Product Description

NUMB3RS is a drama about an FBI agent who recruits his mathematical-genius brother to help the Bureau solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles. The two brothers take on the most confounding criminal cases from a very distinctive perspective. Inspired by actual cases, the series depicts how the confluence of police work and mathematics provides unexpected revelations and answers to the most perplexing criminal questions. A dedicated FBI agent, Don Eppes (Rob Morrow), couldn't be more different from his younger brother, Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), a brilliant mathematician who, since he was little, yearned to impress his big brother. As a seasoned investigator, Don deals in hard facts and evidence, whereas Charlie, a math professor at a California university, functions in a world of mathematical probability and equations. Now, despite their disparate approaches to life, Don and Charlie are able to combine their areas of expertise and solve some killer cases.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7313 in DVD
• Brand: HIRSCH,JUDD
• Released on: 2006-10-10
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Dimensions: .70 pounds
• Running time: 1037 minutes

Amazon.com
Numb3rs' intriguing and entertaining mix of prime-time crime action and mathematics gets its sophomore showcase in this impressive six-disc boxed set, which brings together the entire second season with a fun and informative array of extras. Season Two brings about a slight changing of the guard in the show's cast: Gone is Sabrina Lloyd as Agent Terry Lake, and in her place are Diane Farr (Rescue Me) as Agent Megan Reeves and Dylan Bruno as Agent Colby Granger, both of whom assimilate quite smoothly into Numb3rs' blend of detective work and academics. Otherwise it's business as usual with the Eppes boys, with big brother Don (Rob Morrow) leading his team against all manner of nefarious types, and genius younger sibling Charlie (David Krumholtz) finding answers in the web of mathematical equations he stores in his head. Highlights for the season include "All's Fair," which offers both the murder of a documentarian investigating Muslim women's rights and a rekindled love affair for Charlie; "Mind Games," which pits Charlie against a psychic (John Glover) who tracks down three missing women; and "Toxin," which features a return guest appearance by Lou Diamond Phillips as Special Agent Ian Edgerton.

Extras include commentary on seven episodes by members of the cast and crew, including co-creator Nicolas Falacci; also interesting is "Crunching Numb3rs: Season Two," which offers a half-hour look behind the scenes at the making of the episode "Rampage," and David Krumholtz's video diary, for which the actor brings the audience along for a day on the set. A blooper reel and gallery of stills shot by Falacci round out the supplemental features. -- Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Numb3rs is a Great Show
I was lucky enough to catch Numb3rs from the beginning. I absolutely love the show. First, it is different than your standard cop show, and even different from all the CSI type shows. The show has strong characters and you really feel like you know them. The FBI is portrayed as actually being human rather than a federal conglomerate. The tie in with the math is simply awesome. I am not a huge math guy, but it is interesting for me, and the show does a good job of explaining the math via great scenes. I give this 5 stars.

"We All Use Math Everyday"
"We all use math everyday" says Charlie Eppes, the lead character in the CBS mathematical drama NUMB3RS. Trying to convince an 8th grade math class about that became easier with this show on the air. I've enjoyed the show since day one. Crime drama that makes you think.

Teachers out there may not be aware that the show has a web site that offers lessons based on each episode. Upper level middle and high school students can be challenged by these activities created with help from Texas Instruments and The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. I am pleased to say some of the authors also participated in the Rutgers Leadership Program in Discrete Mathematics, a course I had the pleasure of taking way back in 1996. Check out the NUMB3RS website at
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/numb3rs/

It All Adds Up
Yes, this is a great TV show--and I don't say this lightly. I'm not much of a TV watcher generally speaking, but "Numb3rs" has really impressed me as a quality show from the get-go. My spouse and I always make it a point to be home Friday night to catch the latest episode, so we were both pretty excited that season one has been released on DVD. Since we don't have cable, and surrounding high-rise buildings hinder antenna reception (ah, yes, life in the big city), it has been especially nice to see the episodes again, only this time in clear and crisp digital.

So what makes this show so good? Lots of things, I suppose. I particularly like the combination of Charlie and Don as a crime-fighting team, their skills and personalities complimenting each other. With Charlie you get the latest incarnation of the classic figure of the detective who uses reason and logic to solve the crime (going all the way back to Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin in "The Purloined Letter" not to mention Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes), and with Don you of course get the cop with a badge and a gun who saves the day (a mainstay of American TV for decades). That said, both actors flesh these archetypes out really well into individual characters, and their brotherly interaction (with a dash of sibling rivalry) creates just the right dynamic.

The math angle is handled extremely well, too. My spouse the mathematician assures me that the higher math Charlie spouts is for real (even if it can't quite catch the bad guys quite so efficiently--cue temporary suspension of disbelief here), and yet for a humanities type like me who knows just enough math to unbalance the checkbook the show's writers and producers do a fine job of translating such mathematics into terms that make sense to the non-expert, often using visual asides to illustrate the principles involved in clever, creative ways. In general, too, the atmosphere and character of academia (with Charlie's physicist friend and all) is portrayed pretty accurately and authentically, which is extremely rare for TV shows...and movies, for that matter.

Finally, on the more basic level, there is just the good old-fashioned pure enjoyment of watching the good guys catch the bad guys.

To make a long story short (I know, too late), this is a fine TV show that is well worth having in one's collection of DVDs.