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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 1, 2016 2 By Cassie Dresch TV Media T here's an urban legend that claims we only ever use 10 percent of our brains. While this is actually just a myth ("MythBusters" even went to the trouble of debunking it), it hasn't stopped anyone from using the notion as a compelling storytelling device. Most re- cently, the concept was thrust into public consciousness in 2001, when Irish writer Alan Glynn's techno-thriller novel "The Dark Fields" was pub- lished, and the idea rose to the forefront again when "Limitless," the film based on Glynn's novel and starring Bradley Cooper, came out in 2011. "Limitless" proved popular at the box office, grossing $152 million worldwide against a $27 million budget, and it was only two years lat- er that Cooper announced he would lead a team of execu- tive producers and create a television series based on the movie. The series, aptly titled "Limitless," premiered in September and has also en- joyed moderate success. With only a few episodes left to go until the finale, a new epi- sode of the dramedy airs Tuesday, April 5, on CBS. Jake McDorman ("Greek") stars as Brian Finch, who, at the start of the season, was a struggling musician and gen- eral burnout. Now, after be- ing introduced to the mysteri- ous and revolutionary drug called NZT-48, he's suddenly able to recall every detail of his life every time he takes a pill. Of course, instantly be- coming the smartest man in the world turns some heads, and he is ultimately recruited by the FBI. Jennifer Carpenter ("Dex- ter") plays Rebecca Harris, the FBI special agent to whom Brian lends his new- found abilities to help solve weekly cases. Rebecca knows quite a bit about NZT- 48 and what it can do be- cause her father once visited her while on the drug before turning up dead a few weeks later. The characters rely on each other quite a bit in the series, and the chemistry between the two actors is, thankfully, very apparent. In an interview with Headlines and Global News, McDorman explained how quickly the duo clicked and what made it such an in- stantaneous connection: "We read the script, like, two weeks before we started shooting. It was all very fast, but [the chemistry] was in- stant from the table read. When I met Jennifer, she re- minded me of my sister, who was also eight months preg- nant, and I was like, 'You re- mind me of my sister, but maybe that's just the baby thing?' It's a really cool rela- tionship and I'm glad that it is that relationship." Yep, you read that right. Carpenter was eight months pregnant when the pilot was filmed, but thanks to a killer wardrobe team and some fancy camera work, audienc- es at home were none the wiser, and the rest of the cast was able to play it off like it was nothing. "The rest of the cast" re- fers to a couple of actors who know their way around the biz. Hill Harper, best known for his role as medical exam- iner Sheldon Hawkes in "CSI: NY," and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who was nom- inated for both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for her turn in "The Color of Money" (1986), round out the main cast as Special Agent Spell- man Boyle and Special Agent in Charge Naz Pouran, re- spectively. Also making occasional appearances in the TV adap- tation is none other than the "Limitless" star himself, Coo- per. He reprises his role as Ed- die Morra from the film, though now he's Sen. Morra, and he's gunning for a presi- dential nomination. Cooper serves as executive producer for the series, and evidently handpicked McDorman for the series' lead role: "I got the script from my agents with kind of a note that was like, 'Hey they'd like to meet with you. Apparently, Bradley thinks you would be great for the lead,'" McDor- man said at the Television Critics Association press tour last summer. "I totally didn't believe them at all, and at the end of the meeting they were like, 'Yeah, Bradley really has you in mind for this.'" Cooper and McDorman have a little history together, aside from existing in the same fictional TV universe. Cooper starred in the 2014 Oscar-winning drama "Amer- ican Sniper," based on the true exploits of late U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who was the most lethal sniper in U.S. mili- tary history, having amassed more than 160 confirmed kills. McDorman co-starred as a member of Kyle's unit dur- ing the sniper's third tour, Ryan "Biggles" Job. While the old wives' tale that we only use 10 percent of our brains may be false, that doesn't make the con- cept any less interesting. The idea spawned a popular book in the early 2000s and a mod- erately successful movie in the early 2010s, and now it has spawned an equally pop- ular television series. On the backs of two leads who pos- sess great on-screen chemis- try and infrequent, yet perti- nent, appearances of a famil- iar face, it's easy to see why "Limitless" is pushing the boundaries. With only a few episodes to go before the finale, catch a new episode of "Limitless" airing Tuesday, April 5, on CBS. A/Bulls Head Inn B/Laura Reyda 2 x 2 coverstory Life without limits CBS goes above and beyond with 'Limitless' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: I love the new TV show "Lucifer." Where has the star, Tom Ellis, been hiding? A: The short answer is: Britain. Over there, though, it hasn't seemed like hiding at all. He's been all over British TV for years now, co-starring in a number of series, such as sitcoms "Miranda" (2009-2015) and "Gates" (2012), the fantasy-thriller series "The Fades" (2011), and the horror miniseries "The Secret of Crickley Hall" (2012). He also fulfilled his British TV-star duty by appearing in an epi- sode of "Agatha Christie's Poirot" in 2014 (playing Det. Insp. Bland in the episode "Dead Man's Folly"). Interestingly, he's done a few religious-themed roles over there as well. He played an apostle in "The Passion," a 2008 BBC miniseries about the last days in the life of Jesus, and played a priest in a couple of episodes of the long-running fo- rensic drama "Silent Witness." Though it may seem as if he's been hiding in his native Brit- ain, Ellis did try previously to make inroads to American televi- sion. He starred in the USA Network series "Rush," which only lasted a season in 2014. Whether "Lucifer" will do better is yet to be seen. The show's only partway through its inaugural season, so a renew- al announcement is likely a long way away. Q: Who did the voice of the cat in "Sabrina, the Teen- age Witch"? A: The voice of Salem Saberhagen, a witch trapped in the body of a black cat in the teen sitcom "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," was done by Nick Bakay, a man generally more com- fortable off-screen than on. He's actually more known as a writer than an actor. Indeed, he's only done a few acting roles, with Salem being by far his biggest (he voiced the cat for the show's entire seven-year run). When "Sabrina" started in 1996, Bakay was pulling double duty as both a writer and the voice of Salem. He added "pro- ducer" to his list of titles on the show a couple of years later. Meanwhile, he was moonlighting with his other most nota- ble role, as the voice of Norbert Foster Beaver in the Nickelode- on cartoon "The Angry Beavers." He's moved on to more mature fare since, serving as pro- ducer and writer for sitcoms such as "The King of Queens," "'Til Death" and "Two and a Half Men." Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Losie's Gun Shop 1 x 4 312084 Serving the Oneonta and Surrounding Community Since 1981

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