Laurie's Review
Melanie's Review
Laurie's Review:Chicago Holiday is a very entertaining ep. At times it seems a tad long but there's far too much going on to fit into an hour. Most of the humor is subtle, a few words here, an expression there. As with all Due South eps, even after many, many viewings I always spot something I missed the time before.
I really enjoy the opening scene, the conversation Ben has with Dief, asking his opinion about how he should entertain a 16-year-old girl, the glimpse of his bathroom, ironing his boots, the line "Oh, look, the Bee Gees are reuniting," his frustration when Dief won't tell him how he looks and the slump in his shoulders.
My first nitpick occurs early on. When Ray brings Ben's "formal accessories," Ben tells him he had no idea the event was going to be formal. Why, then, did he have the belt and gloves ready and waiting in a paper bag? Also, Ray had no idea what he was bringing so Ben obviously didn't tell him to gather the items.
I think my favorite Ray scene is when he's in the stakeout car with Louis and Jack and he's whining about all the smoke. I think this is the only ep in which Ray makes a fuss about smoking, and he has complained to Welsh about people smoking in the men's room.
The matchbook's journey is totally entertaining. My sister found the matchbook's travels annoying, distracting and overdone, but it's pivotal to the development and outcome of the story. Talk about coincidences. What are the odds of a much sought after item conveniently landing in someone's lap?
Memorable scenes:Ben tobogganing down the escalator. Later the security guard, trying to impress his coffee date, takes credit: "So I jump on a toboggan, race down the escalator and save the girl's life."
Ben crashing through the skylight in slow mo while Que Sera Sera is playing. This is one of three eps in which someone comes through a skylight. Ray looks just as good storming through the door.
The little boy in the elevator who pushes all the buttons.
Ray and Ben going down the garbage chute, Ray to the rescue, Ben telling him, "Perfect tactical delay, Ray," and diving for the matchbook. It's the same kind of dive as in Bounty Hunter when he tries to get the fan before it falls on Annie and Some Like it Red when he tries to catch the bottle of whiskey.
Ray to Janice, as the elevator door closes, "Where's my watch?"
Jack telling the obnoxiously dressed Louis he thinks he doesn't want to stand next to him.
How about the Victoria look-alike? Is it just coincidence that she asks if there are any candles?
There's a box of tissues in Ray's car. He never has tissues in his car and he didn't earlier in the ep. What better way to jog Fraser's memory, eh? Also, where was the stetson? It wasn't in its customary place and it wasn't on his lap.
After Janice and Christina get in the taxi, Fraser calls for a taxi. Why? Ray had his car.
The music is perfect!
I love Ray's exasperation with Fraser when the patrons of the bar are being herded into the wagon. His expressions are priceless.
Even though Elaine appears even more briefly than Dief, I love her scene. Good sport that she is, she comes in when she could have been on a date. This is one of only two occasions I can think of that she's wearing civilian clothes.
"Someone asked me out. This man has been after me for months and I said no, I want to get my sleep. Next time I'm going to say yes. I mean, you can't keep someone waiting forever, now can you?" Followed by a very pointed look at Ben, who responds, "Well, no, that would be unfair." Think he has any idea that she's referring to him?
Ray won't tell Fraser that Janice stole his watch. Of course, he would then have to admit that she got the better of him and hit him over the head. Janice also outwitted Fraser.
Ray: And if she's Eddie's sister, I'm starting to understand how he grew up to be a psychopath.
Fraser: You know, I could be wrong but I sense something very personal in your motivation.
Ray: Nothing personal, Fraser, she's just the kind of woman I'd like to see spend the rest of her life behind bars.
Fraser: Do you have the time, Ray?
Ray: No.
Fraser: Weren't you wearing a watch earlier?
Ray: No.Ben always wears a watch; he doesn't have to ask Ray for the time.
It's kind of ironic, in a typical teenage way, that Christina resents her father for his inattentiveness, but at the end of the ep when he finally decides to spend every moment with her, she would rather be with someone else.
Unfortunately, Dief is almost absent, except for the beginning, when he's less than helpful in the advice department. My favorite Dief moment is when Fraser mentions him while he's sleeping, "Dief, no." My cat appears regularly in my dreams so it seems natural that Dief would haunt Ben's.
Grade:B. The music gets an A.
Melanie's Review:I'll start with the music, which is the thing that I like best about Chicago Holiday. There is no other episode of Due South, not even Victoria's Secret, that impresses me more with its music. The Holly Cole Trio's three songs each lend both atmosphere and meaning to their scenes: Neon Blue warning of the temptations and dangers of the city night, Que Sera, Sera speaking to adolescent fears and the capriciousness of fate, and Smile telling of Cristina's new adult role in her father's diplomatic world.
Then there's Jack Lenz's New World Comin' which has a completely different tone yet which nicely balances a long scene beautifully acted without words, as Cristina watches and tries to join in what she perceives as an adolescent rite of passage.
I'm very impressed that the Holly Cole Trio was included in the show as live entertainment at the two dances. Love them, love their sound, Neon Blue is the part of the CD that's going to wear out first. I only wish they had found a way to included New World Comin' on the CD too.
I've been mildly surprised at the disdain some people have for Cristina Nichols' character in Chicago Holiday, in part because it sounds like some of you feel about her the way I feel about Katherine Burns in Invitation to Romance. I've never understood how anyone can stand that woman, and now I'm seeing that difference opinion from the other side.I've been trying to think about what the two characters have in common, and what sets them apart (aside from the fact that I despise Katherine and I like Cristina). Part of it, I think, is how they treat people: while both are remarkably self-centered, Katherine is also indescribably rude while Cristina manages to treat people face-to-face with a modicum of decorum (while still managing to get her own way). When Cristina is in her element, she is quite capable of communicating with other people and can be quite charming (as she is with the Latvian ambassador's son) whereas Katherine rides roughshod over everyone in her path, from civil servants to shopkeepers to her own fiancé.
But there's more than that. I've though it over long and hard, and I think the reason that I have such sympathy for Cristina is simply because there's a reason for her wildness. She's 16 years old! I don't mean to excuse her rebellious behavior; I simply find it entirely believable and not altogether unexpected from a girl her age, who has an inattentive father who can't seem to realize that she is on the verge of adulthood and mightily desperate for attention.
She reminds me of a wild thing, throwing herself again and again at the bars of her cage--every fiber of her being crying "Run! Fly! Escape! Freedom!" Every time she is reined in she tucks her tail between her legs and submits to authority--but when authority leaves the room, she breaks free again. Watching Chicago Holiday is like watching a Road Runner cartoon: at every turn the coyote thinks he has the situation under control, but from that dust-cloud in the distance we hear the triumphant "Beep-beep! Zoom!" ("Bye, Chicago!") that tells us that the little one has escaped once more.
I wonder what she did after she put the exhausted Mountie to bed? I bet you she didn't lie down and get a good day's sleep! My money says she was off again, still squeezing every bit of life and experience out of Chicago that she could find. (And I don't think she did it by going to the Field Museum or the Chicago Art Institute, either.)
Sure, she's exasperating, infuriating and downright disobedient. But I can't seem to hold her rebellious behavior against her any more than I can be angry with Ben Fraser for running away from home at age 12 because his grandparents wouldn't let him hunt. That matchbook is Cristina's caribou.
She's a teenager, and she's testing the limits of her father's rules at every turn the way teenagers do. I don't condone her behavior, but I can empathize with it. In the end, I kinda like the kid--she's got spunk.
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to walk a Labyrinth. It had been fashioned by a local church, copied from a Labyrinth built into the floor of the Cathedral in Chartres. The Labyrinth walk was supposed to be a spiritual experience, but I guess I'm a little to concrete in my thinking because I found myself mostly contemplating the physical pattern.The path began outside the circle, but almost immediately plunged toward the center. It then wove and wound from the center outward, gradually working its way around all four quadrants and out to the uttermost edge--and then at the very last, led to the true center. From there, one was supposed to follow the same path out again, retracing ones steps and revisiting all the twists and turns where one has already passed.
About a month or so ago I found myself watching my tape of Chicago Holiday. As the story wound towards its conclusion, I was struck by one small moment: as Fraser and Ray try to take the elevator up to Cristina's room, they discover that the buttons have all been pushed by an adorable, gap-toothed boy. This is the second time this has happened! Same boy, same elevator, same deliberate naughtiness.
That got me to thinking.
Chicago Holiday reminds me of the Labyrinth. The story follows an intricate, tangled path toward the center, then follows much the same path out again, revisiting many of the same moments a second time on its way out. Cristina's story begins and ends in the exact same place: two formal dances in the same location, where Holly Cole and her trio perform and where Ray brings Benny a change of accessories. Along the way, many things happen just twice:
Cristina gets a ride from the Jamaican cabbie.
Eddie threatens Janice with his switchblade.
The club is raided.
Someone is handcuffed to a railing in the club (with borrowed handcuffs) and escapes anyway.
Mrs. McGuffin takes out the trash (including the matchbook) and throws it down the chute.
Fraser asks a driver to catch up with the vehicle Cristina is riding in.
Cristina has trouble running in borrowed heels.
Cristina changes clothes and tries to sneak out, only to find Fraser in the hallway.
Welsh shares a romantic moment with Esther Pearson.
Fraser has an encounter with the red-suited hotel doorman.
Cristina is handcuffed.There is certainly a kind of symmetry to Cristina's attitude toward the American ambassador's son in the opening, and her attitude toward the Latvian ambassador's son in the closing. Yes, each boy appeared twice, but I think the "mirror" operates when you look at the two "ball" scenes and compare her clumsy, unwilling dance with the doofus and her eagerness to reconnect with "prince charming" at the end.
Note also that the Latvian ambassador's son was out touring the city alone, late at night. Do you suppose he had also managed to escape from his chaperon? A kindred soul, perhaps?
The twisted journey of the matchbook adds to the maze-like structure of the plot. I'm not claiming that Chicago Holiday has the symmetry of a labrynth (it doesn't), but I do wonder if anyone can think of another Due South episode that shares this strong pattern of repetition. I can't help but think that this was done on purpose!
Calling the Psychic Friends Network!Not only did Elaine manage to produce a composite sketch of "Fraser in Drag"--she even managed to correctly depict Ms. Fraser's Some Like it Red hairstyle!
Second Runner-Up Nitpick of the Week:To paraphrase Momma Lolla: If it was that easy to get Fraser out of his clothes and into bed, everybody would be doing it!
Runner-Up Nitpick of the Week:
What the heck was an American ambassador doing in Chicago? If this was a multi-nation trade conference, there would be trade negotiators from many nations including the US--but why would an American ambassador fly to Chicago from Ottawa or Paris or Beijing or Nairobi or wherever to take part?
Nitpick of the Week:
As part one came to a close, Fraser had no idea where Cristina was. So how did he find her in the department store? This nitpick reminds me of the one at the halfway point of COTW--in both cases, the first half ended with a "cliffhanger" that turned out to be no cliffhanger at all!
Masquerade!There was a running motif of costume and disguise in this episode. Janice deLuca wore two different wigs to cover her long brown hair. Eddie wore a leather mask to cover the cut on his face, and to help him blend in with the costumed patrons of the S&M club. But the master of the quick change has to be Cristina.
At the outset, she wore a party dress (green velvet, I think, although it's hard to tell on my little tv) with a lace collar and headband. She looks to be about twelve. Quick into the ladies room, and she stepped out in a slinky little black dress, with a micro-mini skirt and red scarf and handbag. This dress took her through the first wild adventure of her evening. Then back to the hotel, for another quick-change into a sophisticated navy-blue pantsuit. In this almost conservative outfit she sought out the more normal teenage thrills--meeting a cute boy on a bus, then imitating the light-fingered shopping habits of other girls her age.
Back to the hotel again, and this time she changed into a fuzzy orange sweater, orange skirt and purple sweater. With patterened tights and a slouchy hat, she was ready for her second trip to the police station. Her hair, which was poker straight before, developed a wave. She stayed with Fraser and Ray from the police station to the S&M club, but there she got an offer she couldn't resist--another quick change into a (get this!) neon blue dress, with platinum wig and spike heels.
That dress took her through the end of her adventure. The next night, she appeared in a proper ball gown--dark red velvet, with a fairly low neckline and a sophisticated hairstyle. If her first velvet party dress made her look twelve, her second one makes her look twenty-five.
Telling moment:"Hi Cristina, it's dad. I guess you're asleep. I knocked on your door before but you didn't answer. Anyway, get your rest, we have a big event tomorrow night. I think the Ambassador's son has taken a shine to you. Love you." [Is this guy living in denial, or what?]
Extremely telling moment:
Fraser took the fall for Cristina's bad judgement, telling her father that he was to blame for choosing the nightclub where they were arrested. Cristina said not one word to contradict him when her father was present, but made it very clear after her father left that she wanted to take the credit/blame for her own choices. Sorry honey, but your immaturity is showing. If you wanted to take responsibility for your own actions, you should have spoken up while your father was there!
Dief momentIt many not have been very long, but Dief's scene with Ben at the beginning of the episode was one of the best Dief scenes in the whole series.
Ray moments:The two scenes in which Ray brings Benny his brown-paper-bag full of accessories have to rank up there with the best Benny/Ray moments. No matter how big the case, no matter how important the crime, Ray will drop everything if Fraser needs him. The episode ends with what is clearly a date:
Ray: So Welsh finally gives me the day off for solving the biggest case in my career and I'm delivering casual wear.
Fraser: I'm confused, Ray. I didn't call you.
Ray: Aw put it on, I'm taking you out. We're celebrating.
Villain of the WeekGotta love that Janice deLuca. She's happily playing boyfriend #1 against boyfriend #2, and it's pretty obvious that she isn't looking out for anybody else but herself. Memo to her next boy toy: don't leave empty glass bottles around the house, hon. Recycle!
When Eddie gets knocked onto her knife, she switches gears with amazing ease: "You killed him!" And I love her thieving afterthought, lifting Eddie's wallet (in the same manner as going back for Ray's watch after braining him with one of Eddie's empties).
Then she finds the panicked Cristina and does her best Street Lawyer act:
Janice: You'll get a slick lawyer. I'm sure he can get you manslaughter.
Cristina: Really, he tried to kill me. It was self-defense.
Janice: Did he have a knife on you? Did he have a gun at your head?
Cristina: No but--
Janice: Did he have any kind of weapon at all?
Cristina: No.
Janice: Well then, you can't prove that he was going to do anything other than slap you around.
Cristina: What are you talking about?
Janice: Okay. You kill a guy because he's slapping you around, that's manslaughter.
Duesies:Ray: Looks like a very painful experience.
Fraser: Well dancing with the Americans often is, Ray.Taxi Driver: I need more [money] too.
Fraser: Well, all I have left is Canadian.
Taxi Driver: Fine, then I drive thirty per cent slower.Cristina: When do I get my own life? When do I get to do what I want to do? When do I get to stop being the perfect little princess and go. . . skinny dipping?
Jerome: Public pool, coming up!
Fraser: You! Keep driving.
Cristina: I want to go out all night and come home when the sun comes up, and I want to fall in love with someone I just met, and I want to kiss someone who's not related to me!
Jerome: I could pull over right here.Masochist: I've been bad. I've been very bad. Please punish me.
Fraser: There's nothing so bad that it can't be forgiven, son.Fraser: I said run!
Cristina: You told me to stop running.
Fraser: Yes--but I was talking about running away from the problems with your father. This is about running away from somebody who might probably will shoot you. That is an entirely different thing.
Snack to enjoy while watching Chicago Holiday:Long Island Iced Teas, and keep 'em coming!
Grading:
The voyage of the matchbook A- Cristina's adventures in Chicago's seamy underside A Overall Grade A
If you want to sound off, or if you'd like to add a review to the site, let me know!
Back to Chinatown
Forward to A Cop, a Mountie and a Baby
Back to the Episode List