The Positively Positive

Well after what felt like the longest hiatus ever, a brand new Lie To Me finally came on the air last night and boy was I happy to see it return.

In this episode, Cal once again goes up against a raging lunatic. The problem this time is that no one believes him. He finds the man not during a case given to him by the FBI, but while simply doing a lecture for an old friend. A student in the class appears to get the upper hand on Cal but really all he’s done is expose himself for what he is, a murderer. From then on, Cal never lets up until finally he finds himself at the business end of the other man’s psychosis and uses nothing but his mind to get out of it.

Right before posting this review, I looked up the actor who played the psychopath (Martin) and discovered it was Jason Dohring from Moonlight. I never saw that show but after watching his performance in this episode, I think I may have to rent it. The funniest part though was realizing that I used to teach his younger siblings horseback riding back when I worked as a riding instructor. Small world. LOL.

My favorite bits…

Knowing as soon as I saw the headlights on the car that it would turn out to be a guy bringing a woman to the woods to bury her and wondering what that says about me. Maybe I watch a little too much tv.

Also knowing the moment the guy in the class contradicted Lightman that he was the guy driving the car. I never doubted it for a second.

Getting a shiver when Lightman pointed out that the guy couldn’t like whatever was in the picture and it turned out to be the cute girl as described. Then the guy liking the picture of the man tied to a chair. Creeeepy!!

As always, really digging the intro done to ‘Brand New Day’ by Ryan Star. It just never gets old.

Lightman telling the Principal that he was doing to do “sod all” (British phrase that basically means “nothing”). Man I love it when he talks all British like that.

“One should not shag one’s students. Especially the psycho ones.” – LOL, great line.

The appearance of Howard Hesseman as a teacher who’s sure he saw a UFO. I have always loved this guy and not just because he totally reminds me of my uncle.

The way Cal was so sure about Martin and the two of them playing cat and mouse – Call following Martin and Martin showing up at Cal’s office, etc.

Helen warning Gillian that Cal isn’t one for the “long haul”. Aw, that was pretty sad.

Eli spotting that the kid knew something about the UFO’s and getting the truth out of him about what he saw.

Not being able to hold back a laugh when I saw who was playing Martin’s mother. Lee Garlington played a mother of a psycho son on NCIS too, a mother who was also a psycho herself.

The way the mother apologized to her son making me think that she knew about what he did and was scared of him.

Freaking out when Martin found Ria in the coffee shop and she fell for his act. Eek!

Seeing how shook up Ria was after realizing who Martin was. I almost thought she was going to defend him because he didn’t hurt her, but apparently she read him and knew he was lying. Whew.

Finding out just how sick Martin was – waterboarding girls and then bringing them back to do it again and agin. Oh man that is…unreal.

Cal finally getting through to Martin and making him break when he brought up his relationship with Helen. Nice.

Jumping when Martin lost control in Helen’s office and then seeing Cal come out of the other room and knowing it was all a set up. Oh man, so scary.

Completely, totally and utterly losing it when Martin got hold of Cal and put him through the torture he did to the girls. I never, ever thought that would happen. I was prepared for Martin to go after Ria or Helen, or even Gillian, but Cal himself? That blew me away.

Even after being kidnapped, tortured and quite literally killed (multiple times), Cal still manages to stay in control and gets the story out of Martin. Why he let his sister and even spotting where the bodies were buried. Damn, that man is good.

Cal asking Gillian to catch a bite and watching the wheels turn in her head as she remembered what Helen said about him. I thought the two of them were only friends but if she turned him down, I wonder if that means she’s starting to think of him as more than that.

Overall a nail bitingly exciting episode.

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More Lie To Me Reviews…
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 1 “The Core Of It”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 2 “Truth Or Consequences”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 3 “Control Factor”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 4 “Honey”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 5 “Grievous Bodily Harm”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 6 “Lack of Candor”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 7 “Black Friday”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 8 “Secret Santa”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 10 “Tractor Man”

Lie To Me, season 2, epsiode 10 “Tractor Man”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

There were so many great things in this episode; I hardly know where to begin. I guess I’ll start with the cast. In addition to the already wonderful regulars, we also got Miguel Ferrer as FBI Agent Steele (aka Agent Reynolds’ boss) and Felicia Day as a schoolteacher.

I’ve been a fan of Miguel’s for years and was so happy when I saw he was in this episode. I love seeing great actors on screen together and I was absolutely giddy over Miguel acting alongside Tim. Miguel’s character was not a bad guy, but in his fight to ensure that no one was hurt by a crazed bomber, he and Lightman go head to head on a few issues.

As for Felicia, I of course loved her in Dr. Horrible and when I saw her come on screen, I quite literally squealed out loud. Yes I’m that easy to please. She played the part of a scared schoolteacher looking out for her students very well. Getting to hear her sing again was a special treat. I had no idea that Brendan Hines could sing or play guitar and that little song they did together was so cute and catchy, I found that I couldn’t resist singing along either.

You can catch a clip of the song “White Lie” here.

Overall a riveting yet fun episode, with some great guest stars and some musical moments, the latter of which I’d never thought to see on this series.

More Lie To Me…
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 1 “The Core Of It”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 2 “Truth Or Consequences”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 3 “Control Factor”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 4 “Honey”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 5 “Grievous Bodily Harm”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 6 “Lack of Candor”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 7 “Black Friday”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 8 “Secret Santa”

Tim Roth and Kelli Williams with guest star Daniel Ross in Lie To Me, season 2, episode 7 “Black Friday”

This episode started out with something that is so scary to me, I could barely watch. A crowd goes out of control in front of an electronics store on “Black Friday” and people end up trampled to death. As it turns out, this part of the story mostly plays out in the background, while another case takes up most of the spotlight.

Putting Tim Roth into funny hats, etc., seems to be a theme recently. Earlier this season found him in a big floppy hat and this episode started out with him in a frilly apron. This guy has proven that he’s such a serious actor but sometimes it’s really fun to laugh at him too.

In this episode, a 16yr old boy ends up quite literally on Lightman’s doorstep, asking for help to find out who his real parents are. The rest of the episode, Lightman and Foster work to solve that mystery, coming up with more than a few possible parents. The boy’s real father is found but rather than being happy, he is upset with finding out that his “real” parents are far from the ideal he had envisioned. In the end, the boy learns to accept the man for who he is and starts a new life with not only the people who raised him but the father he was taken from in the first place.

All the while, Loker and Torres work on the Black Friday case. Turns out Lightman was using it as a test for Loker and the moment he tells the truth, costing the Lightman Group over a million in the process, he passes.

Overall a good family themed episode just in time for Thanksgiving.

More Lie To Me…
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 1 “The Core Of It”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 2 “Truth Or Consequences”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 3 “Control Factor”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 4 “Honey”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 5 “Grievous Bodily Harm”
Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 6 “Lack of Candor”

Mekhi Phifer and Tim Roth in Lie to Me, season 2, episode 6 “Lack of Candor”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

 As I watch Tim Roth’s Lightman practically dancing his way through a scene, I am struck by two things. Number one, the guy never seems to sit still for more than a second. Number two, he really enjoys what he’s doing. The only thing is, I’m not sure who is enjoying it more – Lightman or Roth himself.

The week’s episode had the Lightman group once again helping out one of their own. Last time it was Lightman who got into a spot of bother (as the English might say), but this time it was Agent Reynolds.

One of my favorite scenes was when Lightman got into Reynolds’ face until the other man finally slammed him against a wall. The pure glee in his eyes as he got the guy to do what he’d wanted all along, (which was fight back), was excellent. From then on, the two of them were working together. Especially after Lightman erased the footage of Reynolds admitting to murdering a man while undercover – effectively putting them both in the same boat to prove how he was truly on Reynolds’ side.

They team up on Reynolds’ handler from the case, played wonderfully by Alicia Coppola. And rather than a pretty predictable outcome of her getting caught by threatening Reynolds or somehow coming off as the “bad guy”, she instead is caught because she tries to protect him.

In the end I saw another reason why I like this show. Much like some of my other favorites (NCIS for one), this one has a group of people who treat each other like family. When Reynolds tried to thank Lightman for all his help, he is told to shut up because “family doesn’t need to stand on ceremony”.

Overall another great episode that ended with a line that shows how much these characters really care for each other.

More Lie To Me…

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode “The Core Of It”

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 2 “Truth Or Consequences”

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 3 “Control Factor”

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 4 “Honey”

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 5 “Grievous Bodily Harm”

Tim Roth and Lennie James in Lie To Me, season 2, episode 5 “Grievous Bodily Harm”. Image from www.daemonstv.com

In last night’s episode of Lie To Me, Cal is visited by an old friend who needs his help. I got a big kick out of watching Tim’s British side come out in full force as he worked with Lennie James. The two of them made a great little duo and there was no doubting that these two characters got up to a lot of mischief when they were younger.

We find out that Cal owes his life to Terry and he has come to collect. He forces Cal into using his skills to win a poker match so that Terry can repay a debt to a pretty scary Russian mobster. Then Terry draws Cal in further as the mobster decides he wants to use Cal’s talents for his own use. In the end though, it is the mobster who is caught by surprise as Cal has been working undercover for Agent Reynolds the whole time.

This episode had a lot of funny moments thanks to the great interaction between Cal and Terry. As an NCIS fan I especially enjoyed the fact that Cal slapped Terry on the back of the head when he was frustrated with him, not once, but twice. Looks like someone’s been going to the Gibbs school of dealing with partners.

There were some serious moments as well, provided by the rest of the team as they worked to solve the mystery of a threatening video being sent to a public school. The young girls who turn out to both be victims (one for being teased and the other for being forced to do it by a sadistic teacher) did fantastic work drawing me into that storyline as well.

Overall a strong episode of the series that gave us a little more insight into Cal’s past and let us see that he started out as a bit of a “bad boy”.

More Lie To Me….

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 1 “The Core Of It”

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 2 “Truth Or Consequences”

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 3 “Control Factor”

Lie To Me, Season 2, episode 4 “Honey”