A far cry from the kids' cartoons that many of us used to watch, today's Saturday morning shows on CBS offer something the entire family can enjoy.
Under the slogan "CBS Dream Team...It's Epic!" last year's lineup included shows about a dog trainer who finds homes for shelter dogs, an Australian veterinarian, modern inventors and more.
But, my favorite show on Saturday morning is "The Inspectors." It is a 30-minute CBS drama -- but there's lots of humor in it, too -- about college student Preston Wainwright (played by Bret Green) and his mom, who is a U.S. Postal Inspector. Preston hangs out with his friends and also interns at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service forensic crime lab. Every week, they investigate fraud, scams and other crimes committed through the U.S. mail service. Often what's going on with the college kids is a side story that might not have anything to do with postal inspections; there are love interests, college student protests, friendly banter, etc.
The show also includes a variety of side characters, including the friendly neighborhood mail carrier, who sometimes has a major role in the plot.
From what I understand, one of the sponsors of "The Inspectors" is the U.S. Postal Service, and at the end of each episode, the real U.S. Chief Postal Inspector Guy Cottrell makes an appearance to drive home the point about how important it is to be aware of scams, fraud, etc.
I haven't seen an official announcement from CBS that "The Inspectors" has been renewed for a second season, but the website imdb.com lists 22 episodes by name for the upcoming second season. So, maybe that's good news.
If you haven't seen any episodes of "The Inspectors" or if you missed one or two -- or if you'd just like to watch the shows again -- you can find some episodes on CBS.com . There also are some at TVGuide's website.
I like the show and try to watch it every week, but I hope there's one thing they work into the scripts in the next season...letter writing! Although the mail carrier delivers mail all the time, there's not much talk about writing and sending letters. In fact, in one episode, Preston's friend makes a reference to not remembering what his handwriting looks like or something like that. I'm all for encouraging people to be aware of and to report mail fraud, but I also think the show is the perfect place to support letter writing, like 365 Letters does!
Although I am not a Saturday morning television person, I agree with your opinion. I'll make a note to check out the show.
ReplyDeleteThanks.