Anybody see "In Plain Sight" last night?

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If so, what did you think of the actor's portrayal of a woman with AS?

And how about "Marshall's" description of AS?

I almost didn't watch it because of his description. I did anyway. Interesting. Got my own thoughts, and I'll share them in a bit, but I'm wondering what any of you thought of it.

I plan on watching it tonight.

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/inplainsight/video/fullep/

The episode is "Her Days are Numbered". (Thanks Ladybug)

Last edited by Mudboy on 11 Jun 2010, 12:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Let us know what you think!

Provided, of course, the first scene that mentions the character doesn't piss you off enough to change the channel.

To tell you the truth, I'm kind of glad I didn't. I found it somewhat revealing. Not about AS, but about how AS is portrayed in the media.

I won't say any more though. I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet.

For those of us who don't normally watch can you tell us what he said so we don't have to track down the episode and watch it just to find out? Also does his explanation appear to be his characters understanding (or lack thereof) or the writers?

It was both his character's understanding and the writers'. They addressed AS as if only the most severe sort existed - that the subject could never comprehend emotions, sarcasm, lies, or figures of speech. She was portrayed as sincerely believing that the one man who had treated her halfway decently was her true friend, even when he brought her into a life of crime (which was openly discussed before her - they needed her ability with numbers to calculate odds for their bookmaking business) - which was carried to the extent that when she realized her testimony was hurting his feelings, she had a meltdown. They also portrayed her habits as being Rain-Man-level, to the extent that she had to bring her current boss a cup of coffee, two sugars, every day at 9am and 5pm, even when her last boss told her he didn't drink coffee.

On the plus side, the actress did nail many of the mannerisms - when talking to the WitSec agents at the long table, she looked down the table, rather than at the agents; the meltdown was more than the stereotypical collapse into tears; she moved somewhat awkwardly, and had poor vocal control when stressed (her voice rose in pitch, and she spoke very rapidly); and she always used the most precise language possible.

Correction to the name of the episode / It is "Her Days are Numbered". I watched the "Death becomes her" episode, mostly because I like Laura San Giacomo as an actress. Again, the name of the Asperger's Syndrome character episode is "Her Days are Numbered."

I'd have to paraphrase from memory, but it was something like:

1) Can't relate emotionally
2) Infallible recall
3) Incapable of lying

It was all spoken of AS in general, and not about the character specifically.

I prefer to think it was just the character's (Marshall's) understanding, and not the writers, but it could have been the writers too. But then it may not have been a very accurate portrayal of a typical NT's understanding if he had revealed a higher understanding.

I'm actually kind of glad I watched it even though I momentarily wanted to just switch the channel. When you think about it, there probably are quite a lot of Aspies out there just like her. I know she shared quite a few traits with one of my sons.

The other thing I found encouraging at least is the fact that her character wasn't "just like" several others I've seen.

I am beginning to feel that the more portrayals there are over time, the more people will begin to realize there is no "real stereotype."

Then again, for MANY NT's, it'll probably be very confusing too. But that's the nature of AS. It IS confusing, even to us!

In the end I didn't really have much of a problem with the portrayal. How much can they really show in an hour long show, when that character is only half the story to begin with?

I was thinking about posting the same thread yesterday. I saw the episode and wanted to bring up how AS is different from the way it is portrayed in the media.

The woman's AS was rather exaggerated in the episode or her case was extreme, which is not typical of an adult because by then if it is only Asperger's then by the time you are an adult you are usually reasonably competent in masking the symptoms a little. They didn't just say she was incapable of lying, they said she had difficulty even understanding the concept of lying. She was some sort of savant. What was interesting was that they did not portray her as completely uninterested in friendship. Someone was using her for her savant abilities but she didn't want to believe it because she didn't want to lose one of her only friends.

You're right. What Marhsall actually said was:

1) "Off the chart recall"
2) "Total inability to relate emotionally on any level"
3) "Also, it's difficult for some people with Asperger's to lie"

So, yes, he didn't say we couldn't lie, but he did say relating emotionally was impossible. But I don't personally think this is reason to believe the writers necessarily think these things. It may be just as likely they wrote the lines for Marshall in order to accurately portray a "typical" NT's misunderstanding of AS.

This kind of thing could, on the one hand, be confusing for those not versed in AS, if his words were to be accepted as "gospel," but on the other hand I think it does accurately portray just what we are all up against when confronted with various levels of AS ignorance.

Hulu has a clip of his explanation: HERE

I think overall the actress did a good portrayal, but I thought at times she went a little overboard with it.


I did like the whole perspective of her loyalty to her boss, even though her boss was trying to screw her over; that really rang a lot of bells for me...it seems like what we're used to going thru a lot.

I thought was okay. Believable too. I do wish somebody would start smashing the stereotype though. The robotic speech is always overdone.

You think Hollywood will ever get an Autistic character down pat?

It can barely get the life of a married NT couple down pat, how do you expect an Autistic character to be handled properly?

Think you missed my point. Actually, maybe not. There ain't no "down pat," which is why I wish the hell they'd quit doing the same things every time they see "Autistic" or "Asperger's" in the script. Somebody out there needs to learn we aren't all THAT much alike. But yeah, I get what you mean.

No, we're not, but we're far closer to one another than we are to those without an ASD. So, if you have one individual with an ASD amongst a whole slew of people without it, that one person will stand out heavily when people start interacting with him or her.