Author: Emma Loggins
Date: 2008-06-02

Interview:
In Plain Sight follows the story of a Federal Marshall with the Witness Protection program who must hide her high-risk, high-impact job from her family. To those that know her, Mary Shannon is a glorified meter maid, but her real job is much more dangerous. She must oversee federal witnesses who have been relocated through the Witness Protection program and make sure that they stay safe. We had the honor of sitting down with one of the stars from the series, Fred Weller. Here's what he had to say:

Can you tell me how much, I know it's a pretty serious drama, but how much is comedy going to be a part of the show? And I know just your character's name for example, Marshal Marshall Mann.

F. Weller: Yes, that sets you up for some comedy right there; it puts a lot of pressure on a guy to be funny. I think it's an extremely funny show. It's created by David Maples, who use to be one of the head writers on Home Improvement. And he's just a very clever and very funny guy and I think that he is able to find humor in every situation. There are some episodes that are a little bit more funny than others, or rather a little more light-hearted in tone in general, the plot and so forth, but overall I think you'd call it a dramity in the USA vein. That's USA network, not the country.

I was watching some of your interviews on USA network and you mentioned that there is a lot of sexual tension between Mary and Marshall and I'd like to ask how that plays into both your character and your work relationship with Mary?

F. Weller: Well, it's critical to the character. For me the romantic tension between them is one of the escape from Gilligan's Island elements to the show. That's not to say that there won't be any payoff on it, I feel there actually is some payoff here and there in the first season. Mary McCormack doesn't acknowledge the extent to which her character reciprocates those feelings. There's definitely at least one episode in which her character gets a little jealous of one of Marshall's love interests, which to me is pretty telling.

In terms of our relationship, I think our relationship off screen is informative of our relationship on screen in that we get along very well in a kind of brother/sister trash talk way. And I think she's an extremely attractive woman, obviously, so it's easier to imagine being in love with her because her character is very desirable, as is the actress. I think she's a very attractive, very intelligent person.

Also, how does this play into your relationship with Raphael, if you interact with him much?

F. Weller: Well, any interaction between Marshall and Raphael would certainly be fraught with tension. There isn't really any interaction between us during the first season. There are some references to him in scenes that I'm in. I notice that he's been called up to the majors at one point when I'm reading the sport pages and I'm with Mary, and I think my feelings toward Mary inform my attitude towards him. So yes, there would definitely be kind of a love triangle vibe there if we ever do cross paths.