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Lie to Me

post #1 of 31
2/2/09 at 12:03pm
Thread Starter 
Sure, it's gimmicky. I'm really enjoying this after 2 episodes though. Tim Roth is great of course, but that's expected. I don't know how much staying power the show will have with me (the need to show the "universal" expression throughout time is fun but my guess is will get grating) but for now it's fun. My only problem now is that Lost, Lie to Me and Life are apparently all going to be on at the same time on Wednesday. Since my DVR has 2 tuners, I have to either drop a show or find somebody else who is taping one of them.
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post #2 of 31
2/2/09 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by A-Pathetic View Post
Since my DVR has 2 tuners, I have to either drop a show or find somebody else who is taping one of them.
Or listen to Alec Baldwin and watch it on Hulu.

Wish Tim Roth got to be on a better series.
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post #3 of 31
2/2/09 at 12:27pm
I have it on DVR. I like it for what it is. It mostly gets by on Roth's charm. But I really don't see how the concept can last all that long without becoming extremely redundant.
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post #4 of 31
2/2/09 at 12:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KidNtheHelmet View Post
I have it on DVR. I like it for what it is. It mostly gets by on Roth's charm. But I really don't see how the concept can last all that long without becoming extremely redundant.
I said the same thing about House years ago. Redundant, yes. Off the air, no.
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post #5 of 31
2/2/09 at 1:38pm
The show is entertaining but like A-Pathetic said, my TiVo will be recording Life and Lost instead. I watched the first 2 episodes and besides the overuse of just straight exposition, it's still enjoyable enough to watch. If it were on a different night I'd probably record it but probably wouldn't watch it every week.
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post #6 of 31
2/9/09 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
Okay, I'm the only one still watching this I guess. 3 episodes down and I've enjoyed each one. I've had to work a deal with my Mom where she is DVR'ing Life for me and I'm DVR'ing this (we both DVR Lost) and switch houses for an hour during the week so we can watch the three Wednesday shows. Considering how much bad TV is on I can't believe I somehow ended up enjoying 3 different shows occupying the same time slot.
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post #7 of 31
2/9/09 at 12:09pm
I just watch it on Hulu. Both Life and Lie To Me are on there.
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post #8 of 31
2/9/09 at 12:16pm
The show has been great so far.

Kind of curious to see what was the supposed screw up Dr. Lightman had with the Pentagon ...
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post #9 of 31
2/9/09 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica View Post
The show has been great so far.

Kind of curious to see what was the supposed screw up Dr. Lightman had with the Pentagon ...
I really liked the tease at the end of the last episode implying that Lightman had really hurt somebody before he learned to apply science to his reading. So far the show has been kind of a parade of great Tim Roth moments, but that's enough to make me tune in each week so far.
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post #10 of 31
2/9/09 at 2:11pm
I'm also really enjoying this so far. It's definitely not up there with House just yet, but it certainly has potential.
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post #11 of 31
2/14/09 at 2:30am
I think it might have been a better idea for a movie than a series. It wouldn't have time to get stretched thin that way. Still, I like what Roth's doing, and I find the actual science pretty fascinating.

My main thought watching this is that it's got to be a pain in the ass to act on this show. There must be constant directorial technical instructions about exactly what to do with your face. It must be hard to put together a performance with all that.
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post #12 of 31
3/5/09 at 6:15pm
I'm a Tim Roth fan so I've been tuning in to this show (when it's not pre-empted by AI) and I really like it. It's pretty interesting. Although, I agree with what Greg said above me about it faring better as a movie. I'm not sure how long this can go on as a series. But I guess we'll see!
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post #13 of 31
3/22/09 at 6:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg David View Post
My main thought watching this is that it's got to be a pain in the ass to act on this show. There must be constant directorial technical instructions about exactly what to do with your face. It must be hard to put together a performance with all that.
Just watched the first episode after a friend told me about the show's very existence, and I had the exact same thought about how tricky it must be for all the actors on the show to perform the microexpressions. Must make for some cheesy takes.

The moment I heard about this show, I figured it would be just like House. Boy, was I not wrong. But it's fun just like House and got by a lot on Tim Roth's presence.

Malcolm Gladwell's BLINK had a section on the guy the show was based on. It brought up his studies in studying African tribes, the Kato snarl example, and the fact that he's gone to Pixar and Dreamworks to teach animators about facial expressions.

I hope they totally use that last bit as the basis for an episode. Murder at Animation Studio!
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post #14 of 31
3/22/09 at 4:17pm
From a Slant review of the show:
Quote:
The other nagging feature comes from the poor actors who are placed in the awkward position of "flashing" these various microexpressions convincingly. Watching someone give a genuine microexpression (as the series illustrates by freeze-framing a video of Kato Kalen's testimony during the first OJ Simpson trial), it's apparent just how subtle these looks are and how difficult it is to see them let alone express them naturally on purpose. Very often, the actors' attempts to "microexpress" come across hopelessly exaggerated, lending an unintentional air of surrealism.
Exactly. It actually makes the show a comedy at times.
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post #15 of 31
4/5/09 at 9:35am
Thread Starter 
This last episode was bad. Lots of weird moral issues from everybody with me not really caring one way or the other. Even Tim Roth just seemed way too over the top.
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post #16 of 31
4/28/09 at 1:20am
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/.../us_tv_obama_1

Fox sticking with schedule instead of Obama

Mon Apr 27, 4:19 pm ET

NEW YORK – The Fox network is sticking with its regular schedule over President Barack Obama this week.

The network is turning down the president's request to show his prime-time news conference on Wednesday. The news conference marks Obama's 100th day in office. Instead of the president, Fox viewers will see an episode of the Tim Roth drama "Lie to Me."

It's the first time a broadcast network has refused Obama's request. This will be the third prime-time news conference in Obama's presidency. ABC, CBS and NBC are airing it.
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post #17 of 31
4/28/09 at 6:21pm
Well, it's not as if there's anything terribly important going on that would necessitate hearing from the President.

I swear, there's a persistent campaign underway to cause the word "Fox" to be equated with "Jackass".
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post #18 of 31
4/28/09 at 6:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg David View Post
Well, it's not as if there's anything terribly important going on that would necessitate hearing from the President.
.
Just be glad Obama isn't interupting Lost .

I don't think he's going to say anything monumental. It'll be economy sucks but getting better, Captain Tripps, and a reporter asking about the new White House dog. Hardly newsworthy.

As for the show-average at best. They need to focus an episode on the people in the Lightman group and put a case on hold for a week.
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post #19 of 31
5/18/09 at 4:33pm
I wonder what it's like for Tim Roth to have to do some 'bad-ass slo-mo' walk in front of his Lightman Group sign nearly every episode. It's silly. But endearingly humorous.

OOOH! Tim Roth just told so-and-so what's what! Proceeds to walk the halls like he's Shaft.
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post #20 of 31
5/18/09 at 4:44pm
The thing about the show is that Rothman's Lightman is not an asshole in the incredibly likable and humorously creative way that the character Laurie's House is. So while it's generally 'ok', everyone just seems to be angry all the time.

I think it'll stand out even more when, according to Fox's new schedule, they put Lie To Me directly after House on Mondays. Still, the show is for some reason fairly watchable.
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post #21 of 31
5/18/09 at 4:52pm
Yeah, I think it's ok. Roth brings so much charisma, which is why it's a shame how predictable and repetitive the show is. I'd be shocked to learn that Lightman didn't have the upper hand in whatever conflict gets dreamt up for a plot.

Everyone else, especially Lightman's female counterpart on the show, are vanilla styrofoam cutouts. When they do the dual plotline stuff, I dread the inevitable non-Lightman one.
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post #22 of 31
5/18/09 at 4:57pm
The initial 3 eps didn't do much for me. I mean, it was ok, but I was already watching The Mentalist, my requisite "super brilliant smartass who is totally better than everyone else in the room including his whole damn team," show, but Shawn Ryan is joining up next season. And he made Angel AWESOME in season 2 plus, you know, the whole Shield thing. So, yeah, season 2 of Lie to Me...there with bells on.
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post #23 of 31
5/18/09 at 5:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor View Post
Yeah, I think it's ok. Roth brings so much charisma, which is why it's a shame how predictable and repetitive the show is. I'd be shocked to learn that Lightman didn't have the upper hand in whatever conflict gets dreamt up for a plot.
The formulaic nature of the show makes its attempts to take on 'hard-hitting, controversial' subject matter reek of effort. And yet I enjoy it on a 'sit back and relax' level.

Though, I ended up being fooled by how far Lightman's plan went for the serial rapist episode. I think I can be forgiven though. I didn't realize they'd go that far into what was basically an, "It was alllll a dream," resolution.
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post #24 of 31
5/18/09 at 5:06pm
Shawn Ryan is joining Lie To Me?! What a waste of his talents...
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post #25 of 31
5/18/09 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
The formulaic nature of the show makes its attempts to take on 'hard-hitting, controversial' subject matter reek of effort. And yet I enjoy it on a 'sit back and relax' level.

Though, I ended up being fooled by how far Lightman's plan went for the serial rapist episode. I think I can be forgiven though. I didn't realize they'd go that far into what was basically an, "It was alllll a dream," resolution.
FYI if you're interested in the subject matter, mcnooj: a whole bunch of the cases in Lie To Me's first season were pulled directly from the book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. There are exceptions, but the show really feels like an unauthorized dramatization of that book.
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post #26 of 31
5/18/09 at 5:24pm
Oh yea. Blink was a lot of fun to read. It's pretty much the reason I gave Lie to Me a chance.

What the hell was up with DiCaprio once being mentioned as wanting to make a movie out of Blink? Was that ever true? I remember reading it on CHUD. That's like turning Fast Food Nation into a movi... yea.
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post #27 of 31
5/18/09 at 5:27pm
And it turns out you mentioned that book like ten posts up. And here I thought I was being helpful.
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post #28 of 31
5/18/09 at 5:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
Though, I ended up being fooled by how far Lightman's plan went for the serial rapist episode. I think I can be forgiven though. I didn't realize they'd go that far into what was basically an, "It was alllll a dream," resolution.
I had the same problem. I kept thinking "There's no way he's STILL manipulating every single person in his company, there's no way he could have expected her to do THAT," etc. It's kind of a shame because the rapist was portrayed as being so smart by not allowing them baseline readings with the lie detector and such. This show could use a brilliant evil foil for Lightman who pops up every once in a while.
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post #29 of 31
5/18/09 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor View Post
And it turns out you mentioned that book like ten posts up. And here I thought I was being helpful.
It's cool. I totally forgot I posted about it anyway.
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post #30 of 31
5/18/09 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82 View Post
The formulaic nature of the show makes its attempts to take on 'hard-hitting, controversial' subject matter reek of effort. And yet I enjoy it on a 'sit back and relax' level.

Though, I ended up being fooled by how far Lightman's plan went for the serial rapist episode. I think I can be forgiven though. I didn't realize they'd go that far into what was basically an, "It was alllll a dream," resolution.
I didn't. Roth kept playing it up every time he got upset at the assistant. I was waiting for the reveal. They definitely commited to it though.
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post #31 of 31
5/18/09 at 6:47pm
Yea, I knew the screaming at his assistant was some kind of tactic. I didn't realize that it was all a part of his highly circuitous plan from the very beginning.

EDIT: It's pretty funny when the actors playing his assistants have to start babbling a lot of exposition to explain to the audience how Lightman fooled them all. Soooo clunky. "Ohhhhh, that wascally wabbit!"
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