In "Sight" of greatness

Procedural shows are a staple of network television. There are the doctor shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “House,” and there are the crime shows like “NCIS” or “CSI.” On the surface, USA’s “In Plain Sight” may appear to be just this.
But with many skeletons in the closets of these characters, David Maples’s show offers much more.
“In Plain Sight” follows Mary Shannon, played by Mary McCormack, a U.S. Marshall of the Witness Protection Program. Mary narrates the show as we tag along with her through her hectic life illustrated by her ever-growing to-do list. One minute she is helping a new witness get acquainted with his/her new life, the next she is dealing with a mother who can’t take care of herself and then she ends the day off with solving a murder.
Mary’s to-do list rather reflects the show’s list of plot lines to follow. Season one spent a lot of time trying to intertwine family problems with murders and witnesses and while many of these stories were entertaining, at times I felt just as overwhelmed as Mary must have.
The strongest story lines “In Plain Sight” has offered are the ones that find Mary working alongside her partner Marshall (Fred Weller) with their new witnesses.
These are the episodes that show an aspect of crime procedurals that no other show has. They are original and creative and watching strong-willed Mary banter with her sarcastic partner makes for great dialogue.
However, after Mary found herself in a life-threatening situation at the end of season one, the show provided a few of the finest episodes it has seen.These stories give the show a really interesting and strong place to start its second season.
The people who know the characters of the show best are the ones who create them — the people who write the words that transform into an episode. I had the privilege of speaking with Lynne Litt, writer and supervising producer of “In Plain Sight.”
“We came into the show this season to decide, what would the arcs of characters be? Where would they start and where would they end?” Litt explained. “The writers throw out different stories at the beginning of each season starting with really broad ideas.”
The “what if” question is the key when the writers get together to decide on A-stories. This season’s premiere opened with this question: What if one of Mary’s longest-standing witnesses in the program suddenly died?
“Mary is in a different place after the end of last season,” Litt said. “She is damaged and great. She loves her family and hates her family.”
The way that this opening episode looked at Mary’s reaction to her near-death encounter was handled extremely well.
The writers took into account the way her character usually acts, brash and aggressive, and gave her a new way to present herself in front of others, considerate and thoughtful. All the while she is really torn up on the inside.
McCormack does a good job showing the inner conflict Mary has in dealing with the many harsh circumstances of her life while trying to get back on track.
“Mary is one of the more real women on television,” Litt observed.
She is a woman people can look up to and relate to. Mary has a strong will and a job where she gets to kick ass. She has an annoying family and boyfriend problems. Who can’t relate to that?
“[Show creator] David Maples is so talented. He’s given these characters amazing voices,” Litt said as she talked about where the show is going in its second year.
“This season I think there are some really good stories.”A new show often takes a season to really build its voice and learn how to best explore the lives of the characters.
I’m hoping that this season will focus more on the strongest aspects seen thus far.
Catch “In Plain Sight” on Sundays at 8 p.m. on USA.
Rosenberg is a member of
the class of 2012.