Series Review of Lie to Me

*Warning: contains some overall spoilers that are usually available in episode previews, but if you are opposed to spoilers, don't read this one.*


Lie to Me is losing me…

When I first began to watch Lie to Me, I loved the idea of it. I loved that Lightman was a jerk who cared, who masked his caring with snarky responses. Yeah, he could be a real asshole sometimes, but there was a core likeability to him.

I liked the other characters, and the stories. I thought the writing was solid, and I could see real development in the show. There were arcs all over the place. I was excited to have an intelligent show with good writing in my Monday night lineup, right there between Chuck and Castle. Monday nights were gooooood.

Then a supporting character's boyfriend was in an explosion. The episode after we found out that he was okay, he disappeared. He was never mentioned again, even to explain what happened to him.  They got rid of the FBI consultant aspect, shooting an agent and explaining his survival in the season premiere with a toss-off line that I completely missed. Plunder Bunny swears it was there, but I'm still skeptical.

Certain arcs not only stopped, but crashed and burned. The FBI angle was trashed because the producers want to make Lightman more of a P.I. instead of a highly sought-after consultant. Character violations are running rampant. Loeker is a prime example of this. A funny guy who was harshly honest is now a whiney liar. And he got promoted, but then Lightman took away his desk and treats him like an unpaid intern? I'm confused every time he walks on screen.

Lightman devolved into a two-dimensional character. Now he's acting unhinged, working to keep a dirty cop in his pocket by teaching her to lie, distancing everyone from him more than usual, and is actively alienating Foster. I used to be able to handle his antics because I at least respected him and trusted his motives. That is no longer the case.

How about you guys? Is there a show that lost you because the writers got sloppy? Did they bore you? Violate your favorite characters? (And not in the fun way…) Did you stick with the show or did you move on to something else?

Personally, I'm tempted to start watching Dancing with the Stars during that time slot...