Due South (TV Series) Gift of the Wheelman (1994) User Reviews

Gift of the Wheelman

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 4 December 2020]

A memorable festive episode as it had some heart and soul as well as some funny bits.

Ray and Benton go after some bank robbing Santas. One Santa is chased by Benton but he gets away, not before bumping into a youth who walked out of a shop carrying a special Christmas gift for his dad.

It is just that the youth Del recognises the robber dressed as Santa. It's his dad and he has double crossed a crime family and others involved in the robbery by running away with the loot.

Ray and Benton have a theory that the Wheelman became the Bagman but what is his ultimate plan?

There is a lot of humour as cops arrest all the Santa Clauses at Christmas Eve. There are also a lot of Elvis lookalikes bought in as someone misheard Elves.

Benton hears his dad who tries to guide him through the case. Even the ghost of Ray's dad shows up at once scene.

It really is about the Wheelman trying to go straight for years on a minimum wage job and writing stories. He realises that it is all for nothing as he had just a few dollars to his name to show for it.

He just wanted to leave something for his son Del. His son wanted nothing to do with the stolen loot he just wanted his dad.

It has an early role for Ryan Phillippe who plays Del.

Probably my favorite episode ever

[diazraul · 10/10 · 31 December 2006]

Several factors make this episode probably my favorite Due South episode ever. First is the Christmas holiday theme, where the gang of Santas rob the bank. Number two is the incredible chase scene, with the musical accompaniment of Sarah MacLachlan's song "Steaming". I have to say that after taping and watching this episode, I was compelled to find and buy that CD, just for that song. It was a perfect song for that chase. The driving beat and her haunting voice made me a fan of hers which I remain to this day. What was so cool was that no words were really spoken during the whole chase, just that great song playing. You also see this type of scene in the "Heaven and Earth" episode later in the series, with a great Tragically Hip song "At The 100th Meridian". As you probably see coming, I also became a fan of theirs after that episode. But, back to "Gift of the Wheelman", the episode also starred a young Ryan Phillippe, pre-Reese, pre-Cruel Intentions. You could see that he was quite an actor then. Also, I believe this was the first episode where Fraser's father's ghost appears. The correlation between Fraser and his father's relationship and the one between Dell (Ryan) and William Porter (Wheelman)was kinda cool. As well as the overall theme of the show, where William Porter was willing to die to provide his son with a better life, where all the son wanted was his dad in his life was really touching. The epilogue where William Porter is in jail, and Dell gives him a gift is about the most memorable scene ever for me. Let me know what you think and what your favorite DS episodes were. Thanks for reading.

Due South at its best

[coralynb-1 · 10/10 · 8 November 2006]

This is one of the episodes that combines all the aspects that made this such a wonderful series: credible (for television, anyway) crime plot, great cast which allows wonderful character studies (one feels depth of character from the stars to the smallest of parts), magical realism that seems perfectly "natural", sly literary references that give a chuckle to those who get them but do not alienate or lessen the impact for those who do not), wonderful eclectic music choices, and that wonderful quirky sense of humour that manages to poke fun at everyone. Paul Haggis' scripts always impressed me with their ability to juggle all those aspects and this episode was one of the best.