Diefenbaker's Day Off (Due South)

Infobox Television episode


Caption= Charlie and Lucy hugging
Title= Diefenbaker's Day Off
Series=Due South
Season=1
Episode=2
Airdate=September 29, 1994.cite web | title=Tv.com| work=Due South/Diefenbaker's Day Off|url=http://www.tv.com/due-south/diefenbakers-day-off/episode/43801/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;2| accessmonthday=November 25 | accessyear=2007]
Production=
Writer=Kathy Slevin
Director=Joe Scanlon
Guests=Azura Bates
Brendan Kelly
Beau Starr
Tony Craig
Daniel Kash
Madolyn Smith-Osborne
Angela Moore
Rebecca McLaughlin
Marvin Karon
Richard Hardacre
Kevin Frank
Eric Fink
David Eisner
William Dunlop
Tony Cacciotti
Prev=Free Willie
Next=Manhunt
Episode list = List of Due South episodes

Diefenbaker's Day Off is the second episode of the first season of "Due South" it's the fourth episode overall. It had two plot outlines, one of them was about a little girl who's father is doing some dark things, the other one is about Diefenbaker who walks the street without neither Fraser or a license and is constantly followed by an animal control officer.

Plot

Episode plot

When Fraser walks down the stairs of the apartment he lives in he meets a little girl (named Lucy) who asks him to help her dad, because he keeps hurting himself.When her father (his name is Charlie) crosses the street while reading a newspaper he almost gets hit by a car, but he doesn't because Fraser saves him the last moment.When Charlie thanks him, Fraser walks away, ten seconds later Charlie does get hit by a car and Fraser has to take him to the hospital, to Charlie's doctor: Dr. Howard.At the hospital a suspicious nurse gets interested, without being noticed she opens a door and leaves.After talking to doctor Howard, Fraser concludes that Charlie was a boxer, but is retired.When talking to Ray on the phone about a license for Diefenbaker the suspicious nurse comes by again and drops an X-ray, Fraser takes the X Ray and follows the nurse to her car, where she is very busy changing her clothes in her car at the parking lot.While trying to just return the X Ray the woman asks him questions about Charlie and the accident and eventually asks him out for a date.Then we see the woman walking into an office, she seems to really be a journalist named Mackenzie, she tells her press-buddy about the fact that there are already three dead boxers in the last eight months, from which all the dead certificates are signed by the same doctor: Dr. Howard. She thinks Fraser is involved, which is the reason why she asked him out. At the date Mackenzie understands that Fraser already knew she was a journalist and Fraser understands that she thought he was in on it.Back at his apartment Fraser hears Charlie talking to some guy about his "accidents"Ray and Fraser decide that the only solution to not break the promise and do solve the crime is to catch the guy who's behind it all.The next day they go to "Sully's Gym" Charlie's old gym, to investigate.After Fraser knocks down a couple of guys who didn't gave him any useful information, Fraser talks to the coach who tells him that Charlie hasn't come there for over a year.When they're outside again Fraser tells Ray that the caoch is in on it because his mouth was very dry, which is indicates he was lying.Now we see the coach walking to the back of the gym talking to the "big boss" Dr. Howard.They call Charlie for a "job" in which they want to drive him over for real.They don't know that Fraser and Vecchio are spying on them.When they get back in their car Mackenzie is in the back and refuses to get out of the car, so they take her with them.When the truck comes to kill Charlie, Charlie is saved by Fraser again at the last moment.In an attempt to save him Fraser accidentally smacks Charlie's head against a window.The truck drives away and Charlie has to go to the hospital again but this time to another doctor.Mackenzie takes Lucy home and finds the complete gang waiting for her and Lucy.At the hospital Charlie gets a message from someone who says that he will take care of his little girl for him, a pissed-off Charlie leaves the place and is followed by Fraser.Back at Charlie's place a fight between Fraser, Charlie and the gang starts, Howard is the only one that can escape and takes Lucy with him.Outside he takes the animal control van from the officer that is trying to catch Diefenbaker.Charlie runs after the van and catches his daughter who is falling out of it, he throws her to Frasier and jumps away before the van crashes into a wall with him between.Howard is arrested and Charlie and Lucy are happy together again.The episode ends with Fraser and Mackenzie talking, and Mackenzie happy walking away with her exciting story.

Diefenbaker plot

The episode starts with Fraser talking to Diefenbaker about Diefenbaker needing a wolf-license, and until he gets one Diefenbaker has to stay in the apartment.Diefenbaker "agrees" and leaves the apartment through the window when Fraser walks out the door. Later when Fraser is outside, we see Diefenbaker peaking his head out of an alley watching him walking away. Later when Fraser is somewhere at the hospital we see Diefenbaker coming down a slide. In the evening we see him climbing on some stairs and coming through the window to Fraser's apartment, and just before Fraser comes in lying down at the exact same position as he was lying when Fraser left him. And just as soon as Fraser leaves the apartment for his date, Diefenbaker leaves the building again. The next day Diefenbaker is standing in an alley when an animal control van drives by, from this moment on a big chase starts.Later, when Fraser kicks someone out of a window we see Diefenbaker getting caught by the animal control officer but escaping. At the end he is caught by the officer but Vecchio shows the officer the license he took care of for Diefenbaker, so he has to be released.

Cast

Used music

* American Woman
By: The Guess Who
from album(s): "The Greatest of the Guess Who"

References

External links

* [http://wc06.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:291558 Diefenbaker's Day Off on Allmovie Guide]
* [http://www.tv.com/due-south/diefenbakers-day-off/episode/43801/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;2 Diefenbaker's Day Off at Tv.com]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0567035/ Diefenbaker's Day Off at the IMDB]