On the surface, "In Plain Sight" looks like just another law enforcement show but once viewers look past the basic premise of it being about WITSEC (Witness Security), it's actually nicely done.
Set in Albuquerque, the main character, Mary McCormack, is a US Marshal responsible for keeping alive important government witnesses placed into the Witness Protection Program and sent to her city.
Mary is a little too brassy for her own good and there aren't many unexpressed thoughts that pass through her head. She also seems to constantly be in hot water with her boss because of it. She's a little too cliché in that she's a LEO with baggage, but it's easy to forgive this one flaw in the script writing. She's got a background that includes a father who did a disappearing act when she was young and the rest of her family has viewers wishing they could give them all a "Gibb's slap".
Her partner, Marshal Marshall Mann (a running joke in the show - Marshal Marshall?), knows her better than anyone and loves her (like a sister) in spite of it. Marshall's pretty much the only person permitted to see the chinks in Mary's armor and Mary allows him to see them because he seems to be the only person in her life who has never let her down in one way or another. Marshall lets Mary get away with working in the gray area of law enforcement and sometimes he goes there with her. It's clear Marshall would walk through broken glass to be there for Mary and she'd do the same for him.
Generally, her problems in the show are clear with regard to her job: keeping her charges in line, usually with some form of intimidation. It's overtly shown, at times, she's not overly fond of the fact she's a babysitter for killers and criminals, with the occasional innocent thrown in for good measure, but she does it anyway. It's also alluded to that her reason for getting into Law Enforcement was really to find out more about her long lost father.
If Mary's life sounds a little too ordinary, let's throw into the mix a somewhat crazy, very narcissistic, alcoholic mother and a sister who couldn't stay out of trouble if her life depended on it and now we've got some entertaining story lines. Given the shenanigans of her family, I'm left wondering each week just how it is Mary was able to get a security clearance in the first place but, it's television so the suspension of reality is permitted.
Calling this a comedy isn't quite right but neither is calling it a drama since there are moments of each throughout the show. The casting for this show was nearly perfect and well-chosen. The charisma amongst the cast members makes it easy to escape for an hour a week, believing you're entering the lives of the US Marshal's office, and the writing is better than average. It's also nice to see a show with strong male/female leads that isn't fraught with sexual tension.
USA Network has been coming up with some really nice original programming and this is one of them.
Set in Albuquerque, the main character, Mary McCormack, is a US Marshal responsible for keeping alive important government witnesses placed into the Witness Protection Program and sent to her city.
Mary is a little too brassy for her own good and there aren't many unexpressed thoughts that pass through her head. She also seems to constantly be in hot water with her boss because of it. She's a little too cliché in that she's a LEO with baggage, but it's easy to forgive this one flaw in the script writing. She's got a background that includes a father who did a disappearing act when she was young and the rest of her family has viewers wishing they could give them all a "Gibb's slap".
Her partner, Marshal Marshall Mann (a running joke in the show - Marshal Marshall?), knows her better than anyone and loves her (like a sister) in spite of it. Marshall's pretty much the only person permitted to see the chinks in Mary's armor and Mary allows him to see them because he seems to be the only person in her life who has never let her down in one way or another. Marshall lets Mary get away with working in the gray area of law enforcement and sometimes he goes there with her. It's clear Marshall would walk through broken glass to be there for Mary and she'd do the same for him.
Generally, her problems in the show are clear with regard to her job: keeping her charges in line, usually with some form of intimidation. It's overtly shown, at times, she's not overly fond of the fact she's a babysitter for killers and criminals, with the occasional innocent thrown in for good measure, but she does it anyway. It's also alluded to that her reason for getting into Law Enforcement was really to find out more about her long lost father.
If Mary's life sounds a little too ordinary, let's throw into the mix a somewhat crazy, very narcissistic, alcoholic mother and a sister who couldn't stay out of trouble if her life depended on it and now we've got some entertaining story lines. Given the shenanigans of her family, I'm left wondering each week just how it is Mary was able to get a security clearance in the first place but, it's television so the suspension of reality is permitted.
Calling this a comedy isn't quite right but neither is calling it a drama since there are moments of each throughout the show. The casting for this show was nearly perfect and well-chosen. The charisma amongst the cast members makes it easy to escape for an hour a week, believing you're entering the lives of the US Marshal's office, and the writing is better than average. It's also nice to see a show with strong male/female leads that isn't fraught with sexual tension.
USA Network has been coming up with some really nice original programming and this is one of them.
