Signed, Sealed, Delivered: The Impossible Dream

Two parallel stories take place in this entry in the Signed, Sealed, and Delivered Postables series, one involves Rita finally competing in the finals for Miss Special Delivety which takes place in Washington, D. C. and the second involves the entire DLO offices going before a special closed Congressional committee in order to rescue an Army Ranger who has been missing.

The team flies to DC on a tight schedule put together by their fearless leader Oliver. Shane makes one request to add a stop to her childhood home...which turns out to have been demolished, sending her into an introspective tailspin of sorts and a chance meeting with a young girl and her grandfather send them on a Hail Mary mission to bring a missing soldier home. It also introduces us to Shane's ex Steve Marek...an intelligence officer.

"First of all Oliver, my flames are none of your business."- Miss McInerney

This was a heartfelt and emotional episode that had some beautiful lessons...like honoring the sacrifices made by our armed forces and supporting one another through the tough times...even if that is just stage fright. Fun excursion that I can highly recommend to fans of the series, especially since you get to see where everyone is going to end up.

I mean "inspiring" in the most non-religious sense of the word. I have followed the Postables with enjoyment since their first movie. (I didn't know about the earlier weekly series until just now.) One of the things I like about them is that, with the exception of the first, they don't beat you over the head with religion, and are more about the budding relationships between Oliver (Eric Mabius) and Shane (Kristin Booth), and Norman (Geoff Gustafson) and Rita (Crystal Lowe), the enormously talented pair who supply most of the comedy in the series. Rita's last name is Haywith -- with an "I," as she points out when the Chairwoman (Karin Konoval) addresses her as Rita Hayworth. Norman's last name is Dorman.

In this episode they are joined by Mark Valley, who is excellent as always, playing Steve, Shane's ex-boyfriend who is a spy for some TLA. Oliver's jealousy at their interaction, especially when he catches them kissing, battling with his confidence in Shane's loyalty to him, are fun to watch. It also cracks me up that he continues to address her as "Miss McInerney," in spite of all they have been through together. An even higher point is the delivery of Norman's gift to Rita, which is hilarious, sad, and endearing all at the same time.

This episode rises a head and shoulders above all the previous ones, though, in its involvement of the viewer, touching themes that we all must face every day. We are challenged to "pay attention to the little things right in front of us, or they may soon be gone." We are forced to look inside ourselves to find the courage to achieve our destiny. No matter how dark and hopeless things seem to be, we are advised to "hold on tight." And most importantly, to remember that although the world is full of ugliness and pain, if we come across something that is simple and joyous and beautiful, that thing is worth fighting to preserve.

What's not to like? The story line was excellent. The entire cast especially the four lead characters, Eric Mabius, Kristin Booth, Crystal Lowe, and Geoff Gustafson each with their own unique and quirky personality that adds significant depth to not only this particular made for TV movie, but to the television series. Additionally, the special guest stars such as Mark Valley, Zak Santiago, William B. Davis (Mr. Cancer from the X-Files), and Tammy Gillis make this once in a lifetime film both joyful and heart breaking.

Ms. Shullivan and I like the concept of this force of four (4) special post office agents whose job it is to find the desired owners of a letter that is not clearly addressed through the U.S. postal system. Each story in this series is a stand alone story and I give the highest praise to both the writers and editors who have to contain these special stories within a 45-90 minute time line.

We laughed, we cried, and we were truly inspired. As I said.... "what's not to like?" I give this episode a rewarding 9 out of 10 score. Keep up the great work! We want to see more and more of this series.

This movie is the apotheosis of what the series represents. In the film, not only are the issues of hope when things appear blackest are addressed but so are the concepts of sacrifice, love, obsession, and truth above all else. All of this is Signed Sealed Delivered in the usual heartwarming package that leaves you with a warm feeling and thinking that everything is right with the world.

The writers, Matha Williamson (the stories creator) and Brandi Harkonen do another wonderful job as intertwining a myriad of events into an enjoyable show. This is actually a continuation and conclusion of the story from "Truth Be Told" as the Postables are taken before a Closed Senate Committee regarding national security. As they tell their story, in a roundabout fashion of information that's come into their possession concerning the whereabouts of Lieutenant Randilynn Amidon; the missing mother of Pheobe from the last film. Their testimonies are interspersed with scenes of Lieutenant Amidon in Afghanistan. All of this coincides with the Postal Pageant to find the next Miss Special Delivery, in which Rita is enrolled. If this isn't enough then Steve, Shane's old love, is back and helping the team to find the missing Lieutenant.

On the whole, all of this is handled superbly, and I particularly loved the opening titles with the Postables marching side by side into the Committee meeting, the bit with Norman brought a smile to my face and a laugh to my throat. Director Kevin Fair does some nice shots and segues, however, there are some sections which let the film down a little and these are mainly confined to the outdoor Afghanistan scenes. If it weren't for these then I may have given the film a Ten.

The cast once again is impeccable and right on target with their characters and their portrayals. Mark Valley gives off the right sense of power and swarthiness that you can understand what Shane saw in him. Zak Santiago is back as the brilliant Ramon Rodriguez. Christina Bianco is great as Mindy, one of the contestants in the pageant, and boy does she can wail.

Do I recommend watching this movie, I do and strongly. However, because of the characters and their back stories, I think you would get better enjoyment from this movie if you had watched the series and previous movies. It's well worth it.

8.2 stars.

This is definitely my favorite Postables film so far. There are several more to go and I'm hopeful they will be generally as high quality as they have been up to this point. I didn't realize there were so many movies and they keep on cranking them out. Yay! I have a lot to look forward to.

This story is bigger and better, and I feel in my gut that it was a challenge for them to create a film that is equal in scope and story from 2016 through 2025.

This episode feels like a bona fide Hollywood production with expensive sets and more realistic military segments with helicopters and fire fights and illustrious cinematography and the backdrop of Washington DC. They included a couple of big name TV stars as well. The story is so emotionally charged and all the characters are immersed in wonderful romantic drama.

Good luck topping this one, but that remains to be seen as I gladly trudge through the next eight or so installments. Fun for me!!!