Brendan Hines

CHICAGO – FOX’s “Lie to Me,” the second season of which was just released on DVD, has fluctuated wildly in quality since the day it hit the air, a fact that was underlined when the great Shawn Ryan (“The Shield”) came on-board and seemed to find the program’s personality, only to leave it and watch it drift again. Just when it seemed like “Lie to Me” would develop into must-see viewing, it would falter again and the incredibly-lackluster season two release doesn’t help.

CHICAGO – FOX’s “Lie to Me” with Tim Roth and Kelli Williams proved to be a summer 2010 smash, finishing the just-wrapped season as one of the most-watched programs in key demographics. The tale of a team of professional human lie detector tests should still be waiting for the right moment to start its third season, but so few people watched the critically acclaimed “Lone Star” that it became the first casualty of the 2010 to 2011 season.

CHICAGO – The great television creator Shawn Ryan (“The Shield”) has taken over “Lie to Me” and turned what was a pretty generic mystery-of-the-week show into something that’s deserving of your attention. Taking the great Tim Roth and making him much more than just a cog in the serial machine, the two new episodes of “Lie to Me” that air tonight and next week make for intense, excellent television.

CHICAGO – When “Lie to Me” premiered earlier this year, the show simply didn’t work. But a lot has happened since then.

Television Rating: 1.5/5.0

CHICAGO – “The Mentalist” is the only significant new hit for the 2008-2009 season and the number one rule in TV is that if something works once, try and replicate it. Viewers can expect to see dozens of clones of the Simon Baker series in the next few years. It is into this atmosphere that Fox hopes their newest crime series, “Lie To Me,” can find a loyal audience.