677
Fraser reads his father's journal at the diner.
2 Free Willie
IT'S ALL OVER
Headstones, "Picture of Health"
MCA MCAD 10871
During the hansom/car chase through streets and park.
3 Diefenbaker's Day Off
AMERICAN WOMAN *
The Guess Who, "The Greatest of The Guess Who"
RCA (available on various albums)
As Fraser and Mackenzie King get ready for their 'date.'
4 Manhunt
All Original Music
5 They Eat Horses, Don't They?
UPHILL BATTLE
Sarah McLachlan, "Touch"
(c) 1989 Arista Records, Inc.
AL-8594
Fraser and Stephanie Cabot ride horses down Chicago streets.
HORSES *
Original Score, "Due South Soundtrack"
Unforscene Music (c) 1996
6 2428 40004 2 8
Special Musical Guest: Ashley MacIssac
Courtesy of A&M Records
division of Polygram Group Canada, Inc.
6 Pizzas and Promises
All Original Music
7 Chinatown
PROSPERO'S SPEECH
Loreena McKennitt, "The Mask and the Mirror"
Loreena McKennitt/Warner Bros. Records Inc. (c) 1994
9 45420-2
As Mr. Lee walks down street to pay 'tribute' to Charley Wong.
8 Chicago Holiday, Part 1
BUTTERFLY WINGS
Machines of Loving Grace, "Concentration"
Attic Records Ltd.
ACD-1386
Played loudly at 'leather' bar as Fraser searches for Christina.
NEON BLUE *
Holly Cole, "Due South Soundtrack: Volume 1"
Unforscene Music (c) 1996 6 2428 40004 2 8
At formal ball; sung in person by the Holly Cole Trio.
9 Chicago Holiday, Part 2
NEW WORLD COMIN'
Composed by Jack Lenz
Performed by Dawn Aitken
Christina enters large department store, where Fraser eventually finds her.
QUE SERA SERA
Holly Cole Trio, "Don't Smoke in Bed"
Capitol Records, Inc. (c) 1993
CDP 0777 7 81198 2 1
As Christina Nichols wanders lost down dark Chicago streets
SMILE
Holly Cole Trio, "Blame It On My Youth"
Capitol Records, Inc. (c) 1992
CDP 7 97349 2
At formal ball at end of episode; sung in person by the Holly Cole Trio.
10 A Cop, A Mountie and a Baby
L'ESTRALLA
Dave Wall, "Lozenge"
Hypnotic Records, (c) 1993 Hypnotic Records
713561013-2
As Fraser and Ray search the city for the baby's mother.
FEAR
Sarah McLachlan, "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"
(c) 1993 Arista Records, Inc.
07822-18725-2
Vinnie takes his son and goes to a motel.
WORLDS AWAY (written by Jay Semko)
The Northern Pikes, "Neptune"
Virgin Records
CDV 86501
At airport where Vinnie begins transaction to sell his son.
11 Gift of the Wheelman
STEAMING
Sarah McLachlan, "Touch"
(c) 1989 Arista Records, Inc.
AL-8594
During car chase; Ray and cops go after Porter
RUMBOLDT and HENRY MARTIN *
Figgy Duff, "Figgy Duff -- A Retrospective 1974-93"
Amber Music
CD 02 50325
'Henry Martin' (music only) is heard during the bank robbery, and then again (vocals) during dramatic warehouse sequence as Porter sets up trap; 'Rumboldt' is heard during the shootout in the alley.
12 You Must Remember This
NO TIME IN THIS TOWN
Written by Jack Lenz, Jay Semko & John McCarthy
Performed by Jay Semko and the Due South Trio
(Unavailable on CD)
As Ray, et. al. set up stake-out.
WHY'D YOU LIE?
Colin James, "Colin James"
Virgin Records America, Inc.
7 90931-2
Ray and Fraser arrive at farmhouse and begin their search.
13 Hawk and a Handsaw
AKUA TUTA * (means "Take Care")
Kashtin, "Akua Tuta"
Columbia
CK 80209
Fraser, now a patient at hospital, leads a bunch of patients through hospital in search of the 'blue room.'
14 An Eye For An Eye
BONE OF CONTENTION *
Spirit of The West, "Faithlift"
WEA
CD 93642
Two kids bike down street, terrorizing pedestrians.
STAIN
Salvador Dream, "UR"
Warner Music Canada
Steg beats up Herb in his apartment.
PUSH
Moist, "Push"
EMI Music Canada
CD F2-29608
Near end of episode; Herb lures Steg into trap in park.
15 The Man Who Knew Too Little
SUCH IS THE SITUATION
The Sidemen, "When the Sun Goes Down"
Dark Light Music Ltd.
(No # listed)
As Brock and his men attack the diner where Ray, Fraser and Ian have stopped for lunch.
16 The Wild Bunch
All Original Music
17 The Blue Line
HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA THEME
Written by Dolores Claman (SOCAN/PRS)
Courtesy of: Copyright Music & Visuals
Fraser plays hockey with Mark Smithbauer and a bunch of children.
18 The Deal
O PERFECT LOVE (info)
Words: Dorothy Gurney, 1883
Music: Joseph Barnby, 1890
Sung in the choir loft as Frannie tries to talk to Fraser.
EIA MATER *
The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, "Laudate Dominum"
CBC Enterprises (c) 1987
SMCD5054
At bus station; from hunt through lines of buses to where Fraser is viciously beaten by Zuko's hoods.
19 An Invitation To Romance
SLEEPING BEAUTY WALTZ
The Emperor Quartet, "In Perfect Time"
Composed by Peter Tchaikovsky
CD JTK-4-002
At very end of episode; Fraser and Katherine Burns dance to this piece at Consulate party.
20 Heaven and Earth
AT THE HUNDREDTH MERIDIAN
The Tragically Hip, "Fully Completely"
(C) MCA
MCAD-10700
During FBI/police chase of the kidnapper's car; ends when kidnapper's car blows up.
21 Victoria's Secret
POSSESSION
Sarah McLachlan, "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"
(c) 1993 Arista Records, Inc.
07822-18725-2
In his apartment, Fraser contemplates having seen Victoria in the revolving doors; and when Fraser and Victoria's passion flare; they kiss, then....fade to black.
POSSESSION (piano version) *
Sarah McLachlan, "Due South Soundtrack"
Unforscene Music (c) 1996
6 2428 40004 2 8
FUMBLING TOWARDS ECSTASY
Sarah McLachlan, "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"
(c) 1993 Arista Records, Inc.
07822-18725-2
Ray and Fraser, and Huey and Louis, search for Victoria; the gun is found at the zoo.
O GOD, MY GOD
The Baha'i Chorale
Don't Blink Music
(Not available on CD)
In background as Fraser talks in confessional to Father Behan.
22 Letting Go
PLENTY
Sarah McLachlan, "Fumbling Towards Ecstacy"
(c) 1993 Arista Records, Inc.
07822-18725-2
Fraser lies in hospital bed at night staring out window, his mind
replaying everything that happened in 'Victoria's Secret.'
In the second season of DUE SOUTH the CANADIAN artists featured were Jeff Healey, "See the Light",Klaatu "CALLING OCCUPANTS OF INTERPLANETARY CRAFT" and Tom Cochrane, "Ragged Ass Road" and more.
Due south was one of those shows that had great potential,a lot of fans and no support from the CBS.
A sweet police story
2009-05-08 - My family loves this show-- something for everyone. My husband likes the police procedural/cop show aspects, and my daughter and I are suckers for a pretty face (Paul Gross). Plus there's a dog (he's supposed to be a wolf). The character of Benton Frasier is a grown up boy scout, a true gentleman who never disappoints. He's a mountie in America, the kind of guy who would endure tremendous hardships to do his job, and still give up his seat if there was a woman anywhere on the bus. What's not to like?
I recommend starting with season one; it's not essential to enjoying the show but it makes more sense if you see it first.
Fine, funny show, poor DVD quality 
2008-10-31 - I was vaguely aware of this light-hearted suspense/mystery show when it was on in the mid-90s, but never watched it. The reason my wife and I picked up on it recently was because of star Paul Gross's more recent comedy, Slings and Arrrows (a work of genius, BTW, in the league of Ricky Gervais's The Office). Due South is funny, action-packed, full of delightful characters (including a deaf wolf named after a former Canadian PM), and not a little bittersweet. As suspense-mysteries go, the shows aren't bad either. One caveat, though: By jamming 6 hour-format episodes on each disk, the manufacturer has degraded the visual quality. During any action sequence there's terrible pixilation and breakup. So long as the actors aren't moving very much, it looks OK. We're willing to put up with the visual issues because we've become quite fond of the show.
Nowhere Near Classic - But A Good Entertainment Value 
2008-05-10 - In the 1970s, American audiences accepted, in the spirit of good natured fun, the Canadian group Guess Who's schlock hit "American Woman," even though it was highly derivative (a sort of Led Zeppelin lite), silly and full of insecure Canadian "we are so very different from Americans" cultural jingoism. The same sort of approach - acceptance as good natured fun - is needed to enjoy Due South, a Canadian produced, "set in Chicago" formulaic buddy-cop series that veers wildly (sometimes in a single episode) from genuinely cool and slick pop entertainment to amazingly dumb and inconsistent writing, story line and production values. The main character Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) is a stiff, cartoon-like, morally pristine Canadian Mountie who can leap in front of high speed vehicles, confront a bar full of seedy and heavily armed underworld characters or jump/tumble from great heights without any sign of fear or hesitancy and, more importantly, without wrinkling his crisp Mountie uniform. All this is done while we learn that Benton can also speak Chinese, communicate almost intuitively with his deaf, lip-reading pet wolf and determine where a clod of Chicago-area mud came from simply by sniffing or tasting it (no kidding). Benton's sidekick (or co-main character) is Ray Vecchio (David Marciano), a harried Chicago detective whose cheesy exterior and gruff mannerisms barely conceal his reluctant sincerity and heart of gold. Together, these two unlikely buddies (a modern day, whimsical Holmes and worldly Watson duo) finesse, stumble and plod their way through a series of mysteries and adventures - from solving the mystery of how contaminated meat is entering Chicago-area grocery stores to thwarting vicious murderers and kidnappers. Accepted for what it is - good, clean fun with a tongue-in-cheek attitude - it is easy to overlook the deficiencies and inconsistencies in this series and, instead, focus on its merits as middle-of-the-road, albeit sometimes lightweight and amateurish, entertainment. On a more cynical note, the series is certainly worth the 20 to 30 dollar price per season - even if you just use it as video "background noise" or "filler" for other activities, such as housecleaning, reading the paper or vegging out with not-too-stimulating or challenging tv fare after a hard day at work. I don't think Due South will ever be considered among the classic achievements of television, but it is worth viewing. And, oh yeah, American audiences will have to sit through the obligatory Canadian reference to the War of 1812 and yet another "meaningful" reprise of "American Woman" in the soundtrack to the series.
Kinder Is NIcer
2008-03-27 - Due South, the only Canadian TV show that aired on U.S. PrimeTime television, came and went without most of us knowing about it. But this quirky series not only provided a cop show with interesting plot lines, it fed us characters that were likable and wonderful to watch interacting. Fraser, the RCMP Mounty, is an invariably polite, unfailingly non-violent (to the extent possible) liason to the Chicago police department's wise-cracking bad attitude italian cop Ray. What makes it truly intriguing is that most of the time, Ray gets himself into difficulty with his bad attitude and matching verbal banter, while Fraser's open, friendly politeness succeeds in getting the desired results. A really good family show that teaches younger members of the family (for example, our ten-year-old grandson) the benefits of being nice and polite instead of violent and angry. Fraser's deaf but lip-reading dog, Diefenbaker, gives you some idea of how seriously the show takes itself. I enjoyed every minute.
