In Plain Sight

Mary McCormack is the only believable actor/actress i have seen in a police drama series since Helen Mirren in the early Prime Suspect stories. She is not like your Without a Trace or Numbers cops, that seem to be posing for every shot, or putting folders over there bodies to cover up the fact that they are going to have a baby, Mary McCormack's character in "In Plain Sight" is the reason to watch this program, she really is amazing, as a in your face, don't give a damn, down to earth veteran US Marshall the stories are not bad, getting better in fact, some of the other cast are a bit hammy, , so what, over all its an entertaining show, with some great one liners, plenty of action and i can only hope that the networks realize that they have little gem of a series here and give it a fair chance, and not kill it off before it starts, so to speak.

Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack) is a U.S. Marshal who spends her time relocating and working with federal witnesses in the witness protection program. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mary works with her partner Marshall Mann (Frederick Weller). She is a tough fast-talking agent who won't back down, but her family life is a mess. Her father is a criminal. Her overly dependent mother Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren), and younger sister Brandi (Nichole Hiltz) are even more of a mess.

Mary McCormack is amazing and has great platonic chemistry with Frederick Weller. It's a simple, fun cop procedural and everything works. The dysfunctional family and love life are all great.

I'm not really a fan of TV crime shows, but new series always give me the chance of experiencing some fresh air - so I check them out. In this case, I was glad I did. The pilot started off slow, but after about 30 minutes (it was 90 minutes total w/commercials), it actually became interesting and stayed that way to the end. Subsequent episodes have kept up the momentum.

One novel aspect of the show is that its about a lady marshal in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She's in charge of people in the "witness protection program" who have been assigned to her area. She cautions and reassures them that since 1970 (when the witness program started), "No one who has followed the rules has ever been harmed." Powerful words.

Can they comply? When things go wrong, can she protect them? How can she keep their identities safe - even from the local police?

Aside from the setup, the show is ultimately interesting because she's fun to watch. She's sassy, witty, playful, smart, responsible ... and physically tough. I recommend watching an episode; if the lead character grabs your interest, then you're likely to enjoy the show.

I have to catch up with the beginning of the first episode, but what I saw tells me USA has a winner on its hands with IN PLAIN SIGHT. The main character, a rather fetching but ball-busting federal marshal played by Mary McCormack, is a swipe of Karen Sisco from Elmore Leonard's OUT OF SIGHT, crossed with Jordan Cavanaugh of CROSSING JORDAN and even Adrian Monk of MONK, to name just a few influences. McCormack racks them and stacks them with the best of her male counterparts. Predictably, she has a troubled personal life and a ditzy mother, played winningly by Leslie Ann Warren, 62, but not looking a day over 50. In the opener, it's her birthday and she just knows Mom has planned a surprise party. She also has a murder to solve and some people to put into witness protection. By the end, all is well, of course. And so on to the next episode. McCormack, a TV and movie veteran, is the whole show. The majority of the supporting cast is made up of your basic generic TV actors, looking a little too young and too clean cut and too thin. Sounds like WITHOUT A TRACE, don't it? McCormack does a post-coital nude scene in the opener, clearly to keep the guys watching. My theory is that we will never see her naked again. But that's OK. She's just fun to watch.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this show. Our comment was that it looks like Hollywood people actually can write. We prefer character driven shows and the characters are great. There is whimsy and great interplay.

The plot was complex but only because more than one story overlapped and the pilot should probably have been 2 hours instead of 90 minutes to help develop some of the themes and the characters, but there was no problem in following what was happening.

I hope the relationship between Mary and Raphael develops. She obviously wants more but sees herself as either not capable of such a relationship or because her job won't let her have a solid relationship.

But will she develop a relationship with detective Dershowitz? That would be interesting.

We look forward to the next episode.