5. Lie To Me
Starring Tim Roth as deception expert Dr. Cal Lightman, Lie To Me was a detective series with more than one difference. Firstly, the main characters weren't police officers or lawyers but psychologists. Although Mekhi Phifer appeared in season 2 FBI agent Reynolds, he was remarkably absent without much to explain why, other than the fact the show worked better without him. Focusing on the Lightman Group's ability to detect people's lies and what they were feeling, the show utilised science to a degree that is not seen in very many shows. Unlike the "science" depicted in C.S.I. and its clones, Lie To Me used actual proven research and techniques which come courtesy of Dr. Paul Ekman. A psychologist who has studied the universality of microexpressions in some of the worlds most remote tribes, and has co-written the book Emotional Awareness with the Dalai Lama, he also acted as an adviser working closely with the show's producers. Although arguments that the episodes were too formulaic do have some merit - different leads would often take Lightman and his team in different directions until the truth is finally revealed - something hardly unique to Lie To Me. In fact the same could be said of medical investigation series House, and it hardly caused that show to be cancelled too soon. Formula or not however, the biggest draw to the series was its characters. Although each was unique, it was Roth himself as Lightman that was the most intriguing. As a man whose talent has become his curse, he is unable to not read the faces of those around him, something which doesn't always have the best consequences for how he deals with those he cares about, teenage daughter notwithstanding. He has a business partner he desperately wants to help but can't, a protegee with a natural talent he envies, and then of course there's Loker. Not content with just refusing to lie, his concept of 'radical honesty' has him blurting out whatever truth is on his mind, whether people want to hear them or not.