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Hercules Truthfully Doesn’t Get That Much Out Of LIE TO ME!!
I am – Hercules!!
“Lie to Me,” a crime drama from Sam Baum (creator of Fox’s perfectly horrible 2006 Rob Estes crime drama “The Evidence”), is about a scientist named Cal Lightman who – just like the title characters in CBS’ “The Mentalist” and USA’s “Psych” – can always tell when you’re fibbing.
The “Lie” pilot is not as good as the pilots for “The Mentalist” or “House,” to which it bears similarities, but it’s considerably better than, say, Fox’s pilots for “Prison Break” and “The Evidence.”
Tim Roth, typically strong here, surrendered his role as Archie Hicox in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorius Basterds” to star in this series. Not his worst call; seeing as it gets top TV hit “American Idol” as its lead-in, “Lie” could mean years of steady paychecks.
Kelli Williams, looking plenty hot a dozen years after starting on “The Practice,” plays a fellow scientist and Lightman associate. Lightman has a second associate who always tells the truth about everything. A third associate, recruited in the pilot from an airport security detail, has a rare natural ability to detect lies.
I like the direction by Robert Schwentke (“Flightplan”), who keeps the visuals popping. I like that the first time we see Roth’s character, he’s sussing out a church-bombing racist who looks eerily like famed Obama critic Joe The Plumber.
There are two stand-alone mysteries in the first episode, and both strike me as riddled with improbabilities without being particularly compelling.
Candidly, there are already a too many TV mysteries being solved each and every week, and “Lie To Me” just isn’t special enough to stand out. I’m telling my TiVo not to bother.
Entertainment Weekly says:
… derivative yet well crafted, predictable yet ever-so-slightly novel (all those new fun facts!), so it's no wonder that Fox thinks it's got itself a potential hit worthy of post–American Idol time-period status. And yet, I wonder: Roth is a familiar '90s film face (Pulp Fiction, Rob Roy) whose career was ripe for a TV series. But is America ready to take this broody Brit — not cuddly like Monk or lovably cranky like House — to its bosom? Personally, I'm glad Roth resists the cuddly/cranky. But if this review were a face, Dr. Lightman would say it had a forced smile: hopeful, but dubious, about Lie's chances. …
USA Today says:
… There's a fine cast, led by Tim Roth (The Incredible Hulk) and, in a nice, bright change of pace, The Practice's Kelli Williams. But you can't help feeling you've seen the show's central gimmick before — like, say, last night on The Mentalist. … the show does have its amusing moments. What it doesn't have is any sense of surprise, and once the novelty factor wears off, you just wonder whether there's enough here to sustain a series. …
The New York Times says:
… Throughout the history of modern popular culture we’ve gone in and out of defining female intelligence in terms of intuitive displays. I’m not sure what it means that television’s reigning intuitionists are now male (Lightman joins the strike force of Adrian Monk and “The Mentalist’s” Patrick Jane). And I’m not sure whether the regendering is a democratizing net positive for feminism or whether we should take offense that women’s intuition translates somewhere along the spectrum of cute while its male counterpart is meant to suggest the power of a mind brilliantly deducing. Against my better judgment, I suspect I’ll keep watching “Lie to Me” until I figure it out.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… The most remarkable thing about “Lie to Me,” the new Fox series starring Tim Roth as a "human lie detector" -- the only remarkable thing about it, really -- is that Roth has been allowed to keep his accent. … To say that there is nothing else remarkable about the series is only to say that it is one more mystery series among many, although perhaps one more free-floating than most. While it's not free of the clichés of its kind, it is not bad at all.
The Chicago Tribune says:
… briskly efficient … That’s really the question about “Lie to Me” — whether it will just be an efficient weekly procedural, despite the occasional clunkers in the script and its predictable supporting characters (there’s the even-more-cynical male protégé who practices radical truthtelling, and the female second fiddle who thinks Lightman is too pessimistic; both come off like stock characters borrowed from the "House" set). But there’s another option for this crisply shot, well-paced drama: It could venture into the darker and knottier realms of morality, as “House” did in its first few seasons. …
The Washington Post says:
… The strength of the premise combined with first-class production make this easily one of the season's best new shows, and I say that without a twitch, a blink, a suspicious scowl or a telltale tic. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… comes out of the box strong, and it's especially encouraging that the cases at hand and the science used in the first hour is compelling enough that Roth's character (based on Paul Ekman, a real-life expert on lying and microexpressions, among other things) can evolve more slowly. …
The Salt Lake Tribune says:
I loved Fox's new crime drama, "Lie to Me." It is the greatest new show in the history of television. I can't miss another episode. I adored everything about it. Now, if the show's lead character, deception expert Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), saw me while I said that, he would notice that one of my fingers raised, I made a slight shrug, I gently massaged my lip, and I started to breathe faster. In other words, he would know that I was lying through my teeth. …
The Orlando Sentinel says:
… predictable, standard fare … makes a better lecture than a drama.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… Roth's Lightman is not nearly the curmudgeon Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is, nor is he as entertaining, but "Lie to Me" has the makings of a fine procedural for viewers who can't seem to get enough of this type of series. …
The Boston Herald says:
… As far as TV crime procedurals go, you could do a lot worse, but I’d be lying if I said I recommend this show. …
The Boston Globe says:
… If you're not a crime-TV lover, you have no business here. "Lie to Me" is a murder-of-the-week series to its core, and Roth is surrounded by the expected ensemble of co-workers who help him help the police nail bad guys. … But if you're fascinated by the poker-game elements of crime-solving and a man obsessed with "tells," you may connect with this show. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… fortunate to have a guy with the talents of Tim Roth as a trump card. But even apart from him, the writing and the concept are sufficiently developed from the get-go to prove an instantly intriguing entry …
Variety says:
… to say this is anything to get excited about would be a big, fat, transparent you-know-what. …
9 p.m. Wednesday. Fox.
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In which world? House became decent at the end of season 1. The Mentalist ..yach....Say what you want about Prison Breaks last 2 seasons but despite the sometimes ridiculous plot twists season 1 was not only better than 24 season 2,3,4 and 6 but one of the very few network series with premium cable quality.
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does this mean we get a TV crime procedural That DOENT feature a murder EVERY week...memo to CSI it doesnt always have to be a murder to keep people interested.....
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...when it was called "Monk" or "Psych" or "The Mentalist."
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now I've heard everything......
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is often not the best. actors are still getting into the skins of their characters, and writers are still working out the quirks. I'll give it three eps to see if there is any improvement, and then decide. I really like Roth, so I have to give it that much of a shot.
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Gotta at least give it a chance.
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I haven't seen the show (not a knock, just never got around to it), but I always thought it was about a guy who was pretending to be psychic?
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Superglue Fingerprint Unit. Follow the shocking puzzling adventures of that guy in the lab who finds latent prints on objects using a light bulb, a cupcake tin and Crazy Glue (and who somehow happens to be a fully qualified cop on the side too). And watch as he struggles with his superglue huffing addiction which he tries to kick even as it helps him solves strange weekly crimes. Starring some Brit actor from some 80s comedy or cult classic (Lister from Red Dwarf, Rowan Atkinson, one of The Goodies, the last surviving castmember of Are You Being Served?) with his amazing generic American (possibly Canadian) accent. Tuesdays at 8pm. Be There!
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The amount of hate that guy receives from whackjobs is really over the top.
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He was one of the big German directorial hopes after he directed 'Tattoo' (which was not just bad, but also on of these horrible, overstylized serial killer thrillers like 'Sesevenen', but what made it interesting was that it was completely different than pretty much every other German movie) and the interesting dramedy 'Eierdiebe'. I seriously wondered what he is doing now after he made 'Flight Plan'. I expected him to return to Germany to make a 'Tatort' or two, but no many German theatrical directors who make a Hollywood thriller with Jodie Foster end up with directing U.S. TV-Pilots.
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That's not "ending up". The pilot is the only episode the director isn't just the puppet of the showrunner. Clark Johnson for example defined the visual style of The Shield, Sleeper Cell and The Wire. That's alot more worth than his run of the mill Big Budget thrillers SWAT and The Sentinel or Schwentkes Flightplan.
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I'll try it out for no other reason than Tim Roth. Have Gary Oldman guest star and have them ask each other questions the whole time. It will be hilarious. Point and match! Anyhoo, the only reason for me to watch a procedural is the characters. Works for Bones and Mentalist - don't know about this one. Oh, and Joe the Plumber IS a whackjob, so he deserves all the hate he gets. Nothing but a puppet of the right looking for his 15 minutes. Oh yeah, and he's a complete and utter imbecile.
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Jan 21, 2009 5:50:09 PM CST
Well, "ending up" was probably the wrong choice of words,
by derlanghaarige
In the days of 24, Lost, The Shield, Damages, The Sopranos and so on it's definitely everything else than a shame to direct a TV Pilot and I don't think that it's a step back in Schwentke's career (even if I gotta admit that my last posts seriously sounds like that, but that wasn't my intention), but the direction of his career is a little surprising to me. I know many promising German Filmmakers who made one moderately or even un-successful Hollywood movie (And if I remember right, Flight Plan wasn't a huge blockbuster), just to return to Germany and don't make anything that is worth mentioning again. And if I would try to get a movie director for my pilot I wouldn't think of "that German who made this Jodie Foster movie that everybody had already forgotten when it came out on DVD".
So in the end I'm just surprised to see his name attached to a TV show with Tim Roth. But it's a positive surprise. (I've never heard of Roland Suso Richter again after 'The I Inside' amd Joseph Rusnak made after 'The 13th Floor' films like 'The Art Of War 2' and the remake of 'It's Alive', (Whatever happened to this?)
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...to end up in a job he actually has credentials or a business licence for. And the heck did we start talking about Joe The Plumber?
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Only show you and I don't see eye-to-eye on Herc.
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I'm kinda interested in people's take on the depiction of Jehovah's Witnesses in this episode. I consider it to be one of the most unrealistic and inaccurate portrayals I've ever seen captured on film. It seems to me the writers didn't even bother talking to a JW to get a grasp on their most basic beliefs so that they could at least write dialog that sounds like it might come from a JW rather than, say, a Pentacostal. Thoughts?
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Neither does this mediocre show. Just watch "The Mentalist," it's superior in every way.
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Love the show but people need to see it for what it is and stop comparing it to Psych, and that is what if Derren Brown started to use his skills to help the Police out.....that show is what you would get. The other thing is Bruno H who created the show has even gone as far as to use some of the larger tricks used in Derren's tv series and almost in the same order, hes being that blatant and as for Patrick Jane larger parts of the little quirks and personality come directly from the way Derren is in his live shows and to a lesser extent on Tv. Am I the only one who has spotted this? As for Lie To Me it was actually supposed to be aired before The Mentalist came out but really with that show as big as it is most will feel LTM a cheap knockoff, which it does sorta feel like.
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I also thought that show had a cool premise(you'd see the evidence at the beginning of the show and could guess as to where they fit into the case) and got a lot better after a rough start. I'd take that show over Life On Mars or any of the somehow popular CSI's.
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Fuck you Herc. What do you know??? You thought The Inside was a good show. Go suck Whedon's dick. What are the chances you don't call Dollhouse the best new show of 2009???? You suck!
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And I think it'll play well. It's the type of thing that dumb people will think is very smart, making them think they are very smart for 'getting it'.
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Tim Roth, man, come on. I thought this show worked. It won't change anyones religion and it's certainly not groundbreaking, but the premise wasn't distractingly bad. I'm not sure if they can drag it out a full season, how many tells are there? Sure these murder of the week shows are a dime a dozen, but I don't watch every CSI: St.Paul type show in prime time. Anyway, props to fox, this is their one in fifty pilot that may make it a full season.
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was viewed by his church as an extremist and they didn't agree with his views. I think JW is one religion that you can still make "the villain" of on TV without raising too much ire. Really, the family could have been extremist/isolationist of any religion or sect. JW was just the plug-in name so as not to offend anyone who might think it was their religion that was being vilified.I liked The Evidence when it got away from its hook. There were times "the evidence" had nothing to do with the crime, just a red herring. So, as you watch the show and see the item, you think "he must be the killer" when it's just some item some random dude remotely connected to the case happened to be holding.
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I agree that JWs were a plug-in name here. The problem is that extremism doesn't explain the inaccuracies in the show. An extremist JW would act and speak like an extremist JW not, for example, an extremist Pentacostal or other kind of Charismatic Christian. The dialog in the episode reflects certain beliefs and in every single case the reflected beliefs are not held by JWs. In other words, yes, they could have been extremists/isolationists of almost ANY religion ... but ironically it would be of almost any religion EXCEPT JWs.
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I enjoyed "Lie to Me" very much. It reminds me a bit of the novel "The Ambler Warning" by Robert Ludlum. Tim Roth is awesome. I know there are a lot of comparisons to The Mentalist but could someone PLEASE tell me (and I'm not being flippant) why people like the Mentalist so much? I've been watching it, and yes, it's entertaining and Simon Baker is good but it has no substance. Patrick Jane has an interesting background, but it's rarely touched on and could be used to heighten the drama. The drama is very lit and very unsubstantial. Even when Lisbon was in danger the other night from a killer cop, you never felt she was in danger of really getting hurt. I'm getting way more drama from "Lie to Me" in one episode than I have in all the episodes of "The Mentalist" combined.
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Psych is a guy who is a great detective who couldn't/wouldn't join the force or get recognized for his talent, so he pretends to be a psychic while using his detective skills. Neither he nor Monk are "intuitionists" (unless you consider Sherlock Holmes an "intuitionist"). I'm not sure I'd describe Monk as "cuddly" as one critic does, either. He's kind of a dick, if you watched last week's episode where he horribly takes advantage of his guilty assistant, the ever-whiny Natalie. ("Mr. Mooonnnkkkk...!")
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wtf? couldn't give less than a shit about this show though... and it's on ... ahaha opposite...ahahaaaha... of ... LOST...BAWWW. GAME OVER.
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All the close-up replays of micro-expressions will get old real fast. Dialog was sort of emotionless and mechanically fast. Hope they plan some real and interesting character development, because the gimmick will not carry this show far.... I was getting bored by the end...
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Good snippet, Hercules. And helpful review from you too. Thanks. I wasn't thrilled when I saw Tim Roth in the commercials for "Lie to Me." Disappointed was more like it, but I too was pleased he was able to keep his accent. Now, when I found out the premise for this series, I felt it was good for I don't know, two shows? How old is this going to get by next week? It sounds like it started to wear thin in the Pilot. How sad for Tim Roth. But my gosh, it seems every British actor is going to get his own series before too long. I know how the Brits regard television and so long as it's of good quality, there are no barriers to doing TV. HOWEVER, we know not all American TV series are winners and to see them drop in Brit actors like it's going to somehow transform them, I think it does a disservice to the actor. To make him believe that he's doing the next "House" or to a lesser degree, "Life." And then to find out Tim Roth turned down a role in a Tarantino film? Bringing it back to "Reservoir Dogs"? Ack!! I won't lie to you: I'm stunned.
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