LimitLess
The Life Of Brian
released 22 aUgUsT 2015-2016 | 15 | dVd Creator Craig sweeny Cast Jake Mcdorman, Jennifer Carpenter, Hill Harper, Mary elizabeth Mastrantonio, Colin salmon
It’s a shame this TV spin-off from the intriguing Bradley Cooper movie of 2011 didn’t click with more viewers, getting cancelled after just one season. Despite a few issues, it had a lot of potential, toyed with being genuinely innovative and was often hilarious to watch. Still, you can’t help feeling by the time you get to the end of these 22 episodes that it seems to have said everything it wants to say: another season could have seen it run out of ideas, and it does wrap up rather well as it is.
The show follows the exploits of an ordinary Joe named Brian (Jake McDorman) who pops pills that give him unparalleled mental prowess, thus enabling him to team up with the FBI to solve cases. You can tell when Brian’s on drugs because the cinematography changes: everything becomes colourful and saturated and it’s like you’re tripping with him, plus he also has hallucinations – many of which are great fun, from cartoon sequences to Ferris Bueller homages. But underneath all the gloss, glamour and (often brilliant) geeky references, there are some rather clunky police procedural plots. There’s also only so much chirpy narration that your head starts to hurt.
Guest appearances from Bradley Cooper himself do help (the show kicks off as his movie character is starting to make eyes at the White House), and the cast – especially Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter and our very own Colin Salmon – are great. But Limitless suffers from smug overload and isn’t quite as smart as it thinks it is.
Extras None. Meg Wilde
The show isn’t quite as smart as it thinks it is
In one ep, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s character is resuscitated in a brilliant homage to a scene in 1989’s The Abyss.