Numb3rs

Ever since I found episodes of Numb3rs on iTunes, Melissa and I have become addicted to this crime-solving show. The basic premise is easy to describe: the FBI gets help on critical cases by employing a brilliant mathematician, the brother of the lead agent, who uses equations and algorithms to narrow searches and pull needles from haystacks.

The show doesn't pull mathematical gobbledy-gook out of thin air, even if it seems like it sometimes. Among the production crew are mathematicians (including one acquaintance of mine) who brainstorm on how to apply math to the storylines, or who suggest ideas to the writing crew. There's even a supplementary educational kit called "We All Use Math Every Day," taken from the dialogue that overlays the title sequence.

Though Melissa and I enjoy the show, there are certain formulae—not the good kind—that recur with tiresome frequency. Every show features a crime set-up that has the FBI office stumped until Charlie Eppes can show up and discuss some mathematical principle, complete with an analogy that tries to explain it to the befuddled agents. (Melissa and I were amused to see that the writers have started to give the characters dialogue that makes fun of this) Charlie is a mathematical Superman, and one wonders if this office can solve any crimes without him.

My favorite characters are Larry Fleinhardt, an absent-minded physics professor who collaborates with Charlie, and Megan Reeves, an FBI agent introduced in the second season whose psychology background gives the team an insight into the human element. Both seem the most human in a cast that wavers on the border of one-dimensional, and their commentary often adds humor to the show.

Implausible or not, Melissa and I start looking for new episodes on iTunes as soon as we think they're up.