"Structural Corruption" shows a perfect example of why "Numb3rs" is in a whole other class compared to other prime-time crime series. We've got strong characterization, a mystery that is more complex than it first appears, and the family dynamic among the Eppes men.
A suspicious suicide sets Charlie's investigative mind working, and for a change he goes to Don for help in trying to find out why (and if) a student took his own life. I was surprised to see where the story went (the rebar construction, etc.) and found it to be a refreshing change of pace from most murder/rape of the week shows. The ending was particularly powerful, as the truth about the death comes out. David Krumholtz can toss the math jargon off with aplomb, but he especially shines in scenes when the clinical, detatched Charlie gets bowled over with an emotional truth.
Plus, the fantastic (and usually sorely underused) Judd Hirsch gets a chance to shine as he prepares for a date (and tries to weedle Don and Terry into one as well). Sabrina Lloyd and Rob Morrow had such great chemistry - I would have loved to see their relationship grow and develop over the course of the series. It's too bad she left the show just as it was starting to get going.moreless
After an engineering student at CalSci is found dead from an apparent suicide, Charlie convinces Don to launch an investigation after he reads the student's thesis which asserted that the architecturally magnificent Cole Center in Los Angeles is structurally unstable. Although reluctant at first, Don and his team discover that the student's findings were correct and uncover a dangerous and surprising conspiracy. Meanwhile, Alan prepares for a first date and convinces Don and Terry to join them, hoping they might rekindle their old romance.moreless
 Judd Hirsch |
Alan Eppes |
 David Krumholtz |
Charlie Eppes |
 Peter MacNicol |
Dr. Larry Fleinhardt |
 Alimi Ballard |
David Sinclair |
 Rob Morrow |
Don Eppes |
 Sabrina Lloyd |
Terry Lake |
 David Hunt |
Elliot Cole |
Guest Star |
Gibby Brand |
Dr. Michael Sabello |
Guest Star |
Alyson Reed |
Eva Salton |
Guest Star |
Watch Online
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
-
TRIVIA (15)
ADD TRIVIA-
Music featured in this episode was "Used" by Brad Yoder (closing scene).
-
The exterior shots of the fictional Cole Center are of the Figuerosa at Wilshire Building, located at 601 S. Figuerosa Street in Los Angeles.
-
The MATH used in this episode was: Pendulum and Foucault pendulum.
-
The entire time we see Alan on his date, we never once SEE his date. This was done because the writers found it would be better if you never saw what Alan's "taste in women" was.
-
Opening numbers:
150 FEET
15 MPH
04 SECONDS TO IMPACT
1100 COLLEGE SUICIDES PER YEAR -
Don and Terry dated each other earlier in their careers.
-
Running down the lead on the "shadow crews" Terry finds a man submitted to the ER at 2:30 am. The picture of the hispanic man they pull is the same as the picture of one of the suspects living in the Silver Creek area in the pilot.
-
Alan and his wife met in the lunch line at work.
-
Alan's job as a retired city planner was chosen so that he would have an expertise unrelated to that of either of his sons, and that he would have had a job in which he met lots of people in the community and was tied into a lot of different groups. He's supposed to the be the guy who has a full social life, friends, interests.
-
The computer simulation doesn't really make sense. Simulations don't come out of nowhere. If the writer of the simulation didn't know about the flawed welding, the program wouldn't simulate the flaw and the simulated building wouldn't collapse. If the writer did know, why didn't he say so and save everybody else the trouble of looking for the flaw again?
-
Some of the objects on Cole's standing desk move around without him touching them. Look closely at the folders between shots.
-
There's an injury to Finn's arm, but it's never answered as to what really caused it.
-
How did Charlie manage to get to the upper 3rd of a 30+ floor building in the middle of the night?
-
When Don is talking to Terry about the double date, watch the way the sun shines on both of them from both camera positions. You can see each side was filmed in the afternoon at different parts of the day.
-
When we see the overhead shot from the bridge, the ground looks clean except where Finn fell. When Charlie brings Don in later, there's a bunch of dirt scattered all over the ground. Not to mention no police tape. Suicide is a crime, and would still render an investigation, and the area taped off. LAPD must not know how to keep a crime scene in tact.
-
-
QUOTES (12)
ADD QUOTES-
Alan: I sure hope you like duck.
His date: Oh yes I do, I have two, Paddles and Mr. Waddlesworth. Oh my God, I don't eat it! -
Terry: It's a cat and dog thing, some guys like women that can handcuff them.
-
David: There's no conclusive forensic evidence.
Don: Yeah, well, that's what confessions are for. -
Larry: Can I tell you a story?
Charlie: Yes, please, as long as it's not another parable from the lives of the great mathematicians. -
Bob Mazelli: FBI? What'd we do wrong this time?
Terry: What did you do wrong last time? -
Larry: In twenty years of teaching I have never received evaluation comments like these. Boring. Me. Intellectually, uh, inaccessible.
Charlie: I thought we came up on this hike to get your mind off this ridiculous thing.
Larry: I mean, one-one student even said I'm out of touch in cutting edge thinking in multi-dimensional theory. I mean, that one alone kept me up at night. -
Don: From the Brothers Eppes, I thank you.
-
Alan: Look, it's my first date in over 35 years. I would like it to be memorable instead of low key.
Don: Low key and memorable aren't mutually exclusive. You know what my favorite date ever was? Pepperoni pizza at a laundromat.
Alan: Yes, which explains the conspicuous absence of grandchildren... -
Charlie: A girl in my Combinatorics class said that I was disorganized and that I talk too fast...
Larry: That's an accurate observation, actually. -
Security Guard: Excuse me? What're you doing?
Charlie: Simple experiment. It's a pendulum.
Security Guard: Sir, you and the pendulum need to leave.
Charlie: Okay. It drew an ellipse. -
Don: (On how his dad should finish up the date) Listen... alcohol. Lots of alcohol. (Walks out of kitchen)
Alan: For who? -
Don: Hey, what are you doing for dinner tonight? My dad's cooking for his friend, Jill.
Terry: What you mean ... like a double date?
Don: No, no, I mean he'd be on a date. You'd just be doing me a favor. I mean ... nothing to do with work.
Terry: Nice to see your social skills are as sharp as ever.
Don: Terry, I'm just trying to be upfront. I don't want there to be any weirdness, you know, given our history.
Terry: No weirdness, Don, just history.
Don: Is that a yes?
Terry: ...Maybe.
Don: What if I let you bring your cuffs?
Terry: (Laughing) Well, in that case.
-
-
NOTES (5)
ADD NOTES-
International Episode Titles:
Czech Republic: Závada konstrukce (Fault of Construction) -
International Airdates:
Czech Republic: June 16, 2008 on TV Nova
Slovakia: October 7, 2009 on JOJ -
This episode is rated TVPG-LV.
-
This episode was meant to play 5th, but was pushed up to 4th by CBS.
-
This episode was originally titled Bulldogs & Buildings.
-
-
ALLUSIONS (2)
ADD ALLUSIONS-
The Fifty-Nine Story Crisis
The basis for the story was a real situation of an actual case of structural compromise in the Citicorp Center, a Manhattan skyscraper. -
Don: It's Occam's Razor, you know. The simplest answer is usually the right one.
Occam's Razor, which Charlie explains at the end of the episode, states (in a simple form) one should not make more assumptions than are needed.
-
|
|
-
numb3rs s03 e07 Blackout
08/10/123
-
Did I hear Amita correctly...? (And the winner is... episode)
04/12/122
-
Official discussion thread: "The Running Man" (Spoilers)
11/28/1112
-
The End of Numb3rs
03/16/1134
-
It's Official !!!!!
10/29/1057
-
Cause and Effect
S 6 : Ep 16
Aired 3/12/10 (43:28)
-
Growin' Up
S 6 : Ep 15
Aired 3/5/10 (44:00)
-
And the Winner Is ...
S 6 : Ep 14
Aired 2/5/10 (44:04)
-
Devil Girl
S 6 : Ep 13
Aired 1/29/10 (41:15)
Season 1 Episodes
See AllEp 13
Man Hunt
Ep 12
Noisy Edge
Ep 11
Sacrifice
Ep 10
Dirty Bomb
Ep 9
Sniper Zero
Ep 8
Identity Crisis
Ep 7
Counterfeit Reality
Ep 6
Sabotage
Ep 5
Prime Suspect
Ep 4
Structural Corruption
Ep 3
Vector
Ep 2
Uncertainty Principle
Ep 1
Pilot
Ep Pilot
Unaired Pilot
-
layle1 USER EDITOR
User Score: 722
-
phf3947
User Score: 2387
-
scc1fan
User Score: 2377
-
khaki_dojo
User Score: 427
-
LaCholo
User Score: 293
-
neomichel
User Score: 258
-
SrRui
User Score: 215
-
lavikluva
User Score: 126
-
rorygould
User Score: 101
-
ChargerFin
User Score: 81
More
Less
