Monsters of Television

Lie to Me is back!  I don’t know how many in the audience share the enthusiasm represented by that exclamation mark, but I have been looking forward to its second season. This show is a pleasant procedural with a strong central actor and enough surprises to keep things interesting. But I saw a glimpse of something in the episode last night, “Beat the Devil,” that provided a vision of…something more. Until this week’s episode, I never knew I wanted more. Now, I’m not sure I can turn back.

Lie to Me is nothing if not reliable. Each week, deception expert Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) overcomes the impossible challenge of distinguishing between a lie and the truth by studying facial expressions and other bodily gestures, proving that science can resolve the most complex of criminal cases.  Along the way, he and his off-beat band of followers, including potential love interest, Dr. Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams), learn lessons about the costs of a commitment to the truth and nothing but.

Sure, the show can be a bit cheesy. For example, when Lightman catches a character in a lie, the camera cuts to still photos of real-life liars (Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, etc.) bearing the same tell-tale expression as the character. Lightman is like a superhero in his invincibility, and his tough guy act can sometimes push the limits of believability. But I kind of like these silly reminders that we only wish someone like Lightman existed.

That said, because Lightman always gets his man, the show can lack suspense. As a procedural, the plot drives viewers to question how Lightman will catch the bad guy—not whether he will catch the bad guy.  I’m beginning to wonder if that is enough for me as a viewer.

This week, Lightman visited the college classroom of a former lover in order to teach the students about his techniques. One student, Martin (Jason Dohring from Veronica Mars and Moonlight), immediately questions something Lightman says, so Lightman invites him to a challenge.

Foster hands the student a pile of photos and Lightman asks him to select one photo and describe it. If Lightman can determine whether the student is lying about the image in the photo, he will give the student $100. Martin describes a photo of a young, attractive woman. Lightman studies Martin’s tone and expression and concludes that he is lying. Martin shows him that the photo indeed features a young, attractive woman. From this incident, Lightman determines that Martin is a sociopath.

As has been a feature of past episodes, Lightman struggles to convince the police and his co-workers that he is not jealous, embarrassed, arrogant, overshooting, or simply wrong.  He is, eventually, proven correct. Here’s where I began to want something more.

In one of his early interactions with Martin, Lightman finds himself intrigued by the young man’s arrogance. They play a bit of cat and mouse, and for once, it seems Lightman will truly be challenged by this one. Sure, the audience never has to doubt whether Lightman is correct about the young man being completely nuts, but remember, this is a program about how he proves the truth, not whether he can identify the truth.

When Martin challenges Lightman, suggesting he will be unable to prove Martin is a murderer, I wanted Martin to be right. I suddenly envisioned an entire season during which Lightman would repeatedly run into Martin, knowing that Martin is secretly killing young women but unable to stop him.

I wanted to see Lightman meet his match, to be pushed truly to the limits of his abilities, to doubt himself.   I wanted to see Dohring develop his character beyond a charming smile and dangerous eyes.   I wanted Lightman to develop a more complicated relationship with Foster than the current hint of romance that underlies their interactions. I thought, “I kind of want Lightman to meet his Trinity Killer (John Lithgow’s character on season 4 of Dexter).”

Alas, it was not to be. Lightman exposes Martin in a lame ruse and order is restored. But my brief fantasy made me wonder if this second season will have a longer arc that bridges each stand-alone episode. Though character can be developed through a loose collection of episodes unified by form or content, it seems that throwing a bigger obstacle in Lightman’s path might push his development further more quickly. And Lord knows, Roth can pull it off.

In other news, a doubting Torres (Monica Raymund) must help Loker (Brendan Hines) prove a professor witnessed a UFO sighting. For a show that makes such a point of science, this foray into the extra-terrestrial seemed odd. But that was kind of the point—Torres knows the professor is not lying but does not want to let her rational mind go there. Loker always plays the oddball, and I enjoy his interactions with Torres as his straight man. But again, because Torres does not doubt her own abilities in reading the professor, the viewer questions how they will save the professor’s veracity rather than witnessing a deeper interrogation of their methods and personal fallibility.

I’ll continue to watch Lie to Me for its fun and for its actors. But now I’m afraid I’ll keep hoping for a bit more.