Lie to Me (2009)

Watchseries; If you haven't seen this series, get yourself to Hulu ASAP...it really is a terrific show by any standards but especially phenomenal for a Big 4 broadcaster.

What makes it unique is its documentary-style cuts; showing how to spot deceptions using real-life examples -- Clinton, Rumsfeld, Nixon, etc. The storyline itself is adequate but these extra insights stand the show apart from anything ever broadcast before. In this age of dumbing down broadcast TV to the point of being unwatchable, its "Smart TV" approach really is worth supporting...maybe it will start a trend; kind of an anti-Survivor.

Murdoch will probably kill it so enjoy it while you can. On the bright side, if it does die maybe it will find a home at one of the cable stations that'll show it more love.

If you haven't seen this series, get yourself to Hulu ASAP...it really is a terrific show by any standards but especially phenomenal for a Big 4 broadcaster.

What makes it unique is its documentary-style cuts; showing how to spot deceptions using real-life examples -- Clinton, Rumsfeld, Nixon, etc. The storyline itself is adequate but these extra insights stand the show apart from anything ever broadcast before. In this age of dumbing down broadcast TV to the point of being unwatchable, its "Smart TV" approach really is worth supporting...maybe it will start a trend; kind of an anti-Survivor.

Murdoch will probably kill it so enjoy it while you can. On the bright side, if it does die maybe it will find a home at one of the cable stations that'll show it more love.

Lie to Me watchseries. When FBI hires a psychological specialist to derive benefit from developed interrogation techniques, detectives decide to cooperate with this specialist and his team. After a couple criminal suspects are interrogated within the usual method, Dr. Cal Lightman reveals his own method. Specifically focusing on facial expressions and gestures of the suspects, Dr. Lightman's techniques receive approval. Thus he takes his partner and a new trainee with him to settle down at the police head-quarters.

The rising star of villain roles from '90s, Tim Roth, had shone through "Reservoir Dogs(1992)" and "Pulp Fiction(1994)" on the silver-screen. Though he was passing over poor years of his career recently. Here in "Lie to Me" he's being precisely rediscovered as a leading actor, playing Dr. Lightman. Under Samuel Baum's screenplay and character development, Roth has brought himself to perfectly fit within his role, the way we know him. Wasn't he the one, who reveals that the traitor in the gang team in Reservoir Dogs, just with using his glowering glances? Then there is Kelli Williams who plays Dr. Lightman's partner. Together with Roth they have an excellent chemistry having opposite characters with each other. Dr. Lightman's new trainee Loker also adds more fun to the film, where the mood begins to get boring. Loker has made himself known as being extremely straightforward at the office, so his straightforward behaviors seem like earning him the credibility he desires to have. In fact, he's afraid of Dr. Lightman's psychological techniques which always work as effective as a lie detector.

Despite the interesting script and successful characterizations, story development is very weak since the plot doesn't draw any benefit from using any subplot. It's of the crime/thriller genre for a TV-series, and the story is very plain, thus leans its back against the actors. The mood gets boring through repeating the display samples of how to catch people lying; and only a bad sense of humor comes to rescue after that. If we analyze thoroughly; Dr. Lightman first explains his theories, then shows the proof of each one with a live person sample, finally he reaches a conclusion and adds his thesis as a new rule every time. His theory depends on a basis that says: "A person's body contradicts his words, when he's lying". If you've watched the film "Analyze This(1999)" ; you might consider one important fact that if somebody, whom you're talking to is unstrung for the moment, acts as if he/she is calm; then Dr.Lightman's thesis would deny itself; just like Robert De Niro did while talking to Billy Crystal. Dr. Lightman shakes hands with the suspect two times at his interrogation. After his second hand shake, Lightman gets the idea that the suspect was lying; since his body temperature dropped leaving him a cooler touch in the palm of his hand. In Michael Douglas's "Basic Instinct(1992)" ; Douglas was under interrogation at the beginning of the movie with three detectives and a lie detector. He used the same method that De Niro used in Analyze This, even fooling the lie detector; which works with a similar idea: Depending on the change of blood pressure in suspect's body between hearing and answering questions.

After the first couple episodes, I hoped we'll be seeing some criminals who can fool Dr.Lightman; to offer more tension and suspense. Yet, I was disappointed with the same formula used in the foll

Disregarding Reservoir Dogs, I think this has to be Roth's best work. Roth is extremely in touch with Dr. Lightman and you feel as if he truly enjoys playing this character. The show leaves you in total disbelief at points and instills a hunger for more and more episodes. I strongly suggest this show to anyone who is interested in an incredibly engaging and entertaining drama series as well as to anyone who is interested about Dr. Paul Ekman's work on facial expressions, and body languages as it relates to emotion. Solid television series. I look forward to the next few episodes. For anyone who has missed the first few episodes, the television series is now online at hulu.com. Highly recommend hulu as well.

Last night I watched the premiere of Lie to Me on Fox. I'd seen the previews for months, and when I saw that Tim Roth was coming to television, him being one of my favorite actors, I was both excited and dubious at the same time. Another of my favorite actors, Christian Slater, had made an awesome TV debut on My Own Worst Enemy. But the show had been canceled, and I honestly didn't want to see the same thing happen to as great an actor as Tim Roth.

But last night's pilot delivered many great performances, not only from Roth, but the supporting guest cast as well. The episode itself had a pleasant mixture of drama, comedy, and sharp dialog.

Despite what some may think, it is possible to tell from a show's pilot whether or not the show will succeed. From what I saw last night, I can see this show going a long, long way. The formula that the show's staff have come up with is, yes, still in its conceptual stages. But they're definitely on to something, and I hope to see a rising popularity in America for Dr. Lightman and his team.

An absolute masterpiece that was canceled way before its time.

So far I've only seen the pilot episode. I admit it. I've got a mad man-crush for this show.

The show's about Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) as a sort of a superhero. He's a human lie detector. He looks for dozens of subtle tells in the face and on the body. He's studied human communication so intensely that he always knows if someone is concealing something.

His company, so far, is involved with police and political matters. There's some significant room to bring in lots of personal interplay as well (we've seen a glimpse of that already).

This is from Imagine Entertainment, the company that does 24. I hope that, as the show evolves, that the fate of the planet doesn't rest on everything that Dr. Lightman does and says. One Jack Bauer is plenty, thanks.

I also hope that the show doesn't become driven by an overarching nemesis. Shows with a strong internal mythology and skin-tight story arcs can be fun, but we've seen so much of them lately that I wouldn't mind seeing the episodic adventures of a flawed hero trying to do something right.