In Plain Sight

How could I have missed this show? My defence is that we don't get USA network up here in the tundra. Like 'Burn Notice', 'In Plain Sight' may look like your standard cop drama but it is so much more than that. The stories all follow the day to day pressures of being a U.S. Marshal who are tasked with looking out for people in the witness protection program. Some of the people they protect are innocents and some are the guilty who have turned on other criminals and now need to be hidden from retribution. The Marshals develop strong bonds with the targets and do all they can to keep them safe. Now ordinarily this would just create your standard 'witness of the week' stories but its the complex relationships between all the recurring characters that makes this one a winner. Mary McCormack plays Mary Shannon, who could never be mistaken for warm and cuddly. She is hard and sarcastic, angry and caring. She is not afraid to speak her mind or enter into conflict with anyone for the most arbitrary of reasons. But how can you blame her? The job requires her to keep alot of secrets that she can't share with anyone but her partner and their boss. Plus her family exasperates her with what she sees as their petty needs. Her mother (played by the gorgeous Leslie Anne Warren - whose kittenish laugh is still sexy after all these years) is an alcoholic who is not reliable and her pretty younger sister is an ex-con who has fought with Mary all their lives. Mary feels she has to be the adult in the family because she can't trust the other two to make good decisions. For their part her mother and sister let Mary play that role (not consciously but they do). For someone with no patience she is constantly reacting badly to others who push her buttons, intended or not. Now you would think you would hate such a bitch but the reverse it true. You admire her spunk, her fierce intelligence and her soft side on the rare occasions she opens the vault she has locked her feelings in. Her partner, Marshall Mann (yes, I realize that makes him Marshall the Marshal) is one of the few people she respects cause he is good at his job and he never lets her off the hook. He is her equal in all ways and her very best friend. He truly 'gets' her. However, he also annoys her with his obsessions with the minutia of everyday life. Of course that means they will never be a couple. She is engaged to Raphael, and ex-baseball player. He doesn't know what she does for work since she is forbidden to talk about it. When Raphael asked her to marry him she refused to wear the engagement ring because it would be too girly of a thing for her to do. If anything it would be seen as a sign of weakness to her to be seen as subservient to a man. The show has great writing that can be seen in the witty banter between the characters. You care about what they are going through and you are always looking for something good to happen for Mary. The burdens she carries on her shoulders would break a person with lesser strength, spirit or resolve. I like how her character is a lioness in a sea of mice. You don't often see female characters on TV that can stand on their own and still get the job done. She is the heart of the show and McCormack deserves an emmy nomination for her performance. She is so good in this role that the other actors are forced to step up their game. This is a win win for the viewer. Good on ya USA Network for breaking the mold and thinking outside the box rather than giving us the usual cop shows we have seen a thousand times. If you like quality television they you need to be watching 'In Plain Sight'.