Limitless was mostly an adaptation, but partly a continuation of the movie of the same name starring Bradley Cooper. Like the movie, the premise of the series is based on the myth that humans only access 10 percent of their brain's power which can be expanded by taking a nootropic drug called NZT-48, which unlocks the full potential of the human mind. Jake McDorman, who up to this point in his career played character parts in either guest starring or recurring roles on series like Shameless and House, had been a series lead in a few short-lived relatively unknown shows, as well as having a few movie credits under his belt, plays Brian Finch, a 28-year old musician who has to take odd jobs to keep himself afloat. He is mainly a slacker with little direction in his life. He is given NZT and for 12 hours becomes incredibly smart, with perfect recall, and is able to solve any problem. In the pilot, he becomes the suspect in a murder investigation and uses NZT to figure out who the real murderer is. Cooper reprises his role from the movie, Eddie Mora, as a recurring character, who is a senator with presidential aspirations. He provides Brian with a shot that counteracts the devastating side effects of NZT, and Brian ends up becoming a consultant for the FBI working with Special Agent Rebecca Harris (played by Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter, in her first big role after Dexter ended) and Special Agent Spelman Boyle (played by Hill Harper) who is less than enthused to have Brian as a consultant. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays FBI Special Agent in Charge Nasreen "Naz" Poura, who assigns missions to the team.
The series is definitely a bit uneven, and it took a while to really find its footing. Early in the season, episodes included more of Brian's family, played by Ron Rifkin (of Alias) as Brian's father, Blair Brown (from Fringe) as Brian's mother, and Megan Guinan as Brian's sister, Rachel. About halfway through the season, the series shifted to focusing a lot less on Brian's personal life (mainly because of the backlash from viewers over the recreational use of marijuana by Brian and Rachel) and focused almost exclusively on the FBI cases. Cooper made a handful of appearances throughout the season but did not have as large a role in the show as the previews for the series made it seem, I think the fact that Cooper did not have a larger part in the show ultimately hurt the show in the long run.
For those who get the DVD set (the series only got a DVD physical media release), the extras include series promos, a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes, a commentary track on the episode Headquarters!, and a gag reel. A decent amount for a series that only lasted one season.
Overall, the series is very good, despite the rougher start when the series was trying to figure out if it wanted to be a straight drama or more of a blended drama and comedy. It was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural crime drama but also had some serial storylines. The acting was great, especially once a single tone was picked, and all of the characters (even the ancillary ones) were given good material to work with. The series, thankfully, does not end on a total cliffhanger, but it ended in a way that was definitely setting up a second season that would ultimately never come. So, if you watch it and get into it, you may be disappointed that not everything gets resolved by the end. That said, it is still a very good series that is worth watching.
The series is definitely a bit uneven, and it took a while to really find its footing. Early in the season, episodes included more of Brian's family, played by Ron Rifkin (of Alias) as Brian's father, Blair Brown (from Fringe) as Brian's mother, and Megan Guinan as Brian's sister, Rachel. About halfway through the season, the series shifted to focusing a lot less on Brian's personal life (mainly because of the backlash from viewers over the recreational use of marijuana by Brian and Rachel) and focused almost exclusively on the FBI cases. Cooper made a handful of appearances throughout the season but did not have as large a role in the show as the previews for the series made it seem, I think the fact that Cooper did not have a larger part in the show ultimately hurt the show in the long run.
For those who get the DVD set (the series only got a DVD physical media release), the extras include series promos, a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes, a commentary track on the episode Headquarters!, and a gag reel. A decent amount for a series that only lasted one season.
Overall, the series is very good, despite the rougher start when the series was trying to figure out if it wanted to be a straight drama or more of a blended drama and comedy. It was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural crime drama but also had some serial storylines. The acting was great, especially once a single tone was picked, and all of the characters (even the ancillary ones) were given good material to work with. The series, thankfully, does not end on a total cliffhanger, but it ended in a way that was definitely setting up a second season that would ultimately never come. So, if you watch it and get into it, you may be disappointed that not everything gets resolved by the end. That said, it is still a very good series that is worth watching.
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