Monday, April 26, 2010

Psych at the Paley Center

Photo credit: Wire Image

Hi everyone. This is Kristi and I'm back! This time, it’s to share the fun times that were had this past Thursday night when Psych was at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles. In attendance for the panel were: James Roday (Shawn Spencer), Dule Hill (Burton ‘Gus’ Guster), Timothy Omundson (Detective Carlton Lassiter), Maggie Lawson (Detective Juliet O’Hara), Kirsten Nelson (Chief Karen Vick), Steve Franks (Creator/writer/executive producer), and executive producers Chris Henze and Kelly Kulchak. Oh, and did I mention, Jimmi Simpson (Mary Lightly) was the moderator! \o/


Beware of spoilers

Now, everyone knows that this blog is run by three Super Psych-Os. Well, this event was a huge thrill for us. I for one was living vicariously through my twitter feed. Here are some highlights (beware of spoilers):

From @psychwrites, being helmed that night by Steve Franks’ assistant Brittany Hilgers:

Best picture ever!!!!!! http://twitpic.com/1hnlnd

James just compared shawn to dirk diggler.

"I died in the arms of James roday"--jimmi Simpson

From @insidethetube:

New season finds the #Psych crew in Jackie Chan mode and Lassie, Gus tapdancing. Say what?!

From @thesurfreport:

Lassie isnt a SWAT team member cause the dept knows if they put an automatic weapon in his hands, it would be bad. #psych

James Roday: if Shawn could find a female version of Gus, he'd settle down. #psych #paleycenter

There were some great videos taken that night as well. These were recorded prior to the panel while the cast was walking the red carpet. Yep, there was a red carpet. This first group is from Whedonopolis. There are five videos from the main cast and Steve Franks: here. This one is an interview done by Zap2It with Steve Franks and Chris Henze: here.

For a more indepth look at the evening check out The Futon Critic.

I really wished I could have been there. From all accounts, it was a laugh a minute and insightful. So, I guess that’s it for now. I’ll see ya'll later.

Kristi

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Happenings at the USA Network

A lot happened this past week for a lot of different USA shows. Here’s a rundown of what happened, in case you missed it!

Burn Notice
BIG news for all Burn Notice fans! Season 4 starts up on Thursday, June 3 at 9/8C but while you watch, you don't have to worry about the show getting cancelled anytime soon. Burn Notice has been renewed not ONLY for Season 5, but for Season 6 as well! The article about the renewal in Variety
says, "Network execs say seasons five and six will run a minimum of 15 and 18 episodes, respectively." This is incredible because no USA show has had over 16 episodes in a season before.

So keep watching and just sit back and enjoy. Burn Notice isn't going anywhere for a very long time.

Covert Affairs
The show doesn't premiere until July (date TBD), but USA is starting to advertise for its premiere.
The released its first trailer, and it looks SO cool!





You can join the Facebook Fan Page and follow CovertAffairs on Twitter. (notice there is no "USA" at the end b/c it's too long)
Also, follow Chris Gorham on Twitter. He's one of the stars.

After all of this, if you are still wondering what exactly the show is about, here's a synopsis:
Covert Affairs: New jobs are tough- especially when your new employer is the CIA. Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) is fluent in six languages, has traveled all over the world and is besting her fellow CIA trainees in every test, but that doesn't explain why she's suddenly summoned by CIA headquarters to report for active duty as a field operative a month before her training is over. What she doesn't know is there may be something-or someone-from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. With the help of Auggie Anderson (Christopher Gorham), a tech ops expert who was blinded while on assignment and is Annie's unofficial guide to this inscrutable world filled with intrigue, danger, and bureaucratic red tape, this quick study won't be kept in the dark for long.
Psych
On Sunday April 18th James Roday and Maggie Lawson will be on the Kevin Pollack Chat Show which airs live online at http://www.kevinpollakschatshow.com/live/ at 3pm Pacific (6pm Eastern). After it airs, it will be available for viewing here.

Also, the cover art for the Psych Season 4 DVD was released this week. Still no word on what extra features it will have but it will be released on Tuesday, July 13th. 


For more information, click here.


White Collar
The show started filming this week. Since Tiffani Thiessen is very pregnant, they filmed her scenes with Tim Dekay while still in LA. Production in New York started on Thursday. Jeff Eastin posted photos from both sets on his Twitpic page.

Royal Pains
Season 2 premieres on Thursday, June 3 at 10/9C after Burn Notice. The cast is currently in Puerto Rico to film their premiere!
In the meantime, USA is holding a contest to win a trip to the set in the Hamptons! To enter, click here.


As new seasons start to film and air, there will be more news for you and we’ll have more of these rundowns.

-Jenna

Friday, April 16, 2010

In Plain Sight 3x03 Review

Good Evening!

I had a little more to say about this week’s phenomenal episode of In Plain Sight and it took a bit more work to write it all down! So I’m late once again but here’s my review/recap of episode 3: Coma Chameleon.
Warning: Do not read unless you’ve seen the episode unless you like being spoiled!

     The Witness of the Week is a Federal Agent named Wade who was shot on the job. The injury put him into a coma for three years. He was put into witness protection without consent. If you were Wade, how would u feel about that? If it was me, I would be pissed off that I had no say, but once I thought about it I would realize that I probably would have entered the program anyway. It seems like Wade came to a similar conclusion.
     The scene between Wade and Krista at the courthouse was phenomenal. Kudos to both actors. And it worked out how everyone hoped: Wade ended up not testifying against his partner, Dustin, and he identified Jasper as his shooter. Wade and Krista didn’t end up together but it would’ve been cheesy and unrealistic if they did so it’s for the best.

     We find out in this episode that Jinx may be moving out because she got a job at a dance studio. I'm glad to see she’s turning her life around and isn’t as helpless as she has been since...well…since Mary was a kid.

     Mary shared her feelings and fears about Raphael with Marshall on the way to Texas. It was therapeutic and showed once again their strong friendship. I’m pretty sure Marshall is the nicest guy ever. Oh yeah, and Marshall’s the only one who really knows her. That made me melt.

     Rita Moreno was fantastic as Raphael’s aunt. The runner about Raphael’s mother not coming because of “nonmarital fornication” was hilarious. It got even better when Raph knew exactly why his mom didn’t come!


Behind the Scenes Photo from the In Plain Sight Facebook Page

     Now let’s talk about Mary and Raphael. Early on in the episode, Mary apologized to Raphael! She also called him honey, and seemed nicer to him. It was an improvement in her behavior towards him. I was actually surprised about it! Yet, the whole episode I knew something bad was going to happen. It made me laugh to watch Mary freak out about the wedding date, talk of kids, and being together for 46 years, yet I’m pretty sure this is what tipped me off that something was going to go horrible wrong.
Honestly, I’ve never liked their relationship and I probably shouldn’t have been so shocked that Raphael was the one to break it off with Mary, but that’s exactly what happened. At least now I understand why Cristian de la Fuente is doing other movies all throughout Central and South America!
     If that scene didn’t make you want to cry, the next one was even more heartbreaking! Mary went to find her mom at work and when Jinx went outside to see what was the matter, Mary broke down on her mother’s shoulder! I came incredible close to crying. With all the problems those two have, Jinx finally acted like a mother. I’m not saying I love Jinx now, but that definitely bumped her up on my tolerance scale.


Quotes:

Mary: There are a lot of people who would kill to start from scratch….Tiger Woods!
Wade: Tiger Woods? His life is awesome!
Mary: Oh yeah….we’ll talk.

Allison: I will be here until midnight if you want to meet face to face. So bring it, BITCH!

Mary’s opening monologue: My dad once said, “Time kills everything. Hope, health, dreams, even love.” He told me this on my birthday. I just turned six. Then he gave me my present: a pet rock, which I later used in an incident I regret.

Mary’s closing monologue: Some say love is the only thing we have that’s real. Some say life would be a whole lot better without it. For me, the jury’s still out. I loved that pet rock my dad gave me because it was from him. Then I threw it at Robert Quomy. Hit him right in the temple. He went down like a Christmas tree in January. I loved Robert; I just wanted to make sure he knew it. I think he did; he ended up being my first kiss.


     And there is review number three! Did anyone else cry at the end or come really close to it? Do you think anything will happen between Mary and Marshall this season now that she’s single again? (After she recovers from the breakup, of course)
Leave a comment!

-Jenna

Saturday, April 10, 2010

White Collar at the Paley Center

Picture taken from mattbomerfan.com

Hi everybody! Wow, this is my first ever blog post. So, forgive me if it’s a little rough. I’m still learning the ropes. Well, here goes nothin’. Enjoy!


First, a little bit about the show. White Collar is about a con artist, Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer), and the FBI agent who hunted and finally caught him, Peter Burke (Tim DeKay). After escaping from prison, and being caught once again, Neal proposes a deal in which he will assist the FBI in catching other criminals. In exchange, he’ll earn his freedom. Each episode presents a new case for them to solve and a new criminal to bring down.

On the evening of April 6th, 2010, the cast and creator of the hit show presented a panel at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, California. Attending the Paley panel were show creator, Jeff Eastin, and actors, Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay, Tiffani Thiessen (Elizabeth Burke), Willie Garson (Mozzie), and Sharif Atkins (Special Agent Clinton Jones).

I wish I could have been there. It would have been so much fun, and from what I could glean from the various Twitter feeds I was following, it was a laugh a minute and very insightful.

This tweet from Marisa Roffman stood out to me for a few reasons:

The #whitecollar cast is serenading us with "Total Eclipse of the Heart." This is hilarious.

First, many fans of the show know about Matt’s penchant for breaking into song. I, for one, wish he’d get to sing on the show more often. Second, this song was the first song I ever sang karaoke to. There’s a video of this awesomeness posted on YouTube by thetammyinlalaland here: (along with a few others from the event) The Singing Clip.

Along with the fun stuff, there were some pre-panel interviews with the individual actors done by The Hollywood Reporter. In this first one with Matt Bomer, he talks about acting “in the moment” and being surprised by what’s coming next: Interview

Make sure you check out the other two interviews, with Tim DeKay and Willie Garson. Fun stuff!!

Then, there is this brilliant video interview (posted by Zap2It) with the creator, Jeff Eastin. He talks about the White Collar writers April Fool’s day prank on the Burn Notice writers, and does a little teasing of Season 2. Make sure you watch all the way to the end. I was laughing my head off! Interview

For an in depth report of the events please check out this live feed from The Futon Critic: Live Feed.

I was going to stop there, but Jeff decided he was going to post some Season 2 tidbits on his Twitter earlier today:

http://twitpic.com/1ee0jf - We started #WhiteCollar season 2 today in Los Angeles with Tim & Tiff. Filming in NY begins next week.


http://twitpic.com/1ee5zt - #WhiteCollar started filming season 2 today. Tim & Tiff with director Tim Matheson


Well, I think that’s it. I’ll be returning in a few weeks to post about the Psych panel at the Paley Center on April 22nd. I really, really, really, really want to be there. Unfortunately, that requires money that I don’t have. I guess I’ll be living vicariously through Twitter again.

Okay, enough rambling from me. Until we meet again.

Kristi

Friday, April 9, 2010

In Plain Sight 3x02 Review

I apologize for this being late and fairly short but as I said in the intro blog, school is my priority. School ends in less than a month though so in a few weeks I’ll have these things posted by Thursday afternoons, not Friday nights!

Anyway, off to my opinions on episode 3.02: When Mary Met Marshall…

Within the first few seconds I could notice that new cinematic feel that S3 has. They focused on the footsteps, had close-ups and strange angles instead of the scene just happening. I really liked it. It felt gritty.

Marshall seemed much cooler back in 2003. My first thought was, “What did Mary do to him?!?” He’s much more...laid back (I can’t think of the right word) than he was in 2003.

Again, they show part of the episode before the opening. Guess its always gonna be this way. Not a bad thing though.

It seemed as though the Witnesses of the Week were only there so we could learn about Mary and Marshall's first case together. The actual case/protection did not interest me. They were just catalysts for the real story of Mary and Marshall.

I have been very vocal about this but Mary, the hair is terrible. I laugh at it, but it hurts my eyes!!

Eleanor's absence was acknowleged in this episode. Turns out she accepted a job at the FBI as an analyst. Mary was shocked because "that's like a real job!" She then questioned if analysts get guns and Marshall said she better hope not since Eleanor isn't very forgiving, just like Mary.

For all the Psych-Os out there, did you hear Marshall's mention of "3 hole punched" paper? BWUAHAHAHAHA!! ;)

Mary says Stan should buy a top hat and monocle. The visual imagery of this makes me laugh.

Allison Janney was this week's big guest star. She plays Allison Pearson who is the newest Marshall for their district. Allison and Mary (the characters) do not get along at all. [Allison and Mary the actresses adore each other, however.] I know Allison will be back next week but I do not know if she will be back again later in the season. It'll be an interesting dynamic to watch.

Other quotes I found funny:
“They’ve already got a girl on this detail. You should see this guy." -2003 Mary about Marshall

"I do actually wonder whats wrong with you, but I don't actually want to know" -2003 Marshall
"That is the first smart thing you've said." -2003 Mary

"Who hunts for a living? Stay with her and sing Edelweiss!" -2003 Mary (Sound of Music references!)

"It's like a zombie movie except the scary part is that it never ends!!" -2010 Mary

Pretty much anything Mary said in 2003 was quote-worthy.


Now about Brandi for a minute. Brandi? What the hell are u doing? I like Peter so don’t make me come hurt you.
She asked Peter for $20,000 to pay for her community college tuition. Then when he comes over later, she admits that she's going back to New Jersey for a little while. First she lies, then she gives a vague, yet truthful, answer about why she really wants the money, and Peter gives it to her anyway? I still think this is going to turn out badly.

The end narration and showing how they originally set up their desks was such a cute way to end the episode. Mary says that she usually prides herself in "knowing when a relationship won't work...But sometimes its good to be wrong."
She is clearly talking about her partnership with Marshall and I find it adorable.


Sorry this blog isn't the greatest. Again, I'm still new to the blogging thing and I've also been very busy. If you have any suggestions on how to make it better, PLEASE let me know! :)


Til next week!


-Jenna

Sunday, April 4, 2010

A Holiday I Can Get Behind...

It’s April 4, 2010. Do you know what today is??

Well…yes, its Easter, but its also James Roday’s 34th birthday!!
(It’s Robert Downey Junior’s birthday too but that’s neither here nor there.)

James Roday is my favorite actor. Psych is the first thing I saw him in, and besides him being laugh-out-loud funny, this man can do everything. If you aren’t a big Psych fan (*gasps*) then let me introduce you to James.


Adorable, right?

James Roday was born James Rodriguez on April 4, 1976 in San Antonio, Texas. He grew up on a military base where his dad worked, and his mom was a teacher. James attended the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU where he studied theater.

James in his early 20s. Taken from Red Dog Squadron's Facebook (RDS was co-founded by James)

After getting a bunch of small roles in movies and starring on a lot of failed television shows, James finally landed THE role: Shawn Spencer on Psych. He started out as just an actor, but soon James started co-writing an episode or two. Then James and co-star DulĂ© Hill became producers. In the third season, James co-wrote an episode with Steve Franks (the show's creator) called “Tuesday the 17th,” and James directed it! James also co-wrote and directed the Season 4 finale “Mr.Yin Presents.” He is a man of many talents and keeps himself busy!

During the filming hiatus, James starred in a play in LA called Extinction along with Michael Weston. You may know him as Hornstock in Psych’s “Cloudy, Chance of Murder”, Spencer in Burn Notice’s “Signal and Codes”, or as Lucas, the PI/Cuddy's boyfriend in House. I had the honor of seeing the play when it ran in New York City. I went on March 7th with a bunch of friends (some who I met through twitter). The play was phenomenal. I judge how good an actor is by watching them in various things and determining if I see them as a single character no matter what they do or if they can convince me they are whom they are playing. James convinced me he was Finn. Yes, I got distracted a few times by the fact that I was literally two feet away from my favorite man in the world, but halfway through the play I forgot about all of that and just enjoyed every second.

After the play ended, we waited outside to meet James, Michael, and the two other cast members. It was without a doubt the best day of all of our lives. I could go into detail, but I own a Flip Camera so you can just watch it on youtube

Thats me with James!

The play was so good that I went to see it a second time. It was late, I was tired from being in the city all day, and James didn’t stay as long, but it worked out great. There were fewer people so I was able to talk to him more! (And get more hugs…wow, what a good hugger!) Here’s a fun fact that you won’t find anywhere else since I asked him directly:

James was signing someone’s magnet from the NBC store and no one was talking so i said, "James, what's the weirdest thing anyone has asked you to sign?"
"Someone wanted me to sign their boobs."
"Did you?"
"I did not."
"Alright…what's the weirdest thing you actually did sign?"
*thinks* "A birth certificate."

Yeah…James signed someone’s birth certificate. Lets all take a moment to wonder, “Why did someone HAVE their birth certificate with them, and why did they ask him to sign THAT?”

            So there you have it; a little history behind the birthday boy. He is my favorite actor and I wish him a happy and healthy 34th year of life! (Hear that, James? You’re not allowed to get your appendix out for the sixth time. Five was enough.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!

Leave a comment below wishing James a Happy Birthday. If you don’t, he’ll look like this:



Oh, and Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it. :)

-Jenna

PS: Thank you Sam for staying up and checking this for me.
Jason Berger dubbed her James Roday's Biggest Fan and she was one of the girls who went to Extinction with me so I felt like she needed to approve of this post. 

Friday, April 2, 2010

Do YOU watch 'The Mentalist'…?


…because on April Fools Day, more than 11,000 people started following the ‘Mentalist Writers’ on Twitter. Without consent.

How did this happen? Two Words:

Jason. Berger.

Ok.. Technically that’s a name…

As brought out in our introduction blog, Jason is the former assistant to Steve Franks (The Creator of Psych). He still loves us Psych-os, and continues to help out with the psychwrites twitter page. (We love you too Berger! Wow- Did I just actually say that?) Somehow, though it doesn’t surprise me, he came up with the idea to turn @psychwrites into @mentalistwrites as an April Fools Day prank.

Pure. Genius.

So, at 10:13am EST/ 7:13am PST (Wow, Berger. Really? You are up THAT early?), @mentalistwrites made its first tweet: “FUN FACT: Simon Baker's hair takes 7 days to prepare. We call it ‘Baking’”

I, unfortunately, did not wake up until about an hour later. Rolling over to grab my phone off my dresser, I noticed it was flashing... clearly an indication I had a new message. This doesn’t happen often because a: I have no life, and b: I have no life. So I, of course, *had* to see who this message was from. Turning it on (while still half asleep I might add), I wasn’t shocked to see it was a message from Twitter. I was, however, utterly confused to see the name ‘mentalistwrites’ flashing across my screen. This lasted all of three seconds. The following exited my mouth as soon as I’d read the actual tweet:

“Berger.”

Yup. It had his name written all over it. All. Over. It. So, I ran… er… walked patiently… to my laptop in order to see what was going on. What I read didn’t come as a surprise, but it DID make me literally L.O.L.

After the 1st tweet, came a series of others:

#2: “FAKE SPOILER: Next season's premiere will center around finding a new partner. One who taps.”

#3: “Simon Baker's hair can predict: 1. the weather 2. the ncaa tourney (we doubted it too until it picked northern iowa over kansas.) 3. flavor”

And my personal favorite:

#4: “We changed our theme song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M11SvDtPBhA

You might remember that we've mentioned our fascination with Party in the USA. So that post alone made my day. (A blog entry to explain this to those of you who don’t know about/understand it, is coming soon! I promise!)

The prank wasn’t noticed by just us Psych-os, either. Even network executives noticed! Ted Linhart, (VP of Program Research at USA Network) tweeted: “I'm not the only one noticing psych writers posing as mentalist writers today, right?” Of course, he received his answer with a resounding ‘NO!’. His favorite tweet made by ‘mentalistwrites’? “RT @mentalistwrites: http://twitpic.com/1cfszm - Shh... Don't tell anyone, this is what we use to come up with our best ideas…” I have to agree. It’s one of my personal faves as well.

Most of the official USA Network show twitters such as Psych_USA, and BurnNotice_USA also joined in on the fun, by posting prank spoilers on their feeds. One of my favorites? “Psych_USA: Psych Season Five will feature our first completely silent episode, paying homage to the great silent films of yesteryear.” We all know, of course, how much Shawn likes his sound effects (not to mention how much he LOVES hearing himself talk), so this would never happen. But it was funnier than a pig in a blanket, rollin’ in a mud puddle. (Ok… Sorry… My country-fied just slipped out. No more of that. Scout’s honor!)

But did it stop there? HECK NO! ‘Mentalistwrites’ continued for EIGHT hours. But joining for a MAJOR bout of prank tweeting on 'mentalistwrites', was Brittney Hilgers (Steve Franks’ current assistant), and Ray Utarnachitt (script coordinator). Apparently, Tim Meltreger (Writer/Story Editor) joined in on the fun as well. And yes, they all totally ROCKED it.

They even went so far as to use the dummy ‘psychwrites’ account Berger created as yet an even funnier plotline to the story. (They *are* writers you know!) The tweets that came off the dummy account had me LMBO (And yes, that stands for ‘Laughing My Butt Off’, despite what Britt tries to tell you. ;) You know what I’m talking about Brittney!) I honestly have no idea who came up with this, but whoever did it deserves a raise. It went a little something like this:


mentalistwrites: We listen to this song at least 5 times a day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr0Wv5DJhuk

mentalistwrites: Ment-o's are big Selena Gomez fans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_YR4dKArgo

mentalistwrites: #TeamSelena

psychwrites: HELLO???? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? I AM STUCK IN SIMON BAKER'S BASEMENT! PLEASE GET HELP!!!

psychwrites: I KEEP HEARING SELENA GOMEZ!!!! THIS IS LIKE 'RANSOM' BUT LESS LAME!

psychwrites: THERE'S TONS OF HAIR PRODUCT DOWN HERE! I'M TIED TO A BARREL OF DEP! DYNAMITE STRAPPED TO IT TOO! THIS IS LIKE THE DARK KNIGHT. Aw, Cool.

mentalistwrites: @psychwrites SHUT UP.

mentalistwrites: @PsychWrites At least @KenTucker likes us.

psychwrites: THE DOOR IS OPENING...IT'S....IT'S...Ken Tucker? HE HAS A CAN! HELP ME KEN! OH...OH GOD NO...HE'S POURING GASOLINE ON ME!!!

psychwrites: KEN TUCKER'S 'BURN NOTICE' LIGHTER DIDN'T WORK...GLAD USA NETWORK GIVES OUT CRAPPY SWAG!

psychwrites: I FELL OVER! THIS IS BAD FOR TWO REASONS. 1. MY KEYS ARE DIGGING INTO MY LEG. 2: I CANT FEED MY TOMAGOTCHI! :(

psychwrites: I WRANGLED AN ARM FREE! WHEW. TAMAGOTCHI? FED.

psychwrites: I'M FREEEEEEEE! I PUNCHED SIMON BAKER'S DOG "TUNNEY" AND BOLTED. SHARPEE'S MAKE POOR GUARD DOGS...



Aaaaaaand… cue mentalistwrites becoming psychwrites again.

First off… I’d like to know how psychwrites managed to keep their Tomagotchi alive this long? Mine died YEARS ago. (I was SO not cleaning up virtual dog poo. Don't ask.) Second… Thank goodness for crappy swag! We almost lost them! That darn Ken Tucker! I totally almost went all Jaden Smith on him and mentalistwrites. HOW DARE THEY!?

The funniest part? ‘Mentalistwrites’ lost approximately 400 followers during all of this. FOUR. HUNDRED! So, apparently, there are a lot of gullible people out there who are still trying to figure out what horribly evil person hacked their accounts and had them following ‘The Mentalist’. If you are one of these people, no worries… It’s safe to come back… I promise. ;)

So, to end this, I’m going to leave you with a quote posted on a particular someone’s twitter account:

“Genius is a word that gets thrown around all too often, but yeah, it was genius. ”- Jason Berger.


Well, Mr. Berger, it may get thrown around a lot, but its true. Well done, Jason. Well done.

 
PS: Be sure to check out the psychwrites Twitter feed for the full list of tweets from April 1st.
 
<3

~Suzanne
 
Undercover Characters is not in any way affiliated with USA Network or NBC Universal. No copyright infringement is intended.

In Plain Sight 3x01 Review




Hello Everyone!
I’m so sorry my review is late. I had school and then family visiting. I’ve been running around like crazy so I haven’t had time to type up my review of the season 3 premiere episode of In Plain Sight!
I write my opinions as I watch and while I tried to keep a flow to things, this may be choppy. Hopefully I’ll refine my technique the more I do this. ;)
Lets start off with the Witness of the Week. The episode had Donny Wahlberg guest starring and there was a lot of (well-deserved) hype. But with the intensity of this episode, most of Donny’s storyline seemed like filler. It definitely was the “B” story of the episode. Also, it definitely needed to be.
-I felt bad for Nicky when he got the snot beat out of him. Was glad to hear he’d be ok though, even if we won’t see the family again (most likely)
-When Jimmy breaks into the gun shop? That was pretty badass.
-The scene where Mary talks Jimmy out of shooting TJ is a PERFECT example of why Mary is great at her job and why she loves the job so much. And them turning around and not seeing him hit TJ? Amazing.
Overall, Donnie probably isn’t the best actor in the world, but he did a pretty good job. Especially at the end of the episode, he was awesome from breaking into the gun shop until his last scene.

One of my favorite things about IPS is that its not like most shows. Usually, a character is shot and the next episode, there’s no mention. Maybe they’ll have a sling but that’s it. In this episode, it starts in the hospital. You see her bandage. You see her talk about and take pain meds, you see her double over in pain a couple of times.
It also has the emotional ramifications of being shot. She had memory troubles and the scene where she couldn’t remember? You could tell it was killing her. One thing I wished there was more of was information on her 6 weeks in the hospital.
The way the finale left us hanging was originally supposed to be for a week and the S2 finale would end the next week. Someone decided to take the finale and show it as the premiere. Later, they decided to scrap that finale and just do a new premiere. This bugs me because I’m sure if they knew this when they filmed “Don’t Cry for Me Albuquerque”, they probably would’ve changed a few things.
How long was Mary in a coma? She has memory troubles remembering her shooter? Did she forget anything else? Is 6 weeks a long time to be in the hospital for what happened to her? I really don’t know, I guess so. Is this just me or does anyone else wish they knew a little bit more?

Now lets discuss that very important scene where they catch Mary’s shooter. The slow-mo chase was hilarious. When I saw the guy I was thinking, “The gangbanger has a Chihuahua?” Wow, how tough. Ha ha! It was perfect that Mary caught him. She’s a tough person and wouldn’t be able to let anyone else do it. Another glimpse of her in pain reminds you that she’s still hurting but she’s just pushing thru it. Dedication fo’sho. (I don’t usually say words like that. I apologize. It just seemed necessary.) And just a Goof alert: when she tackles the shooter, you can totally see that they fall onto a pad covered in leaves. Just saying.

Lets talk about the characters…

Francesca shouldn’t have been in the waiting room in the finale. Actually, I’m surprised Brandi and Jinx don’t already know what Mary and Marshall do since Marshall totally yelled at Francesca about being a martyr in the waiting room, and they weren’t very vague about her being a witness.
The fight between Mary and Jinx was a fantastic scene. I generally find Jinx almost unbearably annoying but Lesley Ann Warren did a fantastic job in that scene. She made me hate Jinx just a LITTLE bit less.
Jinx telling Mary that being shot affected everyone and not just Mary is probably important. I don’t think Mary has even considered how much everyone cared.
Mary seems to be nicer to Raph. He also wasn’t in it much, but I’m hoping she keeps it up because she can be kind of nasty to him. I liked the last scene where she lets him hold her and see her scar. I can always do without the side-boob but besides that, it was a great scene.
Marshall was fantastic in this episode. Fred Weller was on fire! Marshall was definitely determined to find Mary’s shooter and Fred did a great job in all those scenes. If the scenes weren’t so funny, I’d almost feel bad for La La. Almost. But it worked because he gave up the info in exchange for NEVER seeing Marshall again! How perfect? Although, I wonder what would happen if they DID cross paths…
Brandi’s storyline was weird. I’m sure it’ll be important later so I won’t judge but I’m worried about Peter. Peter, played by Joshua Malina (who is a hilarious person to follow on twitter: @JoshMalina), seems like such a nice guy, so I’m worried about what Brandi’s going to do. Brandi asking about her dad makes me think that the private phone calls are related to her father, not to her past with drug dealers, which is what I thought after the 1st phone call. What’s with the last scene though? What is Peter thinking and why doesn’t Brandi answer?
Stan wasn’t in it much but his scene was worth it. “Wanna fight dirty?” and then he gets all sentimental. HAHA! It was great!
I heard Eleanor’s reason for leaving is in next week’s episode. Its no surprise she isn’t back. Eleanor is played by Holly Maples. Her husband was the show-runner for the first 2 seasons (David Maples), but John McNamara replaced him this season. How awkward would THAT have been if she stayed on the show! I’ll miss Eleanor though because her battles with Mary were always hilarious. Maybe one of those new Phoenix people can be a good foil for Mary and “replace” Eleanor. Only time will tell.
Bobby gets mentioned for 15 seconds this week. We find out he’s in Chicago, but he may be back later in the season. Bobby is also no longer a regular character. I knew this and I guess the way it was handled was sufficient. I think I’ll miss him though.

Best Quotes of the Episode:

How’s Mary’s memory? “Fantastic. If I was shot by a smudge.”
“Is that condescending doctor talk for ‘I can go’?”
“Do you like it?” “Are u kidding? I wanna get drunk and do it!” This was the best Mary line of the episode!!! (Possibly ever)
“Great. Let me just down some pain pills to dull the dullness.”
“Mary here thinks it was Tito because…” [Mary shrugs] “That’s my favorite Jackson!“
“This is like a trailer for a movie called Geriatric Marshall.” And THIS was the best Marshall line of the episode. I have the sudden urge to make a fake trailer for this movie.

A few notes on filming:

I know a lot of changes were being made for the third season and that includes music, the camera they were using (they shoot in HD now), and some other cinematography things.
I thought the music was great. I forgot that Liz Phair was composing for the show now, but she did a great job. The music in the scene where they catch the shooter stands out to me.
At times the handheld camera was shaky and it distracted me. I don’t know much about shooting stuff but isn’t there a way to have the guy shake less?
The new ”set” for Mary’s house? I absolutely love it. It’s gorgeous.

And finally I have finished my review. I doubt the others will be as long as this but it was the premiere and a lot of stuff happened. If you have any suggestions how I can make my future ones better, please let me know! This is my first blog post after all.
Leave a comment below if you saw the episode. Let us know what YOU thought. Did you agree with me? Disagree? Was there anything I missed?

-Jenna

Oh, and if you aren't doing so already, follow Mary McCormack and Cristian De La Fuente on Twitter along with Josh Malina!