Numbers (TV series)

Did You Know?

• CBS DVD released Numb3rs: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 on June 2, 2017.
• The show's stunt coordinator, Jim Vickers, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Stunt Coordination in 2006 for episode 14 of season 2, 'Harvest'.
• The creators won the Carl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science in 2006 and the National Science Board's Public Service Award in 2007.

Cast and characters

The show centered on three intersecting groups: the FBI, scientists at the fictional California Institute of Science (CalSci), and the Eppes family. Don Eppes, played by Rob Morrow, is the lead FBI agent of the Los Angeles Violent Crimes Squad. His brother, Professor Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), is a mathematical genius who teaches at CalSci and consults for the FBI and NSA. Their father, Alan Eppes (Judd Hirsch), is a former L.A. city planner and widower who lives in a historic two-story California bungalow with Arts and Crafts furnishings. FBI field agent David Sinclair (Alimi Ballard) later becomes Don's second-in-command and supervisor. Terry Lake (Sabrina Lloyd) appears as a forensic psychologist and FBI agent in season one. Professor Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist at CalSci, Charlie's former mentor and best friend who also consults for the FBI. Megan Reeves (Diane Farr) is an FBI behavioral specialist who becomes romantically involved with Larry Fleinhardt and later leaves the FBI. Colby Granger (Dylan Bruno) is an FBI field agent who was once thought to have betrayed his colleagues. Liz Warner (Aya Sumika) is an FBI agent formerly involved with Don. Nikki Betancourt (Sophina Brown) is an FBI agent with LAPD experience and a law degree.

Episodes

Each episode opens with a voice-over by David Krumholtz stating that everyone uses math every day to predict weather, tell time, and handle money, and that math is logic and rationality used to solve mysteries. The first season aired from January 23, 2005, to May 13, 2005, on Fridays at 10:00 pm, establishing the working relationship between the Los Angeles FBI field office and Charlie Eppes. This half-season produced 13 episodes. The second season aired from September 23, 2005, to May 19, 2006, also at 10:00 pm on Fridays. Changes include Terry Lake's reassignment to Washington and the addition of Megan Reeves and Colby Granger to Don's team. Charlie begins work on cognitive emergence theory, Larry sells his home and becomes nomadic while romantically involved with Megan, and Amita receives an offer from Harvard but struggles with her relationship with Charlie. The third season aired from September 22, 2006, to May 18, 2007, at 10:00 pm on Fridays. Charlie and Amita's relationship intensifies, as do Larry and Megan's after Megan's kidnapping. Larry announces a six-month leave of absence to go to the International Space Station, and Dr. Mildred Finch becomes the new chair of the CalSci Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy Division and begins dating Alan.

Representation of mathematics

Several mathematicians worked as consultants for each episode, and the equations shown on chalkboards are mathematically valid and somewhat applicable to the situations presented, as asserted by professional mathematicians. A book titled The Numbers Behind NUMB3RS: Solving Crime with Mathematics, published August 28, 2007, and written by Keith Devlin and Dr. Gary Lorden, explains mathematical techniques used in actual FBI cases and other law-enforcement departments. Since the premiere season, a blog edited by Mark Bridger, a professor at Northeastern University, has commented on the mathematics behind each episode. Wolfram Research, the developers of Mathematica, served as the chief math consultant, reviewing scripts and providing background mathematics; starting with season four, their website collaborated with CBS under the title 'The math behind NUMB3RS'. Mathematician consultant Alice Silverberg expressed concern that the math is inserted after the initial script to provide plausible-sounding jargon rather than being integrated from the start, and also criticized the show's portrayal of female mathematicians and the appropriateness of the relationship between Charlie and his graduate student Amita.

Production

The idea for Numbers originated in the late 1990s when creators Nick Falacci and Cheryl Heuton attended a lecture by Bill Nye. The premise is similar to Colin Bruce's reimaginings of Sherlock Holmes and to the 'Mathnet' segment on Square One. Gabriel Macht was originally cast as Don Eppes. The original concept set the events at MIT, later changed to the fictional California Institute of Science (CalSci). Scenes at CalSci are filmed at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Southern California; frequent Caltech locations include Millikan Library, the bridge over Millikan Pond, the Trustees room, and nearby arcades, while USC locations include Doheny Library and the Town and Gown dining room. Exteriors for the FBI offices are filmed on the bridge at Los Angeles Center Studios. The Eppes family home shown in the first season is a real house owned by David Raposa and Edward Trosper, but a replica set was used from season two onward. The title uses the number three instead of the letter 'e', a form of leetspeak; according to Cheryl Heuton, this derives from computer jargon that replaces letters with numbers. Dr. Gary Lorden noted that the number three in the title can serve as a restriction in Internet searches about the series.