I'm pleased to see this really clever, well written show come along. But sometimes the writers have too many good ideas, and they actually dilute the project. This is clearly the case with with In Plain Sight.

Although I can invision the parts of Mary's sister and mother contributing to various other weaker TV series that need some depth, they do nothing but detract from the otherwise high quality assets of this show. Sadly, Leslie Ann Warren's one dimensional ditzy-bimbo routine got pretty tired way back about 15 years ago. None the less, it cheapens an otherwise solid show. The pathos that she contributes is forced and affected, while that same emotion generated by Mary, flows effortlessly, subtly and sincerely. The result is a contrast that really compromises the overall quality of the show as a whole. Every minute the show burns on 'the family' (or the sister) I consider changing the channel, getting a drink, going the bathroom, etc)

The part of the sister thankfully has a 'back door', and the sooner she gets back to New Jersey and leaves the show, the better off the show will be.

Ultimately, the show needs to trim down and focus on the principals. If Mary is the 'loner' that the writers are trying to make her, she doesn't need a cutsie-dysfunctional family for somebody's idea of comic relief.

Otherwise, I'm really encouraged by this new project. Good luck with it, and I hope to see it run a long time.

Well, they could have just remade the X-files, with the two primary leads, a boss, and one or two recurring characters. But then when they wanted to go flimsy for a change, it all fell down to the bare bones cast, and that weren't no great shakes either.

I agree with post #2, and I have a couple little points to make myself. The mothers character has newer employment now and that character has some "growing up" that I would like to see happen, plus she may have a new love interest by a "look" that was given to her. Now the sister has several ways she can gio, but if you remember she had a suitcase full of cocaine in episode 1, so I think there is a future episode with Mary and her over that. Just a couple little my points of view

JWG - I agree with you that the mother and the sister are the definite weak links of the show. I don't care about them and I want to ff through them when they are on the screen. I understand their purpose - to show WHY Mary is like she is but the execution is horrible and I'd rather them be gone then continue to be poorly written.

For a continuing character, the viewer MUST HAVE some passion. Love them, like them, hate them, despise them, identify with them, empathize with them, sympathize with them, wish them well, wish them the bottom car in a seven-car pile up—Something!

So far my only investment in Mom and Sis is that they are part of the show and therefore, their storylines must be addressed. In other words, watch the show—put up with Mom and Sis until their parts get better, or until they get gone.

Hi JWG

My previous answer was really meant flippantly, since I can't write a serious response while rewatching CI My fingers always wander off key and it comes out in gibberish.

Firstly, JaredD is wise. Love 'em or hate 'em, any character that challenges you is worth more as a piece of art than another feel-good character that makes you giggle. A lit/tv prof of mine always says that art is something that 'contains truth.' Jinx and Squish, for better or worse, exist in the world.

But your argument makes a couple of substantial points which have come up a bit before, and will certainly come up again, and I'd like to address those.

The first is a personal distaste for the characters. I'm sorry, it's not pleasant when that happens. I know- I watched JAG for -years- and from the very beginning I absolutely loathed Harm and Mac, the lead characters. Loathed them, and they only got worse as time went on. But I adored the entire supporting cast, so I made do. At some point I became disgusted with the actors as well as the characters, which is where being an audience gets tricky - and it sounds like this is part of the problem you're having with Jinx. It's unfair to judge her performance style in relation to her 'typecastness,' given that she was cast to fill a specific role in the show. I have little prior experience with her, and find it refreshing to see an older female character who is neither a dotingly loving mother, nor any sort of poster child for feminism.

Unfortunately, nothing can be done about this problem, except discussion about who and why they are, which might help you to appreciate them. Or they might grow on you: the series is still just beginning, and the writers seem good enough to deserve a little faith that they'll make it work. Or you can ignore them, since they aren't on all that much.

A second argument you brought up is that the family storylines interupt the flow of the primary plot. And it does. It really really does. It would be smoother if parallels in the stories were more pronounced, but honestly when that starts to happen, unless it's done really well, I find it a little condescending and overwritten. At any rate, it's a format choice of the producers/writers to have an A-Plot and a B-Plot, and all that's left is to consider what purpose it's serving. Such as: how are they shaping the A-Plot around it? Commercials are important to many shows, since they allow for brief cliffhangers and moments of extended dramatic tension, and scene changes can do the same thing.

One little note more: I disagree with the postulation that Jinx and Squish are there to show where Mary came from, or even how she interacts with people she loves (though doesn't respect.) (Which is important if considered in conjuction with her lately realized respect for Marshall.) They're characters in their own right, albeit underdeveloped at this point. Squish is the little sis eh? So Mary had as big an influence on her growing up as Jinx did. And we're starting to see a very interesting relationship between Jinx and Squish- Squish plays a big sister role, with similar firmness to Mary, though less high brow and condescending.

I don't know where you fall demographic and audience-wise, but your eloquent rant (we've all made them, though mine tend to come out with more bleeped bits) indicates you're a thinker. I hope you find a way to engage with the elements of the show you dislike, whether by coming here to rant and disect them, or even not paying them attention. Because there is so much awesomeness, and it would be way harsh if the B-Plots killed the rest of the show for you.

Wouldn’t it be wild if because of her “C” stash (and all the unsavory elements it could brings into play), Sis ends up as one of Mary’s clients? Not Mary, as such, but in The Program? (Didn’t have 2 cents worth, so added my 1-cent worth, anyway.)

They could give her webisodes to track her progress until she can get out and back home! That would be awesome. And get her out from Mary's judgmental thumb.

Hi BadAssJamieSquad and every one else who was kind enough to respond.
By the way, BadAssJamieSquad, I didn't take your first answer as flippant or mean spirited. I do think however that there is a viewership for the format in which X-Files was done. I wasn't a regular viewer, but I respect what they did.

But more on point, I realize that actors (and writers) have to find or grow into their characters. That being said, I can't help wondering about how many writers work on this show, and if perhaps different ones focus on different characters. The contrast in depth and quality between the Mary and Marshal, as opposed to Squish and Mom couldn't be more glaring. I keep thinking that if the entire show was written the way the parts of Mom and Squish are written, it would be a train wreck.

I'm sure these writers have plans for those two characters that will at least add more drama to the show, as well as conflict between the characters. But right now, it's time-robbing silliness that really detracts from the show. I'm not saying that Squish and Mom shouldn't be in the show, but this specific version of those characters and their contributions to the story are so poorly done that it's like watching two different shows.

There was also a moment in either the pilot or an earlier episode (forgive me, I'm not certain) where while developing the character of the local detective, he blurts out a condensed psychological assessment of Mary and her struggle with personal relationships. I nearly turned off the TV. It was such a cheap, quick, device to help 'the poor vapid viewers who might not figure it out' catch up, I immediately wondered if the creators and writers for Squish and Mom were behind it. Come to think of it... it does kind of seem like a 'catch 'em up quick' trick that you might find in a pilot (or nearly any show on SciFi Network). Still, unnecessary if the rest of the writing is done well.

Methoslover, I think you see what I mean. I watch the show because it is clever, fresh and innovative. But then the supportive characters like Mom & Squish are thrown in, and the difference in quality is like comparing Burn Notice to Charmed. I'm not kicking Charmed for the sake of being mean. They have targeted and fine tuned a demographic that nobody should sneeze at. (leastly the advertisers) But it's not exactly intellectually stimulating, either. I'm just saying there are better ways to show depth of a character than to contrast them with cartoon-like family members.

But like I said before, I really think this show can do some exciting things if/once it finds it's balance. My fingers are crossed.

JWG

PS- I'm going to assume that at least some of the staff writers peruse these boards. So I'd like to say that if I've offended any of you, it truly wasn't my intention, and that if I did, I apologize. But I also know as a writer that I would appreciate feedback that suggested perspectives I might not have considered, let alone agree with.

Personally, I'm enjoying getting to know Mary's family. And the fact that both her mum and sis are completely different from Mary adds to the show (at least for me). Hopefully, as we often see with many shows, we will see slow character development of both her mum and sis. Though, I have to admit her sis seems a little more developed than her mum appears to be.

Also, in the first episode, didn't her sis have a bunch a drugs in a hope chest? Is that still pending? I know I haven't missed any episodes, so I'm guessing, we'll learn more about that.