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'In Plain Sight' on USA HD - Page 2

post #31 of 200
7/15/08 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Palladin View Post

I know this sounds kind of strange, but I'm starting to wonder if the biggest problem might be the ratings. They're real good. In fact, better than they should be for this freshman show. Now if the creative team goes back to re-tool it, and in a worst case scenario, the ratings fall off a little while they're doing it, there'll be more than enough finger-pointing to take their eyes out. Its one thing to try to 'fix' a loser that's already halfway to the Gulag. No one has any great expectations for it, so when it nose-dives, everyone can shrug good-naturedly as it was a chronic condition from the start and sinking fast.

That's a point I hadn't considered. It makes sense. Still, to me at least, the show's appeal has been attributable to Mary Shannon's combination of looks, charm, vulnerability, and toughness and the GREAT job Mary McCormick has done playing her. It seemed to me that the past couple of episodes strayed a rather long way away from that. I recognize that the writers have to give the other characters things to do but, hell, Mary never even fired a shot in this week's episode.
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post #32 of 200
7/15/08 at 5:26pm
As I recall the only action was in the "setup".
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post #33 of 200
7/21/08 at 11:06am
The lack of responses to last night's show indicate that may have been the last straw for some of you.

I can definitely see the whole "soapiness" creeping in after these last two episodes. Lately it's lacking the action that the previous episodes had.

I know this would get old quick and make it seem like the witness protection program is a joke, but I wouldn't mind more stories where the bad guys found who they were looking for and Mary & Co. actually had to protect the witness from the people they were hiding from.
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post #34 of 200
7/21/08 at 11:25am
I am nearing the end of my rope with this show. If it doesn't pick up steam soon I'm going to have to give up on it. Last night was static and boring: no action and WAY too much soapy "relationship" nonsense. If I want that sort of thing, I'll watch As the World Turns.
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post #35 of 200
7/21/08 at 11:37am
I haven't watched last night's ep yet, but from previous posts, it looks like I'll probably be passing on the reminder of this show. It's too bad, I wanted to like it, but if it's settled into a soapy style format, then I'm done.
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post #36 of 200
7/21/08 at 12:08pm
The show seems to have two components - Mary's world with the witnesses she is protecting, and a whole separate world involving her boyfriend and family members that she is barely a part of. And I think that is the whole point. Mary is not very comfortable with her personal issues and commitment, so she avoids the "family world" if at all possible. Hopefully, the writers will do something to bring the two worlds together, because right now, the show appears to be as dysfunctional as Mary is.

Still, Mary's world is interesting enough to keep the viewers going, so they should emphasize that more, and the family less.
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post #37 of 200
7/21/08 at 12:13pm
You guys did catch the news that 'In Plain Sight' has been renewed for another season, it was in the HOTP thread earlier today.
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post #38 of 200
7/21/08 at 2:35pm
This is one of my "guilty pleasures" shows. I like the way it is shot "70's style". In a way it is like "Las Vegas" which was another one of my "guilty pleasures" until James Caan left. There were a couple of good writers on "Las Vegas" who wrote some witty episodes that were worth watching. I think that "In Plain Sight" has a similar situation when it comes to the writing (as well as directing). I liked last nights show better than the previous two.
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post #39 of 200
7/21/08 at 3:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Imp View Post

The lack of responses to last night's show indicate that may have been the last straw for some of you.

Not just quite yet, but getting dangerously close to becoming a foregone conclusion.
Quote:


Lately it's lacking the action that the previous episodes had.

And even those could have used a little more action, but at least a pulse was still there.

Quote:


I can definitely see the whole "soapiness" creeping in after these last two episodes.

Well, there may have been a little soapiness there at first, but it didn't matter much as it appeared to be minimal and seemed like an afterthought. So no real harm or foul initially.

Quote:


I know this would get old quick and make it seem like the witness protection program is a joke, but I wouldn't mind more stories where the bad guys found who they were looking for and Mary & Co. actually had to protect the witness from the people they were hiding from.

Wait a minute, Tom! Are you suggesting that what purports to be a crime-drama about the WP program and the U.S Marshalls who work in it (an area which seems actually novel as far as I know, and has not been the basis for the many zillions of crime shows travellin' around the pike), should actually be about the WP program!!! That's crazy talk, man. WTF have you been smoking??

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Palladin

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post #40 of 200
7/21/08 at 4:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Conrad View Post

This is one of my "guilty pleasures" shows. I like the way it is shot "70's style". In a way it is like "Las Vegas" which was another one of my "guilty pleasures" until James Caan left. There were a couple of good writers on "Las Vegas" who wrote some witty episodes that were worth watching. I think that "In Plain Sight" has a similar situation when it comes to the writing (as well as directing). I liked last nights show better than the previous two.

This is what makes horseracing. I thouht last night's ep was as bad, or possibly worse than the 2 prior ones.

How can this be considered any kind of crime drama, when there wasn't even a FRAKKIN' bad guy, and the whole show revolves around a crime that never even happened? C'mon now. Look, we all have our guilty pleasures. Mine include films like 'The Hidden' or 'Best Seller'. But at least most 'guilty pleasures' are honest enough to wear that moniker on their sleeve.

I wish everyone (and that includes the show's creative team) would go back and re-watch the pilot ep on their DVR, (its no longer on USA's website, and probably with good reason , but you can probably find it elsewhere on the web).

Here's a quick synopsis of the relevant points based upon my memory:

1) Mob guy is taking his family to the beach, stops car on the way to bring some package to another mob guy who trusts him. Mob guy goes to look through peephole and MG #1 shoots through nthe door by approximating where MG#2 is. MG#2 goes out window and creashes below in front of MG1's Wife and kid. They all go into WITSEC under Mary's watch

2) Our first view of Mary is her laying supine in bed with her boyfriend, and showing 'almost' complete nudity apparently at the end of their lovemaking.

3) MG's son is killed by Mob, MG finds out and smashes into morgue, screaming and upending dead bodies off of tables. During the course of this, Mary tries to stop him. He then seems to grab Mary's chest and the expression on her face suggests that he's squeezing her breasts hard to get her out of the way.

4) The victim in this episode is a teenage girl who was either skinned, flayed or torched, or all of the above. (I'll have to go back and check which)

5) The rich kid who killed her threatens to commit suicide and Mary tries to egg him on to do it.

NOW DOES THIS SOUND LIKE A GUY'S POLICE DRAMA OR A CHICK FEEL-GOOD SHOW TO EVERYONE???

Now contrast that with last nights ep which was basically about a religious couple who don't love each other anymore, so the husband fakes his own murder so his wife can get on with her life. PUHLEEZE!

Okay, I feel almost like I should offer an apologia to the collective forum for even starting this thread in light of the further developments. Based upon the first few eps, it looked like this was going to be a crime drama focusing on the witness protection program, with a hot mature main character who had a sense of humor and could be believable for 'taking out the 'trash'.

Now why am I still talking about this show. Easy, I'm pissed. Just the idea alone of the WITSEC program and a hot acerbic female marshall was enough to differentiate it from the herd. And there is something about Mary McCormack and the way she portrays Mary Shannon as both gritty and vulnerable,that makes them both immensely likable.

So what sounded like a great change of pace for guy's crime-dramas on TV, has now been watered down into just another warm and fuzzy chick show about sensitive feelings. Aren't there enough of those already?

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Palladin

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post #41 of 200
7/21/08 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Palladin View Post

Okay, I feel almost like I should offer an apologia to the collective forum for even starting this thread in light of the further developments. Based upon the first few eps, it looked like this was going to be a crime drama focusing on the witness protection program, with a hot mature main character who had a sense of humor and could be believable for 'taking out the 'trash'.

Now why am I still talking about this show. Easy, I'm pissed. Just the idea alone of the WITSEC program and a hot acerbic female marshall was enough to differentiate it from the herd. And there is something about Mary McCormack and the way she portrays Mary Shannon as both gritty and vulnerable,that makes them both immensely likable.

So what sounded like a great change of pace for guy's crime-dramas on TV, has now been watered down into just another warm and fuzzy chick show about sensitive feelings. Aren't there enough of those already?

First, despite my disappointment with how the show has deteriorated, you don't owe me an apology. Without this thread, I might not have got onto it at all and the early episodes were very good.

I agree wholeheartedly with your analysis of what made the show good in the beginning and so weak lately.

It appears likely that we are in the minority, as the show's ratings have been excellent and it has already been renewed for a second season. All I can do it hope that it will return to its roots pretty soon but I'm not optimistic. As I noted in an earlier post, I am running out of patience.
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post #42 of 200
7/22/08 at 12:55pm
They're probably got feedback from the network to dumb down the show more. That's what seems to be happening but I also don't look at it as a crime show as that is almost background plot but a dark comedy instead.
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post #43 of 200
7/22/08 at 2:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Conrad View Post

They're probably got feedback from the network to dumb down the show more. That's what seems to be happening but I also don't look at it as a crime show as that is almost background plot but a dark comedy instead.

Seems like it, it fits better with USA's style, light, character focused TV. The show most of us wanted to see would probably have been on TNT or FX.
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post #44 of 200
7/22/08 at 4:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Conrad View Post

They're probably got feedback from the network to dumb down the show more. That's what seems to be happening but I also don't look at it as a crime show as that is almost background plot but a dark comedy instead.

That just doesn't make any sense to me at all. There is NO 'dark comedy' in this show anymore, because the entire 'dark' element has been sanitized. Its like Barney Miller now, although no one has the wit or delivery of Jack Soo or Steve Landesberg.

And as I noted earlier in this thread, I think the real problem is that this show got better ratings than expected, and no one wants to mess with the formula out of fear that they'll get canned. You want dark comedy? Go back and watch the first 2 eps again, because it pretty much vanished after that point. In contrast, Burn Notice is doing pretty well without having dumbed down the entire premise. IPS stood out initially because of a premise that for all intents and purposes has now lost its spark. Unlike its initial presentation, it has become a classic example of Marshall McLuhan's statement that "TV is called the 'medium' because it is neither rare nor well-done".

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Palladin

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post #45 of 200
7/23/08 at 12:26pm
It's not light (ha ha) comedy either. So I'm not sure what you'd call it. But like others here I don't like to see it go the way of a soapy ala CBS type series.
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post #46 of 200
7/23/08 at 1:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Conrad View Post

It's not light (ha ha) comedy either. So I'm not sure what you'd call it. But like others here I don't like to see it go the way of a soapy ala CBS type series.

Again, I see it much differently. If there was a laugh track, and the leads didn't deliver their lines so dryly, it would be very much like a CBS 'light' comedy. Contrast that against the sarcasm and irony of 'Rescue Me', which in certain ways was very similar in tone to the first few IPS eps.

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Palladin

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post #47 of 200
7/24/08 at 7:20pm
I had hopes and I watched an episode. Seemed sort of lame and a bit silly for a crime drama. But I watched another, and noticed the soap opera elements of the hopeless/hapless mother and the drug mule sister were moving to the fore.

The best thing about this now silly show is the episode titles; I will stick to Numbers reruns.
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post #48 of 200
7/28/08 at 10:48am
Well, that was a little better, but still not great. The best part was the fight between Mary and the other female cop.

I have to say, I was left confused by the ending. Did the gay cop kill himself or did his wife kill him? They never actually said and the wife implying that he went out a hero didn't support either option in my opinion.
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post #49 of 200
7/28/08 at 11:10am
They could have done a better job of clarifying that point. It was a bit less soapy though and that was nice. I think the less they show the mother the better.

I was left close to convinced that it was the wife that shot the husband, going with the line of reasoning that the cop wouldn't have loaded his 'throwaway' with department issue ammunition and she'd not have known about it being 'marked' in some way. In the wife's twisted mind, being gay negates being heroic, so as long as nobody knew he was gay he was still a hero, and of course being a cop automatically makes you a hero.
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post #50 of 200
7/28/08 at 12:45pm
I agree that this week's episode was a lot better. In fact I rather liked it and thought that the writers, finally, got back on their game.

The gay cop twist, with his psychopathic wife having murdered him for it was a bit of a stretch but even that wasn't too bad. I really liked the whistleblower ex-Chicago cop, Epps. I hope they bring him back for more. His relationship with Mary makes a lot more sense to me than her connection to the Latino ballplayer. The guy has always seemed too young for her. Indeed, the actor who plays the guy is 5 years younger than Mary McCormack.

I think it's likely that Mary's sister is setting herself up for an arrest as a result of having agreed with her sometime boyfriend to be his mule. But mule for what? Time will tell, I guess.

Anyway, I'm encouraged again.
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post #51 of 200
7/28/08 at 1:09pm
I am guessing that she gets busted or Mary finds out about the dope in the suitcase and the sister ends up working for the feds to bust the boyfriend. Hopefully, she and her mom will go into witness protection, somewhere FAR FAR away never to be seen or heard from again. Actually wouldn't mind seeing the sister from time to time.
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post #52 of 200
7/28/08 at 2:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Imp View Post

Well, that was a little better, but still not great. The best part was the fight between Mary and the other female cop.

I have to say, I was left confused by the ending. Did the gay cop kill himself or did his wife kill him? They never actually said and the wife implying that he went out a hero didn't support either option in my opinion.

I agree, real confusing. I'm betting on the wife, simply because they gave her that real weird facial expression, which as everybody knows, is TVs subtle' way of telling us she's crazy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gwsat View Post

I agree that this week’s episode was a lot better. In fact I rather liked it and thought that the writers, finally, got back on their game.

Ummm, I'm not quite ready to go that far yet. It certainly beat out the last 3 or 4 eps easy (not like that is any great achievement either) probably because this ep (heavens to murgatroid) actually had SOME crime drama in it. They're getting closer back to how they started, but they've still got work to do.

Quote:
I really liked the whistleblower ex-Chicago cop, Epps. I hope they bring him back for more. His relationship with Mary makes a lot more sense to me than her connection to the Latino ballplayer. The guy has always seemed too young for her. Indeed, the actor who plays the guy is 5 years younger than Mary McCormack.

Yeah, Epps was okay, but between him, Dershowitz and Marshall, its like a reprise of The Dating Game.

Quote:
I think it’s likely that Mary’s sister is setting herself up for an arrest as a result of having agreed with her sometime boyfriend to be his mule. But mule for what? Time will tell, I guess.

If I recall correctly, when she opened up her suitcase in an early ep, it was snowing in Albuquerque.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FOPA View Post

I am guessing that she gets busted or Mary finds out about the dope in the suitcase and the sister ends up working for the feds to bust the boyfriend. Hopefully, she and her mom will go into witness protection, somewhere FAR FAR away never to be seen or heard from again. Actually wouldn't mind seeing the sister from time to time.

FOPA (is there a FO-MA?), you have left me no choice but to have my attorney commence legal action against you for theft of intellectual property!
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post14275895

The sword of justice will prevail!

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Palladin

Chance favors the prepared mind
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post #53 of 200
8/11/08 at 6:20pm
I really liked this week's episode and am looking forward to next week's finale. Mary got to do her kick-ass-and-take-names thing this week and even mama and Brandi were interesting. I especially enjoyed mama's wonderful audition solo for the Sweet Charity production. Lesley Ann Warren was a longtime Broadway musical theater actress and it showed in that solo.
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post #54 of 200
8/11/08 at 7:47pm
Yesterday's episode was really good. Next weeks finale looks to be very good.
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post #55 of 200
8/12/08 at 2:33pm
Thread Starter 
Actually, last week's episode was pretty funny, between Mary and Marshall championing their respective witnesses like they were pets. Clearly superior to what they been doling up for the several prior weeks.

And yes, I agree with both of you. Last night's episode almost seemed much like a return to the show's preferable early roots, but if they think that a good couple of eps up front and at the end of the season is enough to keep the boat afloat, then they have seriously misjudged the potential male audience. Hopefully, the better stuff will be the rule, and not the exception next season,

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Paladin

Chance favors the prepared mind
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post #56 of 200
8/17/08 at 8:39pm
I have to chalk it up for the writers, I didn't see that ending coming!
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post #57 of 200
8/18/08 at 5:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jabbathespud View Post

I have to chalk it up for the writers, I didn't see that ending coming!

.
A new week simply shoiuldn't start with a pun that awful.

If there were any lingering hopes that IPS would aspire to be anything more than a chick show, last night's ep should have removed all doubts.

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Palladin

Chance favors the prepared mind
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post #58 of 200
8/18/08 at 8:21am
So how soon next season does a baseball player die from an overdose?
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post #59 of 200
8/18/08 at 8:43am
i missed this show. will usa rerun it from ep 1 any time soon?
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post #60 of 200
8/18/08 at 9:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdspencer View Post

So how soon next season does a baseball player die from an overdose?

Never. That would sour what I'm sure the creative team considered a 'very clever' ending, which in fact, never actually exceeded the 'cutesy' threshold.

Its a shame. This show had some real potential, but never fully realized it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by barth2k View Post

i missed this show. will usa rerun it from ep 1 any time soon?

I don't see why not. USA has pretty much re-run every series it has gotten its mitts on, and this one had pretty good ratings for a 'starter'. There's only just so much Law & Order that an audience can stomach.

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Palladin

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