(S04E05) "I dunno. I just like watching things explode." - Larry

For a show that most folks (I include myself now) often refer to as just another cop show, Numb3rs can sure as hell be confusing sometimes. It's almost as if the writers are trying to one-up each other by making every episode more intricate than the last one. It's a good thing I watched this early this morning though. Had I sat down and put it on last night, I don't think I could have kept up with all the twists and turns.

Bank robberies, South African gold coins, arsonists who have been paid off to admit to their crimes, thieves who give to charity (hence the title). It was just layer after layer. The unfortunate thing about that, and it's ironic because I've argued for it in the past, is that it makes the show too hard to follow sometimes. There's a limit for how much thinking I'm willing to do with a Friday night show and this one crossed the line and got a little too ambitious. It wasn't bad, but I caught myself looking at the TV a few times and asking, "Really!?"

Anyway, while it's always been present in seasons past, so far this season definitely seems to be adopting the trend of using some sort of outside help in every episode. Last week it was that religion professor Alex Trowbridge (played by Andrea Roth) and this week Will Patton returned for a fourth time as Lt. Gary Walker. I do like how they're doing this though. It adds a fresh face to the team each week.

As far as personal developments go, Charlie and Amita are progressing nicely. They crossed a big hurdle by making some judgments about their parents and when Charlie would meet Amita's father. I realize that a lot of that stuff is clichéd and cheesy, but it's nice that we're seeing them go through it if only because last season we got no real development from their relationship. So at this point, anything is good.

Megan and Larry seem to be back on track as well. He didn't quite come out and say it, but I think he's going to leave the monastery. He needs less restriction in his life and hopefully that means we'll see more from him and Megan.

Two other thoughts:

• Liz was conspicuously absent again. What exactly dictates whether or not she's in an episode? Is she on the team or not?
• Is it really a tradition at CalSci to throw frozen pumpkins off the roof around Halloween?

This weeks numb3rs: 2000 safe deposit boxes, 740 gold Krugerrands, 2 kilos of heroin, 9 charities
This week's math: Robin Hood