Due South S3 - the marathon continues (3.5-3.11)
Note: I'm watching them in the order they were filmed, not the order they were aired. I think. It's the order on the DVD, which seems to correspond with the production numbers according to the ep guide. They must have aired a bunch out of order.
Note to self: never install Windoze updates when I'm trying to make one quick post before I go to sleep. I'm like, "It's only 4 updates, how long can it possibly take?" 45 minutes later I'm finally back to the point where I can get into Semagic. Jesus X. Christ. ANYhoo, enough bitching, on with the squeeing. As you can tell, I'm on a roll here people.
3.07 "Mountie and Soul", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - This episode, my friends, is love. The teaser alone is five minutes of pure hilarious and smokin' hot RayK goodness. (To the point that, if you wanted to convert someone to the cult of CKR, I would show them that teaser.) Then the fight, when PG's incredibly swift eye-roll right before Fraser finally hits Ray made me rewind 3 times to catch its full brilliance. "What's up?" "Well, the Chicago Stock Exchange is up, Ray's hair is up" - hee!! Fraser's show & tell of his outfit to the gang members = comedy gold. Ray and Fraser, oh, the love. I will need to watch it five more times just to soak up the sheer joy of their interaction in this one. Ray could not be cuter if he tried, impossible. His skinny little arms in the boxing scenes alone were priceless. He was like SMG boxing on Buffy. Getting his ass kicked to the point of not even being able to put on his shirt! When he tripped in the ropes trying to get in the ring! Talking street to the youts! He was a cornocupia of adorableness in this ep.♥
3.06 "Bounty Hunter", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ - I liked it fine but in comparison to many of the other eps this season it wasn't so great, simply because there was not nearly enough RayK. On the upside, the titular love interest was pleasantly "sturdy" and an interesting actress, I thought - they had palpable chemistry and OMG, Paul Gross in that dark blue shirt? HUMINA. I don't know how the character of BH lady could be expected not to jump him. Loved Fraser sleeping outside her door, and Thatcher's reaction was classic. Fraser in the back seat with the kids, my ovaries were imploding, people. But I'm grading on a curve here and much like SGA, points are deducted for lack of HoYay (and lack of RayK. Yes, that rhymes).
3.05 "Seeing Is Believing", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ - Interesting episode, it was a cool Rashomon-like experiment. Parts of were genius - Meg basically admitting her lust for Fraser in front of everyone, for one. But Fraser using post-hypnotic suggestion struck me as OOC. Given his strict adherence to a practically inhuman super-moral code, I can't see him violating their free will like that, even if it would wear off eventually. It smacks a little of fanservice, actually. That's not to say it wasn't amusing though, because of course it totally was. The distinctly fond smile Fraser bestows upon Ray before awakening him from the trance would have made it all worthwhile, if nothing else. (Note to self: find or make screencaps and icon because that face was the cutest.) The way Ray mumbled "cauliflower" was another. He was practically drooling - hilarious! And how can you hate on an episode in which Ray tells Fraser he loves him? I know I personally am not capable of resisting it.
3.08 "Spy vs. Spy", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - Random note: that's what's-her-face from Slings & Arrows! (aka Martha Burns, aka Paul Gross's wife). Anyway, moving on. This ep is a gem, full of awesome moments: "I never joke about culture" "maybe you smell funny" Fraser in the ballet! Fraser on the computer! It was as if Willow or Sam Carter were dropped into the show for a minute. And then "No peeking" "Wasn"t" "Were too" "liar". Ray in the morgue: "that's the most disgusting thing I've ever glimpsed" "I have stigmatism" (sic) "You think I'm losing my hair?" "No, it's full-bodied and bushy, Ray" "I hate the Dave Clark Five!" "Partners means sharing, Fraser.. partners - sharing" Entire ep was made of LOVE and WIN. To quote all the bits I liked would be the entire ep. I will admit that the ballet part was somewhat OTT and in any other show I would have found it annoyingly twee, but because it's DS I give them some slack on that. Plus the people shushing Fraser! And he kept blathering even though they shushed him more and more!
3.11 "Dead Guy Running", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ - Mildly amusing ep (purely physical comedy doesn't usually keep me entertained for the whole 45 minutes) but lacking in notably shippy or adorable Ray moments. I did like the Fraser/Francesca bits - his face when she was telling him about that sleazebag hurting her was so sympathetic and nonjudgmental, it was a thing of beauty. And the end when she kisses him on the cheek, love. That throat-clearing he does, exclusively when pursued by women, as far as I can tell, is so cute.
3.10 "Perfect Strangers", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - CKR looked even hotter than usual in the beginning of this ep, when he was in the bar talking to soon to be dead stoolie-dude. (There must be some caps/icons of those shots somewhere.) Then they went to Canada - Ray's exchange with the dude selling hockey tickets was hilarious! I rewound that three times because I kept laughing so hard at CKR's comic timing and inflection on "YOU suck!" that I missed Fraser's following line every single time. That bit reminded me of Homer Simpson actually. Also loved all the super-polite Canadians (Ray: "It's clean. Too clean" - there was a noir-like flavor to the music in the background at that point). But OMG Thatcher ("there's no stirring in anybody's loins" ha! But you'd think Fraser would have learned not to talk back to his father's ghost when there are other people around by now) and the baby storyline - when Fraser thought she wanted him to be her baby-daddy (and why wouldn't he? She's only been throwing herself at him with varying degrees of mixed messages ever since she started at the Consulate, as far as I can tell) and he blushed and cleared his throat and ran away as soon as he could ("Oh, look, look where we are, it's the police station" in that hysterically funny high-pitched, breathy voice like he was going to faint from embarrassment if he couldn't get out of the cab right that instant) was so squirm-inducing but brilliantly done. And then the ending, oh my heart, his hair slicked down like a kid at a school dance or something - in fact his entire demeanor was reminiscent of a kid picking up his date for the junior high prom - cracking his neck (that's another thing that goes with the throat-clearing, I've noticed, he always seems to twist his head to the side as if to crack his neck to relieve the tension) and OMG the low-budget flowers, so adorable, and how PG & CS said so much in that scene with so little dialogue - the LOOK on his face when she clarified that she wasn't asking him to "get a leg over" impregnate her, that little frown almost bemused - oh, God - trying in vain to hide his humiliation (was he relieved or disappointed? a little of both, perhaps) - obviously he had worked up his courage so much to even come in there - the falter in his gaze and look down as if he couldn't bear to face her: "May I.. Be dismissed," the sad little half-smile that didn't quite make it to his eyes when he gave her the flowers ("I found these") - my heart couldn't take it. As Fay would say, Oh, bless. That was an incredibly subtle bit of acting and directing there, methinks. Minus 1 star only because there wasn't much Fraser/RayK shippiness, but so many other things about it were wonderful, pure joy.
ETA: After all the times Thatcher has embarrassed herself in front of Fraser, usually relating in some way to the fact that she really wants to jump his bones (big time) and he always tries to find some way to allow her to save face, you'd think she could be a little more gracious in the face of his embarrassment here. Also recognize the fact that he was prepared to be her sperm donor the old-fashioned way - and for a man like Fraser, think of what that would mean for him and how much it took for him to do that - and be just a little less smug about it. Jeez. OR think fast on your feet and don't correct him, since the entire world knows how much you want his (admittedly unbelievably hot) bod.
I can't even. I just.
*hands*
God, I love this show.
Note to self: never install Windoze updates when I'm trying to make one quick post before I go to sleep. I'm like, "It's only 4 updates, how long can it possibly take?" 45 minutes later I'm finally back to the point where I can get into Semagic. Jesus X. Christ. ANYhoo, enough bitching, on with the squeeing. As you can tell, I'm on a roll here people.
3.07 "Mountie and Soul", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - This episode, my friends, is love. The teaser alone is five minutes of pure hilarious and smokin' hot RayK goodness. (To the point that, if you wanted to convert someone to the cult of CKR, I would show them that teaser.) Then the fight, when PG's incredibly swift eye-roll right before Fraser finally hits Ray made me rewind 3 times to catch its full brilliance. "What's up?" "Well, the Chicago Stock Exchange is up, Ray's hair is up" - hee!! Fraser's show & tell of his outfit to the gang members = comedy gold. Ray and Fraser, oh, the love. I will need to watch it five more times just to soak up the sheer joy of their interaction in this one. Ray could not be cuter if he tried, impossible. His skinny little arms in the boxing scenes alone were priceless. He was like SMG boxing on Buffy. Getting his ass kicked to the point of not even being able to put on his shirt! When he tripped in the ropes trying to get in the ring! Talking street to the youts! He was a cornocupia of adorableness in this ep.♥
3.06 "Bounty Hunter", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ - I liked it fine but in comparison to many of the other eps this season it wasn't so great, simply because there was not nearly enough RayK. On the upside, the titular love interest was pleasantly "sturdy" and an interesting actress, I thought - they had palpable chemistry and OMG, Paul Gross in that dark blue shirt? HUMINA. I don't know how the character of BH lady could be expected not to jump him. Loved Fraser sleeping outside her door, and Thatcher's reaction was classic. Fraser in the back seat with the kids, my ovaries were imploding, people. But I'm grading on a curve here and much like SGA, points are deducted for lack of HoYay (and lack of RayK. Yes, that rhymes).
3.05 "Seeing Is Believing", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ - Interesting episode, it was a cool Rashomon-like experiment. Parts of were genius - Meg basically admitting her lust for Fraser in front of everyone, for one. But Fraser using post-hypnotic suggestion struck me as OOC. Given his strict adherence to a practically inhuman super-moral code, I can't see him violating their free will like that, even if it would wear off eventually. It smacks a little of fanservice, actually. That's not to say it wasn't amusing though, because of course it totally was. The distinctly fond smile Fraser bestows upon Ray before awakening him from the trance would have made it all worthwhile, if nothing else. (Note to self: find or make screencaps and icon because that face was the cutest.) The way Ray mumbled "cauliflower" was another. He was practically drooling - hilarious! And how can you hate on an episode in which Ray tells Fraser he loves him? I know I personally am not capable of resisting it.
3.08 "Spy vs. Spy", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - Random note: that's what's-her-face from Slings & Arrows! (aka Martha Burns, aka Paul Gross's wife). Anyway, moving on. This ep is a gem, full of awesome moments: "I never joke about culture" "maybe you smell funny" Fraser in the ballet! Fraser on the computer! It was as if Willow or Sam Carter were dropped into the show for a minute. And then "No peeking" "Wasn"t" "Were too" "liar". Ray in the morgue: "that's the most disgusting thing I've ever glimpsed" "I have stigmatism" (sic) "You think I'm losing my hair?" "No, it's full-bodied and bushy, Ray" "I hate the Dave Clark Five!" "Partners means sharing, Fraser.. partners - sharing" Entire ep was made of LOVE and WIN. To quote all the bits I liked would be the entire ep. I will admit that the ballet part was somewhat OTT and in any other show I would have found it annoyingly twee, but because it's DS I give them some slack on that. Plus the people shushing Fraser! And he kept blathering even though they shushed him more and more!
3.11 "Dead Guy Running", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ - Mildly amusing ep (purely physical comedy doesn't usually keep me entertained for the whole 45 minutes) but lacking in notably shippy or adorable Ray moments. I did like the Fraser/Francesca bits - his face when she was telling him about that sleazebag hurting her was so sympathetic and nonjudgmental, it was a thing of beauty. And the end when she kisses him on the cheek, love. That throat-clearing he does, exclusively when pursued by women, as far as I can tell, is so cute.
3.10 "Perfect Strangers", squee-meter: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - CKR looked even hotter than usual in the beginning of this ep, when he was in the bar talking to soon to be dead stoolie-dude. (There must be some caps/icons of those shots somewhere.) Then they went to Canada - Ray's exchange with the dude selling hockey tickets was hilarious! I rewound that three times because I kept laughing so hard at CKR's comic timing and inflection on "YOU suck!" that I missed Fraser's following line every single time. That bit reminded me of Homer Simpson actually. Also loved all the super-polite Canadians (Ray: "It's clean. Too clean" - there was a noir-like flavor to the music in the background at that point). But OMG Thatcher ("there's no stirring in anybody's loins" ha! But you'd think Fraser would have learned not to talk back to his father's ghost when there are other people around by now) and the baby storyline - when Fraser thought she wanted him to be her baby-daddy (and why wouldn't he? She's only been throwing herself at him with varying degrees of mixed messages ever since she started at the Consulate, as far as I can tell) and he blushed and cleared his throat and ran away as soon as he could ("Oh, look, look where we are, it's the police station" in that hysterically funny high-pitched, breathy voice like he was going to faint from embarrassment if he couldn't get out of the cab right that instant) was so squirm-inducing but brilliantly done. And then the ending, oh my heart, his hair slicked down like a kid at a school dance or something - in fact his entire demeanor was reminiscent of a kid picking up his date for the junior high prom - cracking his neck (that's another thing that goes with the throat-clearing, I've noticed, he always seems to twist his head to the side as if to crack his neck to relieve the tension) and OMG the low-budget flowers, so adorable, and how PG & CS said so much in that scene with so little dialogue - the LOOK on his face when she clarified that she wasn't asking him to "get a leg over" impregnate her, that little frown almost bemused - oh, God - trying in vain to hide his humiliation (was he relieved or disappointed? a little of both, perhaps) - obviously he had worked up his courage so much to even come in there - the falter in his gaze and look down as if he couldn't bear to face her: "May I.. Be dismissed," the sad little half-smile that didn't quite make it to his eyes when he gave her the flowers ("I found these") - my heart couldn't take it. As Fay would say, Oh, bless. That was an incredibly subtle bit of acting and directing there, methinks. Minus 1 star only because there wasn't much Fraser/RayK shippiness, but so many other things about it were wonderful, pure joy.
ETA: After all the times Thatcher has embarrassed herself in front of Fraser, usually relating in some way to the fact that she really wants to jump his bones (big time) and he always tries to find some way to allow her to save face, you'd think she could be a little more gracious in the face of his embarrassment here. Also recognize the fact that he was prepared to be her sperm donor the old-fashioned way - and for a man like Fraser, think of what that would mean for him and how much it took for him to do that - and be just a little less smug about it. Jeez. OR think fast on your feet and don't correct him, since the entire world knows how much you want his (admittedly unbelievably hot) bod.
I can't even. I just.
*hands*
God, I love this show.