Instead of backing off on how many television shows I keep
up with¸ I seem to be adding to my queue of favorites. This one I decided to
give a chance quite on a whim and though it isn’t the best I’ve seen, its
premise is unique to most shows and it is
good.
Like most people, Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack) makes lists.
Unlike most people, her day job consists of protecting people. As a U.S.
Marshal, Mary takes her job very seriously and is willing to go to whatever
lengths to be sure their new identities are safe. Today that is the least of
her worries. For her birthday, her baby sister, Brandi (Nichole Hiltz) is coming into town
and because she is picking up a new witness in the WITSEC program, Mary sends
her boyfriend (Cristián de la Fuente) to pick her up – a decision that just may not have been her most
brilliant when Brandi refuses to get into the car with a guy she instantly takes
a dislike to. Her attentions are soon diverted again when the son of one of her
witnesses is found murdered in the middle of the Albuquerque desert. Along with
her partner – the funny guy with a running commentary, Marshal Mann (Frederick Weller), Mary
investigates the boy’s murder but finds that perhaps it wasn’t as a result of
his father’s actions which put them into witness protection.
When the evidence leads Mary to believe that young Frankie’s
companion – a local high schooler could have been the real target, she has to
balance keeping his parents from taking revenge, the local police from finding
out about her witness and scope out the suspects. Back home, Mary struggles
with motivating her alcoholic mother (Lesley Ann Warren) and living in the same
house as her sister who has secrets of her own. And then there is her
boyfriend. With the help of Marshal (yes, his name is Marshal and he’s a
marshal!), Mary is going to need all the help she can to keep it together on
this birthday!
As television shows go, this one is unique in what its
protagonists do for a living but that is where the best of it stops. In Plain Sight isn’t a bad show by any
means but it is also not up to the usual expectations we customarily have of
shows. I still found this show witty with wry humor without being the sort of
comedy we normally experience. Over half of the first season is mediocre. It trudges
along in a more lethargic manner thanks to its setting instead of being the
kind of cop drama that features foot or car chases nearly every episode.
Instead this one takes being set in the desert quite seriously and uses its
characters to propel forward the stories.
Not since meeting Brenda Leigh Johnson have I met another
character so wrapped up in her work. Mary is the heroine we hate to love – she
is the Brenda of USA. If anything, Mary is even more closed-off to human
interaction and connection that even Sedgwick’s Brenda. I really liked the
characters even when Mary seems nothing but a cold fish. She is as gutsy as the
guys but compassionate with her witness’s while she cannot put together a
single successful personal relationship. As usual we get to know the reason
behind her attitude and the past that made her into the person she is but not
by the same standards as so many counterparts. This girl is all sass and
wouldn’t be caught dead in the pair
of designer heels her boss gets her.
Much of the writing and twists has been hashed out before
making the stories less than unique but there are a few that stand apart.
Taking a different approach there wasn’t a running undercurrent storyline the
same as with every other television procedural. Brandi’s dilemma becomes a
story thread but it doesn’t end on edge-of-your-set thrills but instead leaves
us with a delicious sense of happiness – and a wide grin! It’s a finale that
basically consists of a lot of emotion and crying at the Shannon household; one
minute there is yelling and insults being flung left and right, and the next
they are speaking in monotone voices and in respect. It is an unconventional
finale to be sure but one that – no matter how irritating, made the show better
for it.
(What to know: Rated TV14,
there is plenty of sexual innuendo littered throughout the multiple episode
span as Mary has quite a mouth on her. Meeting her sister reveals not only an immodest dresser but a girl who lets men
use her, then her mother is nothing more than a drunk who plays at working but
never does anything stable. There are about two or three scenes that imply sex
[one features a nude Mary and her boyfriend in an “after” shot lying together
discussing it]. It’s revealed that a man cheated on his girlfriend; Mary finds
Marshal in the back of her car making out with an old flame. People are shot
and killed and profanity is used along with exclamations of Jesus.)
I've been meaning to watch this show from some time, ever since I found out that Mary McCormack was the lead (she was wonderful in The West Wing). From the bits I've seen so far, I really love her interaction with Marshal (who's a marshal, lol) xD
ReplyDeleteThis is really a "unique" one, Li. It isn't your usual cop drama. The pacing is sometimes slow and there is rarely any "shoot-outs" but that is what makes it work - Mary is not good in her personal relationships but she is wonderful with her witness.
ReplyDeleteYep, Mary and Marshal are hysterical together - he is really the only person who can make her see reason. Enjoy if you see it. :-)
I'm afraid I didn't like this show -- mostly because I really didn't like its heroine. I saw... maybe three episodes?
ReplyDeleteI don't watch tv!
ReplyDeletehaha
I love your blog!
you have a great day!
Charity - *gasp* You mean you actually didn't like Mary... I cannot imagine why not! ;-D
ReplyDeleteShe reminds me a great deal of Brenda BUT she isn't as compassionate at work. They both mess up their personal lives plenty but where it counts, Brenda knows how to be a good co-worker. This show has its virtues though and is far from "bad."
Morgan Nicole - I don't watch shows on TV but do on DVD. It works better that way even though I must wait a year for the current seasons.
Why, thank you! I appreciate that. Thanks for dropping by and I hope you stop in again. :-)