Numb3rs – The Third Season

 

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

 

 

Count it up!  Yep, number 3.  Now on DVD for all you number crunchers is Numb3rs: The Third Season.  A series that focuses on the use of numbers to solve highly difficult FBI crimes; with brothers Don (Rob Morrow) and Charles (David Krumholtz) Eppes work together as a team, one the bulk the other the brains.  To read more about the premise behind the series refer to prior reviews of both Season One and Season Two.

 

This reviewer really loved Season One of the series and Season Two furthered that love, but Season Three is beginning to take a deviating path.  The beginning of the Season seemed to hold true to the ideals of Season One and Two; maintaining the family and brotherly love aspect, while ingraining some turbulent and exciting FBI cases.  The problem however is with the characters interacting with each other as the Season Three progresses.  Charlie and his now solid girlfriend (previously his Grad Student) seem to have no chemistry, and though the writers attempt to address Charlie being immersed in his work to such as extent that he often forgets about her, most of the time that plot element goes to the wayside.  The audience may even forget he is in a relationship most of the time, until his ‘love interest’ suddenly shows up again.  Also Peter MacNicol's character Larry has become the resident weirdo in Season Three.

 

In previous seasons, he was a nerdy eccentric, but now he is just borderline insane and in many ways is annoying.  His relationship with Diane Farr (Agent Reeve) was progressing in a nice manner at the beginning, but rather than making her makes him into a better person the writers decided to make her submissive to his insanity.  This reviewer found that odd and a poor choice.  Beyond those aspects of poor choice, since Peter MacNicol was about to join the cast of 24 the writers added a story arch that explained Peter MacNicol's recent ‘wackiness’ being due to him hiding the fact he was about to go on a NASA mission and in turn him missing most of the Season.  That was a great way to bring the audience back in, however, upon his return to the series the writers make Peter MacNicol's character ten times crazier.  Once again being a poor choice.  Overall until the last couple episodes of Season Three this reviewer found that the characters all had their own agendas and were in many ways alienating the audience.

 

The technical aspects of this 6 disc DVD set are not highly impressive but put together in a manner that works.  The picture is presented in 16:9 Widescreen that remains solid throughout, with dark issues that have been cleaned up since Season Two.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround is also solid and fluid.  The sound issues of Season Two also being repaired.  The extras are not impressive nor exciting, maybe not even worth watching.  The set offers up such features as “Crunching NUMB3RS: Season Three” explaining much of the same things Season Two did in the behind the scenes equation developing process, there are also cast and crew commentaries on select episodes again, a Blooper Reel that is NOT funny at all, and a Set House Tour with the ‘Eppes family.’  The ‘House Tour Featurette’ may be the only saving grace of the extras, but the sound is so off balance and literally screeching that this reviewer had to turn it off.  Overall, the extras are good once again ok comparatively to other crime, TV, DVD sets but still needs a ton of work.

 

This reviewer still holds high hopes for the upcoming Season of Numb3rs.  If the series does not bring the characters back to a meaningful place, don’t COUNT on the series getting any better.

 

 

-   Michael P Dougherty II