Catching Up, Part I: Due South, Season 3, Disc 1 (1997-98)

I really ought not watch any more movies until I catch up on my reviewing, so here goes.

I try to keep a balance in my Netflix queue among classic films, newer films I've missed, and television episodes. The TV shows are the most difficult in some ways because DVD producers vary so much in how many episodes are on a disc. Some companies will put only one or two episodes on a DVD, whereas others will cram in as many as possible. The people who make DVDs of Due South are the latter variety, with 5-7 episodes per disc, so it takes a while to get through one.

Season 3, Disc 1 finds Constable Benton Fraser (Paul Gross) in a very puzzling situation. He returns from a trip to find his partner, Ray Vecchio (David Marciano) gone, and in his place a completely different person who says he's Ray Vecchio. What's worse, everyone in the station, even Ray's sister Francesca, who's now a civilian aide, agrees that the sloppy-dressing, blondish-crewcut cop (played by Callum Keith Rennie) is indeed Ray Vecchio. Like Fraser, I had a hard time warming up to the "new" Ray at first. But after watching several episodes (and having the mystery explained), I'm enjoying the new character and Rennie's performance, though I still miss David Marciano. Otherwise, it's the mixture as before, with gentle fun poked at Fraser's Dudley Do-Right persona and plenty of Ripping Yarn-style stunt work. Gordon Pinsent as the ghost of Fraser's father appears more and more often and I wonder if he was the genesis of the ghost character in Slings and Arrows, Gross's more recent ( and well worth watching) series.