The old expression, “do as I say, not as I do” looms large in the new series “Lie to Me” (8 p.m., Fox). Apparently, our facial tics, hand gestures and body language can give us away every time. And nobody knows that better than Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth). He’s billed here as “the world’s leading deception expert,” and he’s hired by the FBI and police agencies all over the world to ferret out the truth from unyielding or unbelievable suspects.

And Lightman and his team get a lot of clients. In the first hour, he has a revealing face-to-face encounter with a skinhead church bomber, unravels the mystery of a high-school teacher’s murder, hires a fetching deception expert in the most unorthodox manner and investigates a potential congressional sex scandal. This is in addition to various lectures, appearances and random walks where he detects casual deception on the faces of people saying “I love you” and “Sure, I really like your parents.”

If little white lies are the social lubricant that get us through the day, then it seems to be Lightman’s job to throw sand in the works. And that keeps him from being a very casual fellow. Or easy to get to know or care about. Even his daughter suspects that he’s always “reading” her or playing some sly game.

Lightman’s skill adds a new wrinkle to the hyper-observant detective genre, the school of “Monk” and “Psych” and “The Mentalist.” But unlike the characters in those series, Lightman has no apparent baggage or history or personal trauma that inspired his unusual skill. Or at least we don’t know about it yet. Like a card player intent on reading his rival’s facial tics and tells, Lightman displays an impenetrable poker face. It’s remarkable, but not entirely interesting.

• Locke is dead. Long live Locke. “Lost” (8 p.m., ABC) returns with a two-hour season opener after an hourlong recap (7 p.m.). One of the last things I remember from last season is the image of Ben turning some cosmic wheel that made the island vanish. Or move. Or something.

Viewers looking for easy answers will be disappointed. But what “Lost” fans expect facile explanations? It’s safe to say, however, that the narrative has turned a bend and taken a new, unsettling direction. It’s not just that Jack must collect the diaspora of the Oceanic 6 and take them back to the island. Back on the island, time itself has taken on a new dimension. For the first four seasons, we’ve been asking “Where the heck are we?” Now, it’s “When the heck are we?” And like I said, there are no easy answers.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Auditions continue on “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox)

• “Make ‘Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings) continues with a focus on slapstick humor.

• Chastity can be a killer on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (8 p.m., NBC).

• Elvis Costello interviews Kris Kristofferson, Rosanne Cash, Norah Jones and John Mellencamp on “Spectacle” (8 p.m., Sundance).

• A grim puzzle emerges on “CSI: NY” (9 p.m., CBS).

• A researcher’s college history returns with a vengeance on “Law & Order” (9 p.m., NBC).

• Patty’s doubts about Purcell take shape on “Damages” (9 p.m., FX).