Lie to Me 2.16: Ria's Sister

Lie to Me 2.16 last night continued the good run of summer LTMs, with a show about Ria and her younger sister, Ava.  The two actresses (Monica Raymond as Ria, Alyssa Diaz as Ava) look so much alike (and fine on the screen) that they could be sisters in real life.  Before the episode is over, Ria is "drunk of her ass" and "sticks her tongue" in Lightman's mouth (quotes from Lightman) as she tries desperately to get some control over her out-of-control situation.

It's out of control because Ava may be involved in a murder - she's already in prison - or may be a potential victim of the killer.  She's punched out, under Gillian's protection, when some bad people break into Gillian's house.   Gillian winds up with a bruise on her cheek, and is clearly shaken.    Lightman holds her and tells her how much she means to him.   But it's already clear, I think, that he's falling under Clara's romantic sway, and the coming attractions for next week show more of that.   (Fine by me - though I'd like still like to see Gillian and Lightman together.)

Max Martini - Mac on The Unit - also puts in an appearance as Dave Burns the prison shrink, who may or may not be involved in the murder.   Dave reminded me so such much of Mac that it seemed to me that the prison shrink was just a mission for Mac (I half expected Dennis Haysbert to walk in) - a testament to his memorable role on The Unit.    In Lie to Me, he turns out to be innocent, and may have continuing role, since there's clearly a spark or two between him and Gillian (and other reason she and Lightman may going different erotic ways).

Loker continues to have almost no role, but I'm thinking we'll see him in something major on Lie to Me before the summer is over.


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

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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

Barack Obama and 24

Have David Palmer and Wayne Palmer - two powerful, admirable, African-American Presidents on Fox's 24 - contributed to Barack Obama's success as the first African-American candidate with a real chance to win the White House?

Win, lose, or draw in the important primaries tonight, Obama has a already made an undeniably extraordinary impact. I happen to think (and hope) he is the next President, but even if he doesn't get there, his candidacy has already changed American Presidential politics forever, and for the better.

As a professor and author of books about popular culture and its impact, I take a keen interest in the way of our media fiction influences our real politics. I've already blogged here about the importance of the Obama Girl videos in the early days of Barack Obama's campaign.

As I also reported here last July, Obama Girl producer Ben Relles told my class at Fordham University that the original "I've Got a Crush on Obama" song was "I've Got a Crush on Jack Bauer". So Obama's candidacy and 24 were linked from the start.

More important, I'd say, was the image of African-American Presidents conveyed by David Palmer (superbly played by Dennis Haysbert) and his brother Wayne Palmer (superbly played by D. B. Woodside). Although David was assassinated and Wayne wound up in a coma, their behavior as Presidents always showed a highly intelligent Commander-in-Chief will to take on acutely difficult and internationally threatening issues, and handle these crises with grace and aplomb.

That had to have some kind of positive, educational effect on 24's millions of viewers.

Keith Olbermann on MSNBC's Countdown is fond of citing 24 for stirring up fears of nuclear terror (at one point even absurdly implying that 24's producers were in league with the Bush administration). But the far greater truth - or only truth - about 24's impact on real American politics may be the role it played in making all Americans more comfortable with the prospect of an African-American President.

A woman in the White House was powerfully presented in the excellent Commander in Chief on ABC, with Geena Davis just outstanding as President Mackenzie Allen. But that series didn't even survive one complete season...