NUMB3RS
NUMB3RS is an American television show that first aired January 23, 2005 on CBS. The story revolves around FBI special agent Don Eppes (played by Rob Morrow) and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie (played by David Krumholtz), who develops formulae to predict the actions of serial criminals. Judd Hirsch plays the brothers' amiable father Alan. Also, Sabrina Lloyd stars as Don's FBI Partner, Terry Lake. Furthermore, David Sinclar plays Alimi Ballard, another FBI agent, and Peter MacNicol stars as Charlie's fellow CalSci professor, Dr. Larry Fleinhadrt.
The show is a clever balance of the rocky relationship between Don and Charlie and of the efforts they make to fight crime.
Several mathematicians from Caltech work as consultants for each episode.
Though the show does not actually present any mathematics, methods for solving similar types of problem actually exist, e.g. Bayesian search theory.
Characters
Alan Eppes
Alan Eppes, played by Judd Hirsch, is the proud father to Charlie and Don Eppes; he is pleased that his sons are working together. Mr. Eppes is particularly protective of his youngest son Charlie. Alan is a widower and retired city planner, but keeps busy by getting involved in the personal lives and careers of his sons. Like Don, he enjoys baseball.
David Sinclair
David Sinclair, played by Alimi Ballard, is a promising FBI recruit that Don Eppes has taken under his wing. He has some knowledge of diffusing explosive devices.
Larry Fleinhardt
Larry Fleinhardt, played by Peter MacNicol, is a professor at CalSci and a friend and colleague of Charlie Eppes. A brilliant theoretical physicist, Dr. Fleinhardt researches string theory but also assists Charlie with his work. However, Professor Fleinhardt wishes his pal Eppes would continue with academia rather than consult the FBI. Larry is a firm beleiver in multiple dimensions, String Theory, and Extraterriestials. He is quite akward in social situations. Along with Alan Eppes, Larry often provides words of wisdom to Charlie, reminding him that human behavior is unpredictable. He has a distaste for number theory, but enjoys hiking.
Terry Lake
Terry Lake, played by Sabrina Lloyd, is a focused FBI partner to Don Eppes. She hides her growing attraction for Don. A forensic psychologist, she often acts as the profiler for the team, and as someone who can sometimes explain Charlie to Don, somewhat as a interpreter of his behaviours. She and Don dated when they were in the Academy together; their first date being pizza in a laundromat.
Charlie Eppes
Charlie Eppes, played by David Krumholtz, is the main character in the show. He is a professor of mathematics at a Southern California technical university. As a mathematician, he helps his brother Don to solve many of his perplexing FBI cases. He has consulted for the NSA for nearly five years, attaining a high security clearance. According to Charlie's father, Alan Eppes, he could mutliply 4-digit numbers mentally at age 3 and at the age of 6 he required special teachers. As a mathematical genius, Charlie attended Princeton University at the age of 13 after graduating from high school at the same time as his older brother, Don Eppes. He has also studied at Stanford University and MIT. Unfortunetly, Charlie is a very bad speller, as he misspelled "anomaly." Charlie also has an affection for Amita,
His research as an applied mathematician is primarily in probability theory, although he often assists his colleague, Professor Larry Fleinhardt, in string theory. Charlie's phenomenal mathematical faculty allows him to decompose any complex or practical situation into a mathematical model that he then employs to offer insight to the FBI in solving crimes, aid Larry Fleinhardt in physics, or even reveal aspects of human nature as in gambling or baseball.
In "Uncertainty Principle," Charlie becomes the owner of the former Eppes' family home. His father still lives with him.
Charlie is wary of people and frequently enthralled with objects. Although he doesn't condone the use of guns, in the episode entitled "Sniper Zero", he learns to shoot in order to learn more about snipers and to more accurately account for variables such as sweat or adrenaline. Like his older brother Don, he is obsessive when it comes to his work, but is rather naive when it comes to human behavior. The latter often interferes with his research and, thus, is the cause of much distress for him at times. He has great affection for Amita Ramanujan.
The episode "Uncertainty Principle" reveals that Charlie may have suffered, or is suffering family troubles. It also revealed Charlie's difficulty in dealing with his mother's death from cancer, and perhaps suggested that Charlie may not have good coping skills.
Don Eppes
Don Eppes, played by Rob Morrow, is a main character in the show. Don is an FBI Special Agent who recruits his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes to help him and the Bureau solve some of their most difficult cases. Although Don is the front-man of the show, he often relies on his brother, Charlie, to solve most of the crimes because he is not as mathematically inclined as his brother. Don makes great sacrifices in his personal life in order to devote himself to his career, which to him is more of a way of life than a mere job. More important to him than his work is his family, especially Charlie. Although Don's devotion to his job means he does not have much of a personal life, he does enjoy the occasional game of baseball.
Don gave up his position as Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque FBI office to move back to L.A. when his mother became ill with cancer. He doesn't understand how his brother could lock himself up in the garage with an unsolvable math problem for the three months before their mother died, never going to see her. It's a point of contention between them (1st season - "Uncertainty Prinicple" and a brief mention in "Vector").
Don dated Terry Lake while at the FBI Academy and nearly married another agent named Kim Hall who is now with the Secret Service in L.A., but he is not currently, as of the 1st season, romantically involved with anyone. Although Don's devotion to his job means he does not have much of a personal life, he does enjoy the occasional game of baseball. He played Single-A with the Stockton Rangers between college and joining the FBI.
Amita Ramanujan
Her interest in astrophysics has led her to consider pursuing a second doctoral degree upon completion of her thesis on combinatorics; she said the reason for this is that she also likes CalSci, but actually implied that the cause is more of an infatuation with Charlie. Amita was to have an arranged marriage in her native country of India, but she did not allow that, much to Charlie's liking.
List of Episodes and Spoilers
*Please Note -- There are spoilers below this message. Do not read further, unless you want to read the spoilers!*
Episode 1 - "Pilot" - January 23, 2005
To help capture a serial rapist-turned-killer, FBI Special Agent Don Eppes recruits his genius brother Charlie, who uses a mathematical equation to identify the killer's point of origin by working back from the crime scene locations.
Episode 2 - "Uncertainty Principle" - January 28, 2005
Charlie accurately predicts where a band of bank robbers will strike next. But when Don and his team confront them, a massive shoot-out occurs leaving four people, including an officer, dead. The outcome disturbs Charlie and he retreats into the family garage to work out an unsolvable math problem that he also plunged into after his mother became ill a year earlier. But Don needs his brother's help and tries to get Charlie to return to the case.
Episode 3 - "Vector" - February 4, 2005
Various people in the L.A. area with seemingly nothing in common start to become extremely sick and die on the same day. Don fears bioterrorists may have released a deadly virus into the enviroment. While he tries to discover whether anyone is behind the outbreak, Charlie tries to locate the point of origin.
Episode 4 - "Structural Corruption" - February 11, 2005
Charlie believes that a college student who allegedly committed suicide by jumping from a bridge was actually murdered, and that his death is related to an engineering thesis he was working on about one of Los Angeles' newest and most important buildings, that may not be as structurally safe as teh owner claims it to be. Back at home, Alan prepares for his first date in 35 years.
Episode 5 - "Prime Suspect" - February 18, 2005
When a 5-year-old girl is kidnapped from her birthday party, Don and Terry lead the investigation but must rely on Charlie's help, as the girl's father, Ethan, is also a mathematician. Charlie realizes the kidnapper's motive when Ethan reveals that he is close to solving Riemann's Hypothesis, a difficult math problem. If solved, the solution could not only earn him with $1 million but could break the code for Internet security, unlocking the world's biggest financial secret.
Guest Star: Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser)
Episode 6 - "Sabotage" - February 25, 2005
A serial saboteur claims responsibility for a deadly accident in which a train crashes into an empty school bus that is abandoned on railroad tracks. The perpetrator leaves a note that appears to be in numeric code, which in turn Charlie tries to crack. It's soon learned that the accident was a re-creation of a previous wreck, and that the person behind it is responsible for six train mishaps over the past three years, all of which were copies of earlier rail disasters.
Pilot Episode Rerun - March 4th at 9 p.m.
Episode 7 - "Counterfeit Reality" - March 11, 2005
In this episode Don learns that counterfeiters are producing small-denomination bills, and that they have taken an artist hostage to draw the images for the fake money. If the missing woman isn't located soon, Don fears that she will be killed when her work is finished on the phony cash. The counterfeiters have already murdered at least five people, two of whom stole money from them. The case is made more difficult for Don when his former lover, now a Secret Service agent, is assigned to it.
Episode 8 - "Identity Crisis" - April 1, 2005
A man wanted for stock fraud is found garroted in his apartment, and the crime is eerily similar to a murder committed a year earlier, a case in which Don closed when an ex-con confessed. Now, Don must re-investigate the old case to determine if he put an innocent man in jail. He asks Charlie to go over the evidence to see if he missed anything the first time around.
Episode 9 - "Sniper Zero" - April 15, 2005
The city is in a panic as a sniper goes on a shooting spree and randomly kills several people, including a postal worker. The investigation reveals that more than one shooter is at work. As Charlie works the case, he's frustrated by a sniper expert Don brings in to help out.
Lou Diamond Phillips Guest Stars
Episode 10 - "Dirty Bomb" - April 22, 2005
A truck carrying radioactive material is stolen, and the thieves threaten to set off a dirty bomb in L.A. in 12 hours if they aren't paid $20 million. While Don attempts to track down the truck, Charlie tries to come up with the most likely location where the bomb may be detonated to inflict the most damage to the population.
Episode 11 - "Sacrifice" - April 29, 2005
A senior computer-science researcher working on a classified government project is found murdered in his Hollywood Hills home, and data stolen from his computer. The investigation reveals that the victim was going through a bitter divorce, and was trying to keep his wife from getting his money. Charlie also learns that the project the man was working on may involve baseball.
Episode 12 - "Noisy Edge" - May 6, 2005
Don and Agent Quimby of the NTSB investigate eyewitness accounts of a mysterious unidentified object flying dangerously close to downtown Los Angeles that has raised concern of a terrorist attack. After Charlie is recruited to help with the investigation, it is discovered that the flying object is part of a new technology that could revolutionize air travel. But the investigation takes a turn when they learn that the lead engineer is found murdered.
Ethan Embry guest stars
Episode 13 - "Manhunt" - May 13, 2005
As Don investigates the prison bus crash, Charlie uses of probability analysis to conclude that the bus crash was not an accident, but part of a conspiracy to free a dangerous killer. Now, Don and Charlie must discover the killer's lethal agenda and stop him before he is able to carry it out.
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