"Numb3rs" Adds Up For Once

There was nothing else on, so I tuned in to “Numb3rs,” and I’m glad I did…

I usually only watch this one when I’m at my parents’ house. In all honesty, the math makes my head hurt and I’ve been pretty leery about the show ever since the season premiere with its total waste of Val Kilmer and its “quantum leap” solution to the Colby story. But Friday’s episode was extremely strong as Charlie (David Krumholtz) took the lead (and even saved Colby’s life!) and Amida (Navi Rawat) finally emerged from his shadow.

A district attorney died playing a virtual reality game, leaving the FBI at somewhat of a loss—until Amida admitted she had played the game for years. So, she took the lead in bringing down the killer. But her competitive juices took over and she ended up blowing the operation and putting herself in danger.

In fact, when Charlie declared his love for her during a TV interview, the dead meat stench was so strong, I was sure that Amida was a goner. I’ve never really been a big Amida fan, but I was actually nervous for those last five minutes. Thankfully, though, Amida survived and had a touching reunion with Charlie.

The secondary story was strong as well as the real heart of the show, the brilliant Peter MacNicol (Larry), was in great form as usual as Larry struggled to return to his normal routine (He had been living in a monastery upon his return from space.). The story produced a wonderful pairing in MacNicol and Judd Hirsch (Alan). As Alan contemplated moving into a condo to give Charlie and Amida the house, I was hoping he would ask Larry to move in with him. But Larry, almost reading my mind, hilariously said, “You could move in with me, but I don’t reside anywhere right now.” I really hope the writers don’t let that thought go.

Next week, it looks like the show will be turned back over to Don (Rob Morrow) and his many issues.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted…

“Numb3rs” airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on CBS…