Pilot
- Episode aired Jan 21, 2009
- TV-14
- 45m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Dr. Lightman and Dr. Foster search for the truth in cases involving a devoutly religious high school student accused of killing a teacher, and a congressman accused of having an affair.Dr. Lightman and Dr. Foster search for the truth in cases involving a devoutly religious high school student accused of killing a teacher, and a congressman accused of having an affair.Dr. Lightman and Dr. Foster search for the truth in cases involving a devoutly religious high school student accused of killing a teacher, and a congressman accused of having an affair.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRadical Honesty: Eli states that he practices "Radical Honesty"; Radical Honesty is the name of a self improvement program developed by Brad Blanton that challenges people to give up their addiction to lying. The Radical Honesty technique includes having practitioners state their feelings directly and in ways typically considered impolitic (the technique is sometimes confused with the person having functioning autism or Asperger's due to the practitioner's brutal honesty).
- GoofsWhen Lightman is speaking to James for the first time in the prison, after asking him how he felt about his teacher dying, the boy responds, "I prayed for her soul." Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the existence of a soul.
- Quotes
Cal Lightman: Truth or happiness, never both.
- ConnectionsReferences A Current Affair (1986)
Featured review
Fascinating concept and interesting characters, questionable acting and production, episodic format I hate you
I wasn't expecting to find their applied psychology techniques so fascinating. I already knew a few things about body language and facial expressions but I definitely learned a lot. For example I didn't know a liar kept eye contact so it's natural to look somewhere else when you're thinking about what you want to say. So the episode was very insightful but I found the acting wasn't genuine enough and it was obvious the performers forced their expressions to make us believe in the concept. However using historical photos to assert their arguments was quite convincing.
As for the characters I was gladly surprised by them because for once I think they're well balanced. The leader keeps a distance, his female assistant skills were also well used and the younger mates also contributed to make their team as likable as possible. The protagonist can detect lies because he's a micro expressions experts but he knows that using it is not always appropriate even if he apparently can't control his ability. As for his assistant she's a words worm and knows how to convince someone, by using affirmations for example, but also to analyse what they say. In fact she reminded me of Dune by Frank Herbert but her gift is real, she doesn't magically charm people with her voice. An other character I liked was the guy who always tell the truth. He's not Jim Carrey but definitely someone you can relate to. As for their new female recruit she's gorgeous but I'm not really fond of her for the moment even if her more natural approach could be interesting to follow. It contrasts with the protagonist more rational and mechanical one. Last but not least they made me laugh from time to time so you should instantly fall in love with them.
But even if it has many qualities I also noted a few flaws. First the production quality is average and I suspect some budget cuts because at times it reminded me of shows like Mental where even the lighting has issues. However it's not that bad and even good enough so immersing into their universe shouldn't be a problem. Second I worry that the writers have used all their bright ideas in the pilot to amaze the audience. I'm sure they have kept some bullets for the whole season but the concept has its limit. Third and last I can't help comparing it to Castle and CSI: NY, other procedural shows. The very first minutes you know the format is episodic and I just hate that. They didn't even try to develop a major arc to intrigue us. Right from the beginning they started a new déjà vu investigation. In fact there were two arcs but none of them really interested me. There was nothing original about the story and only the fresh ideas made it entertaining.
For me such a format can only ruin a show because it depends on the quality of its many scripts. I can't imagine how great Lie to Me would be if it had the strong format of shows like Dexter ! One major arc with a serial killer to catch and new investigations from time to time. But if you don't mind its procedural approach then I can only recommend it.
As for the characters I was gladly surprised by them because for once I think they're well balanced. The leader keeps a distance, his female assistant skills were also well used and the younger mates also contributed to make their team as likable as possible. The protagonist can detect lies because he's a micro expressions experts but he knows that using it is not always appropriate even if he apparently can't control his ability. As for his assistant she's a words worm and knows how to convince someone, by using affirmations for example, but also to analyse what they say. In fact she reminded me of Dune by Frank Herbert but her gift is real, she doesn't magically charm people with her voice. An other character I liked was the guy who always tell the truth. He's not Jim Carrey but definitely someone you can relate to. As for their new female recruit she's gorgeous but I'm not really fond of her for the moment even if her more natural approach could be interesting to follow. It contrasts with the protagonist more rational and mechanical one. Last but not least they made me laugh from time to time so you should instantly fall in love with them.
But even if it has many qualities I also noted a few flaws. First the production quality is average and I suspect some budget cuts because at times it reminded me of shows like Mental where even the lighting has issues. However it's not that bad and even good enough so immersing into their universe shouldn't be a problem. Second I worry that the writers have used all their bright ideas in the pilot to amaze the audience. I'm sure they have kept some bullets for the whole season but the concept has its limit. Third and last I can't help comparing it to Castle and CSI: NY, other procedural shows. The very first minutes you know the format is episodic and I just hate that. They didn't even try to develop a major arc to intrigue us. Right from the beginning they started a new déjà vu investigation. In fact there were two arcs but none of them really interested me. There was nothing original about the story and only the fresh ideas made it entertaining.
For me such a format can only ruin a show because it depends on the quality of its many scripts. I can't imagine how great Lie to Me would be if it had the strong format of shows like Dexter ! One major arc with a serial killer to catch and new investigations from time to time. But if you don't mind its procedural approach then I can only recommend it.
helpful•51
- igoatabase
- Jun 18, 2010
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Filming locations
- Los Angeles, California, USA(Location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of Pilot (2009) in India?
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