"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Lie to Me 2.19: The Shield Reunion

Lie to Me 2.19 last night - a Shawn Ryan production - was a special treat for devotees of Ryan's masterpiece, The Shield.   Lightman encountered a cast of characters whose actors and actresses added up to a veritable Shield reunion.


Lightman and Zoe are witnessing an execution - of the first criminal Lightman helped convict (Zoe was the DA) - when Lightman realizes that the murderer's last words, that he didn't take the victim, the "Pied Piper" did, were no lie!   A great set-up for an episode of Lie to Me - and the convicted guy, who is executed despite Lightman's protests, is played by David Marciano (The  Shield's Detective Billings and more).

Meanwhile, the victim's parents - he was an 8-year-old boy - are played by Benito Martinez (The Shield's Captain Aceveda and more) and Catherine Dent (Officer Sofer on The Shield).   Kenneth Johnson (Lem!) plays a pornographer on Lie to Me who's not guilty of the crime in question,  Cathy Cahlin Ryan (Mackey's wife Corrine) a nutcase interviewed by Lightman under cover as a nutcase in a mental institution (a fine scene, and she provides key information),  and David Rees Snell (Ronnie from The Shield) plays none other than the co-killer.   I couldn't help thinking that's the path that Ronnie took after Mackie left him high and dry ....

Speaking of which - I missed Michael Chiklis and Walter Goggins on this episode of Lie to Me, but, hey, you can't have everything.   I'd love to see a movie that tells us where Mackie went, though...

As for Lie to Me, Shawn Ryan has turned it into an often exceptional show, and I'm sorry he won't be co-running it next season.   But he's left us a really fine foundation for excellent television.

See also The Shield in Perspective (no spoilers)  and  The Shield: Thoughts on What Might Happen after the Final Scene

And see also my reviews of Lie to Me and Bill O'Reilly, Saddam Hussein, and Ben Reynolds in Lie to Me 2.6 and Lie to Me 2.7: The Redeeming of Loker and Lie to Me 2.8 in Afghanistan and Viva Lightman and Las Vegas in Lie to Me 2.9 ... Lie to Me 2.11: Double Feature ... Lie to Me 2.12:  The One Prevarication ... Lie to Me 2.13: The Whole Truth and Rep Joe Wilson ... Lie to Me 2.14: Paranoids Can Have Real Enemies ... Lie to Me 2.15: Melissa George and Shawn Ryan ... Lie to Me 2.16: Ria's Sister ... Lie to Me 2.17: 'Poling on the Campaign Trail' ... Lie to Me 2.18: Lightman on the Darkside





The Plot to Save Socrates


"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book
 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

thinks its Walt or walton, not Walter

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