TV Show Review: In Plain Sight - Season 2

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Interesting characters and storylines

Cons: Characters still annoy at times

The Bottom Line:

Characters improved

Interesting storylines

Glad I'm still watching

"I Hate to Say I Told You So, But...Oh Wait, I Don't."

I wasn't super impressed with the first season of In Plain Sight, but something about it kept me coming back for more.  When season two started, I decided I'd give it a couple of episodes to see how it would develop, and I discovered something, the show had gotten much better between seasons.

The show follows the professional and personal life of Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack).  Mary works for the Albuquerque branch of WITSEC, the US government witness protection program.  Mary's partner at work is Marshall Mann (Fred Weller), and their boss is Stan McQueen (Paul Ben-Victor).  On the personal front, Mary has her hands full with her alcoholic mother Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren) and her flaky sister Brandi (Nichole Hiltz).  Also in the juggling act of Mary's life is her steady boyfriend Raphael (Cristian de la Fuente).

Most of the episodes revolve around some mystery happening to Mary's newest witness, with a secondary story about her personal life.  Over the course of the season, she needs to get a witness to overcome his reliance on pot to testify in court, protect a witness trapped by a falling building, protect a man determined to prove he wasn't responsible for a bridge that collapsed, and protect a Latin America political activist who doesn't want to play by the rules.  This leads to a major cliffhanger we've been waiting almost a year to see how will be resolved.  (Okay, so we know how at least part of it will come together....)

One of my biggest complaints about the first season was Mary's home life.  While not abandoning the stories they created for these characters, they have managed to turn things around.  Jinx was only around about half the season because she voluntarily checked herself into rehab.  While Brandi's attempts to make a major drug deal in the first season continue to have repercussions, she turns her life around as well.  Things even out with Raphael, which makes me happy because I love his character.  And these characters do much to balance out Mary.  She is so confident at work, but dealing with those she loves proves she isn't nearly as put together as she would lead others to believe.

They also gave Mary a new foil at work.  The department grows to a fourth person with the addition of Eleanor Prince (Holly Maples) as the administrative assistant.  She doesn't take any of Mary's gruff like the men in the office do, but she is right there when Mary's needs help.  She did much to soften Mary this season.  Mary can be obnoxiously blunt, but having another character who gives as good as she gets puts Mary in her place at times.

While few of these stories are edge of your seat action, they are all compelling.  Most of the time, the characters are only around for one episode, but they are still sympathetic enough that we truly do care about the outcome.  The stories have as much human drama as action since these people have had to leave everything behind in an effort to stay alive.

Thanks in large part to Mary's wit, we do get some nice laughs along the way.  This isn't a comedy, but it isn't as dark as it could be either thanks to a laugh or two per episode.

All of the characters are flawed in one way or another, and the actors do a good job of playing all the aspects of their characters.  Even when they are annoying me, I can't fault how the actors are playing it.  The guest stars always bring their characters to life, making it easy to care how their story will turn out after only a few minutes.

The DVD set contains all 15 episodes from the second season on three discs in full surround sound and wide screen.  Extras include the almost standard gag reel, deleted scenes, and commentaries on a few select episodes.

In Plain Sight got stronger with season two.  Instead of no longer watching the show, I am really looking forward to seeing what happens next to the characters as the show progresses.

Season Two Episodes:

1. Gilted Lily

2. In My Humboldt Opinion

3. A Stand-Up Triple

4. Rubble with a Cause

5. Aguna Matatala

6. One Night Stan

7. Duplicate Bridge

8. A Frond in Need

9. Who's Bugging Mary?

10. Miles to Go

11. Jailbait

12. Training Video

13. Let's Get It Ahn

14. Once a Ponzi Time

15. Don't Cry for Me Albuquerque