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Last season for NUMB3RS?
CBS reduced the number of episodes for the current season of NUMB3Rs from 22 to 16, which is a likely indication that this might be its last season. If so, that would make me very sad, since it's one of my favorite shows. I love detective/mystery shows, but it's not just the crime-solving and the action that appeals to me--it's the relationship between the characters. The main cast has great chemistry--especially the friendship between Charlie and Larry, and the relationship between Charlie and Don and their father. Despite their occasional resentments and squabbles, you really feel like these three are a family and that they care deeply about each other. I know it's just a tv show and that the actors will hopefully go on to do other great projects, but I would just feel so sad if the Eppes family ceased to exist--it would be like losing an old friend, silly as that sounds.
I also like the relationship between Charlie and Amita (though I am a slasher at heart), and the friendship between Colby and David is great. I think it was developed really well, with them starting off not really liking each other, and slowly growing to be friends, and then having that friendship broken and apparently betrayed when Colby was exposed as a spy, and then Colby needing to win back the team's and especially David's trust when his double-agent status was revealed. I remember being so mad when Colby was exposed as a spy, because it really felt out of character for him, and then next season having an "ah hah!" moment and realizing that it wasn't out of character, because Colby wasn't really a spy! (Or rather, he was a spy, but he hadn't betrayed his country.) I thought that was a pretty clever twist. Also really liked the little slashy jokes about David and Colby, like the time when David went on vacation and Colby kept checking his cell phone to see if David had left him any messages, and Nikki teased him about missing his boyfriend, and in a more recent episode, the two of them showing up as each other's date to win a bet with Nikki where the dateless person would have to pay for dinner. ^_^
However, I was discussing the show with my sister, and she feels like it has gone downhill a little bit recently, which may account partly for the falling ratings--along with being in the dreaded Friday night timeslot, which is generally the worst slot for ratings. Still, it's survived for 6 seasons, so it can't just be the Friday night thing. Anyway, Sis says she feels like the show has suffered this season from the absence of Larry--he hasn't been totally absent, but it's obvious that the writers were getting the character out of the way by sending him off on his soul-searching journey. I'm not sure whether that's due to actor Peter MacNicol wanting to leave the show, or him having other work obligations--I recall that he was absent for a large part of an earlier season because he had a role on 24. It seems like they've been trying to replace Larry with other quirky, eccentric characters like the oddball genetics professor from the cloning episode, which Sis feels is pretty lame, and I agree. Rather than trying to create a substitute Larry who can only suffer in comparison, it might be better to bring in a character with a completely different personality, maybe someone much more serious and conventional. And of course there needs to be good chemistry between the actors...
Which brings me to my sister's other complaint, that the departure of Megan disrupted some of the team's chemistry--and put an end to the Larry/Megan romance, which saddened me, because I really liked those two as a couple. Sophina Brown is okay as Nikki, but I don't feel like she really clicks with the rest of the team the way that Diane Farr did as Megan. It's not like the show is bad, just not quite as good as it used to be.
On the other hand, I really like the way that Don's character has been evolving over the past couple of seasons--learning not to be so closed off, learning to rely on his team more and not try to shoulder the entire burden by himself, exploring his spirituality by going to temple. (The latter is apparently something that actor Rob Morrow, who is Jewish, had lobbied for, according to a NUMB3Rs meta post I came across on Metafandom awhile back.) I like the way that the characters have grown and changed over the years, and I hope that they will have a chance to continue to do so.
According to the news article, the producers have at least been given enough warning to wrap up the story and prepare a series finale that will provide some closure, if this does indeed turn out to be the final season, but will still leave open the possibility for more episodes in case the series is renewed.
no subject
Six seasons is a lot and I'd rather see a show leave on good terms than degrade completely. The relationships between the characters wouldn't be enough to carry this show for me (unlike, say, NCIS, where the cases are either ridiculous or the wrap-up is typically so fast and close to the end it's hard to absorb and remember later on) and after awhile it has to be difficult to come up with fresh ideas for applying mathematics to crime-solving.
Which is a long-winded way of saying I'll miss the characters and the show but I wouldn't be devastated if it ends this season.
no subject
If this were my fantasy universe and I were running the show, I would have liked to have brought in Edgerton (Lou Diamond Phillip's sniper character) as a regular or semi-regular in place of Nikki. He has good chemistry with the team, and although his lone wolf type character isn't really conducive to being a permanent team member, that could lead to some interesting conflicts with Don and the others.
Ah well, maybe I'll have to start looking for some NUMB3RS fanfic to get my fix if the series gets canceled. And at least there will be 6 seasons of dvds to watch, once the current season is done...I still enjoy watching the repeats of older episodes.