Screen Rant » lie to me

No More Free Hulu?

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:08:53 +0000

Oh Internet, say it ain’t so!

Hulu – my utopia of free TV online – may soon become another run-of-the-buck paid subscription site (see header image)! (Sigh) It was only a matter of time, really…

Broadcasting & Cable brings us this chilling news, which supposedly originated from the mouth of News Corp. Deputy Chairman Chase Carey, who said during the Onscreen Media Summit that:

“It’s time to start getting paid for broadcast content online…I think a free model is a very difficult way to capture the value of our content. I think what we need to do is deliver that content to consumers in a way where they will appreciate the value. Hulu concurs with that, it needs to evolve to have a meaningful subscription model as part of its business.”

Aw heck, we all knew this day was coming when we’d hear those words spoken about our beloved Hulu – doesn’t it always happen that way with our favorite sites?

However… In my vast Internet experience our favorite sites stop being “our favorite sites” pretty soon after they start asking for membership fees. I know that more than a few of you out there have woken up one day to find your favorite online pop-in spot suddenly requiring you provide them a credit card number, sending you back to the search engine nexus typing in the words “free, streaming…”

…Aaaand I suspect that tradition won’t be changing for the small pool of TV shows and movies that Hulu currently offers. Despite all those clever commercials with celebrities posing as aliens using Hulu to mush our brains, there’s still enough solid cerbral material left in this guy’s skull to determine that Hulu would need to expand its range of content much, much, wider for me to consider buying into the service. I’m talking:

More popular cable series (even some premium channel shows for “platinum” members who pay extra).
Every network primetime show of the current season.
More GOOD movies (Better picks of old films; same-day and direct-to-video releases (at discounted cost); premium channel releases for platinum members).
Same-day airings of primetime TV shows (with ads, if necessary).
Bigger TV show archives (for when I go on an Arrested Development or It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia binge).
Exclusive “first looks” for movie trailers and making of featurettes.
Music videos and Popular news clips added to the lineup.
Make all content accessible to any digital mobile device or game system (ipods, smart phones, Xbox Live).
Embed and sharing capabilities on all shows/movies (at least clips).
Everything in HD.

Now THAT – combined with Hulu’s great interface – would be a service I would pay for.

While I agree with Carey in the sense that it’s time for companies to have a fair shot at pursuing profits in the online market, I do think said companies are still floating archaic ideas about how to convert their “digital dimes” into digi-dollars.

The Internet has always been based on one fundamental principle: Accomplish a lot with little effort. So, if I can have access to a bunch of movies and shows I watch; get sneak peeks on the hottest music videos or movie trailers; keep up with reports on the latest news clips everyone is talking about; spend my rainy weekends marathoning through old favorites; see everything in crisp HD and share it all with my friends… Why not fork out a reasonable fee to accomplish all that?

Try selling me Hulu as it stands now, and I’m going to tell you the names of all the TV network sites where you can watch the same shows for free (hint: just throw a “.com” behind the name of your favorite network) – or maybe the names of sites that will stream old movie favorites, legally, for free. Basically, I’m going to tell you that I really don’t need Hulu all that much after all…

What about you – is Hulu something you’d pay to keep? Or does the notion of shelling out for it make you say “Thanks but no thanks!”

Source: Broadcasting & Cable

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An Expert Takes On ‘Lie to Me’

Anthony Ocasio — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:42:23 +0000

Ever since FOX premiered Lie to Me last season, I’ve been intrigued by Tim Roth’s character, Dr. Cal Lightman. In the show, his talent is simple: he studies micro-expressions & body language to determine if someone is being deceptive. Still, even though it sounds so straight forward and plausible, it does seem a tad bit fantastical. Do I really have a micro-expression?

Shortly after the premiere, I was excited to read that Roth’s character is loosely based on life of psychologist, Paul Ekman. Still, loosely based doesn’t exactly mean that it’s true. Wes Craven has said that A Nightmare on Elm Sreet is “loosely based” on real events and since I’ve yet to meet any gloved gentlemen my dream, I’m still skeptical.

I must not be the only one who’s curious (and too lazy) to read any of Paul Ekman’s books, as Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times sat down with retired FBI Agent, master interrogator and behavioral expert, Joe Navarro to show him some episodes of Lie To Me too see what he thinks.

Here’s what he had to say…

What’s True?

“He doesn’t really hide how he feels and you can read it on his face, how he feels about different things. And I’m often asked that – do I try to hide how I feel about things, and I say that’s just too hard. It’s just too hard.

“If you notice, whenever he makes an inquiry, he tilts his head. Head tilt, other than a smile, is probably one of the more powerful things that we can transmit to say I’m really curious and I’m interested and I’m empathetic. We know that babies recognize it. Mother tilts her head toward the baby, the baby smiles and so forth, so these are powerful things.”

What’s A Lie?

“I’ve seen a couple of episodes here on the show where he immediately points out, oh, you’re doing this, you’re doing that, you’re doing that. And first of all, it makes those people uncomfortable because you become self-conscious… …the minute you begin to call out the behaviors on people, they’ll mask them. So you’ve lost that channel of communication.”

“The one thing that you wouldn’t see in a real setting is sitting across from each other. When people sit, this gets the least amount of work done. Because it’s too confrontational. …in a therapeutic setting or a forensic setting, you would actually sit at an angle so that the person isn’t aroused by you being in front.”

If you found that interesting, make sure you check out the full interview.

He could be completely making this up, but it just sounds so awesome that I don’t care. While I find it interesting, I would in no way feel comfortable being around anyone with such talents. Well, not without a bunch of Botox injections. (Try and check out my micro-expressions then!)

Make sure to watch Lie to Me, Mondays at 9pm on FOX

Source: St. Petersburg Times

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Fall 2009 TV: Premiering Tonight – Sept. 28

Anthony Ocasio — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:15:33 +0000

While last week gave us the majority of new and returning shows, don’t forget about some solid shows that have yet to air. Trauma and Lie to Me are two of the last shows left to premiere this Fall and both will be on tonight, Monday, September 28th.

What’s New?

9:00PM

NBC – Trauma: “Pilot”
“Trauma” is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics. When emergencies occur, the trauma team from San Francisco City Hospital is first on the scene, traveling by land, by sea or by air to reach their victims in time. From the heights of the city’s Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the San Francisco Bay, these heroes must face the most extreme conditions to save lives — and give meaning to their own existence in the process. In this initial installment, tragedy hits close to home, and the lives and paths of the team are forever changed.

I’ve only caught the occasional commercial for this series and haven’t really heard much else about it; it seems to be a fast-pace medical show. A talented cast combined with producer Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) garners a watch. I’m just not sure if it’s too late – with the barrage of medical dramas out there, this one might fall between the gaps, even if it is entertaining.

What’s Returning?

9:00 PM

FOX – Lie To Me: “The Core of It”
The Lightman Group investigates a murder case where a woman with multiple personalities (guest star Christensen) may either be a witness or the killer. Meanwhile, the U.S. government hires the firm to interrogate a potential Supreme Court nominee

I’ll definitely be tuning in. I love Tim Roth and really enjoy this show. Sure, it started a little slow, but as the characters and their relationships developed, it turned into a show I was excited about. Can’t wait to see what happens this season. With only 13 episodes for its second season, hopefully it’ll acquire a large enough audience that FOX will order more.

What Else Is On?

With only 2 new and returning shows on the books means that they’re going to have to compete for your time against shows that have already returned or premiered.

Here’s what else is on…

8:00 PM
ABC – Dancing with the Stars

NBC – Heroes: “Ink”

FOX – House: “Epic Fail”

CBS – How I Met Your Mother: “Double Date”

CW – One Tree Hill: “Hold My Hand as I’m Lowered” (#703)

8:30 PM
CBS – Accidentally On Purpose: “Memento”

9:00 PM
CW – Gossip Girl: “The Lost Boy”

CBS – Two and a Half Men: “Whipped Unto the Third Generation”

9:30 PM
CBS – The Big Bang Theory: “The Jiminy Conjecture”

10:00 PM
CBS – CSI: Miami: “Hostile Takeover”

ABC – Castle: “The Double Down”

Over 10 hours of television is packed into tonight’s primetime lineup. I think I’ll watch House at 8 because I have yet to see him with the team this season, catch up with Lie to Me at 9 and finish out the night with DVR’d versions of Heroes and How I Met Your Mother.

What shows will you be watching?

Source: The Futon Critic

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TV News & Notes: Dollhouse, Lie To Me & More

Bruce Simmons — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:47:49 +0000

We here at Screen Rant have so much TV news that we need to break it up into a few articles this week.

With that said, I thought in this extra chapter (or off-shoot of my weekly article), I’d bring some early news and information about Dollhouse, 24 and Lie To Me. I’ve also got some bits of news about the FX network shows Damages & Lawman. I finally wrap it up with some King of the Hill info, The Office news and a question to you, our faithful readers.

Dollhouse

This is an FYI to the faithful fans of Dollhouse: The 13th episode, called “Epitaph One” is now available on the US and Canadian iTunes sites.

More Battlestar Galactica Cast on 24

Watch out Jack, a Cylon is coming your way!

Callum Keith Rennie, (The Cylon Leoben Conoy from Battlestar Galactica) has been cast as Vladimir Laitana, a Russian mobster who shows up around episode 6 or so in the upcoming new season of Fox’s 24.

Vladiir is expected to team up with another mobster named Bazhaev, played by Jurgen Prochnow.

Source: TV Guide

Lie To Me

In the first season of Lie To Me, we watched the show develop its legs and tell us the tale of Cal Lightman, (played by the ingenius Tim Roth) the human lie detector, and his work group. We came to understand the science behind the premise of the show.

This upcoming season, show runner Shawn Ryan (The Unit) has come on board and will be taking the show towards a more character driven story. Some of the things coming up in relation to the character developments, or what we’ll learn more about are:

Lightman’s past.
The [Gillian] Foster-[Cal] Lightman relationship.
Foster’s (Kelli Williams) divorce, and her continued pursuit of the adoption process.
Lightman’s ex-wife (Jennifer Beals), will be back for a few episodes.
Mekhi Phifer will return as a series regular.

Lie to Me is inspired by the scientific discoveries of psychologist Dr. Paul Ekman, who can read body language clues to determine the truth of the matter in criminal investigations as we follow Dr. Cal Lightman, the world’s leading deception expert, as he solves cases.

Source: Chicago Tribune

FX Network Understands Nielsen Methodologies

If you remember, I loved the insidious nature of the legal drama Damages with Glenn Close. It was even recognized as an Emmy nominee. Yet the week-to-week ratings were low and FX president John Landgraf recognizes that people play catch up with their recording instrument of choice. Unfortunately, Nielsen doesn’t even acknowledge shows that are watched outside of a 7-day window. Other than that, he didn’t say much more, but I have to wonder if that was a precursor to kissing Damages goodbye? I hope not, I do happen to really enjoy that show!

Aside from that, FX is looking to extend their episode order of Rescue Me to a 22 episodes while they push more into a comedy based line-up for other nights and time slots. They seem prompted in this direction by the success they’ve had with of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is starting its 5th season.

Personally, I think Sunny is a great fluke of comedic writing that’s pulled together and delivered by a great group of actors. I’m not sure they’re going to get more out other comedies. We’ll see what they have up their funny sleeves!

Despite their new comedy-based focus, they are looking to launch a new drama called Lawman starring Timothy Olyphant. Lawman is based on the Elmore Leonard stories and follows a U.S. Marshal who returns home to Kentucky after spending time in Miami.

Source: Variety

King of the Hill

FYI: King of the Hill is coming to a close after a 13-season run and its final episode will be a 1-hour series finale that will air on Sunday, September 13th.

Source: TV Guide

The Office

During a recent media get together, NBC let out some snippets of info about The Office.

Finally – Pam and Jim are going to head down the aisle after how long? 5 years! In fact, it’s going to happen pretty quickly and take place in the 4th episode of the new season.

The sixth season of The Office begins September 17 at 9/8c on NBC.

Now you know!

Source: E! Online

ABC’s Defying Gravity

I’ve completely overlooked the ABC sci-fi effort called Defying Gravity. I mean completely overlooked it as in not even watched it yet.

The show is set in the near future where 8 astronauts from 5 different countries are on a 6-year mission that covers an 8 billion mile journey.

I actually have a question for you, our readers! Has anyone taken a gander at this show? What’s your opinion? I’d love to hear if I should change my viewing habits to catch some episodes or not. Now’s your chance to give us at Screen Rant a review on Defying Gravity.

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Weekly TV Wrap Up – July 9th, 2009

Bruce Simmons — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:03:35 +0000

Today’s Weekly TV Wrap Up covers information about ABC on Hulu, a new developing tidbit on Smallville, NCIS casting bits, CSI Miami does time travel and some Lie To Me & The Mentalist casting news.

We also have a trailer for season 2 of Sons Of Anarchy, a bit about David Tennant’s next acting role and some information on 2 new shows coming at us, The Forgotten and Gravity.

There’s also a bit of a change up to the Ratings table this week. I apologize ahead of time.

ABC on Hulu

Now that Walt Disney has become an equity partner with Hulu.com, we are going to start to see ABC projects showing up on the online video site.

Grey’s Anatomy was the first and will be followed by Desperate Housewives, Scrubs, Ugly Betty, I Survived a Japanese Game Show and Superstars.

I thought I didn’t care about the first bunch, but that last one… WHY!?

Source: Variety

The “S” Symbol on Smallville

According to Ausielllo on EW.com, well… I’ll just quote this one sentence: “The iconic “S” symbol will be all over the show (Smallville) in season 9. Including on Clark’s chest.”

He also pointed out that there is no discussion at the CW at this time about a Smallville spin-off taking place.

Sorry gang.

Source: EW

NCIS Needs A New Agent

News on the street is that the producers of NCIS are looking for an actor to play a male agent in his 30’s. The role has potential to be a recurring role.

I presume if the character/actor hit it off in their popularity scales, he’ll become a recurring role.

Source: EW

CSI Miami Flash Back

“But why a flash back??”

Season 8 premiere of CSI Miami is going to take place in 1997. It will be an origins type episode showing the early days of the team.

Rumor has it that the flash back narration will be done by a comatose Delko. I’m guessing a dream state of such.

I’m betting the makeup and CGI people were working hard on this one!

Source: EW

Click to continue reading our Weekly TV Wrap Up.

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Weekly TV Wrap Up – June 25, 2009

Bruce Simmons — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:48:12 +0000

Welcome to my weekly TV Wrap Up.

This week we’re chatting about the NCIS cast, Chuck season 3 insights, a bit of Fringe cast news and I ask a question about a character from Lost. I’m also going to touch on yet another alien invasion show from TNT. Also have some details on the DVD / Blu-ray release of season one of Lie To Me.

I wrap it up with my usual look at how shows did in the ratings from last week.

Let’s get on with it.

NCIS Spin-off Adds Cast

Linda Hunt will be joining the cast of the NCIS spin-off as a hard-nosed former film industry technician who oversees the “backroom” support staff.

Of note, Louise Lombard was let go from the staff, as the cast seems to be constantly evolving.

Is it me, or will we have a hard time getting past the ‘ghosts’ from Linda Hunt’s past?

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Chuck Season 3 Tidbits

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Zachary Levi chats a bit about the upcoming third season of Chuck.

He talks about how folks are expecting “Orange Orange” to become a Subway and other ideas like that.

He also reminds us that next season is a 13-episode season, but if the ratings are good enough, NBC will add additional episodes. (That’s the part where it means “tell your friends.”)

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Fringe Cast Grows

Meghan Markle (Deal Or No Deal, 90210) is joining Fringe as a recurring role in the upcoming season. She’ll be playing a brash and quick-witted FBI agent.

Well, at least she’s moving up from briefcases duty and teen angst shows.

Not to mention, if I weren’t already watching Fringe… well you get the drift.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Is Charlie Coming Back To Lost Or What?

What are the chances of Dominic Monaghan (Charlie) returning to the next season of Lost?

It depends on the rumors surrounding the ill-fated rocker.

He’s been seen having breakfast with showrunner Damon Lindelof. That could mean what? That two buds are having breakfast together? Or are they plotting the return of Charlie to the island in some form or fashion?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Source: E Online

Lie To Me Season 1

The Blu-ray and DVD release of season 1 for Fox’s Lie To Me are due out on August 25th. The show is being released by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The release will include 13 episodes, featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel. Here’s a listing of extras from both the Blu-ray and DVD packages:

The Blu-ray Bonus Features include

The Truth About Lies
Deleted Scenes

The DVD Bonus Disk includes:

The Lightman Group Lie Detection Tutorials
Play ALL
Intro
Anger
Contempt
Disgust
Fear
Happiness
Sad
Surprise

Source: TV Shows On DVD

Noah Wyle, Steven Spielberg and Alien Invasions

Noah Wyle has been snagged to headline a yet-to-be-titled sci-fi show on TNT that will involve yet another alien invasion plot.

The storyline kicks in gear approximately 6 months after an insidious evil alien species invades the Earth and Wyle will be the leader of the human resistance.

I’m a little disappointed that this premise sounds so much like another upcoming show that starts with a V. I expected a bit more originality out of Spielberg.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Ratings section is on the next page

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Weekly TV Wrap Up – June 18, 2009

Bruce Simmons — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:52:44 +0000

Welcome to Thursday’s Weekly TV Wrap Up. Today we have a chunk of news to chat about.

I want to touch a bit on the television broadcast digital conversion and how well it went, or maybe not so well for some. Then we’ll touch on some True Blood ratings news, Heroes casting info, Bones renewal info and some Lie To Me news. We’ll then toss in some info on Patrick Swayze’s The Beast, My Name Is Earl and some Law And Order: SVU cast news.

Of course, I wrap it up with TV and cable ratings from last week.

Let’s get on with it, shall we?

Digital Transition Not So Smooth

As the television world went digital last Friday, for many it was a flawless event. For some, not so flawless.

One experience noted was that of a consumer who bought a digital TV, and later, a “digital” antenna to prepare for the transition – yet when the switch happened, they lost their local ABC and CBS stations.

They had issues because when the digital switch happened, stations went from the UHF to the VHF band and the antenna this consumer bought was designed only for digital UHF stations. So much for the digital sales pitch on the product. Hence, consumer beware.

There are digital receivers on the market that receive both bands. Be aware of that.

Nearly all stations that changed were using the UHF band until the change last Friday and now they’re almost all on VHF.

If perchance you or someone you know are still having problems, try this:

Force the converter box or digital TV to rescan for channels that moved to the new frequencies on Friday.

If that doesn’t work, try a technique called double rescanning.

What that entails is disconnecting the antenna from your TV or digital converter box. Then rescan again. Turn off your TV or box. Then turn it / them back on. Connect the antenna and scan one more time.

This procedure helps clear saved channels from your TV or box memory.

Source: DTV.gov, DTV.gov

True Blood Explodes On Cable

With the 2nd season premiere of True Blood kicking in at HBO, the ratings reflected viewers approval of the show.

The episode averaged 3.7 million viewers, which made it the most watched episode in two years for HBO, since The Sopranos.

source: EW

Heroes Might Be Adding A Cylon

Rick Worthy, who played the Simon model Cylon from Battlestar Galactica, is in negotiations to join the cast of Heroes.

The role will be a recurring role as Matt Parkman’s (Greg Grunberg) new partner.

Worthy brings a wealth of experience with him. He’s been in various shows prior to BSG like CSI, Fallen and Enterprise just to name a few.

They’re talking about this as if it’s a done deal but they did note they are still in negotiations. Do you think he’ll be added to the list of new Heroes cast, along with Robert Knepper and Madelina Zima?

Source: Superhero Hype

Click to continue reading our ‘Weekly TV Wrap Up’

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