Due South: "The Bounty Hunter"

In Season 3, Episode 6, Constable Benton Fraser appears at the Chicago Police Dept. one morning and discovers the squad has decided to go on strike. Or, rather, catch the "Blue Flu."  But not before an attractive bounty hunter, of the female variety arrives at the station with her three kids. 

The cops soon vacate leaving the police station deserted. Fraser takes pity on her, allowing Janet Morse (played by Wendy Crewson) along with her two girls and one boy to stay at the station.

Being the gentleman and protector that he is, Fraser spends the night at the station too rather than returning to his apartment. He sleeps in the hall outside of the room Janet and the kids are staying. He certainly can not wrinkle his Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform so, like at home, he strips and sleeps in his bright red union suit.

But, oh man, he is woken up the following morning by his company commander and is he is ever in trouble. He jumps up and stands at attention in his long underwear and gets quite a "dressing down."

He is even in more trouble when Bounty Hunter Janet comes out of her room in her night clothes with a toothbrush. Boy oh boy!

Fraser is ordered to follow the commander into to her office for more words....

He is finally allowed to about face and leave her office still in his combinations to retain his uniform and get properly dressed.

 Due South: "The Mask"

In Episode 6 of Season 2, shown January 19, 1996 and written by Jeff King, Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, working in Chicago, is awakened out of a sound sleep. 

He discovers two young kids, a boy and a girl, cavorting around his small apartment. Disheveled, he looks around wondering if he is still dreaming...

 

Grouchily, he climbs out of bed in his red union suit, in which he sleeps, to chase the kids out. But immediately he spies his old Native friend, Eric.

Fraser soon discovers, Eric's family has moved in overnight while he slept. He politely stands up to greet his friend's parents (in his long underwear):

  

Eric's parents are pleased to see him again as they have known Fraser since he was a boy.

Eric's mom takes notice of him standing there in only his union suit, but never mind, they have important things to discuss. But first, breakfast! Eric's mom is a very good cook.

Fraser learns that two, centuries old, aboriginal masks have been stolen from a Chicago museum and he has been approached by the family to find and return them. 

Unembarrassed since he knows the family so well, Fraser remembers he's standing there in just his underwear and decides it's time to get dressed and begin the search. He backs into his clothes closet to pull on his Mounty uniform over his long johns. 

You'll have to watch this episode and others on Daily Motion, YouTube and other streaming platforms to see if the masks are found and retrieved. 

Next up: Season 3, Episode 6, "The Bounty Hunter"

Internationally Speaking

Besides the English Television show, Rising Damp which I featured in this blog earlier this month, other television shows like Due South are produced and filmed in countries outside of the U.S and having a main character who wears union suits. Perhaps you caught the mid-nineties TV show with Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 

Like me and many of you, Fraser preferred wearing red union suits to bed. He would read for awhile before turning out the light to get some well earned rest.

Realizing the photos are a bit dark especially if you view on your smart phone, 
it's only because, Fraser reads in bed with only a dim lamp.
View these on your computer or laptop for best results.

Due South was a popular dramatic comedy crime show filmed primarily in Toronto, Canada. Produced by Alliance Communications and created by Paul Haggis, it ran for four seasons beginning in April, 1994. The show first appeared as a movie on Canadian television, later being picked up and financed by BBC. Soon, it was aired in the United States.

RCMP officer Benton Fraser worked out of the Canadian Consulate in Chicago and worked closely with the Chicago Police Department. Growing up wearing red combinations, the thirty-something crime fighter continued to wear union suits into adulthood. Why not? The windy city is often times very cold. Besides what would a RCMP officer wear under his red uniform? 

Part of the comedic situations included Fraser wearing his long red underwear, usually with white socks, in several of the episodes.

One of the first examples was from March 9, 1995's The Blue Line. In this one, a friend of his, he had known from when they were teenage boys, had become a popular but cocky pro ice hockey player who gets involved with the mob. He shows up late one night, walking into Fraser's unlocked apartment. Fraser is reading by lamplight in his red union suit and does not seem over alarmed at being interrupted. His deaf white wolf seems to sense happenings but seldom barks.

Fraser rises out of bed to greet his late night visitor... 

and soon gives up his bed to his guest volunteering to sleep on the floor... 

After talking deep into the night about their boyhood adventures and current jobs, the exhausted duo fall asleep. 

Catch this series on YouTube or Daily Motion to find that Fraser, perhaps reluctantly, agreed to be a bodyguard for his arrogant, yet talented, friend. 

Coming soon: additional episodes of the union suit clad Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman. 

From January, 1996 - "The Mask"

If you have seen other instances of Fraser running around in his red combinations, be sure to email or comment below. I will post over the next couple of weeks... Chris

Hypnosis Part Two

In the last posting we explored two cases of men under hypnosis being made to undress down to their underwear, Dagwood Bumstead to his boxer shorts and Rick to his union suit.  Awhile back, my good union suit buddy, Joe of NYC, sent me a link to a 1970's British TV show following the same hypnotic theme.

Having enjoyed posting the exploits of the stripped down Dagwood and Rick, Joe and I would like to introduce to you a peculiar landlord who was bamboozled by a couple of his tenants, Ambrose and Philip. Dagwood and Rick have nothing over Rupert Rigsby, played by actor, Leonard Rossiter....

Rising Damp was a popular television sitcom in Great Britain, airing in September, 1974 through May, 1978. It revolved around four, down-on-their-luck, inhabitants of a run-down apartment building, exploring various problematic situations. The show won an award for “Best Situation Comedy” in 1978 and came in 27th in a 2004 poll of "one hundred best" British sitcoms. It featured landlord Rigsby, a tight-fisted, responsibility shirking, landlord and his ineptness in overseeing a dilapidated Victorian townhome which had been turned into apartments. 

Rising Damp is a condition that can occur in older structures in areas suffering from above average ground moisture. In rainy England, the seeping of water up interior walls is common, causing brown spots on the walls and can lead to mold. 

In Season Four, Episode 5, titled “Under The Influence,” written by Eric Chappell, landlord Rigsby barges into one of his tenants' apartments, demanding that Ambrose pay his over due rent. After tomfoolery, Ambrose manages to get Rigsby to forget why he came in, convincing him that he, Ambrose, is a hypnotist. When Philip, another tenant drops in, Rigsby attempts to get Ambrose to prove his ability. He urges him to hypnotize Philip to prove he can do that which he claims.

Of course, the attempt backfires, and it is Rigsby who becomes hypnotized, rather easily in fact. Ambrose guides Rigsby, now hypnotized back to his boyhood. It's a warm summer day. Rigsby is a boy again and is convinced to strip off his clothes so he might go swimming with the other boys who are already frolicking in a nearby pond.

A bit reluctant at first, Rigsby follows Ambrose's directive by taking off his shoes, then his shirt, followed finally by the unbuttoning and pulling off of his trousers. He is soon down to only his “combinations” and socks. He cuts a ridiculous figure standing there in a short sleeved union suit.

When Rigsby begins unbuttoning his combinations to go "skinny dipping" with the other boys, Ambrose quickly convinces him to leave on his underwear!

To their delight, Rigsby joins the boys, sitting down on the edge of an old chair in just his long underwear.

When Philip questions Ambrose as to why he had Rigsby strip to his underwear, he simply asks how else would Rigsby believe he had been hypnotized, if he were not to awaken without his clothes. Makes sense. The mates have a grand time.

Very soon, spinster Ruth Jones, another tenant and a woman Rigsby is enthralled with, arrives and is aghast to see Rigsby sitting there in Ambrose's apartment, dressed only in his combinations underwear. Ambrose decides it's a perfect time to awaken the hapless stooge. 

It takes a moment for Rigsby to realize it is he who had been hypnotized and that he is sitting on the edge of a chair in his baggy underwear. And, in front of the woman he most admires. Horrors! Realizing the situation, he jumps up and tries to hide, grabbing his shirt to partially cover himself. 

Miss Jones is shocked, Rigsby is embarrassed, and Ambrose and Philip can't conceal their absolute delight in catching their landlord in a hypnotic predicament.  

The next day, Rigsby convinces Ambrose to hypnotize Ruth, thinking under hypnosis she would be amorous towards him. Visiting the hynotized Ruth in her apartment, Rigsby is accosted by his over heated heartthrob. She can't wait to tear off his clothes, attempting to get Rigsby down to his combinations again. With his shirt half torned off, it's evident that Rigsby is still wearing a union suit.

If you enjoy British humor and combinations, this is one you should find and watch on your favoritate streaming service!

A special thanks to Joe of NYC for his combinations contribution to Union Suit Fan... Chris

Added March 12, 2022:

If you have kept up with the exploits of Tom and RC, the wagering boys in Union Suit Fan, you'll recognize this guy wearing his short-sleeved, baggy "combinations" underwear, just like the type Rigsby wears sans Bronco cap and glasses!