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Lies and the lying liars who lie - it may be an Al Franken book, but it’s also a show starring Tim Roth about a group of independent contractors who out lies and solve crimes.

Roth plays Dr. Cal Lightman, an emotionless scientist who is a walking, talking lie detector, thanks to his ability to decipher microexpressions, body language and famous examples through recent history. With his trusty sidekicks, the sweet-toothed Dr. Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams, The Practice), the painfully honest Eli Loker (Brendan Hines, The Middleman) and Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), the natural, they play detached consultants to mostly crime fighting organizations though they often step over their boundaries as lie detectors to just plain detecting and figure out whodunit.

Loosely based on the life of Dr. Paul Ekman, the show starts with Lightman and Foster recruiting Torres, who works as TSA Agent. Though Lightman recruits her, he shows great disdain for people with natural abilities interpreting lies instead of obtaining their skills through years of study and school. It is in this first interpersonal relationship that Lightman is outed as a less-than-likable character, cold and unfeeling with no perceptible charms or good natured quirks; he is a little angry under his cold exterior, but mostly flat - a grave disappointment from Tim Roth, who usually hits his performances out of the park, even in duds like the latest Hulk film (and let’s not even discuss the brilliance of films like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead). Though Lightman’s insanely perceptive tricks are a little fun, for the most part they smack of stiff writing and lame potshots at famous liars and obvious lies (Nixon, Clinton, etc.). This show has it’s very own special stick for beating dead horses, and the famous example snark is more miss than hit.

Procedural dramas are one of my favorite brands of television show, and Lie to Me features quite a bit of puzzle solving, procedural plot lines. From a high school kid who, ostensibly, killed his teacher to a senator who may or may not be lying about an affair with a call girl, or Americans about to be executed in a foreign country to terrorist attacks, like the Scooby gang, this team is always ready to get to the truth through the lies they are told.

This set has thirteen episodes, a featurette called “The Truth About Lies” which is kind of fun and some deleted scenes, but the show, and therefore this box set, has one major disadvantage - The Mentalist. Released roughly the same time as this show, The Mentalist runs a very similar premise with more style, humor, and better procedural finesse. While watching season one of The Mentalist on DVD made me a fan, Lie to Me just made me bored.

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