tim roth

I may just be looking for some bright spots after this fairly lackluster Fall TV season, but I'm starting to think that January/midseason TV is going to be awesome. We've just gotten a new glimpse at Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (which is now set to premiere Friday, Feb. 13), and now here's the first look at the Tim Roth series Lie to Me.

The show, which will air after American Idol starting Jan. 21, is based on the real-life work of Dr. Paul Ekman, an expert in the physical and psychological signs of lying. Roth plays Cal Lightman, a skilled "human lie detector" whose abilities are a boon for his job but a burden at home, where he sometimes knows more than he should about his friends and family. His team includes psychologist Gillian Foster (Kelli Williams), who looks at the big picture when Lightman's caught up in the details; researcher Will Loker (Brendan Hines), who hates lying so much that he always says exactly what's on his mind; and junior member Ria Torres (Monica Raymund), a "natural" with an untrained ability to read people.

It's a shame Lie to Me can't be paired with House — the shows seem to have a similar structure, and they're both about people who are obsessed with lying. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me! Maybe next Fall? To watch the trailer, just read more

• Lifetime just paid a whole lot of money for the reruns of How I Met Your Mother. — Hollywood Reporter
• Bruce Willis will make his directorial debut with the indie psychological drama Three Stories About Joan. — ComingSoon
• Billy Crystal will join Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, and Julie Andrews in the comedy Tooth Fairy. — Variety
• Mary McDonnell of Battlestar Galactica will guest star on Grey's Anatomy. — E! Online
• A recent study shows that there are more than double the number of gay and bisexual characters in prime-time TV series this Fall compared with last year. — AP
• Fox has picked up the series Lie to Me, starring Tim Roth, for midseason. — TV Guide
• Kanye West is teaming up with Comedy Central for "a project described as hip-hop meets the Muppets." — Billboard

Photo courtesy of CBS

It seems Fox is a little obsessed with lying and lie detection these days. The Moment of Truth is still a ratings success, and now, the network has recruited Tim Roth to star in a new drama series about "deception detection."

In Lie to Me, Roth will play Dr. Cal Lightman, the scientist who pioneered the lie-detection field — and who's based on a real-life scientist, Dr. Paul Ekman, who was featured prominently in many stories about the psychology of reading people's faces. According to Variety, the fictional Lightman is "a human lie detector, skilled at reading the human face, body and voice to uncover the truth in criminal and private investigations. The fact that the character can apply the same skills to his personal life complicates his relationships."

Lie to Me marks Roth's first time leading a TV series, and he apparently took three months of pursuing by the show's producers before he would finally agree to the job. The show's pilot is scheduled to film in August, and Fox has already committed to ordering 13 episodes of the show.

I'm pretty fascinated by the idea of being a "human lie detector," and I'm curious to see how Roth does on the small screen. How about you? Would you check out this show?

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Bringing Marvel's Hulk to the big screen is a challenging undertaking. For one thing, the idea of the Hulk is just funny: when a guy loses his temper he morphs into a giant green monster who smashes things. Plus, that green monster in ripped-up pants is just cartoonish, any way you slice it. You can always update Iron Man's suit with sleeker corners and more abilities or give Batman cooler gadgets, but how do you make a green monster-man something today's audience will take seriously?

So, given these obstacles, and the fact that Ang Lee did everyone a favor by demonstrating what not to do if you want the fanboys to show up, the most recent incarnation of The Incredible Hulk is pretty much a success. All things considered, the CGI looks great, there is plenty of action to keep hearts pounding, and Ed Norton and Liv Tyler turn in wonderful performances with the lines they have. That said, it's no Iron Man and I'm about 99.9% sure once The Dark Knight hits theaters we may all forget this movie even happened.

To find out why this Incredible Hulk will be remembered as the superhero movie that gave us something to do between Iron Man and Dark Knight, read more

While the results of my comic book adaptation poll leaned toward the "I'm sick of these movies" option, many of you commented that there are some movies based on comic books that you simply cannot wait to see — and The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton is one of those. And now, after nearly a year of following this project, we have a teaser trailer for this summer blockbuster.

Edward Norton will earn my sympathy and support pretty much every time, so watching him struggle with his powers and his identity — which takes up the majority of the trailer; we don't see an inch of green skin until about two-thirds of the way in — is actually pretty interesting. The Incredible Hulk hits theaters June 13. To check out the teaser, read more

Guess who was hanging out with Tim Roth and Dennis Hopper? To find out, read more