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Due South: Season 2
R2 - United Kingdom - Network Review written by and copyright: Rob Hunt (10th August 2006). |
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The Show
 Like all the best TV shows, it's often the case that you can enjoy the first, enjoy the second more, rewatch the first and see it as the one with the more crucial role (setting up the characters, premises) - and deciding that is the better one - and then rewatch the second again to have your mind switch again. This is definitely the feeling I get with Due South. Whilst the third season/spin off is still enjoyable as I remember it, the first two seasons were the best, but I can't decide which one I prefer. I may just give it to this second season... One of the smartest moves made by the creators of Due South was to introduce a woman into the regular line-up, and one which bounces off the lead, Fraser (Paul Gross), very well indeed. To continue the trend of prime minister-names on the show (e.g. Diefenbaker - 13th prime minister of Canada), they named this new woman Inspector Margaret. Thatcher - a wonderful touch indeed! Played by the beautiful Camilla Scott this adds a certain 'je ne sais quoi' to the proceedings, which gets all the more interesting in one of my, and I'm sure many others, favourite episode - "All the Queens Horses". Like the first season before it, we have the main premise of the series' various storylines for each episode, but whereas the first season built up the relationship between Fraser and Vecchio (David Marciano), this one carries it on with the added spice that is the presence of the beautiful Margaret Thatcher (now there's three words I never thought I could put next to each other!). Containing some of the most memorable Due South episodes - if only for the chemistry between Fraser and Thatcher - this second season is, at worst, as good as the first in terms of enjoyment, but so much more interesting than that. And let's not forget the presence of both Vecchio and Diefenbaker - making the series complete. That and those Mounties...! The complete second season... DISC 1 to DISC 4 contain 4 episodes each whilst DISC 5 contains the final 2 episodes of the season. Altogether there are 18 episodes. I won't go into detail as most of the episodes have a fairly simple story, which would be difficult to explore without giving away the ending. As such I have used the brief episode synopses from the TV.com Guide. **Possible spoilers may ensue.** DISC 1: - "North" (43:39) A plane crash blinds Fraser and strands the pair in the wilderness. - "Vault" (41:29) During a bank robbery, Fraser and Ray are trapped in a time-locked, water-filled vault. - "Witness" (44:18) Ray is jailed for contempt of court; Fraser gets arrested to protect him. - "Bird in the Hand" (44:55) Fraser must see that a federal witness comes safely to trial. DISC 2: - "The Promise" (44:10) A teenage thief's life is put in danger when she steal an appointment book which could destroy a powerful senator's career, and Fraser and Ray have to save her. - "The Mask" (43:44) When valuable aboriginal masks are stolen from a museum, Fraser and Ray have to find the culprits. - "Juliet is Bleeding" (44:08) Ray is convinced that he's found Guardino's killer in mafia boss Frank Zuko, but is torn when he realises he's the brother of his childhood sweetheart, Irene Zuko. - "One Good Man" (44:08) Fraser rallies the tenants to do something about the current situation, but when they get the landlord's attention, he evicts them all. In order to fix what he did, Fraser then goes in front of city council. DISC 3: - "The Edge" (44:08) Ray and Fraser team up with Anita Cortez to protect their countries diplomats at a NAFTA convention, and a series of mishaps land Fraser with envelope duty, until he and Cortez can put aside their mutual enmity to work together. - "We are the Eggmen" (44:18) Ray and Francesca fight over a winning lottery ticket...she wants half the winnings because she put in half the money, and he says it's all his money because he purchased the winning ticket solely with his own money. After accidentally creating an accident with a local farmer, Fraser is sued by him, and later learns he's created a special brand of egg that everyone wants. - "Starman" (44:18) Ian MacDonald claims aliens kidnapped his girlfriend Audrey as he was about to propose. Ray and Fraser reluctantly investigate, and learn that Audrey is involved in a shady government organization. - "Some Like It Red" (44:08) Fraser goes undercover as a woman at a girls' school after Ray's ex-girlfriend comes to him for help. Ray, meanwhile, worries that he turned his ex into a nun. DISC 4: - "White Men Can't Jump to Conlusions" (44:17) A teen takes the rap for a drug dealer but Fraser and Ray are determined to prove his innocence. - "All the Queen's Horses" (44:56) Terrorists take a train carrying a group of singing mounties. - "Body Language" (43:58) An exotic dancer tells about mobsters taking over strip joints. - "The Duel" (44:03) A paroled killer leaves clues about his next victims for Ray. DISC 5: - "Red, White or Blue?" (42:51) Terrorists strap Fraser and Ray to a bomb. - "Flashback" (44:14) Fraser has amnesia after being thrown from a speeding van driven by diamond thieves and forgets everything -- his name, his identity, and the license plate of the speeding van. Ray tries to prod Fraser's memory by recounting some of their times together.
Video
Whilst I commented back in the previous review of the first season that the visuals varied, here they have been sharp on both TV and computer - perhaps not a major improvement from the first season, but a strong improvement nonetheless. Again the episode do look mastered from tapes, and the credits look to be of a slightly inferior quality to the episodes themselves, but this season definitely looked in better shape than the first season - and possibly even better than recent reruns on UK TV. I can't quite put my finger on it but this season has something better about its image quality.
Audio
Once again audio is presented in the original 2.0 Stereo as broadcast in its original run, and dialogue and other sounds are mixed together well. As I noted in the first season review the quality could have been even better in 2.0 Surround, especially entertaining with the Mounties in "All the Queen's Horses"! No subtitles are provided, alas.
Extras
It came as a very pleasant surprise to find this set contains a few extra bits! Not especially meaty, mind, but some quality material nonetheless. These all feel like the bonuses included on some "bootleg albums" - with a rare and rough feel but with clear fan-quality as well. The first of these is titled CBS This Morning interview [22 Sept. 1994] and runs 3 minutes and 36 seconds. Consisting of clips from the first series interspersed with on-location interviews with Paul Gross and David Marciano and some behind-the-scenes footage. Whilst short it still manages to retain some interesting points, and worth a watch. It looks like it has been taped off the TV, and shows how much worse the picture quality could have looked on these DVD releases. Next up is Canada AM interview [17 Dec. 1994] running 4 minutes and 37 seconds. Slightly longer, but with a similar premise to the CBS clip, this was on-location mid-season and includes more behind-the-scenes material (with some brief B-roll) with interviews with Gross and Marciano and once again holds some intriguing shots (rather sad to see glimpses of what could have been a great in-depth documentary, but as no such thing exists it's great to see Network have really put their all into providing these!). Thirdly, taken from the late Saturday-night TV show (in the UK) of the same name, there is a Noel's House Party interview, clocking in at 3 minutes and 18 seconds. A bit too short in terms of interesting information, but mildly fun nonetheless, and once again nice to see Network putting effort into providing extras when no other DVD release has any! Last, but not least, is a specially-made BBC 1 Trailer to advertise the second season on the BBC, lasting 56 seconds. As most of the older BBC archives were wiped in rather unfortunate circumstances, like the other clips (if only the first one or two) this has been taken from a VHS recording (as is mentioned at the beginning) but is no doubt a real gem for fans.
Overall
The complete second season of Due South has now been released in the UK by Network, complementing the first, especially when it comes to the packaging (where the sturdy outer boxes line up and form a compass). As an unexpected bonus Network have gone above and beyond the call of duty and included some great extras; hopefully we will see more on the third season, including (with any luck) the audio commentary provided by Alliance Atlantis on the Canadian R1 release. Once again I am overjoyed this has received a UK release, and look forward to the release of the third season later in 2006. Sadly, once again, the only negative thing I really have to say about this DVD (and pretty much any other Network DVD) is the lack of subtitles. I commented on the steep RRP [£59.99] of the first season (which is identical here) which is a bit irritating due to the lack of subtitles. If subtitles had been included I would have recommended this at the full RRP (I'm sure the rare extras cost a bit in licensing) but unfortunately there are none once again, which is going to knock this release down from a solid A- to a B+ in my book. (Network, if you ever want me to transcribe the dialogue for any of your DVDs for subtitles, let me know and I'll do it for free!!). Due South fans who havn't purchased the R1s will no doubt be in two minds over this - weighing up the RRP with the extras and lack of double-sided DVDs. If the lack of subtitles doesn't bother you, I'd recommend you pick this up if you find it an acceptable price for you; a great season for the show, and the best in my opinion.
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