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Disturbed (Numbers)

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"Disturbed (Numbers)"

"Disturbed" is the 21st episode of the fifth season of the American television show Numb3rs. Written by series creators/executive producers Cheryl Heuton and Nicolas Falacci, the episode features skeptical Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents attempting to track a serial killer while their math consultant attempts to cope with his brother's recent injury. It first aired in the United States on May 1, 2009, receiving positive reviews.

Plot summary

After sending her husband and son off to work and school, a woman is killed in her house in broad daylight. Dr. Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), who has found a temporal pattern in a series of unrelated murders, tells skeptical FBI Special Agents David Sinclair (Alimi Ballard) and Colby Granger (Dylan Bruno) that the murders must have been the work of an undetected serial killer. Charlie's assertion, coupled with his working on the case for the past five days, worries the team, who suspect that Charlie may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of his brother FBI Special Agent Don Eppes's (Rob Morrow) recent stabbing[1]. At Charlie's house, Don, who is there recuperating from his injuries, confronts Charlie about his behavior. The next morning, a postal worker is found murdered near the scene of the previous murder.

Since the postal worker's murder does not match the timeline, Charlie asks David, filling in for Don, for more data. David directs Charlie to Roy McGill (Josh Gad), a consultant on a previous case[2], who has identified a couple of additional cases in northern California. Charlie also receives help from Gene Evans (John Rubinstein), a retired accountant/amateur police consultant who has identified several unsolved cases in Fresno and Bakersfield, and from FBI technician Matt Li (Matthew Yang King), who gives Charlie a copy of Dr. Kim Rossmo's methodology. Back at the house, Charlie learns that Don feels that his FBI work does not influence him as much as it did before the stabbing. Charlie realizes that the killer has moved twice before. A couple of days later, Charlie and McGill visit Evans for more data and find Evans and his wife dead. While investigating alternate motives for killing Evans, the team learns that Mark Horn (Daniel Sauli) has been stalking Evans. Upon arrest, Horn asserts that he only wanted Evans to help him appeal a mistake that Evans made on Horn's tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service.

Meanwhile, McGill finds an initial victim, Nancy Kershaw from Stockton, California, and thinks, along with Dr. Larry Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) that Charlie should look into her murder as well. Charlie hesitates, since her murder did not fit into the timeline. Dr. Amita Ramanujan (Navi Rawat), who has been looking for logical errors in Charlie's thinking, goes to the house and informs Don that Charlie was right about the serial killer's existence. At the FBI office, Don and the team figure out that the murders which did not match the timeline and the murder of Bakersfield Police Department Detective Driscoll, who learned about several unsolved murder cases in Bakersfield from Evans, were the result of the killer eliminating witnesses and investigators. At the house, Charlie, Don, and their father, Alan Eppes (Judd Hirsch) reminisce about the brothers' first case. Remembering the mathematical model of hot zones, the locations of the crimes to determine the most likely area where the suspect lives, from that case, Charlie applies it to the current case. This time, Charlie identifies potential targets with the model. The team set up surveillance around the potential targets. The killer strikes one house but escapes when the agents attempt to arrest him.

Charlie and David decide to compare the Social Security numbers of the residents in the hot zones to census records in an effort to narrow the focus of the investigation. McGill provides the FBI with a crucial clue--Nancy Kershaw's boyfriend at the time of her murder heard the voice of the killer. The agents find that one man, Robert Posdner (Brian Howe), faked his identity four times during the same time period as the murders and ask him to come in for questioning. Meanwhile, Kershaw’s former boyfriend comes in and identifies Posdner’s voice as the one he heard years ago. The team arrests Posdner at home, and Posdner brags about how he eluded detection for so long. After the case is closed, Charlie decides to unpack his office, and Don tells Alan that he will be returning to full duty effective Monday. As the sprinklers go off, the brothers share a laugh before going inside.

Production

Writing

Actors Alimi Ballard[3] and Rob Morrow [4]mentioned to TV Guide that the 100th episode would include Easter eggs that fans would know. "Disturbed" referenced the pilot and included other references from the show[5]. Three leaked Easter eggs were Rossmo, Rooker, and Merrick.[6] Dr. Kim Rossmo, whose criminal geographic targeting model was featured in the “Pilot”, and which was featured again in “Disturbed”.[7] Michael Rooker was cast in the original pilot as a FBI agent[8] but left when the pilot was reshot[9]. Walter Merrick, portrayed by Anthony Heald, was the FBI Assistant Director in Charge and Don’s boss in the second pilot. [10]

Casting notes

For the 100th episode, the writers and producers brought back Josh Gad. They were impressed by his performance in "Conspiracy Theory". [11]

During the filming of "Disturbed", Dr. Stephen Hawking, a fan of the show, surprised the cast and crew with a visit to the set while visiting Los Angeles. He was offered a role on the episode, but, due to an issues involving obtaining a work permit on short notice, was unable to appear in the episode.[12]

Reception

Over 9.70 million people watched "Disturbed"[13]. Critically, the episode was very well-received. Calling the episode "a knotty murder mystery", Tim Holland of TVGuide.com included "Disturbed" in TVGuide.com’s Hot List for May 1, 2009.[14] Jeffrey Robinson of DVD Talk stated that McGill’s presence in "Disturbed" made the episode interesting.[15]

References

  1. ^ "The Fifth Man". Numb3rs. Season 5. Episode 20. April 24, 2009. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Conspiracy Theory". Numb3rs. Season 5. Episode 9. December 5, 2008. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Mitovich, Matt (May 1, 2009). "Numbers Preview: The Creepiness Adds Up in Episode 100". Today's News: Our Take. TVGuide.com. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
  4. ^ Mitovich, Matt (April 24, 2009). "Shocking Preview: Is Don's Numbers Up? Plus: a Peek at the Secret-Filled 100th Episode". Today's News: Our Take. TVGuide.com. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  5. ^ Cristina Kinon (May 1, 2009). "Hawking counts 'Numb3rs' as a fave". NY Daily News. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  6. ^ Michael Ausiello (March 19, 2009). "Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on 'Grey's,' 'Smallville,' 'True Blood,' 'Ugly Betty,' 'Prison Break,' 'Numb3rs,' 'Heroes,' 'NCIS,' 'Housewives,' Bones,' and more!". The Ausiello Files. EW.com. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  7. ^ Grierson, Bruce (March 21, 2003). "The Hound of the Data Points". Popular Science. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  8. ^ The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) (March 8, 2004). "Development Update: March 8". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  9. ^ Sullivan, Brian Ford (July 21, 2004). "CBS Makes 'Recovery,' 'Numbers' Midseason Priorities". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  10. ^ Bianculli, David (January 20, 2005). "Crime Drama by 'Numb3rs'". Daily News. New York Daily News. Retrieved July 14, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Cheryl Heuton (co-creator/executive producer), Nicolas Falacci (co-creator/executive producer), David Krumholtz (actor), Lewis Abel (co-executive producer), David W. Zucker (executive producer), Mark Saks (casting director), Sophina Brown (actor), Navi Rawat (actor), Rob Morrow (actor), Aya Sumika (actor), Alimi Ballard (actor), Dylan Bruno (actor), Judd Hirsch (actor), Lou Diamond Phillips (actor), Henry Winkler (actor), Robert Port (co-executive producer), and Katherine LeBlond (assistant set decorator/buyer). Crunching Numb3rs: Season Five (DVD (Numb3rs—Season Five)). CBS Studios, Inc. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |year2= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Kinon, Cristina (May 1, 2009). "Hawking counts 'Numb3rs' as a fave". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 9, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Columbia Broadcasting System (Press Release) (May 6, 2009). "CBS Places First in Viewers for the 9th Consecutive Week". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  14. ^ Holland, Tim (May 1, 2009). "Tonight's TV Hot List for Friday, May 1, 2009". Today’s News: Our Take. TVGuide.com. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  15. ^ Robinson, Jeffrey (October 21, 2009). "Numb3rs: The Fifth Season". DVD Talk. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
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