History Characters / DueSouth

* BreakTheHaughty: Several episodes in the second season, most notably "Juliet is Bleeding" (in which Irene Zuko dies protecting him, his second Buick Riviera is destroyed and Det. Gardino dies in a car bomb meant for him), were built around this trope, apparently by David Marciano's request, in order to dial down his CowboyCop tendencies and make him a more rounded, believable character.

* CowboyCop: He has shades of it, pulling stunts or behavior that would very likely get him reprimanded or investigated by Internal Affairs in real life (his EstablishingCharacterMoment is a discussion with an IA agent about his behavior, to boot). The "imminent danger" trick he pulls in "Victoria's Secret, Part I", where he breaks into a suspect's apartment, lights their garbage can on fire, then uses the distraction to call a neighbour and get her consent/witnessing him bust into the apartment to put out the fire and subsequently search the area, is a prime example of this.

* WhatTheHellHero: Most of the chemistry between Benton and Ray is motivated by the fact that the matter is either exasperated by the former's inability to understand certain parts of American culture, or completely grossed out when the latter does things no sane cop would do (i.e. ''tasting'' evidence to ascertain the whereabouts of suspects).

* AdultFear: Some episodes reveal that she has a constant fear of growing old and DyingAlone, which is motivating her SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan quest to woo Benton.

[[folder: Constable Benton Fraser]]

[[folder: Det. Raymond Vecchio]]

* AmicableExes: Ray has an ex-wife, Angie, although she's only seen twice. She and Ray seem to still care about each other.
* ChristianityIsCatholic: {{Justified|Trope}}, as [=RayV=] and his family are Italian American, and thus very likely would be Catholic.
** [=RayV=] is shown at church at least once.

* CowboyCop: Ray V has shades of it occasionally. The "imminent danger" trick he pulls in [[Recap/DueSouthS1E20and21VictoriasSecret Victoria's Secret]] comes to mind.
* DeadpanSnarker

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Ray Vecchio.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the climax of ''The Deal'', Ray [[spoiler: beats the crap out of Don Zuko in his own gym, and promises not to tell everybody he sees about it in return for Zuko promising no harm will come to the Shoemaker. One of Zuko's lieutenants witnesses the beatdown, evidently loses all respect for him, and in the second season episode ''Juliet Is Bleeding'', this causes a chain of events that result in the murder of Detective Gardino, the accidental killing of Irene Zuko, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the destruction of Ray's]] [[RunningGag second]] [[CoolCar prized 1972 Buick Riviera]].]]
* PutOnABus: In ''Burning Down the House'', due to David Marciano being unable to return to the show after it was UnCancelled.
** TheBusCameBack: In the two-part series finale.
* WhatBeautifulEyes!: Ray's green eyes are seen by many fans as his best feature and are often mentioned in fanfic

[[folder: Det. Stanley Raymond Kowalski]]

* ACrackInTheIce: In the season finale.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Played straight with Stanley Ray Kowalski, who shared his name with the protagonist of ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire''.
* FakeAmerican: Kowalski is portrayed by Canadian Callum Keith Rennie, and his Canadian accent is audible at times.

* CanineCompanion
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Something of a BilingualBonus if you're Canadian; "Dief" is former Prime Minister of TheFifties and TheSixties, [[UsefulNotes/CanadianPrimeMinisters John G. Diefenbaker]]. Human Dief was not known for being particularly loveable, cuddly, ''or'' charismatic, which just makes it even funnier.

* SnarkyNonHumanSideKick: Although a strictly non-verbal role, the reactions of the rest of the cast (principally Fraser) and good direction by the animal handler somehow manage to make him fit this trope.

!! Francesca "Frannie" Vecchio
--> Played by '''Ramona Milano''' (Seasons 1-4)

* YouLookFamiliar: Dean [=McDermott=] played a tougher than average {{Mook}} in an episode of Season 1 before joining the main cast as Turnbull in Season 2.

* TheAce

* AllergicToLove: Despite his obvious mutual attraction with Inspector Thatcher, he runs a mile any time it looks like something might be about to happen between them.
** [[FridgeBrilliance His main discomfort seems to be not with the concept of romance, but with the fact that nearly every romantic prospect he encounters is taboo]]: Thatcher is his superior officer and therefore they wouldn't technically be permitted to date while both were still in the RCMP. Similarly, Frannie is his partner's sister, in addition to being far more aggressive than he's used to. He's shown to be ''slightly'' more comfortable at the prospect of a relationship if the woman in question is someone he could date while still [[ByTheBookCop following the rules]]. And yet, his most notorious relationship was the one that demonstrated why DatingCatwoman is a terrible idea.

* BulletproofFashionPlate: Fraser, which drives Ray completely up the wall.
** Also, his fashion renders him bulletproof. While Fraser is injured several times in the show, he is never once injured while he is wearing his hat. This has caused the hat to be dubbed the 'Stetson of Invulnerability' by fans.
** Although his hat is not bulletproof, and he has reacted to it being damaged as if he had been shot in an actual body part
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Fraser, and it's not always just an American point of view of Canadian ways thing, either, since he has baffled the Canadians as well. Examples include his habit of licking things and talking to his dead father. Granted, the other characters don't know he's doing the latter, so he just looks like he's talking to thin air.
* ByTheBookCop
* TheCape: Fraser, of course.

* ChasteHero: Fraser can be quite naïve when it comes to sexual matters. Although it's implied he had ''some'' sort of relationship with Victoria
* ChickMagnet

* TheFettered

* GoodIsNotDumb: Fraser, of course.
* HonorBeforeReason: Fraser.
** "That's the last time ''he'll'' fish over the limit..."

* TechnicalPacifist: Fraser rarely used a gun, but this was because he didn't have a license for one in the US. After they crossed the border into Canada, he turned out to be a very good shot:
-->'''Fraser:''' But right now, my friend, you're in the Dominion of Canada.

[[/folder]]

* AcceptableTargets: In-universe, Fraser seems to consider him one [[NoodleIncident for some reason]].

* TheHolocaust: It's eventually revealed that he survived the Nazi concentration camps as a child.

--> '''Fraser:''' I first came to Chicago on the trail of the killers of my father and, for various reasons too complex to go into at this juncture, I chose to remain, attached as liaison to the Canadian consulate.

* HonorBeforeReason: Fraser. YouShouldKnowThisAlready.

* {{Bald of Awesome}}: Ray has this beginning in "North"

--> Played by '''Camilla Scott''' (Seasons 2-4)

* UnfortunateNames: Her married name is the same as one of the main characters in ''Literature/AStreetcarNamedDesire'', though there's little resemblance between their temperaments. Unlike her husband, she doesn't seem to mind the association, even keeping her married name professionally once they're divorced.

--> Played by '''Dean [=McDermott=]''' (Seasons 2-4)

--> Played by '''Paul Gross''' (Seasons 1-4)

--> Played by '''David Marciano''' (Seasons 1-2, Guest Star in Seasons 3 and 4)

--> Played by '''Gordon Pinsent''' (Seasons 1-4)

* DefrostingIceQueen: Usually around Fraser, though a couple of other attractive guys take a turn over the course of the series. {{Lampshaded}} to the point of GettingCrapPastTheRadar when she inadvertently sits in a puddle of melting ice while (apparently) trying to seduce Fraser.

* {{Adorkable}}: This is a big part of Fraser's charm.

* ShownTheirWork: The son of a Mounty in real life, during the filming of his first episode he took Paul Gross aside and instructed him on Mounty uniform protocol, including the fact that he had been lacing his boots incorrectly.

** [[FridgeBrilliance His main discomfort seems to be not with the concept of romance, but with the fact that nearly every romantic prospect he encounters is taboo]]: Thatcher is his superior officer and therefore they wouldn't technically be permitted to date while both were still in the RCMP. He's shown to be ''slightly'' more comfortable at the prospect of a relationship if the woman in question is someone he could date while still [[ByTheBookCop following the rules]].

--> Played by '''Callum Keith Rennie''' (Seasons 3-4)

* TechnicalPacifist: Fraser rarely used a gun, but this was because he didn't have a license for one in the US. After they crossed the border into Canada, he turned out to be a very good shot.
** This, incidentally, being a serious CrowningMomentOfAwesome.
--->'''Fraser:''' But right now, my friend, you're in the Dominion of Canada.

** [[FridgeBrilliance His main discomfort seems to be not with the concept of romance, but with the fact that nearly every romantic prospect he encounters is taboo]]: Thatcher is his superior officer and therefore they wouldn't technically be permitted to date while both were still in the RCMP. Similarly, Frannie is Ray V's little sister, which opens up a whole other can of worms. He's shown to be ''slightly'' more comfortable at the prospect of a relationship if the woman in question is someone he could date while still [[ByTheBookCop following the rules]].

* CatchPhrase[=/=][[OverlyLongGag Overly Long]] RunningGag: In Seasons 3 and 4, he'll give the following speech OncePerEpisode. Increasingly, this will happen in spite of the fact that nobody prompted him, and several other characters may be trying to interrupt:

** [[FridgeBrilliance His main discomfort seems to be not with the concept of romance, but with the fact that nearly every romantic prospect he encounters is taboo]]: Thatcher is his superior officer and therefore they wouldn't technically be permitted to date while both were still in the RCMP. He's shown to be ''slightly'' more comfortable at the prospect of a relationship if the woman in question is someone he could date while still [[ByTheBookCop following the rules]].

* EmbarrassingFirstName: Played straight with Stanley Ray Kowalski, who shared his name with the protagonist of ''AStreetcarNamedDesire''.

--> Played by '''LeslieNielsen''' (Seasons 1-4)

* ReassignedToAntarctica: how Fraser ended up in Chicago after pissing off his entire chain of command.