With Disney+ finally in the Philippines, I finally got to see what all the buzz was about. I signed up for an annual subscription package and as soon as I checked the shows and movies in there, I knew that I got my money’s worth with it.
I discovered that there were old shows that I loved in the past that were on Disney+. Shows that I used to wait for on cable TV once a week for years. This time, I could binge-watch all the seasons as often as I wanted. There were so many to choose from that I did not know where to start! I eventually picked a show that only had three seasons, the 2009 crime drama called Lie to Me starring Tim Roth.
Lie to Me is about Cal Lightman, a man who specializes in facial micro-expressions and the use of psychology to gauge whether people are telling the truth or not. His company, The Lightman Group, serves various clients, and the show features how they assist in cases of the FBI.
Cal Lightman is such a quirky lead character. He can be very weird, and he can be very annoying, but he is always right. He says what is on his mind and does not apologize for it one bit. I love that the portrayal of this lead character is as someone who has his share of faults but also has qualities that made him redeemable at the same time. I loved the relationship Cal has with his daughter – for me that is the part that emphasized the fact that he is not such a bad guy no matter how he tries to portray himself as one.
It was interesting to look back on the episodes and see all the ways that they used facial micro-expressions to determine what a person was thinking and how psychology was used in partnership with that to find answers. I remember the first time that I watched this show all those years ago I went through this phase where I would (often unintentionally) stare at people because I was trying to see if what they were talking about in the show was true. If sometime around 2009-2011 you saw me weirdly staring at you, this show might have been the reason for it.
According to promotional material for the show, the character of Cal Lightman was loosely based on a certain Dr. Paul Ekman, who researches the use of micro-expressions for lie detection. They meant loosely because it was based more on the science than on the person since Cal Lightman is so quirky and unusual. Tim Roth portrays him well you would think he acts like Lightman in real life.
There were only three seasons of this show. With only around 45 minutes per episode, it was a quick watch for me since I had it playing every morning while I worked out. I was pleasantly surprised to see Black Panther actors Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan in the show in guest roles. It made me wonder if the people in the series could tell how big these two guys would become. I know I had no idea since I did not even remember that they were there.
If you are in any way interested in crime dramas and psychology, this is a good show to watch. According to articles I have seen online, the science portrayed in the show is around 90% accurate (with shortcuts made because of how short each episode is), which has me staring at people’s faces all over again.
It was a good show to start my throwback binge with. I am excited to watch a bunch of other shows soon!
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