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Numb3rs Season 5 Episode 13

Trouble in Chinatown

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8.6

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AIRED: 1/23/09

The team goes into Chinatown's black market to find a missing undercover agent.

Fan Episode Reviews (4)

Nice one.

9.0

By jared85, Jun 22, 2011

It was a good episode overall. I get that Charlie being a math genius and believing numbers are the answer for everything but his rivalry with the pshychic was a little bit too much.. He died.. :( I liked John Glover. He added an interesting point of view to the cases. Hoped he'd become a recurring like the sniper dude.

The supposed good chinese guy.. lol.. I did not see it coming. Amidst all the ghost brides thing, illegal immigrants slaved by some.. I thought they were gonna show that not every chinese is a bad person or doing any kind of illegal stuff.. but oh well..

Some say Numb3rs is going downhill.. I disagree, I think this show is one of the best around and has kept a high level for 5 years!moreless
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Another good episode centered around Chinatown.

7.0

By timmer82, Jan 27, 2009

I enjoyed this episode, but did not think it was a great or truly special effort. First off, I was happy that Kelly Hu's character was not responsible for the crime. A few times early in the show, special agents that were brought in to assist with the investigation ended up being guilty of the crime. I also liked the focus on the Chinese culture. It was a nice change-up from the usual hostage, money grab, murder, etc type cases. I thought bringing the psychic back was unnecessary. I found the circumstances of his death hard to believe. He knew that van was coming right for him and did not make an effort to get out of the way. Finally, I missed Judd Hirsch.moreless
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Three women are abducted off the street in Chinatown. As Don and his team investigate they are joined by a Chinese immigration agent who tells Don that one of the abducted women was a fellow agent working undercover.moreless

7.5

By meathead704, Jan 25, 2009

This is a good episode but I find it a bit too eerie for me to give it a very high recommendation. The whole "Ghost Bride" aspect of the story is very unsettling. I can't explain why without giving away too much of the story. As always it's great to see Charlie, Amita and Larry help Don and the team crack the case. Another reason I can't give it too high a recommendation is the appearance (thankfully the last) of Mr. Samuel Kraft. I found that character to be dislikeable. Not to mention that he's a fraud. A mediocre episode.moreless
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I liked it but.......

7.5

By saleblanc, Jan 24, 2009

I thought the episode as a whole was great. The case of the ghost brides was pretty believable knowing that the Chinese culture is very strong in traditions. Especially the affect of numerology and the game Mahjong. However, this was understandably taken too far. I thought the involvement of the missing women being linked wasn't a difficult stretch especially seeing most where illegals and afraid to got to police for help. What I didn't understand was the presense of Craft. I just didn't see the necessity of him being present other than for annoyance of Charlie and Craft pushing Charlie's buttons.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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David Krumholtz	Charlie Eppes
Rob Morrow	Don Eppes
Navi Rawat	Amita Ramanujan
Peter MacNicol	Dr. Larry Fleinhardt
Dylan Bruno	Colby Granger
Alimi Ballard	David Sinclair

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Kelly Hu	Alice Chen	Guest Star
Keone Young	Walter Yoon	Guest Star
John Glover	Simon Kraft	Guest Star
Leslie Silva	M.E. Ridenhour	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (6)
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- When Don and Colby dig up the grave containing the first girl, as Colby unwraps the cloth from her face, you can see that she clenches her face.
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- When Charlie meets Kraft downstairs in the FBI building, Charlie is wearing a shirt and jacket. Later, he's wearing an anorak with hood on Kraft's video.
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- Math used in this episode:
  Frequency Domain
  Levy Flight
  Digital Signal Processing
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- This episode takes place during the celebrations of the Chinese New Year - the Year of the Ox.
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- With Alan gone to his 50th high school reunion, he is more than likely 68.
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- Opening Numb3rs:
  2 VANS
  50 ROUNDS
  140 DECIBELS
  1 MISSING AGENT
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QUOTES (7)
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- Amita: Imagine Alan in high school - hanging out by the bike racks, snapping towels in the shower...
  Charlie: Thanks for the shower image, I appreciate that.
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- David: Looks all right.
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- Charlie: I will fall on my slide rule if anyone can prove to me that Simon Kraft had extrasensory abilities.
  Larry: Alright. What inner power led Simon to the killer's van precisely at the moment of kidnap?
  Charlie: Oh, you mean the same power that failed to warn him that he was about to be run over by that van? Help me out here!
  Don: Hey, you know, I have to say, uh, I'm in the undecided column!
  (Charlie turns to Amita)
  Amita: I am going to read my book in peace.
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- (Larry reads about Ghost Brides from an encyclopedia)
  Amita: No, I see what he means, in an Eastern sort of way. Two total strangers locked in eternal embrace, joined only by their connection to the stars.
  Larry: Eh, like my department at CalSci.
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- Larry: You know something? I wanna phone a friend.
  Amita: Who?
  Larry: The librarian at the monestary. Not only is he Chinese, he knows numbers.
  Amita: Better than Charlie?
  Larry: Well, I don't think this involves math, but magic.
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- Charlie: (to Amita, after Simon Kraft shows up) Think I should call Don? Or am I overreacting?
  (Amita makes a surprised face)
  Charlie: (reaches for his phone) You took too long.
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- Charlie: (to Amita) It's too quiet with my dad away. Drop a spoon or something.
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NOTES (3)
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- International Air Dates:
  
  The Netherlands: April 26, 2009 on Veronica
  
  Norway: July 9, 2009 on TV2
  
  Czech Republic: June 10, 2010 on TV Nova
  
  Finland: May 15, 2012 on Sub
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- This episode was rated TV-14 (LV) in its first network broadcast.
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- Music used in this episode was "Down by the Water" by PJ Harvey.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Larry: You know something? I wanna phone a friend.
  
  This is a reference to one of the lifelines on the TV game show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? In the show, contestants answered a series of multiple choice questions, each with an increasing value of prize money. The questions got harder the higher the value, and contestants were allowed three "hint" options, called lifelines. They could use a 50-50, which took away two incorrect answers; Ask the Audience, which polled the audience and hopefully the majority knew the correct answer; or Phone a Friend, which allowed the contestant to call one person from a previously selected list of acquaintances.
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