1486 replies to this topic

[Redtracer]

I've never started a thread before. Exciting.

This will be premiering on Fox after American Idol on Wednesday, January 21. Tim Roth stars as a man who can tell if people are lying (comparisons to The Mentalist and Psych are probably inevitable). I don't think Tim Roth has ever done any American TV work before, so I'm looking forward to watching it if only for him. Plus, it's nice that we get a British actor who actually gets to KEEP his regular accent. Here's the official description from Fox's website:

DR. CAL LIGHTMAN (Tim Roth, "The Incredible Hulk," "Reservoir Dogs") can detect the truth by analyzing a person's face, body, voice and speech. When someone shrugs one shoulder, rotates their hand or raises their lower lip, Lightman knows they're lying. By analyzing facial expressions, he can read feelings - from hidden resentment to sexual attraction to jealousy. But as Lightman well knows, his scientific ability is both a blessing and a curse in his personal life, where family and friends deceive each other as readily as criminals and strangers do. Lightman is the world's leading deception expert, a scientist who studies facial expressions and involuntary body language to discover not only if you are lying but why.

More complete description and video can be found here

I've only read one review, but it was very positive. Fox probably has high hopes for this one, considering it got the cushy post-AI slot.

[pinkmoon]

I'm sick to death of procedures, but, you know, Tim Roth. I have to give this a chance.

[Split Ends]

pinkmoon, I'd like to send you a bouquet of agreement cookies.

Tim Roth. Also, bright colors on a procedural.

[Split Ends]

Well, the influence of Mr. Ends ("I'm already bored. By episode four, Tim Roth will have encountered his nemesis: Botox.") and the incredible overdose of commercials on Fox, I think I'm out.

It does seem very thin. But I might be bored after AI.

[MsOrange21]

I've been looking forward to this forever. Tim Roth has been my favorite actor since before Quentin Tarantino busted him out. Here's to hoping Lie To Me does for Tim Roth what House did to Hugh Laurie.

[supposebly]

The premise is very interesting and a lot more believable for me than the other "quirky" premises for procedurals such as the Mentalist or Psych or Monk, all of which I dislike. If you can tell every time someone is lying and you pay attention, that must be a very depressing way to live. Kinda like reading minds. A lot of mind reading episodes in a fantasy/sci-fi shows end up tellling you how terrible it is to know people's minds. True Blood springs to mind. I hope they'll play a little with the theme that although we demand truth all around us and we trust in it, that there isn't much of it.
And then, it's Tim Roth who I always found intriguing in a slightly unsettling way. I actually can't wait for this one.

[steve91199]

I was going to check this show out, since I like Tim Roth, but the pathetic, defensive blustering (Lie to Me is science!! Mentalist is a scam!!! Lie to Me doesn't have fake American accents, Americans think British accents are smarter!!!!) has changed my mind. If they have that little confidence in their own show, no thanks.

Edited by steve91199, Jan 15, 2009 @ 2:46 AM.

[fast german car]

I'll watch Tim Roth in pretty much anything, so I'll give it a shot.

[TV Anonymous]

(...)

Error in posting. Moderators, feel free to delete.

Edited by TV Anonymous, Jan 17, 2009 @ 10:23 PM.

[umme]

Here's an interview with Brendan Hines . I'm interested enough to check it out. At the very least we'll learn some truth tips, right?

[Marisleve]

Well, I really enjoyed it. Thought it was very clever, and I love that I actually learned a few things while watching it!

I liked it enough to tune in next week.

[mrsflair]

It was a good show, I'll tune in again even though they had some glaring mistakes of Jehovah's witnesses.

I got the idea the writers decided the boy would be from a devoutly religious family and picked a religion from a hat.

I love the airport scene. If it'd been me I'd taken the suitcase of money and not worked for a year or two for anyone .
I figured out the politician's story pretty fast.
And the cut screens could get annoying fast but for tonight they enhanced the show pretty well.


Edited to delete off topic stuff.

Edited by mrsflair, Jan 22, 2009 @ 12:34 PM.

[Illumestitch]

I really enjoyed this! I especially liked the quick flashes of famous folks displaying the same gestures--really drove the point home a few times.

I would like a few more plot twists--my roomate and I figured both storylines out before they had their reveals. But we still enjoyed the show. Here's to hoping it sticks around! I love Tim Roth and it was great to see Kelli Williams back on TV again.

[Ankai]

I thought that it was okay. The dialog got clunky and the plot got pretty predictable, but I liked the side characters, particularly Eli. I would have been okay with the ending if we did not actually hear what the people were saying. As it seemed like it was just a series of bad actors badly acting like they're acting badly.

I am not sure how scorn = you're onto something. Or was it supposed to mean that he hated that church specifically?

[Amalthea]

Wow, I hated this. Even Tim Roth couldn't save it for me. The plot was paint-by-numbers and far too obvious, and I can't stand that "slow motion zoom because we think the audience is dumb and won't see this" device that's used over and over.

[mandigirl]

I'm very much in like with this show simply because of the cast. As if Tim Roth and Kelli Williams weren't enough, Brendan Hines, my beloved Andy Goode/Tyler Ford (any Middleman fans in here? No?), is in it too. So much love for the cast already. And KW seems like she's having so much fun with the role.

The actual storylines fell flat for some reason. I just didn't feel any urgency from the Lightman crew. However, unlike the more clever people on here, I didn't figure out either storyline till the end.

I like the new recruit. She reminds me of (S1) Dani from Life which is a fantastic thing. Here's to hoping the characterization sticks. All in all, show looks like a keeper.

I especially liked the quick flashes of famous folks displaying the same gestures--really drove the point home a few times.

Ditto. Wonder if they'll be able to maintain that in future episodes.

[Ankai]

I dunno. The point-driving was more like running it into the ground. I like the characters and all, but the show will have to make their points a little more subtly if I am going to stick around for more than three episodes.

[Pants Ninja]

Definitely liking this show so far - it's working a little too hard to make sure we notice people's emotional tells, but it's only the first episode, and I like the core group of characters a lot. Admittedly, I'd probably watch it anyway for Tim Roth, but it helps that the characters are interesting. Nice to see Brendan Hines back on my TV, too - mandigirl, you're definitely not the only Middleman fan around here.

My tape cut out at the very end, though, just after the end of the interview with the girl. Serves me right for still recording on VHS, I guess. Can anybody recap the last few minutes for me?

[Ankai]

Principal: guilty/arrested.
Boy: alive/released.
Note: instructions/vague.
Final scene: ask/not.

[MommaJ]

I lasted 10 minutes, then had to turn it off, because I knew one more zoom-in zoom-out on a facial expression would have made me smash my TV to smithereens. I've never been so incredibly bored so fast. Poor Tim, poor Kellie, that it has come to this.

Edited by MommaJ, Jan 22, 2009 @ 1:01 AM.

[Truculence]

Ankai, you're gonna have to do better than that. =) My DVR went nuts--I saw that the principal was being arrested, but why did he kill her?

[Nikki125]

I really like Tim Roth, so I really wanted to like this show, but I was a bit disappointed. I found it somewhat boring and my mind wandered a few times. Roth was really the only thing that kept me engaged, so I'm in for at least another week. And as a Psych fan, I'm used to the extreme zooms, so they really didn't bother me here.

My DVR went nuts--I saw that the principal was being arrested, but why did he kill her?

Because he was having an affair with one of the students. The student told him that the teacher was going to turn him in and so he killed her.

Edited by Nikki125, Jan 22, 2009 @ 1:26 AM.

[Colors]

Pretty enjoyable (but yeah, they do need to cut down on the bad acting for those almost-extras).

I also saw the endings for both mysteries coming a mile away (along with him lying about the boy killing himself), but I enjoyed the journey. And colors. I did roll my eyes though when they telegraphed in huge blinking letters that the teenage girl was pregnant (whlie the characters surmised she had an STD). It always sort of disappoints me that TV characters clearly don't watch as much television as I do.

But yeah, I think if they pick less tired "mysteries", this could be a very good show.

[thuganomics85]

Decide to give it a shot, and while I suspect I'll give it a few more episodes, I'm pretty much on the underwhelmed camp. I also saw both twists coming a mile away, and neither one of the storylines was really all the original or exiting. And the closeups was way overdone.

I did like the main group of actors for the most part. Tim Roth was awesome but that isn't too surprising. And Brandon Hines a.k.a. Andy Goode from Terminator: SCC was funny and charming in his role. I just hope that, unlike Terminator, his character's arc doesn't end by a few bullets at the hands of Brian Austin Green.

Edited by thuganomics85, Jan 22, 2009 @ 1:59 AM.

[DualWolf]

I too was disappointed with the episode. The stories were predictable and I thought the body language signs a little too obvious to really showcase the Roth character's talents. The characters seem interesting and entertaining and I like the cast so, I'll give it a few more episodes to find its balance.

mandigirl
Art Crawl!

[mrhooks]

If there's nothing else on, this will end up one of those shows I watch just because I love the cast (kinda like "Brothers and Sisters" since last year). As a show though, it's pretty mediocre so far. I hope the cases become more interesting, and there's some good backstory on the characters.

[Jubi]

I thought this was... okay. Neither of the mysteries really held my interest, but the central characters did. The four main characters all seemed to have good chemistry with each other, and I can see myself becoming intrigued with that aspect of the show. I've sat through many a dull episode of television for characters that I like, so I'll definitely watch another episode.

If they can create more exciting/interesting mysteries in the future, that would certainly help. I also felt like there wasn't much going on below the surface of the storylines--not a lot of subtext, just a lot of text. The premise is promising in terms of being able to address themes in a subtle way, if that makes sense, so I'd just like to get more from each episode than a pat mystery (or two) and some charming character interactions.

[squidge]

I enjoyed it, but I'm thinking that one gimmick isn't enough to hang a series on. Cue the soap opera storylines?

[AllShiny]

I may watch again, I don't know. Depends on what else is on (is Lost going to be on at 9 or 10 ET?). It wasn't bad, but it was pretty obvious too. Religious people intolerant and scary, check. Principal having affair with pretty student, check. And let's be honest here, if it had been the minority leader of the House Ethics committee (in other words, a Republican), he would've been evil and a closet pervert who was meeting with the young woman to have sex with her 9 year old son or pet goat or something. He was a Democrat, so he had to be noble (I saw that coming a mile away).

Yawn. Some things never change.

Lucky for them, I'm so used to it, it doesn't matter anymore.

But I don't like it as well as the Mentalist (and TR is in no way as cute as SB).