- Free Willie
Infobox Television episode
Caption= Willie
Title= Free Willie
Series=Due South
Season=1
Episode=1
Guests=Tony Craig Djanet Sears Todd Schroeder Ed Sahely Elena Kudaba Michael Donaghue Domenic Cuzzocrea Christina Cox Rummy Bishop Matt Birman Chris Babers Beau Starr Daniel Kash
Airdate=September 25 ,2006
Production=
Writer=Kathy Slevin Paul Haggis
Director=George Bloomfield
Prev= Beautiful Songbird Pt. 2
Next=Diefenbaker's Day Off
Episode list = List of Due South episodes|"Free Willie" is the first episode of the first season of
Due South . Including the pilot episodes, it is the third episode overall.Plot
The episode starts with a robbery, it is unclear when or where this happens.While Fraser is buying a new apartment he hears a scream, which is from a woman that is being robbed. He and Diefenbaker (and Ray, but he's not that quick) follow the robber who later seems to be only twelvecite web | title=allmovie.com| work=Due South/Free Willie |url=http://wm03.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:291557 | accessmonthday=November 24 | accessyear=2007] years old. When they finally catch him the boy tries to threaten them with a gun but Fraser disarms and arrests him. The boy's name seems to be Willie, he says he stole the bag and found the gun in it.Ray reluctantly agrees to help Fraser prove the boy's innocence as well as find the true criminals, even though he's risking his own job to do so.cite web | title=Tv.com| work=Due South/Free Willie |url=http://www.tv.com/due-south/free-willie/episode/43800/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;1| accessmonthday=November 24 | accessyear=2007] . Because Fraser wants to let Willie go, if he won't return after his release Vecchio will be fired. The gun seems to be used in the robbery from the beginning of the episode. Later, when they are investigating the bank robbery, the bank president tells detectives Louis and Huey about the robbery, he says there is a possibility that one of the robbers was a child.Fraser tells Vecchio's boss that if Willie did rob the bank he wouldn't have to steal any more purses, which makes it very clear that Willie probably wasn't one of the robbers. Willie gives a description of the woman he stole the purse from: a
Heather Locklear -a-like description that doesn't really helps. But it does clear that one of the robbers wasfemale . Outside Willie tries to escape, but he doesn't get very far. When searching the place where Willie dropped the briefcase they find an old woman whom they have to pay 50 dollars to get the case, these appear to be fake. Meanwhile we hear a woman talking on the phone, she wants to kill the kid but she can't because the cops are involved.Fraser decides to have Willie stay at his place. The next morning Fraser and Vecchio leave Willie together with Diefenbaker in their car while they question the bank president again, only this time he defines one of the robbers as a she, which makes him involved.While they're in theelevator Willie is being attacked by the robbers, he starts the car, to get away. Then Fraser and Vecchio come out of the building and see their car just driving away. From then on a big chase starts between Fraser and Vecchio (on horses they just found), Willie and Diefenbaker and the robbers. Eventually Fraser and Vecchio are able to make the robbers stop and save Willie, the robbers do escape.Eventually they figure out that the package with the real papers is at the depot and they have to go there before the robbers do.Just when they arrive there the robbers are picking up the package, way to go Fraser.Another chase starts which ends up with the woman who points her gun at Vecchio. Fraser makes the woman very nervous which causes her to shoot at him instead of at Vecchio.She misses and Fraser jumps out of a pile of boxes, the woman shoots him but in his hat so he survives.At the end of the episode we see that Fraser hires Willie to take care of Diefenbaker.Cast
Used Music
* "It's All Over"
byThe Headstones
from album:Picture of Health .Trivia
* Fraser refers to the Lieutenant using the pronunciation 'Leftenant', which is the traditional pronunciation of the word, and still in use in Canada.
* Just before the cleanser salesman comes into frame, there is a shot of Fraser from the pilot telemovie where his strap is on the wrong shoulder.
* The title of this episode, Free Willie, is a play on words from the 1993 film Free Willy.
References
External links
* [http://www.tv.com/due-south/free-willie/episode/43800/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;1 Free Willie on Tv.com]
* [http://wm03.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:291557 Free Willie on the Allmovie Guide]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0567037/ Free Willie on the IMDB]
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