A Man. And His Blog.

Similar to CASTLE, I’m not really much into LIE TO ME these days. The second season was good, but as forgettable as CASTLE in its average days, so I don’t really believe that I will go back to loving LIE TO ME, as I did during the first season. And figuring that Shawn Ryan had left the series after the second season finale, I didn’t think that the series will deliver much new stuff.

The season premiere was good. Of course it brought an “X hours earlier” twist, but at least the writers did better in this episode and resolved the teaser in the middle of the episode, instead of three minutes before the end. The story was interesting, and it brought some tension between Lightman (Tim Roth) and Mike (Shawn Doyle) – I loved the situation in the bank minutes before the hit was taking place, and Lightman trying to convince Mike to get out the door. And even more, I loved the scenes during the bank heist. They weren’t complicated, they weren’t relying on heavy action; instead it was just a thrilling scene, waiting for Lightman’s final sabotage act, and getting it, when everybody was pulling out their guns in the bank – nice little twist. Okay, maybe a bit predictable, but it looked cool that Lightman and his new future-girlfriend Sharon (Monique Gabriela Curnen) had everything under control. The episode could have delivered something for Mike though. Somehow, his fate was missing at the end, though Steph (Hedy Burress) got the happy end she needed to move on.

That the writers took the easy way of erasing Reynolds out of the show is not blamable, but I’m kinda not happy that they wrote him out of the show, just to have him replaced by Sharon. It almost looks like she will be Lightman’s new contact within the police, and that is just the lamest way of replacing a character, which could not be needed anymore. Even more, I didn’t like the story within The Lightman Group. Somehow, the dynamic between Eli (Brendan Hines) and Ria (Monica Raymund) is very awkward (as if the writers were preparing for a possible romance between the two), but then they want to tell me that Eli is kinda above Lightman, looking for a new job. I just don’t know what to make of it, especially since Eli should be the VP of the firm (does anybody remember the second-to-last episode of the second season?). What happened?

A good season premiere, sadly it didn’t prepare any season-long story arcs. But at least it was thrilling, when the bank heist was happening. 7.5/10

Cal's new partner in crime: Sharon Wallowski

And during the bank heist...

The second season aired between September 2009 and September 2010 on FOX

Based on the real-life scientific discoveries of Paul Ekman, the series follows Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues of The Lightman Group accepting assignments from third parties (commonly local and federal law enforcement), and assisting in investigations, reaching the truth through applied psychology: interpreting micro expressions, through the Facial Action Coding System, and body language.

Episode 01: The Core of It
I wrote a review about it last year (so long ago). Click here to read it. 8/10

Episode 02: Truth or Consequences
This was a likable episode with two interesting cases, even though the main case about the statutory rape was completely predictable from the beginning until the end. Nonetheless was it an interesting case for Cal Lightman, because it somehow involved his daughter Emily (Hayley McFarland) and he had to play a father again. I loved the scenes between Tim Roth and Hayley McFarland in the first season, and I was glad to see her in the main cast now. I am still not sure, in which stories she will be involved in, but this one was a good beginning, despite all the predictable scenes.
The rape story is completely stereotype and I knew every lie before Cal did, and that Kate (Crystal Young) was behind all of this, was obvious from the beginning. That it would involve a pact between high school students was a cliché and that the pact involved having sex for the first time with a college student during a frat party was just… too much of a teen movie. I just don’t understand, why Kate told her father about the sex, so that he was thinking she was raped. That story came a bit awkward. She could have sworn secrecy to herself and got her camera back. Why not simple go back to the frat house and take the camera, why telling the father and risking him flipping out about it?
The usual boring second case of the episode was interesting this time. Okay, the beginning was a bit lame and just another one of these “filler cases” to not only get the episode into full length, but let the other characters from The Lightman Group involved. The whole religious group slash cult slash prison is an old theme, but still interesting, and despite the lame beginning the case turned into a nice private vendetta for Gillian (Kelli Williams). Even though I can’t really understand, why she is so eager to help the woman escape. She could have easily give an anonymous tip to the police, or she could have investigate, or she could have got Cal into this case. Why was she thinking she is the only one who can save the woman (and maybe the other women, who were non-believers) It seems like the writers wanted to give every character an out of character moment once in a while. But I liked it; maybe it will have some consequences for Gillian. 7.5/10

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The second season of FOX’s Lie to Me started yesterday and I thought about giving some words for it, because Lie to Me is accomplishing something, which I didn’t believe it would happen so soon: Lie to Me is growing on me like The Mentalist did during its first season; it gets more and more one of my favorite crime procedural shows. But if Lie to Me manages to have more character development for the characters in the second row, especially Ria Torres (Monica Raymund) and Eli Loker (Brendan Hines) and now with FBI agent Ben Reynolds (Mekhi Phifer) in the main cast, this show can overrun The Mentalist and get a position right behind Bones (still my favorite crime procedural series).
The season opener was interesting, even though the producers didn’t change anything in to the series’ setting. Still two cases per episode – one more important, one less important – and still not really visible character development outside of the world of Cal Lightman (Tim Roth). He still gets all the screentime and he still is the most important person amongst the characters. This has to change in this season, when the writers want to keep my interest. Eli didn’t even had enough screentime, just two, three short scenes in which he did a little joke and otherwise just sitting in front of screens and watching something. Ria took the boring case of the future supreme court nominee and was the same like in the whole first season. With the exception that she actually took a seat at Cal’s office table (and I thought she would storm out of his office). Gillian (Kelli Williams) is still the reasonable character without any real change (except the pink dress she wore at the end and her divorce); I just hope that she gets a new story, after the one with Alec is over now. And hopefully Eli and Ria are getting a storyline of their own. And the whole story about Sophie (Erika Christensen), a girl with disassociative identity disorder, was intriguing. Not only was Christensen giving a really nice performance with the portrayal of four different characters (even though it wasn’t really believable at the beginning), but the case itself was interesting and not one of the “let’s fill the episode with some useless investigation crap” like other crime shows have to offer.
Ben and Emily (Hayley McFarland) being in the main cast might be a right choice. Ben, because his FBI status brings The Lightman Group more often into police cases, and Emily to accompany the private life of Cal, even though I don’t know how the writers can give her real stories for the whole season. Lie to Me is more character based and I think Emily will just be the daughter of Cal, without actual teenage problems, drugs, sex or whatever. Like Alan in Numb3rs. Or Cho in The Mentalist’s first season.

Lie to Me managed to get more interesting than it was in the first season. It might not be a simple crime procedural anymore, instead the new producers (Shawn Ryan took over as showrunner) made some interesting changes, which could lead into a serialized story during the second season. And not only Cal’s family life with daughter Emily and ex-wife Zoe (Jennifer Beals), but the other characters are on the edge of experiencing more than just their job.
8 out of 10 points.

Based on the real-life scientific discoveries of Paul Ekman, the series follows Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues of The Lightman Group accept assignments from third parties (commonly local and federal law enforcement), and assist in investigations, reaching the truth through applied psychology: interpreting micro expressions, through the Facial Action Coding System, and body language.

Episode 01: Pilot
Interesting introduction into the series and a good first episode. Sure, stories and characters are stereotype, nothing new and predictable, but I still liked it. It was interesting to see two cases in the first episode – and it wasn’t even that much, together with the introduction of the characters.
The episode had some god funny moments, which leads me to the conclusion that this show will be a Bones copy some time. And I hope so, because it is a good premise and I need something like a Bones copy. I am just asking myself, how many TV shows are existing with investigators who are not even in law enforcement?!??! Or how they can question a suspect or witness without being lawyers, cops or whatever present? 7,5/10

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