Must-See: the DUE SOUTH pilot (1994) written by Paul Haggis
Due South is an American/Canadian show that debuted on CBS in 1994. When I first saw the Due South pilot, I was utterly blown away by how good it was. It seemed to me that it was a perfect pilot; beautifully written, acted, and directed, the script balanced on a knife-point between humor and drama. The plot exploited beloved old-time tropes like "Two Buddy Cops", "The Odd Couple", and "Fish Out Of Water" perfectly, but somehow made them fresh and new again. The two leads had fantastic chemistry, their characters perfect opposites to one another: Ray Vecchio, a snide and sarcastic Italian-American Chicago cop in Armani, and Constable Benton Fraser, an upright, old-soul-yet-oddly-innocent stereotype of a Canadian Mountie in that eye-catching red uniform and Mountie stetson.
"OMG, the genius who created Due South and wrote this pilot is going to go on to be a huge success someday," I thought, then became a stone-cold fan of the show.
That genius was Paul Haggis, who went on to become the first screenwriter to write two Best Film Oscar winners back-to-back: Crash and Million-Dollar Baby. He continues to write scripts that balance the darkest drama with the lightest charm, whimsy, and humor in a manner that no other writer can manage. He is unique.
The reason it was necessary to put out a stand-alone DVD for the two-part pilot is because Alliance did NOT include it in the Due South First Season DVD set, much to the fans' surprise, dismay, and anger. It was stuck into the Third Season DVD set instead, where it did not belong--sharp practice on their part. Paul Haggis was deeply involved in the sublime first season of the show, then lightly involved in the generally-very-enjoyable second season (his talented sister took over as show-runner), but the third season, sadly free of any Paul Haggis contamination whatsoever, seemed to become a parody of Due South*, and many of us did not think it necessary to purchase third season... except that the Third Season DVD set was holding the pilot hostage. I own first and second season, but refused to buy third season, so I was very happy to see this stand-alone pilot DVD.
Even if you never bother to watch the rest of Due South (why not? It's amazing!), you will still find this two-hour pilot a fabulous stand-alone movie full of humor, sadness, action, whimsy, violence, quiet moments, amazing dialogue, memorable characters, sharp directing and cinematography, and a great (Canadian) soundtrack.
*YMMV, I also know many people who love Third Season and Ray Kowalski, the character who replaced Ray Vecchio in third season, in particular. Just not me.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
