Customer Reviews

DUE SOUTH - SEASON 2

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was very glad to see the first two seasons of Due South finally available on DVD. It's about time!

However, I am slightly disappointed in the sets so far. This set would have gotten 5 stars except for two reasons: there are absolutely NO extra or bonus features on the set, and the design of the case leaves a lot of room for improvement.The set comes with two double-sided discs, and a third single-sided disc with two episodes (18 episodes total).

This set, as well as the first, contains only the episodes. There are no extra goodies, other than the option of either French or English subtitles, and French-language dubbing. It's a bare-bones set as far as that goes. For the price, they could have done better. However, I'll admit that the picture and sound quality is beautiful.

The DVD case is also a bit problematic. The case design requires that two of the discs overlap on the right side of the case. It's difficult to get the discs out, and I am not the only person worried about breaking or scratching the discs in the process. I wish that Alliance Atlantis had gone with individual cases for the discs (as the Stargate SG-1 sets have).

Overall, I like the sets a lot, and I sincerely hope that the future sets have something added in the way of bonus features.

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.).

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?

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).

The VHS tape masters were used for the U.S. Platinum DVDs. The budget minded buyer can go for the cheaply mastered U.S. DVDs.

But those wanting quality will go for THIS much higher priced Canadian DVD from Alliance. These are mastered for DVD by the production masters. You can save alot of money by ordering them directly from Amazon's Canadian Division (click on the Canadian button at the bottom of this page).

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.

This is a great DVD set. I had some trouble on a couple of Season One episodes with poor visual quality and breaking up of the on-screen image but, glad to say, Season Two is entirely trouble-free. Maybe better protection for the discs in the packaging would help? What a great, feel-good series this is. 5 stars without hesitation.

I agree with others who wrote about the odd packaging for all seasons of the delightful short lived program. Getting the holders out of the tightly fitted sleeve is a pain in the butt.

I don't have the ultra high priced version, so I can't directly compare the two. Mine is the U.S. DVD version. I see no poor quality at all. The DVD's are vastly superior to my old VHS off-cable personal tapes. (I'm happy to re-cycle the tapes now!)

Both versions on DVD, the ultra high priced and the normal priced, are sadly lacking in extras. These days it seems every motion picture released has some sort of worthwhile background production bonus material, so the absence of anything with this much loved show is a dissapointment - but not enough to keep me from buying the whole set! Even the printed material on the packaging is pretty skimpy although the photos are well done.

I have a theory on the price differential. I read in another review the Canadian version includes either French dubbing (?) or French sub-titles. There you have it: If it's got French, the price is outrageous.

Save your money and buy the English only version, but by all means if you like the show BUY the DVD!

One last important issue: I recently purchased "Call of the Wild" because someone wrote that it is not included in the series packing. It's there, the last two episodes of Season Three. Save more money, DON'T BUY "CALL OF THE WILD" if you own Season Three because you already have it!

Despite only lasting three seasons, Due South has spawned a number of loyal fans. The show depicts the adventures of Mountie Benton Fraser and Chicago PD Detective Ray Vecchio. The pair work together to solve crimes with the occasional assistance of either Ben's or Ray's dead father's ghosts, Ben's deaf wolf, and several others. Episodes have wonderful, quirky humor and an excellent selection of then-up-and=coming Canadian musicians, e.g.: Sarah McLachlan, Ashley McIsaac, etc.

The one reason I gave this set less than 5 stars was the quality of both the packaging and engineering. I won't belabor the point about the poor package design and labeling. To preserve your disks, put them in another CD case. Engineering, on the other hand, is dreadful. I can see ghosting and artifacting on my 27 inch TV, so I can only imagine what it would look like on a larger screen.

Season Three is on its way and I am hoping the quality is much better.

Due South has great characters, humor and irony. It lacks the emotional and physical violence that most of today's cop shows have. I always feel better after watching an episode.