Numb3rs

With all the reality shows and formulaic sitcoms and extreme violence (including gore) on television nowadays I have to say finding this little gem was indeed refreshing and proves that there are still creative spirits out in the world of TV conceptual development and developing interesting scripts. The eloquence of Math and it's relation to practically everything we encounter in our everyday, mundane lives is depicted in layman's terms through what most of us non-academic types need - visual clues - in other words "acting". This series, hopefully longer lived than the ones I fall in love with and end up being canceled by the second season, reminds me of a book my husband gave me more than 20 years ago called "Godel, Escher, Bach". The close ties between math, art and music and essentially life! The casting is excellent, Judd Hirsch has always been a favorite, ever since 'Taxi' and 'Dear John'; Rob Morrow is a fine actor whom we haven't seen enough of since the days of 'Northern Exposure' and David Krumholtz is wonderful, as the young genius who sees the world the the not so myopic eyes of a Mathematician, his lack of sarcasm and sweet sense of family love for his Father and Brother are all endearing qualities. Who would have thought, a family oriented show in the guise of a mystery thriller series. Tony and Ridley Scott were no surprise as being integral to setting this show up on the small screen, I just hope it gets fair air time and more advertising so we can enjoy many more episodes to come. By the way, the person who commented against this show being "too Jewish" was right on the mark! This show is not about a Jewish family, it is about a family that functions with love and respect without the presence of a Mother figure and it is about solving crimes using one's head, rather than a weapon straight off. I hope to see more television shows like this soon!

I like this show a lot. I'm not mathematically gifted, but I appreciate the logic behind it, and the universal applicability. Robert Heinlein said "If it can't be expressed mathematically, it's not a fact, but opinion," and he was right. I enjoy seeing an extremely intelligent person portrayed as a human being. During the last 15 years many popular shows have featured likable but illiterate louts (the characters of Dan Connor, Joey Tribiani, Jerry Seinfeld, and Doug Heffernan have all stated that they don't read,don't want to read, and don't like to read), and I appreciate having both the central- character brothers shown as bright, each in his own way. I also love the cast of this show. The only one with whom I wasn't familiar was David Krumholtz, and he more than holds his own in this group of old pros. I loved Sabrina Lloyd in the sharply-paced "Sports Night," and she's wonderful here as well. Peter MacNicol may be risking being type-cast as Mr. Looney Tunes, with his socially dysfunctional character in this show following his socially dysfunctional character in "Ally McBeal," but he's so good that it's still a pleasure to watch him work. "NUMB3RS" is primarily a good cop show, not an intellectual exercise, so no viewer should skip it because he's afraid it'll be too brainy for him. I'd recommend this show to anyone who isn't afraid to think, and to watch others do it who are better at it than we.

FBI agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) works out of the L. A. office. He has an extra tool in his toolkit. He gets help from his math genius brother Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz). Alan Eppes (Judd Hirsch) is their dad. David Sinclair (Alimi Ballard) is a fellow FBI agent. Amita Ramanujan (Navi Rawat) is Charlie's student turned love interest. His friend Dr. Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) is also a professor. Terry Lake (Sabrina Lloyd) is an FBI agent for season 1 who transferred to Washington. Megan Reeves (Diane Farr) is the female FBI agent for seasons 2-4.

This is basic network police procedural for the most part with a covering of math. The family part gets the other big slice of the pie. The tone is serious. It's a CBS. I'm not that convinced with the math part of the show, but it's a fine gimmick. It's a waving of the magical math wand. At least, it differentiates this show from all the rest.

Terry Lake had the potential to develop into Don's romantic partner but actress Sabrina Lloyd left the show after one season. Don's romantic storyline remains the show's glaring weak point. It's funny that Larry has a better romance. Amita does start with a problematic issue. The show skips over it a bit. What I really want is that she doesn't become simply Charlie's assistant. She kinda does. Mostly, I like the group.

This is a fine network show. It lasted six seasons. It's a middling Friday night show which never broke top 30, but never decline that much either. It could have gone another season or two, but there's no point.

All I can say this that three of Hollywood's most under-appreciated actors are in this show. Rob Morrow in a role meant for him has been sadly missing since his Northern Exposure days. Judd Hirsch will always be remembered for Taxi, but I also loved Dear John and love seeing him play the Dad to Jeff Goldblum's character in Independence Day. David Krumholtz is, I believe, the most under-appreciated of actors out there. He has depth and comic vision and compassion that's been sadly lacking in the most recent spate of "new talent." His "I am right" attitude in this show is not presented in an "in your face" way, but in a way that you know that Charlie is completely perplexed when the math doesn't compute. I hope CBS and the viewers will give Numbers a chance to excel. P.S. BRAVO to the HOTTIE that David Krumholtz has evolved into over the last couple of years. I look forward to his evolution onto one of his generations' great actors.

Despite being another police drama (this time it is the FBI), it has several unique elements. I don't think I have ever seen a mathematician as one of the main characters in a TV show. It worked. I liked how he related to those he dealt with. He was able to communicate on a human level. The mystery and suspense aspect of the show was very good. The writing was also very good but it may be difficult for the show to keep up the quality of its writing with its main subject a mathematician. Although it is somewhat unrealistic, I liked the idea of the two brothers working together with a common objective with the father putting his two cents in once in a while. I found the show very entertaining and I hope it lasts.