If you go by the episodic and thematic formula of Lie to Me and compare it to that of House and every other crime procedural out there, you end up with a conclusion that flies in the face of its cancellation: this show should have gone on much longer. Tim Roth was an excellent leading man as Cal Lightman, an expert in reading facial cues, and he had a capable supporting cast and writing with just enough bite (expertly handled by Roth) to make each episode fun if not compelling. So what happened? Despite borrowing House’s eccentric method to solving mysteries and the belief that everyone lies to a show about investigating crimes, Lie to Me couldn’t create enough momentum to keep Cal and his associates in business for the long haul.
Dr. Cal Lightman is an expert in the field of interpreting microexpressions, a controversial field of science, and his firm consults on cases for independent clients and government agencies. The third season starts with Lightman’s publisher giving him an ultimatum, telling him to deliver the book he took the large cash advance for or prepare for litigation. He opts to begin writing instead, but finds the words don’t exactly flow from his brain to the page, and fueling his delay tactics is a steady stream of cases and flirtations that consistently put him and his firm in harm’s way. Furthermore, conflict abounds within the ranks of his firm as his partner Dr. Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams) tires of his hostile attitude towards clients and the threat of litigation his authorship procrastination has brought along. Lightman and his assistant Loker (Brendan Hines) continue to butt heads over Loker’s role within the firm and his feeling underappreciated as an asset. Torres (Monica Raymund) on the other hand, the other employee, takes on an increasing amount of responsibility with each new job even as she attempts to mend the gap between Loker and Lightman.
Lightman’s professional life receives a number of complications thanks to the women he pursues, each of whom have their own set of emotional, ethical, and legal problems. Just like in the prior two seasons, the writers dance around the will they-won’t they tension between Foster and Lightman as the latter parades each new romantic entanglement before her, making his problems in love her headaches. It’s a great wrinkle for the Foster-Lightman relationship but it also creates a sense that the writers have intended to milk this phase but didn’t have a sense of pacing, because just as they write the ending to the love between Lightman and his police officer lover Detective Wallowski (Monique Gabriela Curnen), they start him with Tricia Helfer. Yes, it was a plot device for one particular episode’s crime, but it came right on the heels of the Wallowski fandango and cheapened the circumstances. The writers made such a big deal about the outcome of Wallowski’s story compromising Foster’s ethical code and how that affected her view of Lightman, but then it seems like Lightman cared so little about the romance that he could move on to the next woman in the very next episode, which then makes it seem like Foster compromised for nothing. If that’s the case, Lightman looks like a scumbag and not just the arrogant ass that he’s supposed to be.
Much of Lie to Me’s comedy stems from the squirrelly mannerisms of Tim Roth, but what really makes it funny is how the cast responds with a mix between exasperation and skepticism. It’s exactly what the show needs to keep the somber case matter light, but it’s also the style that takes advantage of both Roth’s and the rest of the cast’s characterizations. Lie to Me might not have accumulated the dramatic threads to keep audiences strung along into a fourth season, but it was never short on the comedy, and that’s something.
DVD Bonus Features
There’s not much here, but the interview with Tim Roth via the Fox Movie Channel offers a few laughs, which is good because otherwise the set’s extras would be nothing but deleted scenes.
"Lie to Me: The Complete Final Season" is on sale October 4, 2011 and is not rated. Crime, Drama, Mystery. Directed by Michael Offer, Daniel Sackheim, Vahan Moosekian. Written by Samuel Baum. Starring Tim Roth, Kelli Williams, Monica Raymund, Brendan Hines, Monique Gabriela Curnen.
