Convincing Liars

Cracker is a good show don't get me wrong, but thats when comparing it to UK standards which frankly, are not very high at all when compared to some US shows...

That's complete crap. Prime Suspect too? Criminal Justice? The fact is, these new good US shows are very recent and in a very different style. Prior to shortly before the millennium the US couldn't do good drama whatsoever. ER and Hill Street Blues are two good exceptions, but like all US dramas they dragged on for far too long. It's not just about budgets, for acting and writing we really had them shafted for a very, very long time.

Prime Suspect and Criminal Justice some of the best drama? HAHAHAHA!

Have you even seen any of the shows I mentioned aside from The Wire then, or is this 'opinion' just based on ignorance?

As for your whole millennium timeline, I could give a list of examples, but I think it may be better you learn this lesson yourself. The starting point i'll give you is Twin Peaks - arguably one of the greatest suspense and drama shows in history and what people dubbed as the original Lost...

When lying, people tend to look down, or cover their face with their hands.

If they are uncomfortable, they will often avoid eye contact and touch their face or fidget.

They may also jitter their legs, or shrink down posturally.

These things actually indicate shame. What it doesn't tell you is the source of this feeling, so of course, the liar can be ashamed of his lie, but a truthful person can be ashamed of something he did on a particular day, falling ill, and plethora of other reasons. Hence it is a huge misintepration of body language.
Yes, you are correct, Paul Ekman describes those as 'manipulators', but again those things indicate that a person feels uncomfortable for the reason unknown. On the other hand maintaining eye contact for an extended period of time is unnatural, and may in fact be a clue to the person's untruthfulness.

First - the person is nervous, impatient, etc.
Second - lowered self-esteem, sadness, shame, etc.


When lucking for clues to describing deception in body language one must be extremely careful, to avoid, sometimes fatal mistakes.

For example a person suspected of murder during interrogation may be afraid of getting caught. The same person however can be afraid of being falsely accused.

Therefore if you want to interpret body language, I'd exercise utmost caution.

Cheers

The source for that was David Simon's "Homicide" book, just to let you know.

I'm not saying you made it up.
Although I suppose a work of psychologist who devoted his lifework to study of deceit, emotions and facial expressions is probably more credible.
(My source is Paul Ekman's book Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit)

Slightly incorrect. The wording in your post makes it seem like the knowledge makes you spot lies all the time. Ekman himself said that even the best human lie detector will be right/catch a lie 60% of the time.