# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/21 "2023-01-30T01:43:37Z")
I’ve watched the first three. MAGA dog literally had me laughing out loud. I’m glad he found a home in the end. I’ve never seen _Columbo_ or _Murder She Wrote_, the comparisons I’ve seen most made, but I’m really enjoying the style of this. ---
**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, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/22 "2023-01-30T02:18:46Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > I’ve never seen _Columbo_ Watch _Columbo_. Ignore _Murder She Wrote_. _Columbo_ is a very well made classic. _Murder She Wrote_ is generic TV glop, in the ranks with _Diagnosis, Murder_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/23 "2023-01-30T05:40:33Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’m watching the third episode and am beginning to realize that the main character is an agent of chao > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yeah, she kinda caused that one. > [@sciurophobic](#): > > 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. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > No, but they hint that she has synesthesia in the third episode. I really should watch this. Y’all are making the main character sound like [Bart Curlish.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk_Gently%27s_Holistic_Detective_Agency_(TV_series)) ---
**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 30, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/24 "2023-01-30T16:07:27Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > 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. I’ve only watched 3 episodes so far, but In every one of the 3 murder mysteries the police took it on face value that it was a domestic murder-suicide, framed female trucker did it, and suicide, respectively. My take is that the lie detection, which is her only ‘superpower’, not only piques her curiosity, it points her in the right direction of what really happened, or at least makes her realize the apparent explanation is BS. The rest is her just paying attention, asking questions, and doing old-fashioned footwork, on the order of what a decent police detective would do if they didn’t take the apparent cause at face value. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/25 "2023-02-04T23:33:58Z")
Just finished watching the fourth episode and I can’t shake the feeling that Natasha Lyonne’s acting looks…I can’t think of anything else to say but … amateurish. Her pauses and gazes feel like what we saw in high school plays. I am usually never this uncharitable. She looks perfect for the part, the personality is interesting, but somehow the delivery seems off. Anyone else feel that way? Now that I have allowed myself to think that, I cannot shake it off and suspend disbelief enough to enjoy the story. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/26 "2023-02-04T23:47:47Z")
> [@ashtayk](#): > > Her pauses and gazes feel like what we saw in high school plays. …the editing tends to let each scene breathe. Less cuts, not that much over the shoulder stuff, typically blocked so that all the characters are in the frame, and once Lyonne turns up part-way through the episode, she is in basically almost ever scene. It might feel like a school play because its often _shot_ like a school play (not in a bad way, IMHO.) I think the cinematography is gorgeous, the opening montages for each episode make my jaw drop. But it isn’t paced or shot like the typical by-the-numbers TV show, and Lyonne has to do a hell-of-a-lot-of work. So that might be standing out. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/27 "2023-02-05T12:42:24Z")
We’re enjoying this show - have watched all 5 so far. But I think my affection is waning. Really liked the first ep, but some of the later ones seemed more “meh.” Thought eps 3 (BBQ) and 5 (retirement home) the weakest. Not sure she hits them where it hurst most (or whatever the casino boss said) or just putting them in jail. Series does seem to be attracting some big name talent. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/28 "2023-02-05T12:52:18Z")
I’ve enjoyed them all, but I found the motive in #4 to be lacking (why didn’t the band just try and ask the new guy to share writing rights for the song? I’m sure he would have said yes), and the method in #5 to be implausible (a paraplegic elderly woman making a climb up a trellis on the side of a building that even a healthy person would have difficulty with?). ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/29 "2023-02-05T15:01:24Z")
> **Some portion of this is a spoiler {WE?}** > > There was at least some semblance of logic there. In an early scene the character was seen doing chair dips, an exercise that builds the arms and upper body, and long term paraplegia can lead to muscle and bone atrophy in the lower extremities, so I allowed that a spry older woman whose upper body had been developed by pushing a manual wheelchair for decades and driven by revenge might have been able to climb a trellis. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/30 "2023-02-05T15:44:07Z")
> **Some portion of this is a spoiler {WE?}** > > Open spoilers? Yeah, there is SOME logic, but pretty strained - that she did all that in the time expected to use the bathroom… > And I thought the same about the writing credits. But entertaining enough that I’ll keep watching for a while. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2023, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/31 "2023-02-05T15:53:21Z")
They could have solved the issue for #4 pretty easily - maybe they made the same request for their original drummer, who initially agreed but later scammed them. But if so they should have showed the band having a conversation about this. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/32 "2023-02-05T15:54:45Z")
Hey, **watch the spoilers for the most recent shows.** Hide them to talk about them. **Give it 10 days at least** for other viewers. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/33 "2023-02-07T21:00:07Z")
My husband (Doper Andy L) said, “Her hair is like Columbo’s coat.” We liked the first episode enough to watch at least one more. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/34 "2023-02-11T19:08:08Z")
Didn’t care for ep.6. The motive was hard to believe and the method of murder seemed unlikely to work in the real world. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/35 "2023-02-11T21:20:28Z")
I liked it better than the retirement home episode, which I thought was the first real miss so far. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/36 "2023-02-11T22:09:35Z")
Yeah, I thought the plot of that one stretched believability, too. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/37 "2023-02-11T22:50:07Z")
The murder didn’t make much sense (how is that trap door supposed to work anyway?), but I had so much fun watching Tim Meadows and Ellen Barkin ham it up that I didn’t really care. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/38 "2023-02-11T22:54:43Z")
Yeah - as the series has gone on, I’m still watching, but not as impressed as I was at first. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2023, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/39 "2023-02-12T00:09:40Z")
As it goes on, the more I like it. Now that I know what to expect, I can lose myself in its rhythms and individual quirks ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928/40 "2023-02-14T23:44:07Z")
I’m the opposite. The first couple seemed to follow more of a pattern, with the murder, her involvement in the situations, her progressive solving of the crime, and the perps getting due justice. As it has gone on, the eps follow that less strictly. Sometimes it does not even seem the main character figures out or solves the crime, or is instrumental in bringing the perps to justice. I guess people could find that amusing, but to me it just makes the show blurrier. She just moves about, stumbles into situations where someone gets killed, and then just stumbles on to a different location. Just my opinion. And I’m still watching - and far from hate-watching. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poker-face-natasha-lyonne-not-lady-gaga/978928.md?page=3)