"In Plain Sight" (2008) TV series 2008-????

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Creator:

David Maples

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

1 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Mary Shannon is a U.S. Marshal in the witness protection program who spends her time relocating federal witnesses....

Awards:

3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 19	10:00 AM	USA	Jailbait	#2.11
Sun. July 19	10:00 PM	USA	Training Video	#2.12

Cast

Mary McCormack	...	Mary Shannon (25 episodes, 2008-2009)
Fred Weller	...	Marshall Mann (25 episodes, 2008-2009)
Nichole Hiltz	...	Brandi Shannon (24 episodes, 2008-2009)
Paul Ben-Victor	...	Stan McQueen (22 episodes, 2008-2009)
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Jinx Shannon (16 episodes, 2008-2009)
Cristián de la Fuente	...	Raphael Ramirez (16 episodes, 2008-2009)
Todd Williams	...	Detective Robert Dershowitz (12 episodes, 2008-2009)
Holly Maples	...	Eleanor Prince / ... (11 episodes, 2009)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque Studios - 5650 University Boulevard SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Universal Media Studios (UMS)

Trivia:

The prop police cars used for Albuquerque Police vehicles have the same color and graphic scheme as real APD vehicles, however the seal on the rear fender is not the real APD seal, however it is the same shape as the real thing.

Quotes:

Mary Shannon: [intro] Since 1970, the Federal Witness Protection Program has relocated thousands of witnesses, some criminal, some not, to neighborhoods all across the country. Every one of those individuals shares a unique attribute, distinguishing them from the rest of the general population. And that is, somebody wants them dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Contract (#7.12)" (2008)

Fresh Interesting Theme

Mary Shannon is an over-wrought but compassionate, sharp-tongued US Marshall working with the Witness Protection Program. Her understated partner, Marshall Mann, clearly knows who wears the pants in the partnership, and he's Mann enough to let her, playing off her acerbic witticisms with a deadpanned slugger.

The stress of Mary's job is only half the story, Mary's dysfunctional family being the other half. She supports her younger, sweet-but-wayward sister, and her alcoholic mother played by Leslie Ann Warren. Mary has clearly never been able to be a kid, not in her youth, and certainly not now, coloring her character from head to toe. She's loved by live-out boyfriend, Raphael Ramirez, who should have a bigger part, as their relationship is refreshingly mature.

What's nice about the series is that it's not the same old cop show that's been served up for so many years now. Each episode opens with the crime that throws the witness's life into upheaval, delivering him, her, or them into "the program." There's a lot of possibility in this theme, not just with new witnesses, but with past witnesses making subsequent appearances to carry ongoing story lines. Dialog and situations sometimes veer into the amusing as they do in real life, though I wouldn't call this a dramedy as some have.

The only criticism I would have is that sometimes "In Plain Sight" tries too hard, but overall it's a good show with promising potential, and it's earned a place in my very limited TV schedule.