Debian cmd:dpkg-deb 

dpkg-deb -c $dpkg | less
dpkg-deb is for manipulating *.deb files;
dpkg is for installing and deinstalling packages.
-c|--contents <deb>               list contents.
-I|--info <deb> [<cfile>...]      show info to stdout.
-W|--show <deb>                   show information on package(s)