"Numb3rs" (2005)TV series 2005-????

Creators:

Nicolas Falacci
Cheryl Heuton

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

23 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Working for the FBI, a mathematician uses equations to help solve various crimes.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Suspense | College Campus | College Professor | FBI

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

US TV Schedule:

Fri. May 23

10:00 PM

CBS

Traffic

#3.5

Cast

David Krumholtz	...	Charlie Eppes / ... (80 episodes, 2005-2008)
Rob Morrow	...	Don Eppes (79 episodes, 2005-2008)
Judd Hirsch	...	Alan Eppes (78 episodes, 2005-2008)
Alimi Ballard	...	David Sinclair (75 episodes, 2005-2008)
Navi Rawat	...	Amita Ramanujan (68 episodes, 2005-2008)
Peter MacNicol	...	Dr. Larry Fleinhardt / ... (65 episodes, 2005-2008)
Diane Farr	...	Megan Reeves (63 episodes, 2005-2008)
Dylan Bruno	...	Colby Granger (60 episodes, 2005-2008)

Also Known As:

Num3ers (USA) (promotional title)
Numbers (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

43 min | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

CBS Paramount Network Television

Trivia:

The university Cal Sci is modeled on the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, developing characters loosely based on a Caltech professor and students. Portions of the series have been filmed on the Caltech campus. Gary Lorden, the chairman of the math department at Caltech, consults for the show. The pilot episode was screened at Caltech as well, receiving a standing ovation at the end.

Quotes:

Charlie Eppes: [Larry has been waxing philosophical] Is that the kind of stuff you talk about with Megan at lunch?
Don Eppes: [Don and Dad are surprised; Larry looks at Charlie, who grins mischievously] Wait, ho-ho-hold on. You and Megan went out to lunch?
Alan Eppes: Oh, please tell me you ordered something other than white food.
[the Eppes men laugh]
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt: [trying to maintain some dignity] This was a meal shared by two inquisitive minds in an intellectual pursuit.
Charlie Eppes: [grinning bigger] Of course it was, like all your lunches with David. Oh, and with Colby.
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt: [matter-of-factly] A gamma ray burst will release more energy in ten seconds than the sun will emit in its entire ten-billion-year lifespan.
Don Eppes: I got it, what's the Hulk's real name?
Charlie Eppes: Um, Bruce Banner.
Don Eppes: That's right. I mean, didn't gamma rays turn him into the Hulk?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: 9 Lives (#1.5)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Once in a Lifetime

Numbthreers: Dumb title, decent show

I've liked the show so far, though I can see the Mathematics as a Crime-Solving Tool angle will get old pretty quick. I don't necessarily think that will be a crippling problem for this show, however, because it isn't a flat-out procedural like the CSIs are. It's really a more old-fashioned show than that, more like some of the dramas from the 70s and 80s. If Numbthreers were really another CSI clone, we wouldn't have all the back story about Charley and Don's mother's death, nor would their father be a regular character.

I'm particularly liking Krumholtz, who has turned out to be very different from what I would have expected. Most surprisingly of all, he turned out to be CUTE. He was a fairly stereotypically nerdy Jewish boy as a teenager, but the big-eyed, shaggy-haired socially awkward angelic genius role fits him like a glove. In another actor's hands, it would likely be pretty cloying, but Krumholtz underplays it nicely.

Rob Morrow and Judd Hirsch are more typical characters, with more workmanlike performances so far, but the chemistry between the three Eppeses is fine. The other characters will be developing as the show ages, so we'll see how they turn out.

As I said, I suspect they will have to leave aside the specific formula they've laid out for the show so far, because even if they manage to come up with dozens of plots which hinge on some permutation of mathematics, the theme is certain to quickly grow repetitive and even self-parodying before too long. Since they have supplied interesting characters, though, change-of-pace plots should be just as watchable as the ones done up to now.