I have already written about my disappointment with Lie to Me. I’ll watch tonight, too, but I’m not sure it’s going to get any better. It’s also hard for me to get invested in the show; my reason for this is in my list of why I think the show is going to be canceled. Pair that with my belief that the show is not going to be with us long, and it is hard for me to get excited about it.
A quick Google search showed me that I’m not the only one who predicts a grim future for the show. Buzzdash did a poll of readers to see who thinks the show will be canceled, and deservedly so, and so far that response is winning. TV by the Numbers tries to predict which shows will be picked up again, and there is an interesting discussion of Lie to Me in the comments. People seem to be equally convinced that if House, 24, and Bones can make it that there is a future for Lie to Me AND that the show will get canceled because it hasn’t resonated with viewers.
Here are the six reasons why I think the show is history:
6. Fox keeps bumping it. It’s hard to develop a rapport with a show when every other week it gets pre-empted for American Idol, which is the most insidious shit on television.
5. It has to try too hard to explain its science. This makes the writing clunky. It’s highly irritating for the show to focus on one or two facial expressions or shoulder twitches per episode and to have actors repeat them over and over so the scientists can say, “See? There’s your murderer.”
4. The two supporting actors can’t act. The character of Eli Loker should be one of the most compelling, because he is radically honest. However, Brendan Hines makes him seem mildly stoned all the time and he’s almost invisible. However, the real turkey award goes to Monica Raymund. She has one facial expression (scowling), which makes her seem almost like a thug. All the time. This worked during her first season when she was a TSA agent, but it’s pretty appalling to see it All The Time.
3. It’s been done before. Better. Almost every single episode of House you’ll see has a cranky protagonist who thinks people are lying and sets out to prove it. Lie to Me is, therefore, irrelevant.
2. Lie to Me is boring. There is no real tension in the “drama” regarding whether or not Cal Lightman’s team will discover the true suspect. There is just a lot of tedious explanation before of how they will do it, followed by a lot of tedious explanation about how they just did it.
1. There is a better show on at the same time, on ABC. It’s called Lost. Now that’s television worth watching.
Clacked by Jen Creer
on Mar 05, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
4 and 5 can be said about House.
shush you! :P I was so happy to see Roth doing some TV and maybe getting some exposure for himself. I don’t get to watch most of the show since Criminal Minds is the spousal fave and I lose.
But I hope…even though what I’ve caught has been mediocre at best.
I has a Roth sad. :(
Amen to that.
I watched the first five seconds of “Lie to Me” and then switched channels because of reasons number 2 and 1. More 2 than 1. And I deleted it without watching more because of 2.
I hope you’re wrong because I enjoy the show. That’s not to say I disagree with your 6 points, or at least not completely.
Okay, I agree COMPLETELY with #6, most especially your comment about the nature of Idol.
I don’t really agree with #5 because a lot of shows do that. The CSIs do a lot of that. The most irritating form is when one of the CSIs (people, not shows) explains some science to another who should already be familiar with it all for the sake of the viewer who usually knows more about it than the writers give us/them credit for.
Agree with #4 only somewhat with regards to Hines, but completely with Thug-Scowl-Raymund who is an attractive woman with an unattractive expression.
I think #3 could be said about a lot of shows that are enjoyed by large audiences.
In addition to agreeing with Oreo about 5 & 6 with regards to House, #2 also applies to that show. Of course House and team will solve the mystery and they’ll do it at the last minute after several missed diagnoses. And like #3 I think it could be said for many shows.
#1 is irrelevent, IMHO. DVR, anyone? Hell, I think 75% of what I watch comes on Monday night.
I like Lie To Me well enough to watch but I find myself frequently feeling frustrated by it because of the writing. For the most part the writers have forgotten everything about building dramatic tension. In Wednesday night’s episode you had two stories that could easily have carried a single episode by themselves mashed into an episode. The net result has been that the stories have been resolved quickly without much in the way of blind alleys or character development. Compare it with a show that I like better (but which doesn’t seem to get any love): Eleventh Hour. You have a similar dynamic in that show – a character who is more knowledgeable than the people around him in a particular area working in consulting role, yet I find Eleventh Hour to be more involving because they deal with one case in an episode and there is dramatic tension. The lead character isn’t always right, at least initially, and they do stumble down a few wrong paths before getting the right answer. Plus I have a far greater feeling that I know something about the characters on that show than I do with the characters on Lie To Me.
It’s fine that you don’t like Lie To Me, but to finish up the post with the suggestion of watching Lost instead? LOL
Any credibility your opinion had kind of vanished.
Your criticisms are on point, except for the fact that Lost hasn’t been any good for several years now.
I love your analysis and can’t wait until this show gets cancelled.
And Dr. Foster (the female lead) is way more boring than Loker or Torres.
All you haters can sit and spin.
‘Lie to Me’ will run for years and years.
It rocks.
Just wait.
I have to disagree with you man. I think it’s way better than Lost. I used to watch Lost but then the theme suddenly “lost” and became ridiculous. I rather spend my time watching Lie To Me because I think the theme is quite new and never been done before. Look at what happen to “Shark”, quite a good series but too many competitors. Hence, had to be canceled.
This is only the first season, that’s why there are many part need to be explained to the audience. If you’re watching the first season of House, it has the same concept too. Need to explain everything and only during the second season all the drama started.
We don’t want the show became like Grey’s Anatomy. Gosh, I hate that show. Too much drama and no medical content whatsoever.
Wow. Lost, for one, SUCKS. I enjoy Lie to Me more than any other show on television right now except for Fringe. I watch American Idol, and I hate it, but it’s addicting. I agree with Hays- it will run for years. You just wait. =]
The more I watch LIE TO ME the more I am realising that it is COMPLETE rubbish. The construction site episode was almost FUNNY. We are led to believe that people are buried alive, so they get in deception experts … ok …
Also, I thought I was hearing things when I heard what the Doctor said one of the buried men. ‘Tell us what happened. There is a man down there who may die.’ Are the makers therefore suggesting that their survival is reliant on telling Dr Foster ‘what happened’! RIDICULOUS. Get it off, and keep it off. What were you thinking Mr Roth!
Seriously? Watching paint dry is more interesting than watching Lost. And watching Lie to Me is incrementally more interesting than watching paint dry, because at least I have the opportunity to learn something. I can’t believe you made that your number one reason…
Though I do agree that American Idol is the most insipid crap known to man. Carry on.