Lie to Me-Season Two (2010) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	TV Drama Series	Main Menu Audio & Animation Deleted Scenes Production Notes Outtakes Featurette-Making Of-2
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	964:48 (Case: 822)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (6)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,4	Directed By	Daniel Sackheim Michael Zinberg Michael Offer Adam Davidson
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	None Given
Case	?
RPI	$59.95	Music	Robert Duncan Doug DeAngelis Peter Nashel

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired Spanish French Portuguese	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     In the last ten years, there has been a significant increase in the quality of television drama mostly led by cable networks HBO and Showtime, however there has also been some better quality mainstream US television drams such as House and this series, Lie to Me, which obviously owes at least some debt to shows like House. Although obviously addressing different styles of cases, the parallels between the two series are quite interesting. Both feature a lead character (played by a well known British actor) who is difficult, belligerent, hard to work with and yet brilliant at the same time. Both Cal Lightman (played by Tim Roth) and Dr House (played by Hugh Laurie) use their skills to work out what is going on in a given situation regardless of who they annoy. I am not saying Lie to Me is a carbon copy of House, just that the two shows have some interesting parallels.

     The basic premise of this series is that Dr Cal Lightman has set up a business offering his skills to the market. His skills are his ability to tell if someone is lying based on facial movements and other signs. This premise is based on actual science and the show has the involvement of one of the foremost authorities in this area, Dr Paul Ekman. His business works with the police, FBI and private interests to help solve mysteries or screen people for important jobs. They also sometimes take on more mundane cases like marital infidelity. Lightman's team consists of a partner, Dr Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams) another scientifically trained expert in the area, Eli Loker (Brendan Hines), the technology expert and Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), a young woman with a natural ability to tell if people are lying. Two other characters appear in most episodes, Lightman's young teenage daughter, Emily (Hayley McFarland) and their main FBI contact, Agent Ben Reynolds (Mekhi Phifer). Lightman is divorced but on reasonable terms with his ex-wife. The construct of most episodes is that there are two cases, one worked by Lightman and one of the team and the other worked by the other two team members.

     This is an interesting and well made series which is certainly boosted by the presence of Roth in the lead role. I get the feeling this show would be much more mundane without his slightly eccentric and very annoying Dr Lightman. The support cast are reasonable but don't have the chops of Roth. Hayley McFarland is surprising good as Emily. The cases are interesting and quite varied, sometimes involving more personal issues and sometimes criminal matters. The team regularly get into dangerous situations which adds tension to the show. Pointing out that people are lying can be a dangerous pastime. There is also some multi-episode story arcs although the focus is on the individual cases.

     This set contains all 22 episodes (over 6 discs) of the second season of the show, which is now into its third season on US television. This set seems to be an exact copy of the Region 1 edition right down to FBI warnings and the discs are coded for regions 1, 2 & 4. Certainly worth your time, especially if you are a fan of this sort of television series.

Video

     The video quality is very good without being spectacular. The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced widescreen. The colour system is NTSC so make sure your system can handle it. The retail box says PAL however the review discs I have received from the local distributor are not. I can only assume that the retail release is also in NTSC.

     The picture was reasonably sharp although somewhat softer in backgrounds. There was also some mild background grain and some minor MPEG artefacts during fast motion. The shadow detail was decent but some scenes were a little murky. The colour was very good with no colour artefacts. There were no other noticeable artefacts.

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired, Spanish, French & Portuguese. They were clear and easy to read. The discs are also enabled with closed captioning.

     The layer changes are between episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good. This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s. Dialogue was reasonably clear and easy to understand although the subtitles were certainly useful from time to time.

     The score by a variety of composers does its job and adds to the atmosphere.

     The surround speakers were use for some atmosphere and music without setting the world on fire. The subwoofer was used a little for music support and adding some bass to action scenes.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Quite a reasonable selection of extras.

Menu

     The menu included music & motion.

Deleted/Extended Scenes (4:54, 3:14, 1:54, 3:45, 5:30, 0:38)

     All six discs have a number of deleted scenes which you can play by episode or all together.

Dr Paul Ekman's Blog

     Text screens of the science behind each episode by the onset expert in lie detection. Quite interesting. Available for every episode.

     Disc 6

Gag Reel (3:43)

     Not 16x9 enhanced. Mildly amusing, better than most.

Dr Ekman/Dr Lightman Lie Detection Tutorial (22:37)

     Quality extra about the scientist behind the show Dr Paul Ekman. The cast discuss their impressions of him, there is discussion about his role in the show and he dissects some interviews with the crew. His career is also covered. Interesting stuff.

Eli Loker: An Honest Man (5:01)

     Character featurette about Loker who has committed to Radical Honesty. Also includes discussion of using lie detection techniques for interpersonal relationships.

    The Region 1 & Region 2 DVD versions are exactly the same as ours.

    The video quality is very good. The audio quality is good. Decent selection of extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall