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There’s an old dirty joke that goes something like
this (I’ve cleaned it up a bit); Pinocchio gets seduced
by the Good Fairy. They’re in bed together and she tells
him she’ll make him a real boy if he puts a certain part
of his anatomy in another part of hers. Her one request—“LIE
TO ME”. ***
While the popular TV show featuring Tim Roth has nothing
to do with Pinocchio directly it is about the tells that
people demonstrate giving away the fact that they are lying.
Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) demonstrates that lies are as
close as some people get to the truth so that they can achieve
their own agenda. Using everything from what he calls micro
expressions little tells that anyone can leave whether it
be raising an eyebrow slightly or a nervous tick that everyone
else misses. Lightman who fancies himself a human lie detector
uses his skills along with that of Gillian Foster, Ria Torres
and Eli Loker to help others determine lies from the truth
and prevent their clients from being taken or helping the
police capture a serial rapist. What’s interesting is that
the skills that Lightman demonstrates are quite real and
the work of Dr. Paul Ekman. The producers bring just enough
sense of reality to the series to prevent the show from
running off a cliff and losing the audience. In many respects
the little tells that Lightman discusses with those he works
with are training for us as a member of the audience and
we, in turn, become Lightman’s pupils. ***
The show could become an exercise in futility if not
for a strong cast and Roth sells the entire experience with
his intense, intelligent performance as Lightman. Equally
as strong are the supporting cast for the series and even
when the episodes border on the silly the cast manages to
save the day. Conviction in performance can sell just about
anything and Roth is an expert and selling us on the plots
in these 16 episodes. No lie. ---
Image & Sound:
The image quality is a mixed bad. While colors and
detail in most of the episodes are very strong for anybody
or thing that is the focus of the camera, background detail
is often soft. This probably has more to do with the fact
that this is shot with digital handheld cameras than any
other reason. While this gives the show a sense of “reality”
making it appear as if it was shot by someone with a home
digital video camera, it can often be distracting particularly
in the wrong hands or within the wrong context. It wasn’t
as big an issue in shows such as “Battlestar Galatica” or
“24” but it is here where the dramatic elements are less
often punctuated by action. ***
Audio sounds quite good with a nice, smooth 5.1 DD
mix. Although the surround speakers are used sparingly during
the show they are effectively used when they are engaged.
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