# Poker Face (Natasha Lyonne, not Lady Gaga) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [January 28, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928 "2023-01-28T01:10:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/1 "2023-01-28T01:10:10Z")
[New series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poker_Face_(TV_series)) called _Poker Face_. The opening credits uses the old simple [yellow fonts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-titles-stop-being-yellow/939469) and episode titles to deliberately start the show off with an old feel, and that may have primed me for it, but it reminds me of the old 1970s less-than weekly, hour and a half TV shows, with leisurely-paced stories. It actually reminds me a lot of _Colombo_, with a new cast of well-developed characters each episode, and the main character first showing up well into the episode, after the “crime of the week” has been shown. Really good so far, with the first four episodes already out. Lyonne is really good in this. I thought her career was over by the time she threatened to rape her neighbor’s dog, but she pulled out of the spiral. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/2 "2023-01-28T01:39:52Z")
Ever since _Russian Doll_, so many people (including me) have been suggesting online how well she’d fit as Columbo, but it wasn’t really likely to come together quite so serendipitously as that, so Rian Johnson took it in his own hands to create something Columbo-esque for her that satisfies those desires we have long had. I have only watched the first episode so far, but I loved it. > ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/3 "2023-01-28T01:40:55Z")
First episode was great. Lyonne can only play one character but boy is she amazing at that character. Looking forward to the rest of it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/4 "2023-01-28T01:46:33Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Lyonne can only play one character I was familiar with her early in her career: _The Slums of Beverly Hills_, _Krippendorf’s Tribe_ and _Comic Book Villains_. She was also in _American Pie_ movies. Just because you are now only _given_ one character doesn’t mean that you can only play one. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/5 "2023-01-28T01:48:16Z")
Fair enough. I like her a lot, I’ve just noticed that, at least for the last several years, her characters have very similar personalities and mannerisms. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/6 "2023-01-28T15:52:07Z")
Mrs. solost and I watched ep1. I enjoyed it. I assumed the casino murder / poker scam plot was going to have a seasonal arc, so about 45 minutes in I thought “whoa, a lot is happening in the first episode”. Only at the end did I realize it was going to be a ‘crime of the week’ type show. Did have a kind of retro, 70s feel. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/7 "2023-01-28T15:57:43Z")
To be fair, the last few parts she co-created. This seems to be the character she enjoys playing. * * * So the Show was probably sold as Columbo meets Kung-fu or Fugitive. We know who done-it up front and the fun is in how does the off-beat detective (with a crappy car) uncover the clues. While travelling the country on the run. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/8 "2023-01-28T20:35:34Z")
When Rian Johnson explained the character to Natasha, she replied “Oh! She likes people! This is something different I can play!” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/9 "2023-01-28T21:05:18Z")
Way too much smoking by the lead- which promotes smoking among women. Also, the police are very skeptical of amateurs that solve mysteries, she’s be a suspect in a lot of the episodes. It is well done, but not on my list. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/10 "2023-01-28T22:12:44Z")
It’s enjoyable enough and yeah, Lyonne is basically playing the same character she always does but I can handle that. What I can’t handle is this insistence she has on wearing her hair in that gawdawful scraggly look–I just want to sit her down, cut off the bottom eight inches of frizz and give her a good conditioner pack. I know her hair isn’t actually as overprocessed and gross as it looks and I get it plays into the “tuffgirl on the run” motif but dayum, are there no showers in Motel 6 any more? Get some product, girl, and go to Supercuts for a trim, that mop is more distinctive than anything else about you and sunglasses don’t help cover it up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/11 "2023-01-28T22:27:14Z")
LOVED this. I especially loved seeing John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats in the fourth episode. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/12 "2023-01-29T01:25:21Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > So the Show was probably sold as Columbo meets Kung-fu or Fugitive. I thought about _The Incredible Hulk_ or _Run, Joe, Run_. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/13 "2023-01-29T03:16:08Z")
I’m watching the third episode and am beginning to realize that the main character is an agent of chaos. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/14 "2023-01-29T06:21:41Z")
That’s a good point, she doesn’t have an agenda per se she just gets curious, flips some tables and leaves the mess behind once she knows what happened. The complete lack of followthrough is rather refreshing, hope that stays constant. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/15 "2023-01-29T08:14:46Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I thought about _The Incredible Hulk_ or _Run, Joe, Run_. …I can’t stop thinking about the Littlest Hobo LOL. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0p8oeiVDcx4/hqdefault.jpg "The Littlest Hobo - Intro/Outro - Theme Song - Maybe Tomorrow - Original Artist - Terry Bush") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p8oeiVDcx4) "Every stop I make, I make a new friend, Can’t stay for long, just turn around I’m gone again Maybe tomorrow, I’ll want to settle down, Until tomorrow, I’ll just keep moving on." ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/16 "2023-01-29T17:17:06Z")
Yeah, her hair looks like a cocker spaniel. I find it distracting. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/17 "2023-01-29T22:05:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Also, the police are very skeptical of amateurs that solve mysteries, she’s be a suspect in a lot of the episodes. She doesn’t directly interact with the police, at least as of the third episode I’ve seen (she’s already wanted by the police in connection with the events of the first episode). She uncovers evidence and then gets one of the locals to turn the evidence over to the police. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/18 "2023-01-29T23:03:29Z")
Did they explain why she has such amazing powers of observation? Her lie detection ability only piques her curiosity; it doesn’t really help her solve the murders. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/19 "2023-01-30T00:54:03Z")
Yeah, she kinda caused that one. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/20 "2023-01-30T00:56:02Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Did they explain why she has such amazing powers of observation? No, but they hint that she has synesthesia in the third episode. (She hears the wood she tastes.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928.md?page=2)