Numb3rs: The Final Season Review

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(More customer reviews)I haven't kept a close eye on "Numb3rs" thanks to its dead end 10 pm Friday night airing, but when I had tuned in (primarily via On Demand), I rarely was ever disappointed. I will submit that the mathematics used in this sixth season wasn't the greatest and in fact during one episode, 'And the Winner Is', didn't make a whole lot of sense in that the theory was sound but how they came about it and in turn found the culprits was on the iffy side. But, I've always felt that while indeed the show's gimmick was using mathematics to solve crimes it is the characters and their arcs that make it worthwhile viewing. In the sixth season I could immediately tell that even the writers had an inkling this would be the final season as they began tying up the characters' stories and by the series finale, as a casual fan, I was mostly satisfied. Yes, it is a very low key ending to the show as even the plot was in line with most of the stories that have come before but I wouldn't want it any other way. They could have had some big shootout or major explosion that would've altered or even killed a main character but far too many shows (see: "CSI: Miami") do that and it just comes off as melodramatic and rarely works. Plus, with only a few exceptions, isn't really "Numb3rs" style.
As for this DVD, I can see how the features have devolved from the first couple of seasons (5-6 episode commentaries, a few featurettes) to the latter releases where, in the case of The Fifth Season, having only a featurette and no commentaries at all. In this one, we do get commentaries on 3 episodes ('Con Job' - actor Rob Morrow, director Ralph Hemecker and executive Don McGill; `Old Soldiers' with director Ken Sanzel, actor Alimi Ballard and guest star Henry Winkler; and `Cause and Effect' with creators/writers Cheryl Heuton, Nicolas Falacci (who also directed) and actor David Krumholtz) but unfortunately they couldn't get the entire cast together for the finale, though I am glad it did get one (unlike "Scrubs").
The set also has a decent featurette entitled "Coming Full Circle: Numb3rs The Final Season" (25:42) in which the first half chronicles Falacci's directorial debut on the series finale before going into the cast and crew talking about this being the end of the road (it also includes emotional on-set final statements by the cast). There are also two more featurettes ("The Women of Numb3rs" (11:04) and Pixel Perfect: The Digital Cinematography of Numb3rs (15:10)) and each are pretty good, though "Coming Full Circle" is the one to see. There is also a photo gallery with pics taken of the cast and crew taken over the years.
The video and audio quality are both on par with previous seasons including a bombastic audio during the opening and transition scenes.
Anyway, fans of the show should of course pick this up and I think for casual fans like myself, it's still worth it as I feel this is one of the better shows that was on TV and it's nice to have it sitting on your shelf, plus it helps the show has plenty of repeat value.

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Studio: Paramount Home VideoRelease Date: 08/10/2010Run time: 678 minutes

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Numb3rs: The Fifth Season Review

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(More customer reviews)I started watching Numb3rs a couple of seasons ago after my mom convinced me to give it a shot. I was afraid that it was going to be just another police procedural or CSI-like copycat following in the footsteps of other popular primetime broadcast crime dramas. While Numb3rs is similar to these dramas, it's just not the same. The show has fun characters, interesting plot lines, and puts a good spin on the police procedural; really, who thought that math could be so much fun to watch?
Numb3rs follows the unorthodox adventures of by-the-book FBI Agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and his mathematician brother Charlie (David Krumholtz), a professor at the fictional California Institute of Science (CalSci). Charlie works with his brother as an FBI consultant, using complex mathematics to help solve crimes. The series also focuses on the unique dynamics and relationships between Charlie, Don, and their father Alan (Judd Hirsch).
Season five picks up three weeks after the end of season four, with pending issues about Charlie's security clearance to work with the FBI. Charlie gets his clearance reinstated, and new Agent Nikki Betancourt (Sophina Brown) replaces Megan Reeves (Diane Farr) after Megan's departure at the end of season four. Liz Warner (Aya Sumika) turns down a promotion while Alan finds himself coaching CalSci's basketball team. As the season goes on, Charlie focuses more on his FBI consultation work, and after his colleague and girlfriend Amita (Navi Rawat) is kidnapped and rescued, Charlie proposes to her.
The characters of Numb3rs are fairly well drawn and feel complex and real. For me, the most enjoyable part of this show is watching Charlie use his nerdy skills to help Don and other FBI agents solve crimes. Charlie is such a well-played, fun character -- even when he goes off on mathematical tangents I sometimes have trouble understanding, Krumholtz makes the math flow naturally while still discussing key plot points in a way that makes sense (well, much of the time). While the other characters surrounding Charlie do a good job, they tend to feel like cardboard and seem more stereotypical for the genre and don't stand out as much. Honestly, if it wasn't for the added element of Charlie's unexpected (and sometimes exaggerated or unbelievable) mathematics, the series would fade into the mass of CSI rip-offs.
Numb3rs: The Complete Fifth Season includes all 23 episodes in a six-disc set. The audio is available in English in 5.1 or stereo. The aspect ratio is 16:9, and is presented in gorgeous high-definition.
The special features include: cast and crew commentaries on a handful of episodes, "Crunching Numb3rs: Season Five" which gives a comprehensive discussion and overview of the season, "Celebrating 100" wherein the cast and crew discuss "Disturbed," the 100th episode of Numb3rs, a hilarious blooper reel, and deleted scenes.
While Numb3rs isn't the best crime drama/police procedural on TV, it's still a different take on the CSI-style show and has enjoyable characters running through pulse-pounding, tightly knit plots that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Fans of the police procedural will enjoy the thrill ride that is Numb3rs.

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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 events, 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. Don is joined on his team by fellow agents Megan Reeves (Diane Farr), a behavioral specialist who brings psychological insight to their investigations; David Sinclair (Alimi Ballard), who utilizes his incredible perspective and the survival skills he learned growing up in the Bronx; and new agent Colby Granger (Dylan Bruno) who just completed an extensive tour of duty in the U.S. Military. After some initial reluctance, Don's team welcomes Charlie's innovative methods to crime-solving. Their father, Alan (Judd Hirsch), is happy to see his sons working together even though he doesn't understand the intricacies of what Charlie does for a living. It is his co-workers at CalSci who further refine Charlie's approach and help him stay focused. Physicist friend Dr. Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) constantly challenges Charlie to employ a broader point of view to his work with the FBI, and Amita Ramanjuan (Navi Rawat), Charlie's former grad student, frequently helps him see cases in a new light Despite their disparate approaches to life, Don and Charlie are able to combine their areas of expertise and solve some killer cases.

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