The old TV police show “Dragnet” from the 1950s and 1960s was famous for two lines in the show’s script.
- When no-nonsense Sergeant Joe Friday would question a witness to a crime, he would instruct females to answer with, “Just the facts, Ma’am” with their testimony.
The other line was uttered at the beginning and end of each episode following the signature instrumental music that went “Dum-da-Dum Dum”. The narrator would say, “The story you are about to see (or have just seen) is true, the names have been (were) changed to protect the innocent”. Some shows were so bad that names may have changed to protect the actors and writers, but it was very popular, and the series was supported by the LAPD for showing cops in a positive light. The criminals on Dragnet were not all murderers and high-profile bank robbers. Some of them were petty criminals and con artists and unfortunately, those types of people still exist, particularly in-home improvement scams. Roofing, windows, and doors are often used to bilk innocent victims, but HVAC is one of the primary ways scammers will try to separate people from their money. They will try to sell overpriced and wrong sized HVAC systems, frighten people into making unneeded HVAC repairs, and even cause damage during routine cleaning to later collect a large payment for an HVAC repair. Actor Jack Webb, the actor who played Sgt. Friday is no longer with us to help track down these scoundrels so every homeowner must take great care to only do business with a reputable and licensed HVAC contractor. Those are “just the facts Ma’am” for people looking for a new HVAC unit or shopping for an extended warranty on their current HVAC unit.