Lie To Me could be such a good show. Tim Roth is really magnetic as Cal Lightman, the runty little brain-box who can read anyone’s facial expressions. Kelli Williams is awfully good as his second-in-command. And the last two episodes, including this week’s, have included Melissa George, who I gather more of you know from Grey’s Anatomy but for me she’s the former Alias irritant who seduced Gabriel Byrne in In Treatment. (And I intend that last sentence as a high compliment.)
The problem this week, as usual for the series, is that the plots don’t equal the quality of the acting. Who really cared about the whole who-shot-the-cop-and-why mystery Cal had to solve? It was everything around the edges that made the hour enjoyable. Cal having to appeal to investors for a loan to keep The Lightman Group afloat. Cal getting low-boil furious when some cops pulled his daughter in on a drug charge. And Cal and Melissa George’s Clara sharing what looked like cold grilled cheese sandwiches from a street vendor. (Where do you get such rancid-looking things?)
I have no idea what Lie To Me is going to be like next season. The Shield‘s Shawn Ryan came and went as the season-two show-runner; the quality of the interaction between the regulars improved, but he didn’t stick around to fix the mediocre plots dilemma. It looks as though Melissa George may be hanging around for a while, which is fine by me. I’d watch her and Roth engage in even so-so badinage, because they both look like they’re having fun.
If I was running Lie To Me, I’d clear the joint of everyone except Roth and Williams, sign up George as a regular, and reboot The Lightman Group as a kind of procedural-in-reverse: Instead of ever leaving the office to visit a crime scene, Cal becomes a new sort of Nero Wolfe (read the books), making the clients and suspects come to him, solving every crime inside his office’s high-tech interrogation box.
But at bottom, my question is, is fun between the stars of a show enough? It is for many viewers with a series such as Castle. Is it for Lie To Me? Come on — tell me the truth.
Follow: @kentucker
thanks for covering Lie to Me. it can use the exposure.
ken’s right. the show COULD be so much better. to answer the question, the roth-williams dynamic is enough to keep me a loyal viewer! Flightman, ftw!
I totally agree! I don’t really care about the plot. I LOVE the show for Roth. And the Lightman-Foster heat is enough to keep me thoroughly enthralled!!! They need to get it on!
i like lie to me..always have..i think it is better than ever..hope it can keep up the great work..
I thought last night was great. I was trying to figure out what George was up to. I was not 100% sure the good cop was in on the crime.. and the scheme behind it was interesting. I have really enjoyed Monica Raymund too it would be stupid to cut her lose.
I totally agree that Roth and Williams are what keep me watching the show. They could retool the rest of the cast but that won’t make a difference unless the stories are interesting. I am holding out hope that the stories get better because I want to enjoy the show but the charm of Roth can only hold me for so long.
I actually started watching this show when it premiered because Brendan Hines was in the cast, and he was immensely charming as a recurring character on the tragically short-lived show The Middleman. However, you’re absolutely right that his character and that of Ria do nothing for the show, and it’s the dynamic between Cal and Gillian that makes it worth watching. Everything in this post hits the nail on the head… I enjoy Lie to Me and would like to see it improve. Hopefully next season.
It’s a good thing you’re not running “Lie to Me” then.
In what world would a one-set drama be a fun hour of television–let alone good for ratings? One of the draws of “Lie to Me” is seeing Cal and the gang in the real world having to deal with liars as we encounter them every day. The interrogation room is limited to the heavy hitters who really have something to hide.
Also, getting rid of Loker and what’s-her-name would be a bad move. They complete the ensemble cast with their personalities and character traits. You get rid of them and it’s just two learned scientists solving cases. They add a lot to the show, and it wouldn’t be the same without them.
The show has really upped the stakes in its summer return, and I enjoy the direction it’s heading. Not every episode needs to have Cal’s life threatened by mobsters, but when it does, I trust them to do it right.
clearly ‘what’s-her-name’ adds so much to the show for you…
Torres. whats-her-name is Ria Torres, the only “natural” reader of the bunch. I’m also a fan of Mekhi Phifer’s character, Reynolds.
I think they need to use Loker and Torres a little more and draw out the Lightman-Foster heat foe as long as they can – it’s working on Bones. Foster needs to live a little after the divorce not re-bound and I love when they include Cal’s daughter – it’s an obvious ploy to make him seem like less of an *ss but it works
I love “Lie to Me” but you’re right about the plots. They usually don’t live up to the acting. I adore Tim Roth and hate this show is not living up to his acting chops. Still, I do look forward to it every week.
Unlike you, I do not appreciate the irritant of Melissa George. I will always think of her as the double agent on Alias and therefore have a knee-jerk negative reaction to her. Plus, I want Kelli Williams to get the spotlight more than her.
While I know Melissa George as the annoying British friend of Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy who took the sideplot with the interns to a whole new low.
I will ALWAYS know george as the irritant that forced herself on us in ALIAS and almost ruined the show. then, she forced herself on us, again unneccessarily*, in Grey’s during a rocky season. therefore, whenever I see her, I fear for a show as she can be unbearable to watch
Thanks for this post. I completely agree. This show has some great actors which makes it unfortunate that the writing isn’t on the same level. I love Lie to Me and hate that of all the popular mediocre procedurals in the world, this one is still under ppl’s radar. The show has so much potential, I hope it gets more time.
Melissa George bugs me so much if she becomes a regular then I am done with Lie To Me. I couldn’t stand her on Alias and her stint on Grey’s Anatomy was torture. Sometimes I realize it is the character, in this case it most definetly is the actress.
Lie to Me need a multi episode story arc. The characters and their interactions are wonderful but the episodes are such one-offs and they never have to do with one another. Example Loker almost gets killed by a bomb but no one talks or mentions it past that episode. It just needs some continuity.
Bingo! You just hit the nail squarely on the head and knocked it clean through the wall. That’s the one and only problem with this show. They should have multi-episode story arcs, or maybe an entire season major story-line with interspersed single episode dramas. A good example of what I’m talking about is the first season of Murder One from back in the day. I don’t know if anyone remembers it, but it set the bar on how story-arcs should go.
It’s a two-fer. On the one hand, you have a major story that drags you in and keeps you interested in following the series, and on the other hand you have single episode mysteries for the people who don’t like serial formats. Hopefully, if they stick around originally for the episodic stories, they get drawn into the serial plot as well.
I’m fine with the characters, though I admit I’m wary of the sudden addition of Melissa George, and I didn’t even know her from anything. I never watched Alias, and you would have to pay me big bucks to watch Grey’s Anatomy.
PatrickKelley I agree with you, I love the show’s concept. But you can always know that by the end of the episode that they will find who lied and that’s it. No plot twist or interesting continuing story. (the Lightman group going broke and rich again episode by episode is not a interesting continuing story.) Also Lightman is to cocky at times, which piss me off and the supporting characters just take it every episode from him. They need to step and make a continuing story to a bigger plot like the other shows on T.V. that is not getting canceled (House, Bones, V) And what happen to Ben Reynolds on the show he is weak and too honest on the show, this add to the shows lack of a interesting plot . At the end of your hour Light man find out the he is always right, yells and treats bad his colleague cause he is an ass and doesn’t ever get the girl Dr. Gillian Foster. Next episode.
I always think the same thing when I see Melissa George — Vaughan’s evil wife/seductress of old therapists. I hated her so much on Alias, but I kinda liked her in In Treatment.
I agree. I can’t look at Melissa George without thinking of the debacle on Alias and what little emotion she exhibits as she watches Josh Hartnett burn to a crisp at the end of “30 Days of Night”! I love the dynamic between Roth and Williams and we don’t need George in the way, especially since we already dispatched Tim Guinee as Williams cheating husband. I have always liked Brendan Hines as Loker. Wasn’t too crazy about Monica Raymund’s Torres at first but she is growing on me and Loker and Torres are good together. I am okay with Mekhi Phifer as Reynolds but I think we could do without George and keep the daughter and ex-wife relegated to occasional status.
I think of her in “In Treatment” and thought she was pretty awesome in that role.
I must admit that I really like Brendan Hines’ Loker. Of course Roth and Williams are terrific. The show is definitely not appointment television for me, but when I catch an ep it’s usually a pretty ok effort. Obviously not great like you say, or I would’ve become a bigger fan.
I didn’t start watching this show until the end of last season and only caught it when it was on, but what I saw, I loved, and it made me DVR the second season. So far I have loved it, have never seen any problem with it, until you pointed out how mediocre the plots have been.
I thought through it, and I agree. The acting, of course, is brilliant. Love Roth and Williams. Loker and Torres are good, not great, but they’re growing on me. And at first I didn’t like have Beals on the show, but she has grown on me, and I love the daughter, Emily/Mcfarland. I think she plays a really good daughter with having Roth as the father, they just blend well together.
I have to say though, that I prefer not having Melissa George on the show. I never saw her in Alias or whichever show she was on before, only in 30 Days of Night, and . . . I just don’t think she is that great of an actress. I’d prefer Williams to have the airtime that George is taking up.
Let’s hope that season 3, the plots get better. I’m hoping, but I’m a huge fan of this show no matter what . . . I just hope it doesn’t go anywhere.
Agree! Would much rather see more of Kelli Williams than Melissa George (who will always be Laura from In Treatment to me.)
I really enjoyed the show – but the plots began to have a been there done that quality, similar to The Mentalist.
I’ve given up on Memphis Beat – the leads are too serious for the show to be “off-beat”, the supporting cast is too “off-beat” to be serious and the plots seem more attuned to a show about a social worker starring Kellie Martin.
Meh, Can’t get too excited about this show.