IN PLAIN SIGHT “The Art of the Steal” Season 4 Premiere Advance Review, Airing 5/1/2011

IN PLAIN SIGHT returns and federal witnesses can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Mary Shannon and Marshall Mann have got their backs.  Last season ended on an interesting note with Mary (Mary McCormack) taking a much needed vacation with none other than Mike Faber (Steven Weber).  As you know, Mary is pregnant in real life and they have decided to write it into the storyline so I am hoping that Faber is the father.  I’m a Steven Weber fan so of course I would love to see more of him in the show.  Unfortunately, we will have to wait and see who the baby’s daddy is.  I do also miss seeing Mary with Raphael Ramirez (Cristian de la Fuente).  Maybe they will throw us a curve ball and bring him back or they could take us by surprise and make Marshall (Fred Weller) the dad.  That would be a different twist but talk about a power couple.  What are your thoughts on a romantic relationship between Marshall and Mary?  I would not want to see them together because I feel their love for one another is more of a brother and sister kind of love but I figured I would cover all of the baby bases.  I’m going with Faber as my guess for who is going to be the father of Mary’s baby.  Who do you think it is going to be?

“The Art of the Steal” – Mary uses a thief to catch a thief when she asks a witness to consult on a crime in order to exonerate Brandi of grand theft auto.

Mary starts off by informing her new witness, Riley Barnett, of the WITSEC motto, “Life is going to be less fun.”   One thing you can always say about Mary is that she is consistent.  She is stern and snappy but she means well and unfortunately Marshall is usually the one that one that has to suffer.  Just ask him about his neck and being coined “Mr. Headroom”.

Marshall and Stan McQueen (Paul Ben-Victor) have a “superficial” conversation on Mary’s behalf and even Vin Diesel gets a shout-out in this episode.  How could they not incorporate Vin Diesel into an episode about fast cars and one of which is so lovingly referred to as the “Chariot of Satan” by Peter Albert (Joshua Malina).  I seriously think that there is a Vin Diesel shout-out clause in every show or film that pertains to fast cars and the stealing and or racing of them and if there isn’t then there certainly should be.

Brandi Shannon (Nicole Hiltz) is finally happy and has discovered that she has a natural talent for selling cars.  Of course, Brandi is a conflict magnet and just when things begin to look up for her she is dragged down a few notches.  Mary does get some assistance from her witness to help prove that Brandi is clean and that the past is just that.  It seems like we have been down this path before.

Peter is very understanding and he always sees the best in people.  Due to his background and the second chance that he has been given, he is free of doubts.  Peter is just too good to be true in my opinion.  I wish I had the ability to trust people and to look past their previous indiscretions but I am not Peter.  I do love his plea to Mary in this episode.  I will not ruin it for you so make sure you tune into the premiere.

Rachel Boston joins the cast as Detective Abigail Chaffee, Marshall’s new love interest.  If you know anything about Mary, you would be correct in assuming that she is not an instant fan.  Mary eloquently questions Marshall’s type.

I’ve always been a fan of the way Mary relates to her witnesses.  She doesn’t hold anything back but yet makes them comfortable enough to trust her.  Mary has a very candid conversation with her witness about romancing the cars away and catnip.  In the end, poor Marshall ends up losing something out of the deal.

Brandi and Peter have dinner with his parents and I was happy to see Ken Lerner guest star as Hal Alpert, Peter’s dad.  Things get a little interesting at the dinner table and I will leave it at that.

We absolutely can’t get through an episode without the mention or presence of some fine pastry.  Remember Marshall and his insightful Danish history lesson, well this season it’s all about the muffins.  Okay, I don’t know that we can officially call this the muffin season but on Stan’s quest to find a new employee we meet the muffin lady and she has the goods.

In this episode we get a brief history on the college minors of Mary and Marshall.  Any guesses?  Just when you think the episode can’t get any more exciting, the unthinkable happens, Mary apologizes or does she?  Mary is also referred to as a “happy pill” so this episode is full of twists and turns that all lead to the same place, a quality drama with a unique blend of compelling comedy.

IN PLAIN SIGHT has new showrunners this season, Ed Decter and John Strauss and the first episode did have a different feel to it but don’t worry Mary is still as perfectly PC as ever.  I’m not sure how the rest of the season will play out but the premiere is strong and Bradley Whitford is set to star in the next episode.  I am already going to call the Bradley Whitford episode my favorite without even seeing it because it’s Bradley and I am biased.  I really miss my weekly fix of Brad and his stache since FOX cancelled “The Good Guys”.  Why FOX why?   On a happier note, tune in next week to see Brad and don’t miss the premiere of IN PLAIN SIGHT this Sunday night on USA Network.