What I’m Watching: Limitless

Limitless: Season 1, Episode 11 “This is Your Brian on Drugs” (B+)

It was a nice treat to have an episode of this show so late in December when most series have already gone on hiatus, and I’m pleased to see that it will be back in just a couple short weeks in the beginning of January. Running through some of my favorite new shows this year, I found myself defending this one to a friend. I still find this to be one of the more entertaining new additions to the fall slate, and I think it consistently manages to be strong, trying new framing devices on a regular basis and always keeping up its quality. This episode had a fun structure, and also contained some more serious developments not related to Brian and his clandestine deal with the devil and a certain senator to keep his supply coming. Ike talking about his dream about an endless string of Mikes, including a female Mike, was entertaining, and then he got himself shot by vandals trying to get ahold of drugs that just happened to include a large supply of NZT. We finally got to see other agents taking NZT, and I found what they did very interesting, and also how Brian realized that Casey was on NZT while he was talking to Naz. Boyle shooting and killing Casey was an unexpected event, and that’s clearly going to fracture the team as Brian and Rebecca insist that it could have been avoided and Boyle continues to feel that it was necessary. It was a strong dramatic way to end this show’s run this year, and I look forward to more in 2016.