Due South: "One Good Man"
Feb. 14th, 2008 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
truepennyDue South 2.8, "One Good Man"
Original air date: February 8, 1996
Favorite quote:
MACKENZIE KING: Bagels, Warren. Not muffins, not cheese danish, just a plain, honest to God water bagel.
WARREN: You know, Mackenzie, there are reporters in Korea who would thank their boss for bringing them a rice-coated water beetle.
MACKENZIE KING: Warren, sweetie, I would eat a beetle for you any day. On a bagel.
Spoilers
What irritates me most about "One Good Man" is that it has what may be my favorite Vecchio + Fraser scene of all time:
RAY: What is that? Is that rust, Al? Do I see rust there?
AL: That's primer.
RAY: Yeah, and if I was wearing a dress, I'd be a woman.
FRASER: [under the Riviera] Oh dear.
RAY: Oh dear. What do we have here? Oh yeah, will you look at that, huh? Huh? What d'you say now, Al?
AL: Okay. I'll drop off five hundred, but that's it.
FRASER: Well, now, that would make the final price, um . . . oh, well, how much can a frame be worth anyway?
RAY: Frame?
FRASER: It's spot-welded. It's quite excellent work. Except for the slight contour on the brazing here, you really wouldn't know this car had been severed in half. I'm sure there's still a lot of it that's salvageable.
RAY: So, Al. What do you have to say for yourself before we bring you downtown?
FRASER: Ray. He's your cousin.
RAY: He's twice removed!
(I love the fact that, per the end of the episode, this is the Riv that Ray buys. Severed in half and all.)
I am also irritated that this is the only appearance we get of the second Mackenzie King, who is so much better than the first that she makes me want a remake of "Diefenbaker's Day Off" (DS 1.2).
And of course neither of these things would irritate me if it weren't for the fact that "One Good Man" is my least favorite Due South episode. And this time I know why. It's because I don't believe the filibuster.
Or, rather, I believe the filibuster. I totally believe in Fraser refusing to yield the floor--and I actually really like the way that it's a little tiny thing, but it's also a piece of character growth that has roots, not merely in this episode itself, but in earlier episodes this season: Fraser's inability/reluctance to stand up for himself or, as he says, to "make a fuss," is a theme that first shows up in "The Vault" (2.2), and it really is tremendously important that he says, "No," to Authority and stands his ground. And that moment actually does give me the lift that the episode climax woefully overshoots. And I believe in Ray spending his Riv money to pack the audience. I even believe the chairwoman pouring Fraser a glass of water. But I don't believe the sudden polar reversal which has everyone cheering and applauding and turning into the Fraser Fan Club right before our eyes.
Perhaps this is because I am a cynic. But it's saccharine (as is Dennis's conversion), and to me it rings false. It's not that I don't believe Fraser could win his audience's sympathy, either. But the episode doesn't show us Fraser winning his audience's sympathy. It gives us token Fraser oratory, and then the apparent conversion of everyone in earshot. (Except of course the evil Mr. Taylor.) And what I particularly dislike about this Disneyfied ending is that the rest of the episode is actually, within Due South's own limits, quite realistic about what's going on. Fraser gets nothing except the bureaucratic runaround from City Hall; his appeal to Mr. Potter's better nature fails utterly on the grounds that Mr. Potter has no such thing. Dennis is quite convincingly slimy and self-interested; the other tenants are disorganized and easily discouraged and ready to blame Fraser at the drop of a hat. (I sort of believe them all coming to help him clean up at the end. Sort of.) The City Council is quite realistically unwilling to listen. And I find this moment as poignant as they want me to find it, mostly because of Paul Gross:
ALDERMAN FARRELL: May I ask why you are here?
FRASER: Yes, Mr Ch . . . Madam Chair . . . sir. Earlier this evening, a man told me that people would prefer their own death rather than risk everything for an ideal. And this is something I find extremely difficult to reconcile.
ALDERMAN FARRELL: And you came here because . . . ?
FRASER: I didn't know where else to go. You are the people's elected representatives. If we can't trust your judgment, who can we trust?
Right there, they've got the balance right, between Fraser's idealism and the reality of these rather small-minded, bored elected officials. That question, "if we can't trust your judgment, who can we trust?" is absolutely Candide like in the way it doubles itself, being sincere and ironic at the same time. But the writers couldn't sustain that mode, and realizing that they were boxing Fraser into an unhappy ending, they threw the Hyde-to-Jekyll-ex-machina at us, simply to get us out of an untenable situation.
Due South's balance between idealism and realism is always very precarious; in this episode the whole thing just falls down in a heap.
I am baffled by Ray's sudden ex-wife.
Original air date: February 8, 1996
Favorite quote:
MACKENZIE KING: Bagels, Warren. Not muffins, not cheese danish, just a plain, honest to God water bagel.
WARREN: You know, Mackenzie, there are reporters in Korea who would thank their boss for bringing them a rice-coated water beetle.
MACKENZIE KING: Warren, sweetie, I would eat a beetle for you any day. On a bagel.
Spoilers
What irritates me most about "One Good Man" is that it has what may be my favorite Vecchio + Fraser scene of all time:
RAY: What is that? Is that rust, Al? Do I see rust there?
AL: That's primer.
RAY: Yeah, and if I was wearing a dress, I'd be a woman.
FRASER: [under the Riviera] Oh dear.
RAY: Oh dear. What do we have here? Oh yeah, will you look at that, huh? Huh? What d'you say now, Al?
AL: Okay. I'll drop off five hundred, but that's it.
FRASER: Well, now, that would make the final price, um . . . oh, well, how much can a frame be worth anyway?
RAY: Frame?
FRASER: It's spot-welded. It's quite excellent work. Except for the slight contour on the brazing here, you really wouldn't know this car had been severed in half. I'm sure there's still a lot of it that's salvageable.
RAY: So, Al. What do you have to say for yourself before we bring you downtown?
FRASER: Ray. He's your cousin.
RAY: He's twice removed!
(I love the fact that, per the end of the episode, this is the Riv that Ray buys. Severed in half and all.)
I am also irritated that this is the only appearance we get of the second Mackenzie King, who is so much better than the first that she makes me want a remake of "Diefenbaker's Day Off" (DS 1.2).
And of course neither of these things would irritate me if it weren't for the fact that "One Good Man" is my least favorite Due South episode. And this time I know why. It's because I don't believe the filibuster.
Or, rather, I believe the filibuster. I totally believe in Fraser refusing to yield the floor--and I actually really like the way that it's a little tiny thing, but it's also a piece of character growth that has roots, not merely in this episode itself, but in earlier episodes this season: Fraser's inability/reluctance to stand up for himself or, as he says, to "make a fuss," is a theme that first shows up in "The Vault" (2.2), and it really is tremendously important that he says, "No," to Authority and stands his ground. And that moment actually does give me the lift that the episode climax woefully overshoots. And I believe in Ray spending his Riv money to pack the audience. I even believe the chairwoman pouring Fraser a glass of water. But I don't believe the sudden polar reversal which has everyone cheering and applauding and turning into the Fraser Fan Club right before our eyes.
Perhaps this is because I am a cynic. But it's saccharine (as is Dennis's conversion), and to me it rings false. It's not that I don't believe Fraser could win his audience's sympathy, either. But the episode doesn't show us Fraser winning his audience's sympathy. It gives us token Fraser oratory, and then the apparent conversion of everyone in earshot. (Except of course the evil Mr. Taylor.) And what I particularly dislike about this Disneyfied ending is that the rest of the episode is actually, within Due South's own limits, quite realistic about what's going on. Fraser gets nothing except the bureaucratic runaround from City Hall; his appeal to Mr. Potter's better nature fails utterly on the grounds that Mr. Potter has no such thing. Dennis is quite convincingly slimy and self-interested; the other tenants are disorganized and easily discouraged and ready to blame Fraser at the drop of a hat. (I sort of believe them all coming to help him clean up at the end. Sort of.) The City Council is quite realistically unwilling to listen. And I find this moment as poignant as they want me to find it, mostly because of Paul Gross:
ALDERMAN FARRELL: May I ask why you are here?
FRASER: Yes, Mr Ch . . . Madam Chair . . . sir. Earlier this evening, a man told me that people would prefer their own death rather than risk everything for an ideal. And this is something I find extremely difficult to reconcile.
ALDERMAN FARRELL: And you came here because . . . ?
FRASER: I didn't know where else to go. You are the people's elected representatives. If we can't trust your judgment, who can we trust?
Right there, they've got the balance right, between Fraser's idealism and the reality of these rather small-minded, bored elected officials. That question, "if we can't trust your judgment, who can we trust?" is absolutely Candide like in the way it doubles itself, being sincere and ironic at the same time. But the writers couldn't sustain that mode, and realizing that they were boxing Fraser into an unhappy ending, they threw the Hyde-to-Jekyll-ex-machina at us, simply to get us out of an untenable situation.
Due South's balance between idealism and realism is always very precarious; in this episode the whole thing just falls down in a heap.
I am baffled by Ray's sudden ex-wife.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 02:04 am (UTC)I actually love this episode, but this is a sticking point for me again and again. Yeah, in the end, they cheated. :(
Also, you're not the only one baffled by Ray's sudden ex-wife. Fraser looks pretty floored himself.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 04:20 pm (UTC)Thank you! I knew I had the wrong word, but, dude. What I don't know about welding is pretty much the whole encyclopedia.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-15 04:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-16 11:07 pm (UTC)On rewatch I agree that the backround audience's cheering and jeering is annoying. It put me in mind of "My Best Friend's Wedding". Perhaps a rather silly comparison, but hey I liked it, if it'd just cut out the backround character's approval.
It could have been as simple as Dennis realizing he'll be odd out in the new condo Mr. Taylor world.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-31 07:42 pm (UTC)The sad thing is of course that Mr Potter is right, and the little man always loses. Nothing further is made of it in the series when Fraser's apartment is burned down, but basically all those disenfranchised people are out on their ear, having to scratch around for themselves, looking for a new roof to put over their heads. It would be too dark, I think, for due South to address directly, and they were never that concerned with concrete continuity, but given the "homeless" theme of Burning Down the House I can't help but wonder what became of Mrs Gómez and her chlidren, not to mention everybody else.
The triumph at the end of this is only temporary, the cheering audience were only actors drummed up for the cameras by Ray, and the tennants coming in to help Fraser clean his apartment were really only giving him the apology he deserved.
And even if the apartment building hadn't burned down in BDTH, it was still a pyrrhic victory... Fraser and his neighbours are still living in an apartment building that Ray has described at various points as being a "slum." The neighbourhood is still dangerous, they are still perilously on the edge of society. All of which is neatly ignored in this episode, and overlooked in BDTH. But if you want to see the story as having more meat and background than we see on screen, then looking at it in this larger context may make it come to life.
So, yes I do see this as a Candide episode, the ending being nothing but a temporary reprieve.
no subject
Date: 2013-01-26 01:29 pm (UTC)I do not think DUE SOUTH was incapable of addressing the issues of burning down the apartment because it was too dark. As truepenny observes, the series is at its best when examining extremely dark material and forcing a fantasy character like Fraser to confront harsh realities. I think it was simply a production issue: Season 3/4 was made long after Season 2. They didn't have a lot of the sets and a lot of the actors had drifted away.
Due South - One Good Man
Date: 2013-06-04 03:30 pm (UTC)If you're familiar with Frank Capra's films "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" you'll see that the episode is a tribute to him.
There are clear references in the episode such as "It's A Wonderful Life" being mentioned; the nasty landlord being "Mr. Potter"; and the filibuster is from the other film.
The ending of the episode where Fraser's neighbours offer to clean up his digs is analogous with the closing scene of "It's A Wonderful Life" where that character is also helped by friends.
If you view the episode as a paean to Capra, the script makes perfect sense.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-28 10:25 pm (UTC)I... want to see Fraser and Eliot scenes liek whoa.
wow...
Date: 2019-07-10 04:55 pm (UTC)