Line #40 Series/DueSouth


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duesouth02.jpg]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350:So very pretty.]]
7
8	->'''Moffat:''' All this do-gooding, Constable. Picking up litter, rescuing kittens, saving people's lives. What sort of message do you suppose that sends to the Americans?\
9	'''Fraser:''' That we care, sir?\
10	'''Moffat:''' Exactly, and people don't ''fear'' people who care.\
11	'''Fraser:''' I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't aware that we wanted the Americans to fear us.
12	-->-- ''Due South'', "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E18AnInvitationToRomance An Invitation to Romance]]"
13
14	A BuddyCopShow / OddCouple, where the OddCouple is an American detective and a Canadian Mountie. The series lasted from April 1994 to March 1999; a total of 67 episodes in four seasons (Canada, where it aired on Creator/{{CTV}}, and the rest of the world) or three seasons (in the US, where it was seen on Creator/{{CBS}}), depending on location.
15
16	The Mountie, Constable Benton Fraser, came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of his father; and, "for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture", remained attached as liaison with the Canadian Consulate, working with local detective Ray Vecchio - who, for various reasons having to do with actor availability, is later replaced by Stanley (Raymond) Kowalski. Yes, that is his name (his dad was a fan of Creator/MarlonBrando). He even married a woman named Stella, though they had divorced by the time Ray K moved to Chicago.
17
18	Cst. Benton Fraser (rhymes with "razor", though Ray V usually pronounces it "Series/{{Frasier}}") is the living incarnation of almost every Mountie stereotype ever conceived. He's polite to a fault, can track a man for months across an Arctic waste, fights honorably, doesn't lie, and is almost always impeccably clean, even after climbing out of a sewer. During the first two seasons, he's frequently shown wearing civilian clothes, but during the last seasons, he almost always wears the formal red dress uniform, which in real life is only worn for special public occasions or for publicity.
19
20	Ray Vecchio is, in his own way, also the quintessential cynical American cop: from his attitudes and his eating habits, to his clothes and his car.
21
22	Ray Kowalski is similar in many ways, but more prone to wear his heart on his sleeve, has a unique manner of speaking ("I'm gonna jump Bogart all over you!").
23
24	Rounding out the cast is Diefenbaker, Fraser's half-wolf CanineCompanion, who is deaf (but can read lips).
25
26	''Due South'' is both a buddy cop comedy and a drama and handles both genres quite well. Fraser and both Rays play well off of one another, and make each other's more exaggerated characteristics work.
27
28	It also included some elements of magical realism, most notably Sgt. Bob Fraser (usually called "Fraser Sr.", "Dead Bob", or "OFDM" (for "Our Favourite Dead Mountie") by the fandom), the ghost of Fraser's father. Only Fraser could see and hear his father, unless Fraser Sr. wanted to show himself to someone else (this happened three times--he appeared to his killer, to his wife's killer, and to his best friend from the force), or they were also related to him (happened once). Ray V's dad's ghost also popped up once or twice, and interacted with Fraser Sr once, though he was never a regular character.
29
30	[[Recap/DueSouth Recap page]] and [[Characters/DueSouth Character page]] are both under construction.
31	----
32	!!Provides examples of:
33	* AmbiguousSituation: At the end of "Victoria's Secret", it's unclear whether or not [[spoiler:Victoria was pointing a gun at Fraser as he tried to jump on her train]]. The scene has shots from [[RashomonStyle different character's perspectives that show it either way]].
34	* {{Affectionate Nickname}}: Fraser is "Benny" to Ray V.
35	* AllAPartOfTheJob: Fraser is baffled and uncomfortable when his heroics draw media attention. When reporters ask how he feels about having prevented a horrible disaster (in "Red, White, or Blue", referencing the events of "All the Queen's Horses"), all he can come up with is "Fine."
36	* TheAllegedCar: In "The Wild Bunch," the motor-pool car Ray Vecchio is driving due to destroying his beloved Riv in the previous episode.
37	* AndTheAdventureContinues: ''[[spoiler:"And off we went, to find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea. And if we do find his hand - the reaching out one - we'll let you know."]]''
38	* AnotherStoryForAnotherTime: Fraser's "But that's not important, what ''is'' important..."
39	* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: in "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E12AHawkAndAHandsaw A Hawk and a Handsaw]]," Fraser says that the Inuit have over 60 words for snow. (Linguist Geoffrey Pullum estimates that [[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000405.html the actual number is around five]], roughly the same as in English; however, this might have more to do with settler colonialism and resulting language loss [[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/inuit-unikkaangit-kuniluusie-nutarak-1.6330149 as revealed on a recently unearthed CBC archival recording of an Inuit elder]], and that linguists and native speakers don't necessarily agree on what counts as a 'word'.) The trope is somewhat averted in that this is a very widespread myth, but Fraser's character is a stickler for detail who grew up in a part of Canada with a large Inuit population; you'd think he'd have noticed the 50-some-odd missing words for snow, at some point.
40	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: In "Mountie on the Bounty", Constable Turnbull finds it entirely reasonable that Sergeant Sam Thorn is so enamoured with the idea of the RCMP as a naval force she uses RCMP cadets to build a full-scale replica of the HMS Bounty, complete with cannons, and trains them to sail it. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint He objects to her adding a naval officer's sword to her uniform.]]
41	* AxCrazy: Randall Bolt, the crazy White Supremacist terrorist.
42	* BadBadActing: Fraser and Ray K., when they realize Ray's apartment has been bugged.
43	* BareHandedBladeBlock: In "[[Recap/DueSouthS3E05SeeingisBelieving Seeing is Believing]]," Fraser catches a knife thrown at him.
44	* BashBrothers: In the series finale [[spoiler:Detectives Ray Vecchio and Ray Kowalski partner up with each other briefly.]]
45	* BeardOfSorrow: In "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E12AHawkAndAHandsaw A Hawk and a Handsaw]]," Fraser mentions that after his mother died, his father quit shaving for a while.
46	* BeleagueredChildhoodFriend: Fraser's friend Mark Smithbauer, in "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E16TheBlueLine The Blue Line]]".
47	* BiggerOnTheInside: Fraser's closet has all of Canada in it, or at least just his father's new cabin. May not technically count since it's all in Fraser's head. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Or is it?]]
48	* BittersweetEnding: The last few minutes of the final episode, when Fraser tells of what happened to those whom he considered as friends. Fraser's voiceover is hated by some fans, who think that not all of the characters got happy endings, and wrote fix-it fanfics with better endings.
49	* BookEnds: Two for the show as a whole.
50	** The PilotMovie has Fraser pursuing the man who killed his father (with help from Ray Vecchio), and the series finale has Fraser pursuing the man who killed his mother (with help from Ray Kowalski)
51	** The pilot had Fraser starting in the Canadian wilderness and moving to Chicago, and the series finale has Fraser deciding to go back to Canada.
52	* TheBoxingEpisode: In "Mountie and Soul"
53	** Also "Diefenbaker's Day Off," which aired before "Mountie and Soul"
54	* BrickJoke: In ''The Deal'' Fraser mentions a schoolyard bully from his childhood menacing kids with a dead otter. Five episodes later, in ''Letting Go'', a physical therapist is scrutinizing his body for past injuries and discovers an odd scar which he says was caused when he was struck by an otter at age 10.
55	* BritishRoyalGuards: Constable Benton Fraser would mimic these guards' "statuesque" reputation whenever he stood on guard duty at the Canadian Consulate, as did his junior, Constable Renfield Turnbull in Season 3. Once in season two, when Fraser was [[TimmyInAWell stuck in a (metaphoric) well]], he sent his half-wolf/half-dog Diefenbaker to get help; Dief patiently waited in front of one unnamed Mountie until his tour was up, at which point he finally barked the news about Fraser to him and said Mountie was able to respond.
56	* BrotherSisterIncest: A one-sided version occurs in ''Hunting Season''. [[spoiler:Fraser is very attracted to Maggie Mackenzie, to the point where he and Ray K become rivals for her affection, until he discovers that she is actually his half-sister.]]
57	* ButForMeItWasTuesday: The serial bank robber that [=RayK=] pursues in "Eclipse".
58	-->'''Ray''': I don't believe this, you don't remember me.\
59	'''Bank robber''': Hey kid, I robbed a lot of banks.
60	* CareerRevealingTrait: In one episode, Benton is able to tell that the woman he's having dinner with is not a nurse as she claims to be, as the way she sits at the table implies she spends a lot of time at a computer or typewriter, making it more likely that she is a journalist.
61	* CatchPhrase: Quite a long one, too. Starting in season three, whenever someone asks Fraser what he's doing in America (see OnceAnEpisode), he usually responds:
62	-->'''Fraser''': I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father; and, for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, I have remained, attached as liaison officer with the Canadian Consulate.
63	** Often as not, somebody else gives this or some variation as an explanation. "This is Fraser, he first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of his father, etc."
64	** Also "Oh dear", whenever anything is about to go wrong, and "thank you kindly".
65	** {{Subverted}} when, in one episode, Fraser complains about the supposed Mountie Motto "We always get our man" - it's actually "Maintiens le droit"[[note]]Defending The Law, although Fraser states it as Defend The Right[[/note]], regardless of what everyone, including his dead father, seems to think.
66	* CelebrityParadox: Buck Frobisher's resemblance to "legendary Canadian actor Creator/LeslieNielsen" is remarked upon in "[[Recap/DueSouthS3E01BurningDownTheHouse Burning Down the House]]".
67	* ChainedHeat: Fraser and Inspector Thatcher in ''All the Queen's Horses'' and Fraser and [=RayV=] in ''Red, White or Blue''.
68	* [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's]] ([[ItWorksBetterWithBullets Unloaded]]) [[ChekhovsGun Gun]]: In the "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E1Pilot Pilot]]," Fraser pulls out his gun in a Chicago bar, then explains that it's empty because he doesn't have a local permit. [[spoiler:Later, when his father's killer grabs the gun in a fight and tries to shoot him, it isn't loaded]].
69	* ClingyJealousGirl: Ray V's sister, Francesca ("Frannie") Vecchio, pursued Fraser aggressively--at one point even telling people that they had slept together. (In case simple common sense isn't enough to convince you that they hadn't, WordOfGod has confirmed it.)
70	** Inspector Thatcher, though less clingy and more jealous; Francesca never got upset with Fraser for bringing strange women home or working with exotic dancers.
71	** Ray Kowalski is a male version of this during the finale, when he's so jealous of Fraser's friendship with RayV.
72	* ClipShow: "Flash Back." "Red, White Or Blue" is not exactly this trope, but it does contain a significant amount of footage from "All The Queen's Horses" and a few other episodes.
73	* CoolCar: Vecchio's 1971 Buick Riviera, [[RunningGag which kept getting]] [[EveryCarIsAPinto blown up]], and later Kowalski's GTO.
74	* {{Confessional}}:
75	** Fraser, in "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E20and21VictoriasSecret Victoria's Secret]]"
76	** Played for laughs by Francesca in ''The Deal'', where she attempts to pre-emptively confess for a sin she plans to commit (seducing Fraser). The priest, exasperatedly, points out that she can't keep confessing for a sin she never actually commits.
77	** {{Inverted}} in the same episode when Fraser asks the priest what he thought of [[TheMafia Don Zuko]]. His answer, as vague as it is, implies that he has gone to confessional himself for wishing harm upon Zuko.
78	* CopKiller: The series begins with the murder of a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman in the wilderness of the Northwest Territories. The plot of the pilot episode centers around [[YouKilledMyFather his son]], Benton Fraser ([[InTheBlood also a Mountie]]) , teaming up with a Chicago detective to [[AlwaysGetsHisMan track down the killer]] after he crosses the border into the [[EagleLand United States]]. It turns out the killer was hired by another [[spoiler:Mountie, a close friend of the Frasers, no less.]]
79	* TheCoroner: Mort.
80	* CountingBullets: Frasier does this once when facing off against an armed opponent. Thatcher, Kowalski and Welsh where apparently counting too but each gives conflicting numbers adding to the confusion.
81	* CrazyPrepared:
82	** From the episode "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E12AHawkAndAHandsaw A Hawk and a Handsaw]]":
83	-->'''Fraser:''' I sharpened my buckle.\
84	'''Ray:''' You were anticipating cutting your way out of a rubber room?!
85	** From the episode "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E02Vault Vault]]":
86	-->'''Fraser:''' I've been making calculations based on its thickness, the depth of the existing hole and the reflection of the tonal input as it percusses against my tuning fork.
87	-->'''Ray:''' Where the hell did you get a tuning fork?
88	* DatingCatwoman: For Fraser, Victoria Metcalf ("[[Recap/DueSouthS1E20and21VictoriasSecret Victoria's Secret]]"). Ray V, in "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E11YouMustRememberThis You Must Remember This]]", has a brief romance that seems to be this trope, but ends up subverted as [[spoiler:his love interest turns out to be an undercover agent running a sting, not a thief.]]
89	* DeadPersonConversation: With Fraser Sr., ''very'' frequently. Ray V also spoke occasionally with the ghost of his own father, though their relationship was much more antagonistic than the Frasers'.
90	* DeadpanSnarker: Ray V and Sergent Buck Frobisher
91	* {{Determinator}}: Both Fraser and Dief. As the saying goes, they always get their man. On at least one occasion, Fraser has worried that Dief will literally run his paws off rather than give up pursuit.
92	* DinnerAndAShow: Ray V's family.
93	* DitchTheBodyguards: The plot of ''Chicago Holiday''.
94	* DoorstopBaby: "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E09ACopAMountieAndABaby A Cop, a Mountie, and a Baby]]"
95	%%* DrivesLikeCrazy: Pike in "Spy Vs. Spy"
96	* DrowningPit: "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E02Vault Vault]]"
97	* ElevatorConference: Done once in a while, except Fraser and Ray would use a nearby broom closet, occasionally leading to other people finding them there and [[NotWhatItLooksLike being left to draw their own conclusions]].
98	* ElevatorSnare: In [[Recap/DueSouthS4E12CallOfTheWildPart1 "Call of the Wild, Part 1"]], Fraser and Ray Kowalski are chasing a man who [[spoiler:turns out to be Ray Vecchio, still undercover]]. The man then dodges into an elevator, Ray tosses Fraser his cell phone, and while Fraser races up the stairs, Ray calls from a payphone to tell him which floor the elevator stops on.
99	* EmbarrassingFirstName: Played straight with Stanley Ray Kowalski, who shared his name with the protagonist of ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire''. {{Subverted}} with Fraser, who had an ''odd'' first name ("Benton"), but wasn't even remotely embarrassed by it.
100	* EnhanceButton: Averted in "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E16TheBlueLine The Blue Line]]." Vecchio asks a technician to enlarge a frame from a video tape so he can identify a face in a crowd. The technician says it would be pointless because the resolution is too low. Fraser points out that they don't need to identify the man by his face; they just need his seat number, since the suspect almost certainly holds a season ticket. They figure out the seat number by counting rows and seats, rather than 'enhancing'.
101	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: This is how Benton Fraser is introduced (in a two part introduction) to the audience: first, having established that he's chasing down a criminal on a dogsled in a horrendous blizzard (and that his coworkers think he's crazy), the door bursts open to reveal Fraser, fresh from the blizzard with the fugitive slung over his shoulder, delivering the immortal first line: "That's the last time ''he'll'' fish over the limit." However, once that's had a minute to establish itself in everyone's minds, he politely explains to his apoplectic boss that the man was in fact ''dynamiting'' the streams with plastic explosive and nitroglycerin, which Frasier has confiscated. Oh yes, and he's donated the resultant four-and-a-half tons of fish to the nearest Native village, who are very happy with the police force about now. Benton Fraser: completely insane, but a hell of a cop.
102	* EveryCarIsAPinto: [[RunningGag Every]] 1971 Buick Riviera seems to be, though to be fair [[spoiler:One of them was [[ExternalCombustion rigged with a bomb]]]]
103	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Although they did refer to him by name a few times in ''The Deal'', more often than not, Joey Paducci is referred to as "The Shoemaker".
104	** Many of the Chicago police officers and people from Fraser's neighborhood will also refer to Fraser in the third person as "The Mountie", though they also just often refer to him by name. {{Justified\|Trope}}, as he really is one of only three or so mounties in Chicago at any given time.
105	%%* ExternalCombustion: [[spoiler:Poor Louis]].
106	* ExtraLongEpisode: "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E07ChicagoHolidayPart1 Chicago]] [[Recap/DueSouthS1E08ChicagoHolidayPart2 Holiday]]" on its first run.
107	* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: The plot that sets up the whole show.
108	-->''You're going to shoot a Mountie? [[{{Determinator}} They'll hunt you to the ends of the Earth,]]''
109	* FairCop: Fraser almost never looks less than dashingly handsome.
110	** Constable Maggie Mackenzie is a beautiful Mountie.
111	** Inspector Margaret Thatcher is another beautiful Mountie who, according to Fraser, looks particularly good in red serge: in "Red, White and Blue", he uses ''semaphore'' to tell her that [[spoiler:"Red suits you"]].
112	** On the American side, both Rays have their physical attributes and admirers
113	** FamilyFriendlyStripper: In the episode 'Body Language' Ray and Fraser tour the city's strip clubs in search of an arsonist but see nothing but lingerie clad dancers.
114	* FauxAffablyEvil: from "All the Queen's Horses," Randall Bolt, the psychopathic White Supremacist terrorist who captures a whole train of Mounties in order to send it into another train full of radioactive fuel rods, who is willing to [[spoiler:kill his men, including his girlfriend]], all with a broad smile across his face
115	* FishOutOfWater: Fraser had trouble adjusting to life in a bustling city after being a backwoods policeman.
116	** It is pointed out in the pilot that Fraser had trouble adjusting to life in a ''small'' city the one time they assigned him to work in one. If anything, he seems to adapt ''better'' to a big city for some reason.
117	** Inversely, neither of the Rays seem to do so hot themselves when they end up in the Canadian wilderness.
118	** It gets worse if you know more about mounties, all members of the RCMP are allowed to carry guns in the [[http://purpleslinky.com/offbeat/the-royal-canadian-mounted-police/ states]]
119	*** Why does Fraser only have Canadian currency on him, even if he only gets paid in Canadian money for some reason he could get it converted when he cashes his pay check at the bank. Also becomes funny when you realize mounties (and other Canadian law enforcement) are paid almost twice what American cops make but Fraser keeps borrowing money from Ray.
120	*** Well, yes. Fraser's paid in Canadian, and Chicago people generally don't accept Canadian money. Still leaves the problem of converting it to US dollars, though.
121	*** This may have to do with the fact that it is a lot easier to pay for stuff with American money in Canada than the reverse, but Canadians will still expect to be able to use their own currency in the US
122	* GeniusDitz: Turnbull, while not an idiot, is not that great at his job. However, he is very good at art, cooking, trivia, and perhaps cleaning. Doesn't help that he's a CloudCuckooLander to boot.
123	** Frannie as well. She may not get the jargon right or even understand some basics of policing, but she's good at finding information. Thankfully, that's her job, so she's a step ahead of Turnbull.
124	* GentleGiant: the large prisoner who helps out Fraser and Ray in "The Witness" is a variation on this: he's not exactly gentle (we see him throttling a lunchroom attendant when he tells him to move along because he doesn't have any food left), but he does keep the bad guy away because he was impressed with Fraser's courtesy
125	* GetIntoJailFree: A key witness is behind bars and Fraser's partner is jailed for contempt. Fraser gets himself arrested to join them and be in position to protect them. He's such a straight arrow that he can't bring himself to shoplift a candy bar, and his police friends have to plant it on him.
126	** In another episode, he gets himself interred in a mental hospital ([[ItMakesSenseInContext to help break Ray out]]) by showing up in his RCMP uniform and telling them the [[SarcasticConfession unaltered truth of how he ended up in Chicago]].
127	* GoAmongMadPeople: "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E12HawkAndAHandsaw Hawk and a Handsaw]]"
128	* GoingByTheMatchbook - A variation in ''Chicago Holiday'', averting the typical ClingyMacguffin quality of plot-important matchbooks.
129	%%* GoodOldWays
130	* HeroBall: It's the Mountie national sport.
131	* HesBack: "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E09TheEdge The Edge]]"
132	* HighDiveEscape: Fraser does one of these on “Mountie on the Bounty” to escape a ship.
133	* HollywoodLaw: On at least two occasions people with vendettas are satisfied when they get the person who killed their loved one to confess in front of a police officer. This ignores the fact that the admissibility of a confession extracted at gunpoint is highly dubious - any competent lawyer could argue that his client was willing to say just about anything if it got his tormentor to put the gun away. On one occasion the person doing this was a police officer and should have known this.
134	* HollywoodVoodoo: in "Mojo Rising," although they seem to have done their homework fairly well.
135	* ISeeThemToo: Whenever anyone other than Fraser sees his father.
136	* IfMyCalculationsAreCorrect: In "Vault," Fraser begins with "Now, I don’t have the specifications for the door, Ray. But I’ve been making calculations based on its thickness, the depth of the existing hole and the reflection of the tonal input as it percusses against my tuning fork." Several scenes later, after much bickering, he concludes with "That is, providing they maintain a constant rate of drilling."
137	* InsigniaRipOffRitual: Thatcher cuts Fraser's lanyard when she's handing down punishment for Fraser disobeying orders and helping his sister Maggie when she breaks into the consulate.
138	* InevitableWaterfall: "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E01North North]]" and "[[Recap/DueSouthS3E01BurningDowntheHouse Burning Down the House]]"
139	* InformedSelfDiagnosis: "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E01North North]]"
140	* InterserviceRivalry: The 27th Precinct quickly came to appreciate the frequent presence of Canada's Deputy Liasion Officer but they never worked well with the FBI, and there were problems among the Secret Service, Chicago police and Mexican officials in ''The Edge''.
141	* IntimateHealing: Fraser tells a story (twice) about how he found Victoria freezing to death on a mountain, and shared body heat with her so that they could both survive.
142	* JerkAss: Frank Zuko, who manages to be an extortionist mafia don SmugSnake [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking who cheats at basketball]] who has the gall to act like a KnightTemplar. And the two FBI agents.
143	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Ray Vecchio, who doesn't always make the best first impression, but dearly loves his mother, his sister, the rest of his family and his best friend Fraser, and has demonstrated that he's a caring person at times to others.
144	* JokeNameTag: A store security guard has a "Niffug, C. M." name tag, which is conveniently shown in a mirror. Viewers who know their film history will spot this as a ShoutOut to Hitchcock.
145	* JurisdictionFriction: Though maybe because the two Feds sent were incompetent [[JerkAss jerkasses]]
146	* KarmaHoudini: Victoria is a borderline case. On the one hand [[spoiler:she escaped scot-free after framing Ray and Fraser for murder and theft and putting Fraser's life in danger in order to launder some of the money to get diamonds, and Fraser still tried to go with her]], on the other [[spoiler:she's now a wanted criminal for the same murder and theft, she lost all of the money and got none of the diamonds, and Fraser didn't go with her (admittedly because Ray accidentally shot him).]]
147	%%* KnightInSourArmor: Ray Vecchio
148	* KnightTemplar: Frank Zuko pretends to be one, claiming that everything he does is in service to his neighborhood, as opposed to his extortion business
149	* KnightTemplarBigBrother: One episode revolves around Fraser and RayK solving a murder that may very well have been committed by RayV. The reason they think RayV might have done it? The dead guy is implied to have tried to rape Frannie.
150	* LandMineGoesClick: in the episode "The Edge".
151	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In the episode "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E18Flashback Flashback]]", Fraser loses his memory. He can't remember who he is, his personal history, or his manners. When Ray tells Fraser about himself, Fraser thinks he sounds like a moron.
152	** SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Fraser confronted with the unfurnished apartment in which he and his half-wolf sleep on the floor: "Why do I live like this? Am I being punished?"
153	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In the episode "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E12AHawkAndAHandsaw A Hawk and a Handsaw]]," when someone asks Fraser how a mountie came to live in Chicago, he replies that it's a long story which takes exactly two hours to tell (i.e., the length of the pilot). In the episode "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E02Vault Vault]]," Ray remarks, "In the last two years you’ve risked our lives 24 times," (i.e., the number of episodes to that point in the series).
154	* LiteraryAllusionTitle: The title of the Christmas episode "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E10TheGiftOfTheWheelman The Gift of the Wheelman]]" is a reference to Creator/OHenry's ''Literature/TheGiftOfTheMagi''. In case the reference wasn't clear, the opening shot also includes a store called "O. Henry's Gift Shop."
155	** Also, the wheelman in question is one [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Henry William Sydney Porter]].
156	* LockedInAFreezer: "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E04TheyEatHorsesDontThey They Eat Horses, Don't They?]]"
157	** In a variation, [[Recap/DueSouthS2E10WeAreTheEggmen We are the Eggmen]], Fraser and Inspector Thatcher get locked in an incubator.
158	* LonelyBachelorPad: {{Lampshaded}} [[RunningGag repeatedly]]. Constable Fraser's apartment is not only in a run-down apartment building in a bad neighborhood (Detective Vecchio claims that drug dealers are afraid to go there), but it is also very sparsely furnished. In one episode, where Fraser is suffering from EasyAmnesia, he sees his apartment and wonders if he was living like that as punishment for something he had done.
159	* MachiavelliWasWrong: ''The Deal'', After Zuko gives his BreakingSpeech to Fraser about how people respect him, Fraser points out that there is a difference between being ''respected'' and being ''feared''. That is to say, [[{{Foreshadowing}} fear can be overcome.]] [[spoiler:By the end of the episode, after Ray Vecchio [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beats Zuko senseless]] in his own gym, Zuko suddenly finds that he is no longer respected ''or'' feared. This has consequences in the next season of the show.]]
160	* MacGuffin: In "Chicago Holiday", with copious {{lampshading}}. Another, less heavily lampshaded reference is provided in "An Invitation To Romance.
161	* MagicRealism: Throughout (see SpiritAdvisor), but also in such episodes as "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E19HeavenAndEarth Heaven and Earth]]", where a homeless man's clairvoyant powers appear to be genuine.
162	* {{Malaproper}}: Francesca Vecchio is constantly misquoting typical police jargon (for instance, saying "broiling" rather than "grilling" a suspect). In "Mountie On the Bounty," this is weaponized, as a suspect finally cracks after listening to her do it constantly for minutes on end
163	* MeaningfulName: A maid who accidentally throws away [[MacGuffin a matchbox central to the plot]] is named Mrs. MacGuffin. Later, we see that store security guard "Niffug, C M"[[note]]shown reversed, in a mirror, as M C GUFFIN[[/note]]pockets the same box.
164	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: Fraser once talks Ray V into ticketing a guy who had parked in the fire lane. A little later they find out that the trunk of the illegally parked vehicle is full of guns.
165	** On at least two occasions Fraser brings in a guy on a charge that while technically true, is a mild description of the actual crime (a man who was dynamite fishing for 'fishing over the limit (by 4 tons)', and a man who was illegally dumping hazardous waste for 'littering').
166	* NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize: Actually discussed by Vecchio in "They Eat Horses Don't They" when talking about one of the suspects, who he insists looks like an actor who is always cast as the villain in TV shows. Fraser is somewhat annoyed when this works.[[invoked]]
167	* NeverWinTheLottery: in "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E10WeAreTheEggmen We Are The Eggmen]]".
168	* NewOldFlame: Ray V has Irene Zuko ("[[Recap/DueSouthS2E07JulietIsBleeding Juliet is Bleeding]]"); Fraser has Victoria Metcalf ("[[Recap/DueSouthS1E20and21VictoriasSecret Victoria's Secret]]").
169	* NobleSavage: Quinn subverts this trope in ''Easy Money'', portraying himself in this manner and then commenting to Fraser "I've been getting into this native roots and it seems to work. Besides, I thought the Tonto act might impress that little jackass." But he also embodies the trope, as he was a very formative mentor to Fraser and he does the right thing in the end.
170	* NoodleIncident: Directly invoked in "Mountie on the Bounty" between Inspector Thatcher and Sergeant Sam Thorn.
171	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: All of the Haitians in "Mojo Rising" speak with essentially American accents.
172	** The actor who played Kowalski is Canadian, and his Canadian accent is very noticeable at times, even though his character is supposed to be a native Chicagoan.
173	* NotSoRemote:
174	** In the ColdOpen of "A Likely Story", Fraser and Ray seem to be out camping in the woods; it's quickly revealed that they're actually in a city park in the middle of Chicago.
175	** In "The Call of the Wild", Fraser is out on a lake, attempting to ice fish but getting no bites. The snowy hills that can be seen surrounding the lake appear heavily wooded. Then Ray shows up.
176	--->'''Benton Fraser:''' Ice fishing takes patience.\
177	'''Ray Kowalski:''' Yeah. Well, you gonna need a lot of that, Fraser, cause there ain't no fish in here.\
178	'''Benton Fraser:''' How do you know that, Ray?\
179	(''the camera zooms out to show the Chicago skyline'')\
180	'''Ray Kowalski:''' Cause it's the city reservoir. Drinking water, no fish.\
181	'''Benton Fraser:''' Oh.
182	* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: In ''Call of the Wild'', Fraser and Ray Kowalski [[spoiler:jump and is pushed by Fraser, respectively, from an airplane without parachutes, but they are not injured because the snow is "bottomless."]]
183	* Main/NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont: in "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E01FreeWillie Free Willie]]"
184	* NowOrNeverKiss: in "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E14AllTheQueensHorses All the Queen's Horses]]"
185	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Almost everyone believes Fraser's putting on an act by being such a stereotypical Mountie in order to con people, because no one is ''really'' that honest, polite and noble.
186	** And sometimes, very rarely (see "Bird in the Hand," "Odds"), he actually does let the mask slip.
187	* OncePerEpisode: Defenestration (someone/something going through a window), particularly in the first two seasons, and also Fraser's {{CatchPhrase}}s, especially the longer one in latter seasons (see above).
188	* OneDegreeOfSeparation: Played with in that the Canadian characters (Fraser and Turnbull especially) seem to know almost every Canadian who pops up in an episode. Perhaps most especially in "Mountie on the Bounty".
189	* OneofOurOwn: In ''Eclipse'', ''Dead Guy Running'', ''Victoria's Secret'' and ''Heaven and Earth''.
190	* OnlyBarelyRenewed: After season one.
191	%%* PilotMovie
192	* {{Psychometry}}: The clairvoyant homeless man's powers appear to work this way in [[Recap/DueSouthS1E19HeavenAndEarth "Heaven and Earth"]]. He gets visions of the missing girl after finding her necklace, and they intensify when someone later presses the necklace into his hand.
193	* PunnyName: The coroner's name is Mort.
194	* TheRashomon: "Seeing is Believing," where Ray K, Thatcher, and Walsh all witness an argument between two men and a woman which ends with one of the men stabbed to death. Ray K thinks the young guy did it, Thatcher thinks the young woman did it, and Walsh thinks the two conspired to kill the other man as part of a mob war. [[spoiler:it was actually a fourth man who created a distraction and then threw the knife at the victim]]
195	** Also, the climax of "Victoria's Secret" makes it unclear to the audience whether or not [[spoiler:Victoria is pointing a gun at Fraser. A love-struck Fraser sees an open hand reaching to pull him aboard the train, while some distance away a suspicious Ray sees a gun being aimed at his partner. Camera shots from their different perspectives show either case.]]
196	* RearWindowHomage: Fraser [[RearWindowWitness witnesses]] a crime through his hospital window in one episode, then starts spying on the suspects with the [[RearWindowInvestigation help]] of a physical therapist who even kind of looks like Creator/GraceKelly.
197	* ReassignedToAntarctica: how Fraser ended up in Chicago after pissing off his entire chain of command. Chicago seems to be a dumping ground: Constable Turnbull seems to be too stupid to serve anywhere else, and even Inspector Thatcher isn't too keen on being there, and wants to transfer back to Toronto as soon as she can.
198	** In "Mountie on the Bounty", it is explained that Sergeant Sam Thorn was assigned to train cadets on the shores of the Great Lakes because she is "BTC - big time crazy" and fell out with RCMP brass. More specifically, [[WindmillCrusader she believes the RCMP should be a major naval power, partially to defend against a possible US invasion.]]
199	* SchizoTech: In "Mountie on the Bounty", [[spoiler:a replica of the sailing ship HMS Bounty, crewed by Mounties in Red Serge and equipped with 18th-century cannons, takes on a modern Great Lakes freighter equipped with modern military guns and defended by a gang of armed criminals. The Mounties not only survive the attack, but grapple to the side and launch a successful boarding party.]]
200	%%* RunningGag
201	* ShirtlessScene: Fraser has a few of these throughout the series.
202	** In ''Diefenbaker's Day Off'', we see him taking a bath, and later he walks out of communal bathroom (with his neighbours waiting for their turn) wearing only his Stetson and a ModestyTowel around his waist.
203	** He's bare-chested while he's reading his father's journal in ''The Deal.''
204	** In ''Victoria's Secret'', Fraser is shirtless after he makes love to Victoria, and again when Ray visits his apartment after he failed to show up for the pool game.
205	* ShoutOut: The oft-repeated line, [[Film/{{Airplane}} "that's not important right now."]]
206	* SignatureItemClue: Subverted. There is evidence that a hitman has been watching Fraser's apartment: cigarette butts from his distinctive brand are found near a hallway window in a building opposite where Fraser lives. But the cigarettes aren't stamped out as if the hitman stepped on them, or crushed as if he put them out on the windowsill; they're evenly snuffed, as if the alleged hitman had put them out in an ashtray at an earlier time and then someone else trying to frame the hitman (and Fraser) planted them there - which is exactly what happened.
207	* SingingMountie: Constable Benton Fraser sings multiple times throughout the series, and on one occasion [[https://youtu.be/dN3Kyy4gMZw?t=210 a train car full of his fellow Mounties joins in.]]
208	* SledDogsThroughTheSnow: In the pilot episode, the snowmobiles the modern RCMP use are all frozen up, so Fraser -to the incredulity of his coworkers- pursues a criminal through a blizzard by dog sled as part of his EstablishingCharacterMoment as a heroic "traditional" Mountie. Yes, he gets his man.
209	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Waaaaaay over on the idealistic side. So much so that the times when it does even a slightly dark or ambiguous episode it can come across as a BizarroEpisode.
210	* SmugSnake: Frank Zuko, who likes to appear to be a suave business man who only cares for his community (as opposed to his extortion business), but after seeing him blatantly cheat while playing basketball with Fraser, it is impossible to see him as anything but a SmugSnake
211	* SnowMeansLove: Near the end of the first season, [[DatingCatwoman Fraser and Victoria's relationship]] is repeatedly symbolized by metaphorical falling snow. Somewhat subversive in that this relationship isn't especially healthy - the snow could as much symbolize Victoria's lies & deception as love.
212	* StealthHiBye: Fraser, in "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E09ACopAMountieAndABaby A Cop, a Mountie, and a Baby]]".
213	* StrangeCopInAStrangeLand: The premise of the show: A Canadian Mountie working in the city of Chicago.
214	* StupidGood: Against all reason, usually averted by Fraser. He is evidently a spectacular judge of character with some highly noteworthy exceptions. In the pilot episode, he loans a large sum of money to a complete stranger with a likely story, only to have him approach him days or weeks later to pay him back. This is mostly guided by RuleOfFunny, as it serves to annoy the unholy hell out of [=RayV=] for the sheer unlikeliness of it.
215	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute (Ray is replaced for the final two seasons, for valid in-show reasons. Fraser spends most of the first episode trying to [[OnlySaneMan prove that the person who is manifestly not Ray is indeed not Ray]] while all the other characters pretend not to notice.)
216	* TakeFive: When Vecchio wants to talk with Zuko in private after Zuko had Constable Fraser beaten to a pulp, Zuko tells his men to go get him and Ray some coffee. Ray proceeds to [[PoliceBrutality beat Zuko senseless.]]
217	* TakeMyHand: Fraser Sr. to the man who had him killed, in "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E04BirdInTheHand A Bird In The Hand]]". [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]: [[spoiler:Fraser Sr. is a ''ghost''. His hands are intangible, just like the rest of him. You don't have to be a Mountie to deduce what happens next.]]
218	** However, despite being a ghost, Fraser Sr. is able to punch out the guy who murdered his wife.
219	* TheNthDoctor: At the start of the third season, Fraser returns from a vacation and finds a new Ray Vecchio working in the police station, recognized by everyone in the office and with the correct ID. [[spoiler:Subverted; this “Ray Vecchio” is in fact Ray Kowalski, who is impersonating the real Vecchio while he works undercover.]]
220	* ThatDidntHappen: The "contact" in "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E14AllTheQueensHorses All the Queen's Horses]]"
221	* ThatWasTheLastEntry: Fraser reads his late father's journals occasionally throughout the series, and in "Easy Money" he tells a friend, "There's a short entry in one of my father's journals that reads 'My adversaries appear ready to listen. I'm nearing victory.' And that entry was written the day before he was shot."
222	** In "Mountie On the Bounty", Fraser told Ray K about the freight vessel ''Robert [=McKenzie=]'', which was destroyed in a storm with loss of all hands. According to Fraser (and echoed in the song "Robert [=McKenzie=]" that plays throughout the story) the captain's last transmission was simply "Thirty-two men down."
223	* ThemeNaming: The writers were quite fond of this. Names often had some sort of reference or pun, but were generally not {{MeaningfulName}}s; once you "got" the joke, there was usually no further significance to the name.
224	** Many of the Canadian characters are named after Canadian politicians or explorers: Fraser, Frobisher, Mackenzie King, Diefenbaker, etc.
225	*** Not just Canadian, either - Margaret Thatcher?
226	** Ray's two rival detectives in his precinct are initially named Det. ''Huey'' and Det. Louis "''Louie''" Gardino. Ray dubs them the Duck Boys. After Louis is killed, he is replaced by Det. Dewey.
227	*** Notably, nobody claims to call Huey and Louis the Duck Boys because of their names. Supposedly, it's because they're so smooth, nothing sticks to them, not even water. Ray did have cause to be snarky when he made that claim though.
228	** Other episodes would give the guest characters have all "artistic" names, all "Canadian hockey player" names, etc.
229	* ThemeTune
230	* ThereWasADoor: Fraser, all the time.
231	-->'''Ray V:''' Do they not have doors in Canada?!
232	* ThoseTwoGuys: Detectives Huey and [[InsistentTerminology Louis]]. Later, Huey and Dewey.
233	* ThrowingTheFight: "[[Recap/DueSouthS1E16TheBlueLine The Blue Line]]" revolves around the question of whether a big-time hockey player took money to throw an important game.
234	* TitleDrop: Subverted. At the beginning of Say Amen you can briefly see the titles of three previous episodes (Dead Guy Running, Good for the Soul and Seeing is Believing) on a movie theatre billboard.
235	* TrouserSpace: Mild example played for [[RuleOfFunny laughs]]. Fraser sneaks a case file past some obstructive FBI Agents by shoving it down his pants.
236	* TurnInYourBadge: Happens to [=RayV=] in ''Victoria's Secret'' and Fraser in ''Hunting Season''.
237	* TwoScenesOneDialogue: In ''Red, White or Blue'', Fraser and Ray each spill out their frustrations aloud in their separate homes, and their words form one dialogue. In ''Seeing is Believing'' Fraser's interviews of Inspector Thatcher, [=RayK=] and Welch blend smoothly from one to the next in midstream.
238	* UnCancelled: ''Twice'', believe it or not. Creator/{{CBS}} canceled it after its first season, un-canceled it when CBS's next season lineup bombed, and then canceled it ''again'' after its second season. In both cases, the show's producers (Canadian company Alliance) saved it thanks to international funding, because of its success in Canada and elsewhere (hence financing from Creator/TheBBC and Germany's ProSieben).
239	* UnPaused: In the notorious train episode. An entire train car full of Mounties is gassed and pass out while singing early in the episode. Right before the climax, every single one of them wakes up simultaneously, at which point they resume singing the chorus.
240	* {{UST}}: Fraser and his boss, Inspector Margaret "Meg" Thatcher.
241	* TheVamp: Victoria Metcalf was this to Fraser.
242	* VerbalTic: Frannie's messing up of police jargon, Ray K's trouble with remember words, Fraser's 'thank you, kindly', etc.
243	* WelcomeToTheBigCity: Fraser in the pilot movie, except that -- as befits the general theme of the show -- some of it ends up coming out right in the end (e.g., the panhandler he "loans" $100 to returns it at the end of the episode).
244	** In "One Good Man," Fraser is shocked when the new owner of his apartment building has no interest in the existing tenants and intends to redevelop it plus the surrounding 6 blocks; nearly every other character mocks him for his optimism in choosing to fight back. [[spoiler:Subverted in that the sleazy building supervisor ends up saving the day by pointing out that he (the super) holds a lease valid for 4 more years, meaning the building can't be torn down for at least that long.]]
245	** In "White Men Can't Jump To Conclusions," Fraser has to leave his boots behind in a bad part of the city in order to save a kid that's been shot--and his boots disappear. Fraser is certain that some Good Samaritan picked the boots up off the street in order to find him [[spoiler:and at the end of the episode is proven entirely right]]
246	* WesternTerrorists: in "All the Queen's Horses," a train carrying a whole bunch of mounties is captured by a White Supremacist group. Randall Bolt, the leader, later returns to cause chaos at his trial
247	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: "You see, no one knew that I had found her. The police didn't even know her name. I could just let her go and she could walk away that night."
248	* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, ranging from the sensible to the hysterical (Frannie's "virgin" pregnancy and Turnbull's political career - which came to an abrupt end when he was accidentally run over by his own campaign bus)
249	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: In an episode appropriately called "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E18Flashback Flashback]]".
250	* WholePlotReference: "Chicago Holiday" was an affectionate remake of the Creator/AudreyHepburn classic ''Film/RomanHoliday''.
251	** Much of "Letting Go" is a homage to ''Film/RearWindow''
252	* WoodenShipsAndIronMen: Invoked and quoted verbatim in “Mountie on the Bounty”.
253	* WorstAid: A man is hit by a car and Fraser carries him to the hospital, hoisted over his shoulders. Maybe they don't have ambulances in Canada?
254	%%* {{Yandere}}: Victoria
255	* YouCanSeeMe: In "Hunting Season", Constable Maggie [=MacKenzie=] can see the ghost of Fraser's father. "All The Queen's Horses" had a variation of sorts, with Fraser and Buck both surprised the other could see Bob.
256	** Mama Lala appears aware of Bob's existence as well in "Mojo Rising"
257	* YouHaveFailedMe: In the episode ''Gift of the Wheelman'', the leader of the bag guys pulls this one out of the villain's playbook.
258	* YouKilledMyFather: Fraser's motivation for going to Chicago to begin with was to make sure the Chicago Police Department were making an effort to find his father's killer. He ended up getting involved in the investigation, and things spun off from there.
259	** Fraser faces the man responsible for his father's death in "[[Recap/DueSouthS2E04BirdInTheHand A Bird In The Hand]]". There's even a wonderful subversion in that, after Fraser takes off the guy's cuffs for HonorBeforeReason reasons, Ray V promptly re-cuffs him, to Fraser's dismay.
260	** A variation gets brought up as a [[BookEnds book end]]. In the series finale, Fraser and the gang (including [[BashBrothers both Rays working together at one point]] go up against the gun runner who killed his mother.
261	* YouWouldDoTheSameForMe
262

Context Series / DueSouth