"There's red ships and green ships but no ships like partnerships."
The third and fourth seasons also gave the opportunity for the supporting characters to develop more than they had in the past. Francesca matures as she takes on the role of Civilian Aid vacated by Elaine Besbriss in I Coulda Been A Defendant (while remaining a delightfully ditzy character); Jack Huey and Tom Dewey become more than background figures, Turnbull develops into a comic figure who nevertheless shows considerable depth (for example in Mountie Sings the Blues); and Welsh's relationship with his brother is explored in the Season Four opening episode, Dr Longball.
Ramona Milano was clearly delighted that she had been given the chance to develop Francesca's role:
"I also feel they hit upon something when they began to expand the rest of the characters and made it more of an ensemble show. The writing, too, was just as good this year as in the past. So if you're lucky enough to have a group of actors who are good at their craft, and characters who are quirky and funny, as well as strong scripts, then you can't lose." - Cult Times, October 1998
One of the most obvious ensemble pieces is Seeing is Believing, which takes the plot device of a murder witnessed from different perspectives (echoes of "Rashomon") and uses it to give further insight into the characters of Thatcher, Kowalski and Welsh. This episode also contains an example of director Steve di Marco's trademark technique of filming a number of scenes in one long camera sequence, originally an Alfred Hitchcock device, and one which is also used to considerable effect by George Bloomfield in Burning Down the House.
But this increased emphasis on the supporting cast still provided space for character development of the principals. Ladies' Man is a dark story of a rookie cop's error resulting in the incarceration of an innocent woman until years later that same cop, Ray Kowalski, determines the truth. Fraser too has confrontations with his past in episodes such as Hunting Season where he finds he is no longer alone in the world. Easy Money focuses on Fraser's mentor, Quinn, who arrives in Chicago to save his community from the effects of a dam project. As Quinn takes advantage of a botched jewel robbery, it is up to Fraser to remind Quinn of what he had himself taught Benton as a young man. Never a show to opt for the cosy or comfortable ending, this episode culminates in the twelve-year-old Fraser fulfilling his ambition of shooting a caribou. But the second he fires his rifle, joy turns to devastation as he realises that he has destroyed a magnificent creature purely in pursuit of his own self-esteem. As Fraser says: "You let me make one of the biggest mistakes of my life." And Fraser knows that Quinn must also make his own decision - and then take responsibility for his actions.
"You know, Fraser, from the second floor, there's always the other option"
Early in the episode, Easy Money features a nail-biting stunt, as Fraser hangs precariously from a building. But, according to Paul, such stunts are not as scary as they look. Speaking at a Question and Answer Session at the RCW 139 Convention in Toronto in August 1999, he explained:
"The stuff that's scary is not the big stuff. Like hanging off the building . . . you wear a harness and a cable runs up along your arm, so it's hidden and you can't see it and it's tied off of the building. The cable will hold up a car, so I know I'm not going to fall."
Throughout the series, Paul readily undertook whatever stunt-work he was allowed to.
"I do as many as the insurance company will let me. I'd like to be clear about this though: it's not that I'm particularly brave, it's that it makes filming simpler and faster." - Interview on BBC due South website
Ken Quinn, due South's stunt co-ordinator, was clearly impressed with Paul's ability to do stunt-work:
"Paul is very athletic. And he listens. He can do most of his own fights now, and a lot more." - Southern Exposure by Ellen Vanstone, Toronto Life: April 1995
Nevertheless, Paul didn't come off entirely unscathed, although it was action sequences that viewers might not normally categorise as "stunts" that led to the occasional problem:
"The times that I did get hurt are usually in hand-to-hand fighting, or running. I ran, it seemed, non-stop. I have kind of a lousy knee, which at times would just pop out. I remember the first year, it just collapsed underneath me while I was sprinting down some alleyway and that hurt. So actually where you're going to get hurt is running down fire escapes and that kind of stuff." - RCW 139 Convention: Toronto, August 1999
"Life is a dangerous game."
The final season also provides a resolution for the Victoria story, when another manipulative woman draws Fraser in and asks him to let her go. In the electrifying, elegant and perfectly acted episode Odds, the viewer is reminded yet again that "appearances can be deceiving" as Fraser deals with his inner conflict between passion and duty. The sophistication of this visually stunning episode is highlighted by a scene of intense sensuality when Denny Scarpa massages Fraser's injured back - an eroticism revealed without so much as the touch of skin on skin, or eye-contact, or even words other than discussion of the case. But, this time, Fraser will not allow the relationship (albeit fleeting) to end with him bleeding on a station platform (Victoria's Secret) or in the depths of despair and loneliness (Bounty Hunter). As he says at the end of this story, "I'm learning". And it was Victoria and Denny Scarpa who taught him.
But still Fraser finds he has lessons to learn. The episode Good for the Soul takes the view back to Fraser when he first came to Chicago determined to find his father's killers, demonstrating his unshakeable belief in the rule of law. This time, however, his beliefs are not just shaken, but shattered, when he is both physically and spiritually injured in his unswerving pursuit of justice. In yet another deftly scripted and powerfully acted piece, Fraser is brought to his lowest point as he is forced to agree with Kowalski that "you can't beat the system", a devastatingly un-Fraser-like comment that forces Welsh and Kowalski to realise how wrong they had been not to give Fraser their support. Always superb, Gordon Pinsent as Fraser Snr excels in this episode, demonstrating the same delightful interaction with Paul Gross that first appears in Gift of the Wheelman.