The Man Who Knew Too Little

You can read a plot synopsis elsewhere. I'll just try to give a thumbnail sketch of what made this episode peak Due South for me.

No Small Parts: TV writers often fall into the trap of giving the best lines to the main cast. But that's not the case here. The bad guys, the impossibly helpful Canadian couple, and even the diner waitress all get to deliver some real bangers.

Seriously Funny: From the beginning, Due South worked best when it carefully straddled the line between playful and poignant. Many other episodes managed to pull this off, but none did it better. A great example is the scene in which an ever-helpful Fraser offers some keen insight based on one of his father's many sayings. But a cold, frustrated Ray lashes out with some pitch-perfect sarcasm at Fraser's expense.

Equal Opportunity Offender: As a hybrid Canadian/American production, the series periodically poked fun at people from both sides of the border, alternately having characters who embodied and subverted the respective stereotypes. This episode cranked it up to eleven. My favorite example: after escaping from would-be carjackers with guns, a Canadian woman laments that "America's just getting more violent all the time," not realizing the desperados were her fellow countrymen.

I even liked the music, the highlight being the rockabilly number "Such is the Situation" as the backdrop to the diner shoot-out and escape scene. It was reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and Joy", but better (in my opinion).

To the writer, Frank Siracusa; you captured lightning in a bottle with this one. Hats off to you, sir.