Forum Overview :: The Netflix Instant Forum :: Lie to Me

[quote name="fabio"]<i>Psych</i> is a show about an immature manchild with a deductive photographic memory for details who opens up a psychic detective agency. For some reason he cannot simply tell the police his deductions but must put on a pantomime show for them or else he'll be arrested? It's like Colombo if he had to convince everyone aliens told him who the murderer was. <i>Lie to Me</i> is a show about a guy who studies body language and can tell when someone is lying. It is also the sillier of the two. The guy can spot all lies because he spent 2 years living with African tribes. He opens up a multi million (billion?) dollar business in a sleek building the size of FBI headquarters who is constantly sought after by every company and government in the world for lie detection. Both shows go into zoomed in slow motion "clue mode" whenever the main character notices something. So <i>Lie to Me</i> quickly becomes what Psych would be if it only dealt with facial expressions. Unfortunately, the show writer's understanding of it comes off like a first semester freshman psych student: thinking they're masters of the human psyche in a field that isn't an exact science. Just like <i>Rounders</i> wanted you to believe that professional card sharks twist off oreos whenever they're bluffing, <i>Lie to Me</i> wants you to buy that everyone breaks out into a Dick Cheney snarl every time they hide the truth. They do this by flashing pictures of Dick Cheney whenever it happens. Since every character at the "truth agency" (run by Mr. <b>Lightman</b>) is equally an expert, they try to differentiate them by giving each a pointless quirk. One eats kids deserts! One took a vow of "radical honesty" which is just a fancy name for Tourette syndrome. Lightman channels a British version of Hugh Laurie. The show's humor is one character explaining that he's late for work because he spent too much time fantasizing about Nancy Grace. ha ha?[/quote]