Search - Due South: Season Two (3-DVD Digipack) on DVD

The real Ray's departure, and the last really good season

Veggiechiliqueen | 01/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Due South followed the misguided adventures of Benton Fraser, a constable in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as he tracked his father's killers to Chicago. After closing the case, his Canadian superiors advised him to lie low, so he remains in Chicago as a liaison at the Canadian consulate and works cases with Ray Vecchio, Chicago cop. The Canadian/American and wilderness/city culture clash leads to some humorous moments along the way.

The picture quality is noticeably grainy since it was taken from videotape rather than the masters, but for the great price (I now have all the seasons for less than one season of the Canadian box set), it's a compromise that was worth it. Like the Canadian set, there are no extras, also no closed captioning. Menus are bare bones and include episodes and chapter menus (hardly "interactive" menus as stated on the box). The packaging is a big step from the clunky Canadian design, featuring an attractive foldout cardboard case with large photos of Ray, Benton, and Dief. The DVDs are single sided, meaning easier handling.

And all 18 second season episodes are here, including the supposed series finale "Flashback" (the show was resurrected from the dead for the third season, when they were already destroying sets and many of the original cast had other work). Second season standouts include Juliet is Bleeding, One Good Man a.k.a. Thank You Kindly, Mr. Capra, Some Like It Red (Benny in drag!), and All the Queen's Horses (the funniest episode on record -- singing Mounties!).

Although the picture quality is less than stellar, it certainly beats my old videotaped copies that were rapidly deteriorating, and it's wonderful to reconnect with the excellent scripts, jokes, and friendly jabs at Canadian culture (curling, hockey, bilingualism, politeness, etc.)."

Don't Disparage the Canadian Release Altogether

Pelaphus | Long Island City, New York USA | 02/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"True, the US sets are cheaper than the Canada sets (though if you buy the canada sets from Amazon.ca, they're LOTS cheaper than buying them as imports from Amazon.com). True, the Canadian sets have difficult packaging (DVD overlay and spindles that require a lot of pressure before you can pop out the disk without risk of damage). True the first two Canadian season sets use the dreaded "flipper" (2-sided) disks. True what we saw in the US as a third season of 22 (missing four episodes, by the way) was produced and broadcast in Canada as two seasons of 13 each -- and the third and fourth DVD sets are released separately too. (Does the US "third season" set have all 26?) And most ironic truth of all: if I'd known that by waiting, I'd have gotten all three sets cheaper from an American distributor, I'd've taken that route too.

However -- the Canadian sets feature pristine transfers. (I've read that the US sets use videotape as the masters; I'm not sure where this info comes from, but it doesn't make sense that the masters would be any different than what the Alliance sets drew upon, since they license the material.) The Canadian sets feature disks running at the highest speed. (The American disks are single sided because they jam twice the normal amount of eps. per side, and run at a slower speed. That, it seems to me, would account for VHS-like resolution.) The Canadian sets, for whatever it's worth, do feature accurate packaging (the right cast members listed and featured in illustrations). And finally --

-- small thing though it may be --

-- the Caniadian Final (4th) Season set does have a small but utterly delightful extra. Paul Gross does a running commentary for both parts of CALL OF THE WILD. I can live without most commentary tracks I hear, but this is one you'll return to. It's witty, wryly funny and thoughtfully observed.

I won't tell you not to save the dough on the American release, I empathize ... I'll only tell you, the Canadian sets have more vibrant sound and video. And in the end, it's what's ON the DVD that matters the most ... isn't it?"

Canadian DVD is superior to this, and more expensive.

Paul J. Mular | San Carlos, CA USA | 09/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Platinum U.S. DVD release is mastered from their VHS masters. Get the Canadian DVD release, it looks very good. Yes it is quite a bit more expensive (cheaper if you buy it directly from Amazon.ca, the Canadian division of Amazon)."

Not bad. Not great, but not bad

Liz | Missouri, USA | 01/11/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's so great to finally have this on DVD that I don't want to complain...but.... No widescreen, no CC, no scene selection, and the quality is about what you'd expect from a VHS tape. I hear the Canadian version is better, but I can't afford that kind of money. Really, you do get your money's worth out of this set. For this price, I wasn't expecting a miracle, just _due South_ in a watchable format, which is what I got."