Product Description
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NUMB3RS is a drama about an FBI agent who recruits his
mathematical-genius brother to help the Bureau solve a wide range
of challenging crimes in Los Angeles. The two brothers take on
the most confounding criminal cases from a very distinctive
perspective. Inspired by actual events, the series depicts how
the confluence of work and mathematics provides unexpected
revelations and answers to the most perplexing criminal
questions.
.com
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Season One
"Everything is numbers," states Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz)
in the pilot of Numb3rs, a satisfying (and educational!) new
crime drama. Executive-produced by brothers/film directors Ridley
Scott (Gladiator) and Tony Scott (Top ), it's like CSI with
algorithms and probabilities instead of blood spatter and
swabs, which separates it from the slew of gruesome
forensics-centered cop shows currently on the air. In this case,
it's a brains-vs.-brawn matchup: a brilliant math professor
(Krumholtz) consulting on crimes for an FBI agent (Rob Morrow)
who happens to be his older brother. While Don, Morrow's
character, busts the baddies with his team of agents, Charlie's
scribbling formulas on chalkboards and statistically deducting a
rapist's next target by comparing his pattern to a sprinkler
system. (Yes, it sounds geekier than it is). As the show
progresses, Charlie--not yet desensitized to people's es
relying on his findings--takes it harder and harder when his
hypotheses don't always result in justice. It sounds very
cerebral, but the cops and robbers concept plus
brother-to-brother dynamics make it all go down easy. There's an
unpretentious way the premise is executed, which ends up making
math--get this--fun.
The DVD set features episode commentary by cast and crew, and a
peek at the unaired pilot that starred many different actors
(including Anna Deveare Smith and Michael Rooker) who were
dropped when the episode was overhauled. Morrow, who wasn't even
in the pilot, was cast later with Judd Hirsch as their her to
replace the original (blonder) actors because, as producers
admitted, casting Krumholtz as Charlie took the family in an
"ethnically specific direction." The jokes also abound in a
behind-the-scenes featurette, where Morrow defines the series as
"Rain Man … plus an extra Jew." --Ellen A. Kim
Season Two
Numb3rs' intriguing and entertaining mix of prime-time crime
action and mathematics gets its sopre showcase in this
impressive six-disc boxed set, which brings together the entire
second season with a fun and informative array of extras. Season
Two brings about a slight changing of the guard in the show's
cast: Gone is Sabrina Lloyd as Agent Terry Lake, and in her place
are Diane Farr (Rescue Me) as Agent Megan Reeves and Dylan Bruno
as Agent Colby Granger, both of whom assimilate quite smoothly
into Numb3rs' blend of detective work and academics. Otherwise
it's business as usual with the Eppes boys, with big brother Don
(Rob Morrow) leading his team against all manner of nefarious
types, and genius younger sibling Charlie (David Krumholtz)
finding answers in the web of mathematical equations he stores in
his head. Highlights for the season include "All's Fair," which
offers both the murder of a documentarian investigating Muslim
women's rights and a rekindled love affair for Charlie; "Mind
Games," which pits Charlie against a psychic (John Glover) who
tracks down three missing women; and "Toxin," which features a
return guest appearance by Lou Diamond Phillips as Special Agent
Ian Edgerton.
Extras include commentary on seven episodes by members of the
cast and crew, including co-creator Nicolas Falacci; also
interesting is "Crunching Numb3rs: Season Two," which offers a
half-hour look behind the scenes at the making of the episode
"Rampage," and David Krumholtz's video diary, for which the actor
brings the audience along for a day on the set. A blooper reel
and gallery of stills by Falacci round out the supplemental
features. -- Paul Gaita
Season Three
Some key subtractions and additions invigorate the engrossing
third season of this smart series about an FBI team led by Don
Eppes (Rob Morrow) who gets assistance on its toughest cases by
Don's brother, Charlie (David Krumholtz), a mathematical genius.
Peter MacNicol, as eccentric physics professor Larry Fleinhardt,
Charlie's mentor, departed mid-season for a stint on 24. Diane
Farr, as FBI profiler Megan Reeves, left on maternity leave.
Enter Kathy Najimy as Charlie's new boss, Mildred ("Millie")
Finch, and the exotic Aya Sumika as Special Agent Liz Warner, to
give the show what the creators call, in a bonus season
retrospective, "more girl energy." What separates Numb3rs from
TV's other, and more grisly, procedural shows is that it
emphasizes brains over bleech and intellect over ick. Enjoyment
of Numb3rs is not dependent on your knowledge of "multi-attribute
compositional models," "hidden variable theory," or "quadratic
discriminate analysis," Just do what the confounded agents on
Don's team do whenever Charlie explains how he applies his
"intuitive synthesis of established mathematical principles and
theorems" to manhunting: "Nod your head and wait for the
punchline." Big picture, the cases are compelling in themselves:
a psyche-red teacher and her young lover embark on a murder
spree; a valuable painting originally stolen by Nazis is heisted
from an art gallery; someone is bent on killing, not catching,
child predators; a music mogul's son is kipped; a sinkhole
that destroys a school playground reveals the cover-up of illegal
toxic waste dumping.
Season 3 also es out the characters. The competitive
brothers express newfound respect for each other ("It's amazing
how you see things," Don tells Charlie at one point). Charlie and
Amita (Navi Rawat), who has accepted a position at the university
to teach and do research, attempt to take their budding romantic
relationship to the next level. Megan and Larry also become a
couple. And in the thrilling and suspenseful season finale, "The
Janus List," there is a startling revelation about one of the
members on Don's team. Among the notable guest stars include Lou
Diamond Phillips, reprising his role as Agent Edgerton, who is
willing to cross ethical lines that Don is not. In the episode
"Provenance," Gena Rowlands gives a heartbreaking performance as
a woman whose family was decimated by the Holocaust. Add such
extras as selected episode commentaries, bloopers, and an
entertaining set tour with Krumholtz, Morrow, and Judd Hirsch,
who helps to anchor the series as Don and Charlie's her, and
you have a season whose DVD release is a "special equation."
--Donald Liebenson
Season Four
Fascinating cases, friendship dynamics and trust metrics all add
up to another compelling season of television's smartest
procedural show. The season gets off to an explosive start with a
Very Special Episode, complete with blazing action set pieces and
even a Big Name Star (Val Kilmer!) right out of a Tony Scott
blockbuster, which figures as Scott, who co-produces Numb3rs with
brother Ridley, helmed the episode. The truth about agent Colby's
(Dylan Bruno) loyalties is revealed, and he is tentatively and
warily welcomed back into the fold, although Sinclair (Alimi
Ballard) feels particularly betrayed. Mathematics (duh) figure
heavily in this season's convoluted cases, including the death of
a woman in a rising young movie star's bathtub, an immersive
interactive video game, and a street race that spins out of
control. Concepts such as partition congruence and Byzantine
fault-tolerance may soar over most viewer's heads, but as the
movie star admiringly observes, it's "way cool" when professor
Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz) measures towel absorbency to
determine the size of the bathtub killer. Numb3rs divides its
time between casework and the human equation. Charlie's older
brother and FBI team leader Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) is haunted by
the death of a woman in witness protection, loses one girlfriend,
but regains another, Robin (Michelle Nolden reprising her second
season role). Eccentric professor Larry (Peter Gallagher) has
returned from space and is now living in a monastery.
Psychological profiler Megan (Diane Farr) ponders a career
change. It's a particularly eventful season for Charlie, who
becomes a bestselling author and relationship guru after his book
on friendship dynamics is marketed as a self-help tome. One
harrowing case involving a kipped reporter hits close to home
when intimidating thugs cloud his mathematical prowess. He also
undergoes FBI training ("I’m in pursuit of a burdy-ish, sort
of merlot-coloured… what model car would you say that is?" he
radios in during a training exercise). In the game-changing
season finale, Charlie and Don, the "brothers who became
friends," are on site sides of a case involving a Pakistani
scientist friend of Charlie's who is suspected of being a
terrorist. No episode commentaries this time around, but five
featurettes go behind the scenes of the Tony Scott episode.
--Donald Liebenson
