A Man. And His Blog.

The second season of CBS' crime procedural aired during the season 2005/2006.

Like a cross between CSI and Darren Aronofsky’s indie feature PI, Numb3rs blends crime-drama with mathematics for a smart and creepy spin on the police-detective genre. Executive produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, the series centres on a pragmatically minded FBI agent, Don Eppes (Rob Morrow), who invites his math-genius younger brother, Charlie (David Krumholtz), to help him solve challenging cases using mathematical theories based on equations and probability. Dark and moody with a near-cinematic feel, Numb3rs has won both fans and acclaim for its innovative approach to the conventional crime-drama formula.

Episode 01: Judgment Call
Average episode, not really a season opener (and after I read this was originally the second episode, it couldn’t be an opener). The case was boring, but the new characters were interesting. Colby (Dylan Bruno) is more of a hard guy, while Megan (Diane Farr) is more rational and open-minded. I don’t miss Sabrina Lloyd and the new ones did a good job. Larry’s (Peter MacNicol) white food is funny and Don trying to date a hot-looking prosecutor is a little step into some sort of private life. 6/10

Episode 02: Bettor or Worse
A good episode. I liked the case and the little twist in it that the father was in it all the way. I just didn’t understand the way to the final conclusion, it went a little bit too fast. Charlie’s and Amita’s (Navi Rawat) date was hilarious, so they can’t have a relationship which is not work related, time to move on for the both. The two new ones in Don’s team are getting really good into the story. 7/10

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The first season of CBS' crime show aired in midseason 2005

Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), a brilliant mathematician and professor at the (fictional) California Institute of Science, is enlisted by his brother, Don (Rob Morrow), to join the ranks of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a code-breaker and consultant. The two brothers take on the most confounding criminal cases from a very distinctive perspective. Dr. Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) is Charlie’s friend and colleague who urges Charlie to focus more on his university studies than on FBI business. Don and Charlie’s father, Alan Eppes (Judd Hirsch), is pleased to see his two sons working together, but fears their competitive nature will lead to trouble.

Episode 01: Pilot
I remember when I watched the episode for the first time in German television, I was stunned. Awesome story, though I am not a genius in math, a great score and it had enough thrill to entertain me during the evening hours. Today the series may be a bit stereotype, but it still is an awesome episode, because everything fits together.
Okay, the case of the week was average, but the writers managed not to include the rapist in one of the appearing characters and instead giving us somebody we didn’t see in the episode. No wonder, because it isn’t a whodunit-episode, it is more of a whereishe-question, like during the rest of the episodes. And that’s why I always loved Numb3rs. The stories might be predictable, but at least there are plotted good and the writers ship around the clichés.
The characters are interesting. Rob Morrow gives a good FBI agent, Sabrina Lloyd and Alimi Ballard not so really, David Krumholtz is totally believable in his role and he has a great chemistry with Navi Ravat. And Judd Hirsch gives a great father for the two brothers, though I still can’t believe he didn’t have any story of his own.
I did understand the math used in this episode, but what would I give to use it for myself, just for fun. The series gives me some moments, in which I am dreaming to be a mathematician…
As I said, awesome episode, when I saw it for the first time; and it surprisingly still is. 8,5/10

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