Numb3rs: Season Three

While in grade school many kids will complain about having to take math course. They use a standard rationalization for their distain of math, ‘It’s not like we are going to use this in real life’. After all who needs algebra, geometry, and calculus once you have graduated school? CBS has not only answered that age old question they have done so by scoring a solid hit on their Friday night line up. The series ‘Numb3rs’ is a crime series with a difference. The main hero does not carry a gun, he carries a laptop. Instead of chasing the villains he crunches numbers and analyzes data. Numb3ers is a smart show but that doesn’t mean it is without action. The basic premise follows two brothers, an FBI agent and a math genius. Instead of just taking to the streets to find the bad guys, graduate level math is employed to determine where the perpetrator will be and what he will be doing. This may have started out as a bit of a gimmick but now with three seasons completed the series has developed into a worthy character based crime drama. The third season, now on DVD, had to accommodate some needs of the cast but instead of hindering the overall plot the imaginative writers used potential set backs to help propel the stories. It’s not often a prime time television series can inform as well as entertain but this one does it and does it well.

Charlie Epps (David Krumholtz) has always been the polar opposite of his brother Don (Rob Morrow). Where Don was athletic, popular and found it was to be with girls, Charlie was different, he was a math prodigy. Charlie was always the youngest in his class and the brightest which left him having to catch up socially with his older brother. Now, as adults Don is a lead Special Agent in the Los Angles division of the FBI. He is dedicated to his job which leaves little time for a social life but he manages to find a way. Every week some case presents itself as too difficult for normal avenues of investigation and he enlists the aid of Charlie. Charlie still lives with his recently widowed father Alan (Judd Hirsch) who is a retired LA country planer. Other than his older brother and father two people are closest to Charlie. One is Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol), a physics professor and long time friend and mentor to Charlie. The other is Amita Ramanujan (Navi Rawat) a former student of Charlie’s. In this season they have finally realized their mutual attraction and have become a couple. Larry and Alan also have found romance in this season. Larry with Megan Reeves (Diane Farr), a FBI profiler on Don’s team and Alan with Dr. Millie Finch (Kathy Najimy), the new chairperson of the Math, Physics and Astronomy departments at CalSci.

Season three opens with a bang. The two part season opening features guest star Kim Dickens as a psychopathic spree killer who has taken a younger man on a trip through several states brutally killing people on their way. Charlie is called in to create an algorithm that will help Don and his team predict where and when she will appear next. Things get very personal when the killer kidnaps Megan. In another episode it is discovered that a mole has been planted in the Department of Justice. This mole works for the Chinese government and is a long time friend of Colby Granger (Dylan Bruno), one of Don’s team. This plot line comes into play in the very dramatic season finale. Some news head lines make it into the stories such as the case that evolves steroid abuse in professional baseball. Another has Don and Charlie chasing the cause of a deadly cancer cluster that is affecting school children in the city. In the episode ‘Nine Wives’ the plot is based on the infamous polygamous Warren Jeffs.

The way that the writers keep this series from being just another ‘bad guy’ of the week series is the growth they permit for the main characters. Relationships change, some becoming more distant while others grow closer. Millie started off as a hard nose bureaucrat who demands that Charlie and Amita stop wasting time with their consulting for the FBI. She then sees that this could be a great point to make to prospective donors to the university. Seeing Alan socially also had a hand in softening this character. Don is shown as a man with a lot of responsibility who finds it difficult to met women and have a normal relationship. In this season Charlie and Don come to terms with many of the jealous feelings in their past. The two brothers find more in common and more respect for each other. This innovative presentation makes a series that has to do with advance math fun to watch. Every episode Charlie employs some esoteric form of math to solve a real world problem. This is not only an excellent television series it harkens back to a favorite show of my youth, ‘Mister Wizard’. Math and science are shown to be something that can be used everyday and something we all can understand. Charlie uses metaphors employing common subjects to explain the most complicated concepts in math. It should also be noted that a math professor is on staff for the series to make sure Charlie gets it right.

David Krumholtz has been a working actor since his childhood. In fact he was the love interest for Wednesday in ‘The Addams Family Values’. His talent here is how he comes across. While playing a genius he does so as a normal kind of guy. Krumholtz portrays Charlie as a man with a big brain and even bigger heart. Since this season has a girlfriend for him Charlie is humanized even more. His chemistry with Navi Rawat’s character of Amita adds a lot to the series. Rob Morrow is the perfect counterpoint to Krumholtz. His performance as Don is complex. He makes his character who is professionally self assured but on the personal level as serious doubts about himself. While younger siblings live in the shadow of their older sibling the situation was reversed for Don. He4 felt that his parents gave more attention to his brilliant younger brother. Now, as adults they both have to redefine their relationship. As the father to this complicated pair Judd Hirsch plays his role extremely well. He may not be as brilliant has his genius son but he is intelligent and perceptive. The writers had the problem of explaining the absence of two main characters. Peter MacNicol needed some time off for a guest staring role on ‘24’ while Diane Farr needed a little maternity leave. They had Larry chosen to be a mission specialist on the space shuttle while Megan was selected for a special assignment in the Department of Justice. Both story lines were consistent with the overall themes of the series and allowed both actors to return seamlessly to the show.

Considering this season set DVD release is from Paramount Pictures who get what you would expect, excellence. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is brilliant with an exceptional color palette. The Dolby 5.1 audio is full providing a realistic sound stage. There are also a few extras that are well thought out. Selected episodes have a cast and crew commentary track that provides some welcomed insight to the production of the series. There is a featurette concerning the actual math used in this season and who it is really used. Another featurette focuses on the Epps family dynamic while another gives a tour of the set. Also included is a funny blooper reel. This is an intelligent, well produced series that is fun for the whole family.

Posted 09/14/07