"Lie to Me" Pilot (2009)

Director:

Robert Schwentke

Writers:

Samuel Baum (creator)
Samuel Baum (written by)

TV Series:

"Lie to Me" (2009)

Original Air Date:

21 January 2009 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Dr. Lightman and Dr. Foster search for the truth in cases involving a devoutly religious high school student accused of killing a teacher, and a congressman accused of having an affair.

Plot Keywords:

Congressman | High School Student | Investigation | Murder | Guilt

Cast

Tim Roth	...	Dr. Cal Lightman
Kelli Williams	...	Dr. Gillian Foster
Monica Raymund	...	Ria Torres
Brendan Hines	...	Eli Loker
Robert Wisdom	...	Bonds
Jake Thomas	...	James Cole
Kathryn Meisle	...	Mary Cole
Scott Paulin	...	Gerald Cole
Hayley McFarland	...	Emily Lightman
Josh Stamberg	...	AUSA Hutchinson
Tim Griffin	...	Principal Castle
Randy Oglesby	...	Congressman Zeb Weil
Tyrees Allen	...	DNC Chairman Baldridge
Tim Guinee	...	Ron Foster
Johanna Braddy	...	Jacquelin Mathis

Runtime:

UK:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby (as Dolby Surround)

Certification:

Netherlands:12

Company:

Imagine Television

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dr. Lightman (Tim Roth) visits the jail to interview the teenage suspect, he looks down through a barred window that has had a bar cut out so the actor's entire face is visible.

Quotes:

Dr. Gillian Foster: Six years ago, Dr Lightman left the deception-detection program he founded for the Defense Department. Together, we started a private firm that works with police, corporations, and almost every Federal agency. We'd like you to come work for us, Ms Torres.
Ria Torres: Why?
Dr. Gillian Foster: You've made seven times more arrests than the average TSA agent, and you scored 97% on the TSA deception diagnostic, which Dr Lightman created.
Cal Lightman: Have you ever had any specialized deception training?
Ria Torres: I've dated a lot of men.
Dr. Gillian Foster: You're one of the naturals. There's an infinitesmal percentage of the population, less than .001, that test nearly perfect without any advanced training.

A Great Show Out Of The Gate, And That's The TRUTH!

With my schedule already overstuffed with new shows I like PLUS returning favorites, I would rather not risk tipping the whole thing over into chaos with one more, thank you very much. But if I HAD to do it, I'm glad it's with something like LIE TO ME. Especially since an actor as great as Tim Roth doesn't just stroll onto the small screen everyday. For him to risk getting tied up in a series, it's got to be something good, and the premise of LIE TO ME is irresistible.

Roth plays Cal Lightman, the one guy you would probably never want to have as a boss. That's because Cal's specialty is dealing with human behavior, in this case the fine art of lying. Well, make that lie DETECTION. In a fascinating conceit, Lightman and his group study everything from body language, to skin temperature, to something called "micro-expressions" - facial tics and tells that can go by in the blink of an eye, but to the trained observer can reveal everything; from what you had for breakfast on your birthday seven years ago, to what you REALLY think about your spouse. Yep, it's that detailed, that incriminating and that startling.

Like most crime procedural shows, the pilot episode shows Lightman dealing with several cases at once, while also setting up his relationships with the rest of the cast: business partner and resident psychologist Gillian Foster (THE PRACTICE'S Kelli Williams); "radical truth-teller" and assistant Eli Loker (Brendan Hines), who has no filter on his ability to edit his feelings or opinions whatsoever, and newcomer Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), a former TSA agent who has an uncanny natural ability to sniff out prevaricators.

A fascinating concept, indeed, if a lot higher than most TV shows shoot for. But we wouldn't expect any less from the same production company that gives us ulcers every week with '24'. One can only hope that an attempt isn't made to shoehorn LIE TO ME into that same kind of genre. This plays much better to the same kind of audience geared towards something like CBS's THE MENTALIST or USA's popular, long-running MONK. Given the proper amount of room to breathe and episodes that continue to be driven more by characters than by car chases and explosions every ten minutes, this is a show that might actually gain some staying power - a minor miracle these days when shows have about the length of a "micro- expression" to gain an audience.