Fox’s new mixed bag

Can you tell a lie? And if so, can you do it in such a way that will get you out of a sticky situation?

Regardless of your answer, “the truth is written on all our faces” no matter how hard we try and conceal it, according to the slogan of Fox’s new TV series “Lie to Me.”

The series aired its first two episodes in the past two weeks. The show, starring Tim Roth, is about a private agency that assists in solving murder cases by using clues from people’s body language and facial expressions.

But while the concept is interesting, it may not necessarily hit the spot for all viewers.
Paul Ekman, a psychology professor at the University of California, wrote the book “Telling Lies,” on which the series is based.

A lie is when “one person intends to mislead another, doing so deliberately, without prior notification of this purpose, and without being explicitly asked to do so by the target,” Ekman said in his book.

In the show, private investigators gather clues from someone’s facial expressions, body language and speech to determine whether they are lying.

People often hide their true emotions behind their lies, and most of the time their emotions can overpower the front they are presenting.

“Lying is such a central characteristic of life that better understanding of it is relevant to all human affairs,” Ekman said.

So Fox has presented audiences with a new angle to solving murder cases.
Cal Lightman (Tim Roth), Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams)  and Ria Torres (Monica Raymund) team up to question murder suspects by using their expertise on lying to solve each case.

Lightman is a deception expert and scientist in facial expressions and body movement, and he not only tries to discover if the person in question is lying, but why the person is doing it as well.

One good quality about the show is that it is filled with fun and quirky facts about lying and liars, all based on Ekman’s book.

Small and seemingly insignificant details give audiences new ways to go about looking at the narrative and perhaps even real life.

The show has its funny parts as well. Roth’s character uses his expertise to his advantage when he questions his daughter’s boyfriend about whether or not the couple would have sex.

The program wasn’t all that great, though. Slipping in and out of concentration made it difficult to stay focused on the case. The plot line wasn’t anything not seen on “Law and Order.”

Although the show has its interesting elements, I’d advise against putting it in your DVR’s weekly schedule. It was neither excellent nor awful, but I can give it the benefit of the doubt – it’s only been two episodes, after all.

If you are at home with nothing to do on Wednesday nights at 9, give it a try. You may like it; you may not. It’s definitely a mixed bag.

Who knows? By the time you turn off the TV, you may know something about the art of lying you never knew before.