Numb3rs – The Complete First Season

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B–     Extras: B     Episodes: B+

 

 

Just when you think the great hour-long TV dramas of the past were dead, over or trapped on pay-cable & satellite networks, an instant classic like Numb3rs comes along.  At the point CBS decided to pick up the show in one of the smartest decisions the network has made since picking up The Equalizer, the initial motivation was to add a show like their several hit versions of C.S.I. for obvious commercial reasons, but the show was not conceived that way.  Instead, it is a show that has as much heart and soul as science.

 

In an underappreciated comeback, Rob Morrow is F.B.I. agent Don Eppes, a good guy with an exceptional skill in his field.  He is professional, he is smart and he has solid leadership quality.  He gets some of this from his father (Judd Hirsch, in one of his last great roles) and still lives with him.  They are getting along just fine when his younger brother Charlie (David Krumholtz) comes home.  Charlie is a mathematics expert, wizard and pure genius.  He too is a really good guy.  As he arrives, Don is stuck in a particular difficult case situation and asks Charlie for help.  The result is that they become a team and the F.B.I. gets new help like they never imagined.

 

The original lucky 13 shows are:

 

1)     Pilot*

2)     Uncertainty Principal*

3)     Vector

4)     Structural Corruption

5)     Prime Suspect

6)     Sabotage

7)     Counterfeit Reality*

8)     Identity Crisis

9)     Sniper Zero*

10)  Dirty Bomb*

11)  Sacrifice

12)  Noisy Edge

13)  Manhunt

 

 

This was a mid-season replacement at the beginning of 2005 and that is why the list of shows is so short, but they are all well done and the show went on to another season, fortunately.  These are exceptionally well-made shows with great casting, acting, teleplays, editing and so much more that goes right and works.  With all deference to C.S.I., this show is more than just another police procedural and that is not just because these are F.B.I. or because the science is math over forensics.  It is just great TV that never wastes a moment with solid work all around and works so well on so many levels that it reminds one of how good TV used to be and still can be.  Highly recommended, especially to those who like classic TV of this ilk and miss it badly.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is as good as any series on TV, with the Scott Brothers expecting and getting a high quality standard all around.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are also decent and better than many feature films we have even covered in HD formats lately.  The combination is where most TV should be by now and is not.  That just adds to how good this show is.  Extras include five fine audio commentary tracks on the episodes listed above with an * next to them, the interesting unaired pilot, an audition reel with optional Mark Saks commentary, funny blooper reel, Charlievision: FX Sequence 1.0 featurette and Do The Math: The Caltech Analysis.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo