Benton Fraser - Character

Character

Fraser was conceived in an igloo, (according to his father,) and was born in a field, and grew up in Inuvik, Northwest Territories; Alert, Northwest Territories, (now part of Nunavut); and Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories. After his mother was killed, Benton was raised by his grandparents, who were traveling librarians. His mother, Caroline, was killed when he was a 8-years-old, and his father, Bob Fraser, (played by Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent), was murdered in the pilot episode. Fraser Sr., as he is sometimes known, was a legendarily effective officer in the RCMP and often appears to his son as a ghost throughout the series to offer help and advice. Other relatives include an Uncle Tiberius, (who died wrapped in Cabbage leaves, which the family assumes this to have been a Freak accident, first mentioned in "The Gift of the Wheelman" in season 1,) and an Aunt Winnie, (mentioned only in "Perfect Strangers", in season 3).

According to best friend, Ray Vecchio, in An Eye for a Eye, Benton's problem is that "if sees a problem, gotta fix it, can't even go to the mens room without stopping to tell some simple, stupid, charmingly-witty Inuit story, that inspires people to take on the world's social ills." In "The Blue Line", in season 1, its revealed that Benton is a fan of Ice hockey, and that he used to play it as a child; and in "Asylum", in season 3, it is shown that Benton is also a fan of Curling.

Fraser has had an unfortunate recurring relationship with Victoria Metcalf, a bank robber with whom he became infatuated after pursuing her into and then helping her survive a lengthy winter storm. After the storm was over, Fraser turned Victoria in to the authorities and she was sent to prison. This encounter is first outlined in episode 14 of series 1, "You must remember this"; during a stake-out Fraser comes the closest to 'baring his soul' before turning to find Vecchio asleep. That episode fades with Fraser looking at a slightly crumpled black-and-white photo of her. She later resurfaced in Chicago, blackmailing Fraser into helping her use the money from the bank robbery to buy jewels on the black market, threatening to have Ray Vecchio framed for corruption. She left Chicago soon after her plot unraveled, and was not seen again.

Having little experience with romantic matters, Fraser appears to have suppressed his emotions, often for comic effect in the series, and buried himself in the masculine pursuits of law enforcement and campcraft. His super-human detective abilities provide humorous contrast with his inability to interact with women. His fixation upon the criminal Metcalf, and later, his superior officer, Margaret Thatcher, (no relation to the British prime minister), was unreasonable, and he may have used his attraction to an unavailable woman as a mechanism for avoiding change in his own life.

In the ITV documentary South Bound co-star David Marciano said it was vital that the character of Fraser be both innocent but also unemotional. Actor Daniel Kash, (Detective Louis Gardino in the series), in the same documentary observed about Fraser that 'You'll never see that character cry. You'll sense that he'll be crying inside but you'll never see tears going down his face. He's just too buffed for that, and too reserved.'

In the episode Bounty Hunter, Fraser meets a woman who seems very compatible with him, but his father warns Benton off. Fraser Sr tries to get his son to understand that the woman is not the one who is vulnerable, but Benton. For all of his son's physical self-reliance, the young constable needs emotional maturing.

Fraser eventually discovered he had a half-sister, Maggie MacKenzie, in the season three episode Hunting Season. Because Bob Fraser is her father, she can also see his ghost. Just like her father and half-brother, Maggie is a member of the RCMP. She arrived in Chicago pursuing the killers of her husband, under circumstances similar to Fraser's own arrival in the city, though she soon returned to Canada, unlike Fraser, who remained in Chicago for some time.

Fraser wears his uniform stetson hat both in uniform and out. When he loses it, he seems to get into trouble. Fans of the show have thus nicknamed it the Stetson of Invulnerability. Fraser carries his paper money inside his hat. He frequently only has Canadian currency with him as it is "regulation" to be paid in that currency.

Fraser's apartment is at 221 East Racine. The neighbourhood is dangerous, but Fraser liked the apartment for its close proximity to his workplace.