Now that we have satellite TV, we can watch way too many shows about home improvement, home decorating, home organization, home selling, home everything. If we look anymore inward we'll implode.

However, Alex found Fillmore, and I am happy. It is almost as good as Monk, in a cartoon type way.  The premise of this show is that middle schools need crime fighters too. 

The cartoon stars Safety Patrol Office Cornelius Fillmore and his partner Ingrid Third. They are part of a team that includes Jr. Commissioner Vallejo, a stereo type straight out of every cop show ever made, that makes X Middle School safe for law abiding citizens.

Here is a summary of one of my favorite episodes, Of Slain Kings on Checkered Fields:

X Middle School's best hope to break a losing streak is Checkmatey, a flamboyant rapper who is X's finest chess player. Unfortunately, somebody is out to get him - is it Tyson Pelarez, leader of the Society of the Preservation of Ethics in Chess? Or is it Nelson Kelloch, Checkmatey's biggest rival? Fillmore and Ingrid are on the case - but the clock is ticking down to the championship match and Checkmatey is nowhere to be found...

The best thing this show has is the writing. The dialogue is better than most regular TV shows. It's actually witty and the writers assume the audience is smart.

The plots are interesting and funny. Often, they are spoofs of movies, books, or pop culture in general, and the whole show is a spoof of 70s cop shows. If you can watch this show, look at what is happening in the background. It is here that you will catch many puns and jokes, from scarecrows with shirts reading "Will Work for Brain" to kids dressed up as states causing problems in a chase scene.

There are 27 episodes made between 2002 - 2003. I haven't seen them all, but hope to eventurally. This show is on Toon Disney at 6:30 p.m. throughout the week.

  Try to catch it if you can!