Posted Sep 11th 2008 12:04PM by Brett Love
Filed under: Battlestar Galactica, HDTV, The Office, Psych, Eureka, Heroes, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
If you were wondering just what that extra dollar buys you when you upgrade to HD in the iTunes store, you can get a free look. Our pals over at TUAW made note of a number of shows that have free episodes available, in HD. The files are large, with the HD versions clocking in at right around 1.5GB, so it will take a bit to download. Something that isn't helped by the fact that iTunes downloads the SD version as well.
I've been taking a look at them and I grabbed screenshots from Heroes, Life, and Battlestar Galactica to give you an idea of the difference in the picture. It's fairly dramatic. Those captures, and the full list of free episodes, with the iTunes links, are after the jump.
Continue reading Free HD episodes on iTunes
Posted Aug 18th 2008 1:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E12) It feels to me that a big chunk of the first season of
In Plain Sight was Brandi's great adventure, and tonight's show was the big finish. In a twist that was both surprising and satisfying, the loose ends were tied up and the air was cleared for the show to return for more chapters in the Shannon family saga. And all that other stuff that Mary's been doing with the Witness Protection Program, too.
After nearly eleven hours (give or take) of Mary's frustration with her mother and sister, it all came to a head. Directed by John Badham (
Saturday Night Fever), this was an episode heavy on the drama, and he did a great job balancing the FBI investigation, Marshall and Stan's efforts to save Mary's career, and the family dynamics. From the first scene between the Shannons, there was no question that this was not going to be a warm and fuzzy examination of their feelings. Mary dropped the hammer when she told Jinx and Brandi how much trouble they were in.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: A Fine Meth (season finale)
Posted Aug 11th 2008 9:44AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E11) "My family will be the death of me."What an opening act! What a set up! This seemed to be the first of the two-part finale for season one, and in this penultimate episode, the writers really delivered a knockout. I think we're finally getting that clash of Mary's personal and professional life that's been building from the pilot when Brandi showed up.
The abduction of Mary was well done because they chloroformed her. If she weren't drugged, she would have not been overpowered. As it was, she nearly got away. Of course, they thought they were grabbing Brandi so why did they need to knock her out? Also -- continuity error -- Russell said they grabbed the first hot blonde that came out of the house. That's not where Mary was snatched; she was in the alley outside the theater.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Stan By Me
Posted Aug 4th 2008 11:23AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Reality-Free, Burn Notice, In Plain Sight
I guess it's something that a show like
Burn Notice has reached a certain kind of significance in the culture that even
The New Yorker stands up and takes notice of it. I'm just not sure if the reviewer likes the show or just tolerates it.
Nancy Franklin is often good in her analysis of a TV show or a TV genre, but she seems to have gotten tired of
Burn Notice already. While she likes the Miami location and loves Bruce Campbell (deservedly so), she thinks the show is already getting tired. She's not buying the tension between Michael and Fiona, and she thinks the mom/Michael stuff is just too much. She also compares Jeffrey Donovan to Frank Gorshin's Riddler from
Batman, which isn't fair (she also gets a fact wrong - Sam is not secretly reporting on Michael to the government, Michael knows about it).
Continue reading I'm not sure if The New Yorker likes Burn Notice or not
Posted Aug 4th 2008 9:40AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E10) What does Mary expect? I mean, really, what does she expect! Okay, before we get to the gory details, let's talk about the case of the week.
Remember the Russian girl from the pilot? Natasha with the new boobs -- thanks to the U.S. government, our tax dollars -- has gotten a job at Headlights (nee Hooters) and has hooked up with a new guy.
Turns out he's Marshall's charge, another program member, Serge. The problem is not just the huge coincidence that they've hooked up, it's that she's a witness and he's a felon, they cannot stay together.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: To Serge with Love
Posted Jul 28th 2008 12:26PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E09) If you've invested in this show from the start -- as I have -- here was a really welcome episode to fill in the blanks. Finally, we were given a little back story about Mary, the place she's living, her obnoxious family, her frustrations with her life and even Marshall's unrequited (or so he thinks) leering for his partner. There was even some good character stuff for Bobby D -- whom Mary colorfully calls a "little prick" -- which was really nice.
I liked the case of a Chicago cop doing a
"Serpico" -- going undercover to rat out police corruption -- and winding up killing a fellow officer in self-defense and being forced into Witness Protection was on target. And unlike the ridiculous Russian girl in the pilot who was asking WITSEC for new breasts, this was a realistic relocation. He resented being stuck in Albuquerque, and proving that he wasn't a stone, he was attracted to Mary. Of course, Mary did cross a line by sleeping with the guy, but that was all right, too, because it proved that she wasn't a stone, too. And since it was back story, it was pre-Raphael.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Good Cop, Dead Cop
Posted Jul 21st 2008 11:41AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E08) In what might have been one of the stranger episodes, there was a point in the voiceover where Mary comments her clients, Ruth and Don. They're devout Catholics, but they hate each other and want to split. They don't because they cannot get an annulment. When Mary urges them to just get a divorce, saying that as a Catholic she understand them, they say they'll continue to suffer because it's God's will. That's when Mary's VO is, "Okay, too weird for me."
That's how I felt about this show. While it was an interesting examination of a couple facing a dilemma while at the same time being in Witness Protection, there were elements that made me cringe.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Don of the Dead
Posted Jul 14th 2008 12:04PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E07) This was quite possibly the best
In Plain Sight so far. This is the one I'd submit for Emmy consideration next year. Seriously. From start to finish, this one had it all -- a good story, interesting characters, not too much voice over, a relatable situation and ultimately, a satisfying resolution that was realistic but tough. It also had what has been sorely lacking in the previous six episodes -- balance.
Marshall got as much to do as Mary, for a change, and was equally involved on an emotional level. Too often, Frederick Weller's character has been reduced to Mary's sidekick and support system. Not this week.
The credit for this show likely goes to veteran director Sam Weisman. Bring this man back! He gets
In Plain Sight and has a feel for the wry humor off-setting the real drama.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Iris Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Posted Jul 7th 2008 9:20AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E06) I thought this was one of the best
In Plain Sights so far. It wasn't the case, it was the character, in particular Mary's. We got major character development from the leading lady, the key to what she's all about and how she's come to where she is.
Episodes like this just make a show; they really do.
In Plain Sight is about Witness Protection, yes, but it's more about Mary Shannon.
Mary doesn't go looking for this case, she's just bringing in her crap car for service. Her mechanic is Scott, who it turns out, was Mary's very first WITSEC client. Mary gave Scott and his 10-year-old brother, Chris, new lives after they witnessed a bookie murder another bookie.
Parenthetically, Scott invites Mary and Marshall to watch Chris play basketball at the university. The kid's got mad skills and is projected to be an NBA star, natch, but something's amiss. Chris is hitting up Mary for $3,000, which we learn is out of bounds for decade-long WITSEC clients.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: High Priced Spread
Posted Jun 30th 2008 11:23AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E05) It was the best of
In Plain Sight, it was the less than best of
In Plain Sight. For starters, the only carry-over from the previous episode was Marshall's arm in a sling. Hey, what about his nearly dying and Mary's emotional breakdown in the waiting room? The lack of follow-through was stunning.
Granted, this show isn't a serial, but I did expect at least a moment between Mary and Marshall that would connect back beyond her quip in the art gallery. It was too glib. Would it have killed them to have a moment? I can imagine a fight in the writer's room over this point and keeping it light and unemotional won.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Who Shot Jay Arnstein
Posted Jun 23rd 2008 11:23AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E04) Okay, this was the best episode of
In Plain Sight to date. Action-packed and filled with character revelations, if this is where
In Plain Sight is going, it's going to definitely make it beyond this premiere season.
The set up has Marshall and Mary taking custody of a seemingly innocuous, diabetic, asthmatic accountant/arranger for a hit man named Lola. He's been caught in an FBI sting and will go WITSEC in exchange for "delivering" Lola.
Expertly played by Dave Foley (
News Radio), he's just enough of an unctuous ass to make him amusing. When Mary throws him to the ground and pounces on him, he says, "Could you get off of me, you're not exactly petite."
The role was very much like Charles Grodin, a mob accountant, in the movie
Midnight Run, with Robert DeNiro as the bounty hunter forced to take him cross country. (If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it; it's great!)
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Trojan Horst
Posted Jun 16th 2008 3:32AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E03) For a change of pace,
In Plain Sight opted for a mainly comic episode. The results were mixed. The comedy wasn't really all that funny, and the plot was plagued by more than a few inconsistencies and holes. But once again, what's keeping viewers from switching to another channel is Mary McCormack as Mary Shannon. She's really a compelling actress, and this Mary Shannon is a complicated mess of a very cool character.
Mary's newest witness to be protected is a con artist, bigamist scumbag -- Mary's words -- named Treena. She ripped off her previous husband while on a Hawaiian honeymoon, getting away with $10 million in conflict diamonds before being arrested by the FBI. When Mary is forced to take Treena under her wing, she makes no secret of her antipathy for people of her ilk, saying, "God I hate con artists, even more than murderers."
There's an instant conflict between Treena and Mary, the uncooperative witness and unhappy marshal. Mary suspects that Treena is playing her and the system. She warns her that if you hang onto garbage from your past, sooner to later it starts to stink.
The machinations to get Treena into the WITSEC program is the first leap of faith in the episode. The second comes when she allows her picture to appear in the newspaper, announcing her sixth wedding.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Never The Bride
Posted Jun 9th 2008 10:22AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E02) Overall, a very good episode from Mary and Marshall as
In Plain Sight settles into the kind of show it's going to be. Far less frantic than the pilot -- which in retrospect looks like a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth -- this show dealt with one main issue and it was a touching one at that. The story starts 18 months earlier when Mary's assigned to place an 8-year-old boy who's seen drug dealers kill his mother in Witness Protection, which is virtually impossible unless she can find a family in the system who are willing to take on that responsibility.
I was stunned that she pulled it off, and when we were back in the present and we see little Lonny -- now Leo -- enjoying a perfect life with the Billups, I was skeptical. The adoption seemed too good to be true. Leo fit right in, taking care of the baby. Were the Billups for real? I thought there had to be something wrong, but it wasn't. I was just suspicious. It turns out there was a reason to show Lonny/Leo in such a happy family.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Hoosier Daddy
Posted Jun 2nd 2008 10:08AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
(S01E01) You know that commercial that says, "The real question is, when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?" Well, over at USA Network, the question isn't whether "Characters Welcome" is their slogan, it's "Do I want to welcome these characters into my world?" In the case of their newest drama,
In Plain Sight, the answer is...I don't think so.
The series presents Mary McCormack (
The West Wing) as Mary Shannon, a U.S. Marshal for the Witness Protection Program, living and working in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To say that Mary is a bitch is an understatement. She's aggressive and grumpy and hard to take. As the pilot played out, Mary showed glimpses of a softer side, a need to fix the problems of others that led to her career protecting and serving those in the Witness Protection Program. However, unlike USA's other quirky character dramas,
In Plain Sight doesn't have the charm of
Burn Notice, the wit of
PSYCH, nor the whimsy of
Monk. It may be that this pilot was just overstuffed with too much of Mary's life, but overall, there's not much in Mary Shannon's life worth watching.
Continue reading In Plain Sight: Mary Sunshine (series premiere)
Posted May 22nd 2008 1:02PM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: OpEd, Early Looks, Reality-Free, In Plain Sight
"I really wanted to turn around and pop off one of those
Columbo questions. You know, the innocuous afterthought that lets the killer know that I know he did it." So goes the voiceover of Mary McCormack (
The West Wing) on USA's new original scripted series,
In Plain Sight, premiering June 1st at 10/9c with a 76-minute episode, followed by 11 one-hour episodes.
I participated in a conference call this week with McCormack and her co-star Fred Weller (
Law & Order: Criminal Intent), who dished about the show and each other. It's clear they have an easy-going camaraderie that will no doubt carry over into the series, and I look forward to checking it out.
Created and written by David Maples (
Home Improvement, Huff), and executive produced by Maples and Paul Stupin (
Dawson's Creek, Beautiful People), the dramedy revolves around the super-secret U.S. Witness Protection Program (WITSEC).
Continue reading Eight things you need to know about In Plain Sight
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