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Thursday, November 03, 2016

Review: Limitless

***I received no compensation for this review. I saw the show as part of my paid Netflix subscription.***

Limitless is my new favorite TV show. I wish I'd known before I started watching it that it had been cancelled, but I didn't and (of course) I loved it. I always love the shows that no one else does. They get cancelled and then I swear off television.

Anyway, Limitless is about this 28-year-old man who's something of a slacker. When his father becomes ill and the doctors can't figure it out, Brian Finch (our hero) takes a drug called NZT. It allows the user to access all his memories and use all of his brain. Brian discovers what's wrong with his father and the doctors are able to save him, but his dad needs a transplant and Brian kind of sells his soul.

NZT also has side effects and they can kill. There's a special enzyme that can prevent these negative reactions, but the only man who has it uses it as leverage over Brian. You see, it wears off and he needs booster shots. There's other stuff going on too that paints him into the corner and he ends up working with the FBI, but answerable to the mysterious Senator Morra.

There are no words for how much I loved this show. It's so much more than it's description. It's lighthearted and fun, not only crime drama. They did one episode that starts and ends like the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I loved that so hard!

I also loved that Brian isn't a static character. In the one season it was on, he changed and grew. There were so many cool directions to take him and what's up with Senator Morra dropping off the radar? I also loved the finale where they set up the next season. Brian is less a lackey and more of an agent, but with his usual offbeat sense of humor. Someone please air Limitless for me! It can't end this soon.

Not that the show is perfect. It's not, of course. There are definitely things I didn't like. For example, there's an episode with a serial killer, and because Brian can't handle it, he changes the word "kill" to "hug" and a few other word substitutions were made. I felt like I spent that entire episode translating what they were saying into what they should have been saying.

I also don't know how I feel about Rebecca or Naz, the two female leads on the show. I sort of like them and yet sort of don't. I'm not sure if it's because I like Brian so well (even though he starts out like a man-child) and they're harsh with him at times or if it's something more than that.

There's also Brian's family. I'm glad we get to see his family, but he ties himself up trying to meet expectations. On the one hand, yes, he needs to grow up and do something with his life. On the other hand, it is his life to mess up as he sees fit. (And he does see fit.) It would be nice if there was a little more acceptance to go along with the expectations. Again, this could be my sense because of how much I liked the character of Brian. It kind of colors the entire show for me.

To sum up, I'd love to see more Limitless. There's so many different ways it can go, almost all of which are interesting. Some network somewhere needs to pick this show up.

Two enthusiastic thumbs up.

***I received no compensation for this review. I saw the show as part of my paid Netflix subscription.***