Melanie's Review
Laurie's Review
Melanie's Review:
My favorite thing about this episode is the multi-layered literary allusion. The great American short story writer O. Henry (real name: William Sydney Porter) first tried his hand at writing while in prison. One of his best-known works is Gift of the Magi, in which a husband and wife with little money to spare try to find a way to buy the perfect Christmas gifts for one another.
Not only does the eposide's plot have parallels with the story, along with the obvious title allusion, but the story begins with a view of O. Henry's gift shop and the ex-con-turned-writer's name is William Sydney Porter. Also, the young woman in the O. Henry story is named Della and her husband calls her Dell.
Unlike last week's Free Willie, Gift of the Wheelman is an episode whose guest characters come close to overshadowing the series regulars. Ray, for one, fades into the background as Dell and his father take center stage. The awkward, bitter, near-destructive love between father and son give this episode a richness that wins it a spot on my top 10 list.
Even the Donnellys are much more vivid than many other Due South villains, and Jimmy Donnelly get some real zinger lines. I would have liked to see them again.
The complex, heart-breaking story about Dell and his father is leavened by the timely reappearance of Bob Fraser. I'm glad they waited for half of the first season to pass before bringing him back, because the delay made his manifestation much more poignant--especially on Christmas Eve. Although I'm especially fond of Fraser's half-coherent diatribe ("Drive, quick! Before he comes back.") I have to give credit to the incredibly tender scene between father and son in the diner, and the cross-talking scene during the shoot-out that rivals the similar scene in North for silliness.
Finally, there was the continuous silliness back at the 27th, as Huey and Gardino pursue their own theory of the crime. The trash-talking Santas, the cranky elves, the reindeer walking through the halls, and the Elvis impersonators ("I said ELVES, you moron!") all score high in my book.
If I have to find something wrong with the episode, it would be that the car-chase scene goes on far too long. (If you can't tell by now, I really hate car chases!)
Duesies:Santa: Come on, this is crazy. You know how much money I'm loosing right now? Every kid that sits on my lap, I get two bucks.
Huey: Yep.
Santa: I can go through fifty kids an hour!
Santa 2: No! No one can do fifty and live.
Louis: It's not a difficult question, okay? Where were you at twelve o'clock today?
Santa 3: Hey man, I got three hours of booking at the department store.
Louis: Yeah. One of those elves said you went out for about twenty minutes.
Santa 3: Yeah well, he's a lying rat bastard.Bob: Hello son.
Fraser: Hello Dad. How are you?
Bob: I'm dead son. Other than that, do you mean?
Fraser: No, that's what I was asking.
Bob: Oh, that's good. Never be ashamed to ask a stupid question, son. I taught you that, didn't I?
Fraser: Not specifically, no.
Bob: Well, no time like the present. So fill me in on the case.
Fraser: The case.
Bob: The case. the case you're working on. Something about it bothers you about it.
Fraser: Well. In a nutshell--there was a bank robbery today, now we've identified the perpetrators, but the wheelman, that's the driver in Chicago parlance, double crossed his partners. Now what we can't seem to figure is there any insanity in our family?
Bob: No, not that I'm aware of.
Fraser: Good.
Bob: Well, there was your Uncle Tiberius who died wrapped in cabbage leaves but we assumed that was a freak accident.Jimmy: No, no, I understand. Everyone gets one mistake and that was yours. [shoots Robert] See what he got us.
Cameron: Far Side Calendars.
Jimmy: Oh I love those.Bob: They're maneuvering for position.
Fraser: I can see that.
Ray: See what?
Fraser: They're maneuvering for position.
Ray: I can see that.
Bob: You only have a few seconds left.
Fraser: Right again.
Ray: About what?
Fraser: We've only got a few seconds left.
Bob: What you need son, if you don't mind me saying is a good solid plan--or you can just throw a rock.
Fraser: Fire your entire clip
Bob: Then he'll be out of bullets.
Ray: Then I'll be out of bullets.
Fraser: I heard both of you.
Ray: Is there an entire conversation going on here that I'm entirely unaware of?Fraser: Drive! Quick! Before he comes back.
Ray: Who?
Fraser: My father. Drive. Go.
Ray: Fraser, your father's dead.
Fraser: I know. And I don't want to speak ill of him, but he's driving me nuts.
Ray: Your father.
Fraser: He's not really here. I know that. It's all in my mind it's just that he refuses to stay there or rather he refuses to leave there. I really don't understand it but I tell you it's beginning to wear a little thin. I mean, does he think I'm completely ignorant? I bet the next thing he'll do is try to teach me to start a fire. You know Ray, I have half a mind to tell him to pack up and move out.
Ray: Of your mind.
Fraser: Yes.
Bob: Hello son.
Fraser: Oh God, he's back.
Runner-Up Moment of the Week:Bob: Nobody plans to fail, son; it doesn't make sense.
Fraser: Yeah, but it's the only logical solution. It doesn't have to make sense.
Bob: What the hell does that mean?
Fraser: Don't you see it?
Bob: No!
Fraser: You don't?
Bob: No.
Fraser: Oh.
Bob: But you do. Go bring 'em in son. That's what I taught you.Moment of the Week:
Elaine puts the finishing touches on a composite sketch of Santa, as her witness adds, "He had a twinkle in his eye. . . ."
Fraser Factoid of the Week:"And actually it's a misconception that the North Pole is in Canada, sir. Its ownership has been in dispute ever since Admiral Perry planted a flag there in 1909. A fact that in itself has been in dispute ever since. Many believe it was Matthew Hensen, an African-American who first discovered---"
Nitpick of the Week:How did Fraser manage to put that burning rag out without allowing a single spark to fall to the pool of gasoline? For that matter, how did that great big rag manage to burn that long without dropping any sparks?
Dief Moment:"Now you stay in the car and keep your nose out of those packages. They are not for you. [to Ray] He's searched through every cupboard and drawer in the apartment trying to find out what I got for him but this Christmas he will not succeed."
Snack to enjoy while watching Gift of the Wheelman:"Detective Vecchio, Huey, Louis, join me for some eggnog."
Grading:
Del & Dad A+ Fraser & Dad A+ Donnellys A Duck Boys A Overall Grade A+
Laurie's Review:Superb episode, not one of my top ten but still high on my list. I think both Paul Gross and David Marciano have said this is one of their favorites. I saw Gift of the Wheelman for the first time when it aired back to back with A Cop, a Mountie and a Baby on a Saturday morning in early December of 1998, around the time the four "lost" episodes from S4 were first shown. All these eps were early Christmas presents, and I saw the Pilot and the first 10 or 12 eps for the first time shortly after that. What a treat!
Gift of the Wheelman is almost flawless. There's nothing critically wrong with it. All the guest stars turned in fine performances, and Jimmy Donnelly gets my vote for one of the creepiest villains ever on the show.
Del Porter is my favorite young person from Due South. He's such a natural and a nice kid. He really tugs at my heart strings. Part of his appeal is that he's so much like I imagine Ben was at that age. Maybe that's why Ben relates so well to him, he sees himself in Del. They both have fathers who obviously love them but, as Ray put it, won't win any parenting awards. Another thing they have in common is what they've learned about their fathers through their writing.
Three diverse, fascinating father/son stories, all tinged with sadness and disappointment. We can see that there's love and potential for healing in the relationships between Ben/Bob and Del/William, but Ray's relationship with his father is so fractured that I don't see any chance of Ray coming to terms with him or his ghost. How tragic.
The distillery scene is excellent. It's so well scripted, it's intense, the music is some of the best in all of Due South, and the dialogue between Ben and William reveals so much about both men. It reminds me of the scene in Hawk & a Handsaw when Ben is telling Walter about his father.
The diner scene is reminiscent of the one in Victoria's Secret. I love watching the wheels turn in father and son's minds, and Ben's surprised reaction that his father hasn't figured out what William is going to do. It's also a heart-warming scene.
Melanie very nicely covered the O. Henry parallels. The only thing I'll add is that it was so much fun finding all the references when I watched the ep the first couple times.
The ending is bittersweet. I feel bad for Ben, alone in his apartment on Christmas, his first one in Chicago, yet he doesn't seem lonely. Maybe his dad's ghost was the best gift he could get. No doubt, preventing a personal tragedy in someone else's life also was a true spirit of Christmas gift.
Some of my favorite scenes:Ben telling Dief to keep his nose out of the packages and later telling Ray that Dief has searched every cupboard and drawer trying to find his gift. I like what that says about Ben and Dief's relationship, not the search for the gift but the fact that Ben bought something for Dief.
Ray and Ben pushing the mug books back and forth and bickering, sort of.
Fraser seeing the reindeer. Is it live or is it Memorex?
The contrast between the things Ben and Ray have to say about their fathers while they're in the car. It's obvious Ben misses his father. He says he wishes he spent more time with him and there's a lot of things he should have learned but he doesn't say this with resentment, only regret. Ray, on the other hand, is focused only on bad memories. Either there aren't any good ones or they're so buried under the bad that they've been forgotten.
The scene in the car when Bob appears, Ben's expression and reaction, asking if there's any insanity in their family. Bob is so enjoyable throughout, and unlike the Pilot, we see the humorous side of him. Very well played without undermining the seriousness of the story.
The three-way conversation in the alley and Ray's confusion.
Usually it's Ray who can't figure out what Ben is up to but I like the scene in the interrogation room with Del when Ray tells him he can go. The look on Ben's face is one we don't see often.
Ben telling Ray to drive away before his father gets back. I love that Ray hears Bob saying "That's him" but he assumes it's Ben when he answers "Who? What?"
Car chases don't do much for me but the one in this ep is the best of the dS lot. The music is perfect and I love the intense looks on Ray and Ben's faces. I also like the few glimpses of Bob in the back seat and his reaction to the wild ride. Also, the way Ben raises his finger and opens his mouth to say something, reconsiders and keeps quiet.
Ray's father appears only briefly but Ray isn't surprised to see him so are we supposed to assume Ray has seen him before and that they had been talking in the car before Ben came back? I like the reversal of lines here. Earlier when Ben was talking to Bob, Ray returned to the car and asked him if anything happened. The answer was, "In what sense?" This time Ben asks if anything happened and Ray asks, "In what sense?" Is he mimicking Ben or is it a cover up because his father was there?
Duesies:Ray: Oh no, I know that tone in your voice. You think I'm being cheap. Ben: No, I think there's nothing wrong with being frugal. If you can't afford to buy presents, well, getting them by opening an account is a viable if not inventive alternative. Ray: But you think I can't afford it, you just think I'm being cheap. That's what you're thinking. Ben: I think nothing of the sort. Now where are we off to? Ray: Right here. Savings and Loan. Ben: Ah, of course. Ray: See? You see? That's the tone I'm talking about. You see that tone? Ben: What tone? Ray: That tone. You see? Ben: You can't see a tone, Ray.
Ben: It doesn't make any sense. Why would he leave his son? Ray: Fraser, this may come as a shock to you, but here in the United States of America we've discovered that bank robbers aren't usually the best family men.
Ben: So, did you just happen to pick this moment to reappear? Bob: Well, obviously, you needed my help, Son, and it was my fault. If I'd better prepared you, you wouldn't be floundering around like this. Ben: Well, I'm not completely over my head, Dad. I mean I. . . Bob: Don't try to make me feel better, Son. I failed you as a father. I'm gonna make that up to you now. Ben: How exactly do you propose to do that, Dad? I mean, it's not as. . . Ray: Anything happen? Ben: In what sense?
William: The only thing I ever showed my kid was how to be a loser. Ben: And you thought robbing a bank would win his respect?
Ben: You know, William, I think there's only one thing a father needs to leave his son, and that's a good example of how a man should live his life. Anything else the son can learn for himself. The greatest gift my father ever gave me was the courage to trust my own abilities. And I learned that through his example. You know, you can give your son anything you want, but if you don't leave him a good example of how to be a man, you leave him nothing.
Dief moment:He's rather inconspicuous in this ep, but he's cute in the car at the beginning when Ben tells him to leave the packages alone. I like his little grumble of protest.
Keepership Item:Dief's hidden present from Ben. I still wonder what he got him.
I can't think of any reason why this ep deserves less than an A+. I also can't think of any reason why it's not in my top ten, other than that there are so many top-notch episodes and there's not room for them all at the top.
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