In Plain Sight: Season 4

I have gone from luke-warm to loving In Plain Sight. This show on the USA Network focuses on the Witness Protection program via the office in Albuquerque. It definitely deals with the seedier side of life since many of the people involved are criminals. It’s realistic, but darker than I normally like. Yet the main characters’ sarcasm keeps me coming back. Season 4 threw a new twist into the mix, and it made for an interesting season.Since season three was the only season of the show to not end with a cliffhanger, this season feels like a fresh start in some ways for Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack). Oh, she still has witnesses to protect along with her partner Marshall Mann (Frederick Weller). The biggest change at work is that their boss Stan (Paul Ben-Victor) has hired a new agent in the ultra-perky Delia (Tangie Ambrose). Oh yeah, andMarshallhas a new girlfriend – detective Abigail Chaffee (Rachel Boston) who is also a bit too perky for Mary’s tastes.On the home front, Mary’s mother Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren) is still sober and actually building a life for herself. But the big news is Brandi (Nichole Hiltz) who is planning a wedding to her dream guy with Mary’s acting as the maid of honor. That is, if Mary can find time away from her job at WitSec.So, what kind of cases does Mary handle this season? There’s the personal when Brandi is accused of stealing a car and Mary calls on a witness to prove she didn’t do it. Then there’s the con man who pleads himself into witness protection if he can team up with Mary to catch a bigger criminal. Love comes between a witness and the suspect in a crime he was a witness to. A teenager finds she’s been living in WitSec while another has to give up her promising music career after a crime is witnessed. And an Amish couple must adjust to life in the big city after seeing a crime on their farm.While the storylines are not the happy go lucky stuff I normally watch TV for, I find them compelling and satisfying. While it’s rare for Mary’s witnesses to come back for more than one episode, they are usually pretty well fleshed out so we care about the outcome.As always, Mary and Marshall are a great team. Their zingers at each other are fun, as are their opposite personalities. Mary is the very definition of a pessimist whileMarshallis an optimist tempered by realism. It allows them to protect their witnesses and help them adjust to their new lives.My big complaint about the season are the new characters brought in. Actually, I did warm toMarshall’s girlfriend Abigail. She may be too perky for Mary’s tastes, but I think she’s perfect forMarshalland turns out to be a realistic characters. I wish I could say the same for Delia. That woman is so sickening sweet it’s quickly tiring. I was looking forward to seeing her irritate Mary, but by her third episode, I was rooting for her to meet a nasty end.I mentioned a new twist to this season earlier. Mary McCormack was pregnant in real life, so they wrote it into the show. It was such big news, so I was surprised that it took them so long to actually introduce the storyline into the season. It also takes advantage of TV time since over the course of the 13 episodes here, she goes from getting pregnant to going into labor. Watching her deal with this does a lot to further develop her character, and I loved watching that part of the show.Of course, all the actors make the show compelling. They are so refined at this point that I can’t imagine anyone else in the parts. The writers continue to give the characters great dialog and some very funny one-liners. The show may be a bit on the dark side overall, but you can usually count on at least one laugh a week.With thirteen episodes, it's not surprise that this is a four disc set. And the episodes are presented in widescreen and full surround. Extras are limited to the usual deleted and extended scenes and a gag reel.Delia was enough to take a star off the season, but the show is still very compelling. If you are a fan, you’ll definitely enjoy season 4 of In Plain Sight.

Loved this series. Mary McCormack is great as a sarcastic WITSEC marshal who has a love-hate relationship with her family but is all-in with the job. (Wonder what happened to her? Did she quit show biz after this series and live off the reruns and DVD sales? I can't recall seeing her in a single movie or TV show other than this. NOTE: Just found out she is in "High Heels and Low Lifes") Anyway, she is great at showing angst and disgust with her clients and fellow law enforcement officers. Best of all are the observational zingers she tosses at everything and everybody, especially in the introduction to each show. Very entertaining. And her partner Marshal (Yes, Marshal Marshal) is also great as a guy who loves to spout literary comments and observations that turn Mary's stomach. But you can tell they secretly love each other. I lived in Albuquerque for three years, so that made it even more fun as the setting. Town is a LOT bigger nowadays.

Wonderful acting, great interaction between characters, and you have Mary's ( the main character) cold eye surveying and commenting on the world at large. There's wit, suspense, drama, and good writing. Like Frasier, you need to pay attention to get some of the word play. Brilliant. Best of all is what it doesn't have. An agenda driven plot. It is clean and non political. I highly recommend this.

Of all the shows on the USA Network this one was right up at the top of the must watch list. It was a great show shut down way to soon. Shot in and around Albuquerque, NM with two stars who played great off of each other. It was fun to watch each week to see which places in the ABQ area they were filming in this week and calling someplace else (Denver, New Jersey, etc...), having been to ABQ a few times it was always fun to pick out which area of town they were filming in for this episode. It was also refreshing that they used Paul Ben-Victor as the head of the unit, an actor who for most of his career has played either a slow-witted gangster or a snitch, and in rare cases a cop. So it's refreshing to see him as a character that holds his own against gansters and thugs. Too bad they canceled this one before we had a chance to further explore his character.

Loved this series and this Season was no exception. The stories were interesting and some of them were off the charts unusual. I never had seen much when it came to stories about WITSEC before, so the whole idea of it for a series was great. Mary was funny, even in her brokenness. All the other emplyess were well written as well. The relationship between Mary and Marshall was snappy and fun to watch. I liked the quickness of the sarcasm that was Mary. The writers did a great job with the all of the dialogue. I really miss this series but I am at least glad that I can re-visit what there is of it.

So after basically 3 days of non-stop In Plain Sight, I can say I liked Mary more the first season. She began as professional and cynical was a side bit. The second season was all about Mary the cynic and how that trait shaped her relationships. The problem is, she's too smart for that to be such an absolute that she exposes indiscriminately to everyone. Marshall is played more consistently and provides a great stability. Like both leads as actors, and favor the more emotional situations as I'm sure that new identities are alien and difficult to all but the con men. Not crazy about the pregnancy as makes her too trailer trash. Shouldn't there be a bit of the Jersey girl left somewhere?

This a really, really good show ..loved every episode. The main charactor is hilarious because she is so sexy, cocky and sarcastic and the stories are always interesting as well. You will feel like you are there and really know these charactors well. I wish this show was still running , can't get too much of it. If you like this one , you will probably like Covert Affairs too or vis versa. Warning, you will get hooked .

I love this series. All previous seasons have been excellent and season 4 was no exception. Mary's biting wit and sarcasm is still there but there are also lots of poignant moments with her family and charges. Marshal, bless him, is still as patient and weird as ever. You'd have to be an idiot not to see that he's in love with Mary - wonder if that will come to anything. It is also really refreshing to see an actress so physically suited to the role. No unhealthily thin, impossibly glamorous starlet but a normal, attractive but physically fit woman. Kudos to whomever was in charge of casting; it makes the series a little more credible.I had to buy a European import (or pay a fortune) but this was no problem as previous reviewer suggests. Everything is written in French but you don't need to read French to navigate round the menus. Discs will automatically play in French but it's easy enough to go to 'versions' and switch to English sound, English subtitles if you want them or remove them if you don't. It's really not a problem - don't be put off.

You've found her!Mary is the snarkiest female cop ever, and as a Marshal in Witness Protection shows a very different type of police procedural.If that were all, it might be enough, but there's the whole three dimensional perspective - Mary's incredible family, love life, friends and her history. Cant say more without edging into the spoilers, but the whole 5 seasons are worth watching.Recommended.

This series is great, driven more by the characters than the plot, it's light entertainment for those times when you just want to watch something light and easy

Have been following Mary et al since first season and love her witty repartee and scathing comments. Wonderful. Just wonder if baby Norah is her natural child as she was pregnant in real life.

one of my favourite ever tv series. These are French as are not available in the UK.However the series is in original English