The premise of Lie to Me is that it follows Dr. Cal Lightman, a human lie detector. Lightman, and his associates, use body language, facial twitches using the Facial Action Coding System, and microexpressions to identify who is telling the truth and who is lying. The idea being that people can control what they say but facial twitches, body language and microexpressions happen without the person even knowing. Therefore by asking the right questions Dr Lightman can tell who is lying and who is telling the truth.
There is a wealth of various detective shows coming out of the United States, and most focus on the idea of forensic science to solve crimes, CSI or Bones, are prime examples. Which means that for a new crime-solving show to catch the attention of its audience it has to offer something different. Lie to Me does exactly that (and doesn't always focus on just solving crime).
Lie To Me's Cast and Their Specialities
Tim Roth is superbly cast as Dr Cal Lightman, and not only manages to manipulate those skilled liars he has to deal with into revealing the truth, but shows the burden of being unable to switch off his particular talent. There is a moment when he is walking down the street at the end of one episode and knows that the people around him are lying to the people they are talking to.
Working for the Lightman Group is Dr. Gillian Foster (Kelly Williams) Lightman’s colleague and co-worker. Eli Loker (Brendan Hines) who believes in radical honesty which means he rarely lies and is honest to the point of seeming rude. New member Ria Torres (Monica Raymund) is Lightman’s protégée and possess a natural ability to read people, something that took Lightman years to master.
For the most part each episode is an enclosed story which means that it is very easy to join the show even if you have missed episodes. The stories also vary from being about catching a copycat serial rapist to a millionaire wishing to know if his fiancé is marrying him for his money or because she truly loves him.
One of the factors which make the show such a delight to watch are the moments when the viewer attempts to spot the twitches on the subject’s face and see what Lightman sees. This means that there is some audience participation, unlike other shows in which someone might try and guess who is the killer, the audience can scrutinise the faces of the people around them trying to spot evidence of deception.
Why Lie to Me Is Fresh and Original
During a time when forensic science is proving that whilst people lie the facts never do, it is refreshing for there to be another way of solving crimes, and the cast of Lie to Me play their parts exceptionally well.
Possibly the only real drawback of the series is that no one ever seems to get passed Lightman, it is indicated that he has missed things in the past, but even during the episodes where he seems to have been caught out ultimately shows that in fact he hasn’t. Which does show that he is just that good at what he does, but doesn’t leave any room for human errors, everyone make mistakes from time to time.
Lightman’s inability to see anything other than the truth also creates much of the show’s tension because he sees something wrong with Foster’s husband, but obviously struggles with whether or not to tell his friend of his suspicions.
4/5
Lie to Me Season 1 is essential viewing and fans wishing to see a new way of solving crime will not be disappointed.
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