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'Lie To Me Is Good' - Honest! I Wouldn't Fib

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By WALT BELCHER wbelcher

@tampatrib.com

Published: January 21, 2009

Apparently, there can't be too many brash and quirky characters played by Brits or Australians on American television.

Tell Hugh Laurie of "House," Simon Baker of "The Mentalist," Rufus Sewell of "The Eleventh Hour" and Damian Lewis of "Life" to move over.

Here comes Tim Roth in Fox's new "Lie to Me."

Roth, who often plays twisted villains or creepy weirdos, is cast as the hero in this new crime drama debuting at 9 tonight.

Remember him from "Reservoir Dogs" or "Pulp Fiction"?

Roth, using his native British accent, stars as Dr. Cal Lightman. He is a brilliant, cocky and cynical crime-solving expert.

He is skilled at "reading" people's facial expressions, body language and subtle reactions to determine if they are lying or telling the truth.

The character is based on Paul Ekman, a real-life human lie-detector.

Roth's Lightman is so gifted at his craft that it appears he's never wrong. Just a raised eyebrow, a slight smile or even an eye blink tips him off.

Lightman says we're all liars. "The average person lies three times during a 10-minute conversation," he declares.

Roth's character runs the Lightman Group, which hires out its services to federal, state and city police as well as private businesses.

On his "team" is Eli Brendan Hines, an oddball researcher who is compelled to say whatever is on his mind so he can never lie. He's the resident comic relief geek.

And there's the cheerful Dr. Foster Kelli Williams, who lacks Lightman's cynicism. She's also an expert on deception but she can't face the truth about a big lie in her own life.

Finally, new recruit Ria Monica Raymund is a gorgeous woman whose knowledge of liars comes from her many experiences with men.

Raymund, 22, a relative newcomer to Hollywood, is from St. Petersburg. She is a graduate of Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Pete. She went to the Juilliard School in New York. This is only her second TV role. She had a guest role on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" last year.

This could be her big break because "Lie to Me" is an entertaining mix of mystery and interesting characters.

Roth makes it fun. He's a wise-guy who likes to needle people. And there are a lot of pop culture references including mentions of celebrity fibbers from Bill Clinton and Hugh Grant to George W. Bush and Simon Cowell.

LOST AGAIN: If "Lost" didn't jump the shark last season, the fins are circling the island of no return in the fifth season debut tonight on ABC.

A big sign of creative trouble: time travel.

The characters are going to be jumping back and forth in space/time continuum which means even faithful fans may bail out.

If you are not into "Lost," then it's probably way too late to jump onboard. If you worked hard, you might catch-up. The previous seasons are available on DVD. The first two were the best.

The mystery was new and exciting: An airliner crashes on a mysterious island where strange things happen. The survivors, who seem to have interconnected pasts, try to figure how they can get back to civilization. A love triangle develops between a bad boy, a bad girl and a nice guy.

Was the island in another dimension or parallel universe? Was it part of an evil corporation's experiment? Were supernatural forces at work? Fans pondered the possibilities.

The action begins tonight with half the cast on the mainland in 2007 and the other half stuck back on the island in 2004. Some who had escaped are trying to return. And Kate's affections are still torn between Jack and Sawyer. Call me when she settles on one and the island's riddles are solved.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

"American Idol," 8 p.m., Fox

The auditions continue with the good, the bad and the truly awful (and those are just the judges).

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