Numb3rs

“Numb3rs” is a crime drama with a twist: using complex matehmatics to determine how crimes occur and how they will happen. However, the use of the math is an adjunct, as nothing replaces standard police work.

Ably acted by Rob Morrow (as FBI Special Agent Don Eppes) and David Krumholtz (as his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes), this particular episode, “Old Soldiers”, ‘solves’ the D. B. Cooper hijacking mystery.

Now, stories of this nature are tough, as you have to play with the mythology of the original incident and create a backstory where one does not exist. You then put things into the mix that, although create an interesting tale, fail to connect to the original in a logical way.

I also felt that the episode works well to a certain point, then falls apart and the ending is a bit of a wimp out. This is a disappointment, as the idea held out such great promise, but in the end, I was a witness to the writing whimsy of the scriptwriter. It’s not a bad offering, just not as good as it could have been.