Cause and Effect (Numb3rs)
Encyclopedia
"Cause and Effect" is the 16th episode and the season finale of the sixth season of the American television series Numb3rs
. In the episode, Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agents and mathematicians
attempt to find one agent's gun before it is used in a violent crime. When series creators/executive producers Cheryl Heuton
and Nicolas Falacci
learned that the number of episodes airing during the season was reduced, they felt that they needed to finish storylines in case the series was cancelled. To do so, they wrote an open-ended story to serve as either a season finale or a series finale.
Originally set to air in May, "Cause and Effect" first aired in the United States on March 12, 2010. Critics mostly focused on the potential cancellation of the series, but two reviewers gave the episode reviews. "Cause and Effect" became Numb3rs series finale after CBS's cancellation of the series on May 19, 2010.
(David Krumholtz
) and Amita Ramanujan
(Navi Rawat
) are married at CalSci. Charlie's father Alan Eppes
(Judd Hirsch
), Charlie's older brother FBI Special Agent Don Eppes
(Rob Morrow
), and friends FBI Special Agents David Sinclair
(Alimi Ballard
), Colby Granger
(Dylan Bruno
), Nikki Betancourt
(Sophina Brown
), and Assistant United States Attorney Robin Brooks (Michelle Nolden
) attend the ceremony. Charlie and Amita's friend and fellow colleague Dr. Larry Fleinhardt
(Peter MacNicol
) officiates. After receiving a call from FBI Special Agent Liz Warner
(Aya Sumika
), Don and David leave the reception to arrest Ted Dacosta (Luke Rosen), a man wanted on fraud charges. During the arrest, a man who has just learned that Decosta had swindled him tackles Don and David. The tackle knocks Don's gun away from him. Someone picks the gun up and walks away from the scene. A member of the Los Angeles Police Department
(LAPD) questions Don about the incident, and Don completes the required paperwork. Nikki contacts her former colleagues at the LAPD for assistance.
At Charlie's house, Alan and Charlie notice that Don is upset about losing his gun. Charlie offers to help his brother locate the gun, but Don refuses, citing Charlie and Amita's upcoming visiting professorships at Cambridge. Don receives a call about two drug dealers who were fatally shot with Don's gun. None of the neighbors appear upset about the dealers' deaths. A tip from LAPD leads the FBI team to the leader of the community crime watch. He insists that he did not have the gun but later confesses to possessing it when presented with contradictory evidence. Don confesses to Robin that he feels that the search for his gun could determine his future with the FBI. Robin replies that the current case should not influence his decision. Meanwhile, FBI technician Matt Li (Matthew Yang King) discovers many references to Don's gun as a vigilante gun on several social networking sites. Charlie, Amita, Larry, and Otto Bahnoff (John Cariani), a plasma physicist who has assisted the FBI on two previous cases, use the small world network to track the gun. While discussing the math, Don and Charlie agree that, although they had spent their lives apart from each other, they want to keep the relationship they have with each other. The team receives another call, this time leading them to the body of a woman who planned to drink and drive without a driver's license.
Amita, Charlie, Larry, and Otto find a woman who used her real personal information on a web site which referenced Don's gun. The woman tells the agents that she passed the gun to someone named Jim. Don and David question Jim Mazzolla (David Burke), who claims that his neighbor Michael Hiller (Vyto Ruginis) had been bullying them Mazzolla and his family. Both Mazzolla and Hiller deny being in possession of Don's gun. With Charlie's analysis and further investigation, the agents discover that Mazzolla, a criminal, was in the area where Don lost his gun the day of the incident. Don and David return to Mazzolla's house, where they discover Mazzolla's son, Jim Jr., (Bridger Zadina) holding Hiller at gunpoint. Don wrestles the gun from Jim Jr. and arrests Hiller on unspecified charges. FBI Special Agent Ian Edgerton (Lou Diamond Phillips
) suddenly appears to escort Hiller. Ian informs Don and David that the team's earlier background check on Hiller, an escaped prisoner from Florida
, alerted Ian to Hiller's location. Ian also expresses disappointment about not being able to attend Charlie and Amita's wedding. At the FBI office, Colby, Liz, and Nikki discuss David's new promotion to team leader of an anti-corruption team based from the Washington, DC FBI field office. Don, who recommended him for the position, tells David that David will do well in his new position. At Charlie's house, the Eppes family and the team celebrate Charlie and Amita's wedding. Charlie and Amita inform the group that they will be converting the garage into a guesthouse for Alan so that Alan, who had decided to find an apartment since Charlie and Amita have married, can have space and that they can have him live near them. Charlie wants to provide for Alan, and Amita is willing due to her India
n heritage. Confident about his work with the FBI, Don tells Robin that he will accept a promotion to become a special agent in charge. Don proposes to Robin, and she accepts. As Alan designs the new guesthouse, he, Don, and Charlie discuss the changes and the constants in their lives.
For the cast and crew, the announcement about the reduction in the episode order came during the production of the eleventh episode of the sixth season. Series creators/executive producers Cheryl Heuton and Nicolas Falacci, who wrote "Cause and Effect", developed the episode to be a season finale that could also serve as a series finale in case the show was cancelled. They decided to write the episode in a way in which fans would see some kind of resolution of storylines in the event that the series was cancelled. They included some closure to several storylines, especially David's storyline and to one of Don's storylines.
To finish the season's storyline, several plot lines had to be modified by removing some individual stories within the season's main storyline or by revising some stories. For example, writers had planned for Charlie and Amita's wedding to be ornate with 200 people and with Amita's parents in attendance. Heuton and Falacci changed it to a small wedding at CalSci with Larry officiating the ceremony.
, stated, "Kudos to them [the producers of Numb3rs] for rewarding long-time fans by crafting the season finale to also function as a series finale." Matt Roush of TV Guide Magazines web site was surprised by the amount of closure in the episode. David Johnson, a reviewer for DVD Verdict, felt that the episode was excellent.
NUMB3RS
Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
. In the episode, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) agents and mathematicians
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
attempt to find one agent's gun before it is used in a violent crime. When series creators/executive producers Cheryl Heuton
Cheryl Heuton
Cheryl Heuton is an American television writer and producer. Along with her husband and writing partner Nicolas Falacci, she co-created the television series Numb3rs.-External links:...
and Nicolas Falacci
Nicolas Falacci
Nicolas Falacci is a television writer and producer. Along with his wife and writing partner Cheryl Heuton, he co-created the television series Numb3rs. His only directing credit is the season 6 finale of the program. Falacci also wrote the story and screenplay for the 1991 horror film Children of...
learned that the number of episodes airing during the season was reduced, they felt that they needed to finish storylines in case the series was cancelled. To do so, they wrote an open-ended story to serve as either a season finale or a series finale.
Originally set to air in May, "Cause and Effect" first aired in the United States on March 12, 2010. Critics mostly focused on the potential cancellation of the series, but two reviewers gave the episode reviews. "Cause and Effect" became Numb3rs series finale after CBS's cancellation of the series on May 19, 2010.
Plot summary
Drs. Charlie EppesCharlie Eppes
Charles Edward "Charlie" Eppes, PhD is a fictional character and protagonist in the CBS crime drama Numb3rs.Dr...
(David Krumholtz
David Krumholtz
David Krumholtz is an American actor best known for playing Professor Charlie Eppes in the television series Numb3rs. He appeared as Seth Goldstein in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and its two sequels, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas...
) and Amita Ramanujan
Amita Ramanujan
Amita Ramanujan is a fictional character from the TV series Numb3rs. Over the course of the series, she has become a professor at CalSci and has since become romantically involved with her former thesis advisor, Dr. Charlie Eppes . First introduced in "Pilot", the character of Amita has received...
(Navi Rawat
Navi Rawat
Navi Rawat is an American television actress, known for her roles as Theresa Diaz on the drama series The O.C. and math prodigy Amita Ramanujan on the drama series Numb3rs. She is the niece of Prem Rawat....
) are married at CalSci. Charlie's father Alan Eppes
Alan Eppes
Alan Eppes is a fictional character on the television show Numb3rs, played by Judd Hirsch. Alan is the father of the main characters, brothers Charlie and Don Eppes...
(Judd Hirsch
Judd Hirsch
Judd Hirsch is an American actor most known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series Taxi, John Lacey on the NBC series Dear John, and Alan Eppes on the CBS series Numb3rs.-Early life and education:...
), Charlie's older brother FBI Special Agent Don Eppes
Don Eppes
Don Eppes is the main fictional character in the television show Numb3rs. He is played by Rob Morrow.Don is an FBI Special Agent who runs the FBI Violent Crimes Squad in Los Angeles. Don recruits his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes, to help him and the Bureau solve some of their most...
(Rob Morrow
Rob Morrow
Robert Alan "Rob" Morrow is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Don Eppes on Numb3rs and as Dr. Joel Fleischman on Northern Exposure, a role which garnered him three Golden Globes and two Emmy Award nominations for "Best Actor in a Dramatic Series."-Personal life:Morrow was born in...
), and friends FBI Special Agents David Sinclair
David Sinclair (Numb3rs)
David Sinclair is a fictitious FBI agent in the TV show Numb3rs. First introduced in the Pilot episode, he has become the usual partner of FBI Special Agent Colby Granger and has also become the primary relief supervisor for the Supervisor of the FBI Violent Crimes division, Don Eppes...
(Alimi Ballard
Alimi Ballard
Alimi Ballard is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as FBI agent David Sinclair on the CBS drama television series Numb3rs....
), Colby Granger
Colby Granger
Colby Granger is a fictitious FBI agent on the American television show Numb3rs. First introduced during the second season, he has become a part of the team led by FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and is usually partnered with David Sinclair...
(Dylan Bruno
Dylan Bruno
Dylan Bruno is an American actor and former model. He portrayed FBI agent Colby Granger in the CBS series Numb3rs.-Personal life:...
), Nikki Betancourt
Nikki Betancourt
Nikki Betancourt is a fictitious character on the American television show Numb3rs. Developed as a replacement for a regular who had left the series, she joined FBI Special Agent Don Eppes' 's team at the beginning of season five...
(Sophina Brown
Sophina Brown
Sophina Brown is an American actress who had a starring role on the CBS drama series Numb3rs where she played Nikki Betancourt, an "adrenaline junkie" and former LAPD officer....
), and Assistant United States Attorney Robin Brooks (Michelle Nolden
Michelle Nolden
Michelle Nolden is a Canadian actress. She has appeared in numerous films and television shows including ZOS: Zone of Separation, Numb3rs, Street Time, Earth: Final Conflict, The Time Traveler's Wife, Men with Brooms, Republic of Doyle as well as directing and writing a film called Loonie...
) attend the ceremony. Charlie and Amita's friend and fellow colleague Dr. Larry Fleinhardt
Larry Fleinhardt
Larry Fleinhardt PhD is a fictional character in the television show Numb3rs, played by Peter MacNicol.Dr. Lawrence Fleinhardt is a professor of physics at CalSci and best friend and colleague of Charlie Eppes...
(Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol
Peter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
) officiates. After receiving a call from FBI Special Agent Liz Warner
Liz Warner
Liz Warner is a fictitious character on the American television show Numb3rs. A former girlfriend of FBI Special agent Don Eppes, she has since become a part of Don's team.-Evolution over the series:...
(Aya Sumika
Aya Sumika
Aya Sumika was born Aya Sumika Koenig on August 22, 1980 in Miami, Florida. She grew up in Seattle, Washington.She is an American actress best known for her semi-recurring role as FBI Agent Liz Warner in the television series Numb3rs.Her mother is Japanese-American and her father is of European...
), Don and David leave the reception to arrest Ted Dacosta (Luke Rosen), a man wanted on fraud charges. During the arrest, a man who has just learned that Decosta had swindled him tackles Don and David. The tackle knocks Don's gun away from him. Someone picks the gun up and walks away from the scene. A member of the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
(LAPD) questions Don about the incident, and Don completes the required paperwork. Nikki contacts her former colleagues at the LAPD for assistance.
At Charlie's house, Alan and Charlie notice that Don is upset about losing his gun. Charlie offers to help his brother locate the gun, but Don refuses, citing Charlie and Amita's upcoming visiting professorships at Cambridge. Don receives a call about two drug dealers who were fatally shot with Don's gun. None of the neighbors appear upset about the dealers' deaths. A tip from LAPD leads the FBI team to the leader of the community crime watch. He insists that he did not have the gun but later confesses to possessing it when presented with contradictory evidence. Don confesses to Robin that he feels that the search for his gun could determine his future with the FBI. Robin replies that the current case should not influence his decision. Meanwhile, FBI technician Matt Li (Matthew Yang King) discovers many references to Don's gun as a vigilante gun on several social networking sites. Charlie, Amita, Larry, and Otto Bahnoff (John Cariani), a plasma physicist who has assisted the FBI on two previous cases, use the small world network to track the gun. While discussing the math, Don and Charlie agree that, although they had spent their lives apart from each other, they want to keep the relationship they have with each other. The team receives another call, this time leading them to the body of a woman who planned to drink and drive without a driver's license.
Amita, Charlie, Larry, and Otto find a woman who used her real personal information on a web site which referenced Don's gun. The woman tells the agents that she passed the gun to someone named Jim. Don and David question Jim Mazzolla (David Burke), who claims that his neighbor Michael Hiller (Vyto Ruginis) had been bullying them Mazzolla and his family. Both Mazzolla and Hiller deny being in possession of Don's gun. With Charlie's analysis and further investigation, the agents discover that Mazzolla, a criminal, was in the area where Don lost his gun the day of the incident. Don and David return to Mazzolla's house, where they discover Mazzolla's son, Jim Jr., (Bridger Zadina) holding Hiller at gunpoint. Don wrestles the gun from Jim Jr. and arrests Hiller on unspecified charges. FBI Special Agent Ian Edgerton (Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips is an American film, television, and stage actor and director. His breakthrough came when he starred in the film La Bamba. He earned a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Stand and Deliver and a Tony Award nomination for his role in The King and I...
) suddenly appears to escort Hiller. Ian informs Don and David that the team's earlier background check on Hiller, an escaped prisoner from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, alerted Ian to Hiller's location. Ian also expresses disappointment about not being able to attend Charlie and Amita's wedding. At the FBI office, Colby, Liz, and Nikki discuss David's new promotion to team leader of an anti-corruption team based from the Washington, DC FBI field office. Don, who recommended him for the position, tells David that David will do well in his new position. At Charlie's house, the Eppes family and the team celebrate Charlie and Amita's wedding. Charlie and Amita inform the group that they will be converting the garage into a guesthouse for Alan so that Alan, who had decided to find an apartment since Charlie and Amita have married, can have space and that they can have him live near them. Charlie wants to provide for Alan, and Amita is willing due to her India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n heritage. Confident about his work with the FBI, Don tells Robin that he will accept a promotion to become a special agent in charge. Don proposes to Robin, and she accepts. As Alan designs the new guesthouse, he, Don, and Charlie discuss the changes and the constants in their lives.
Writing
Citing a decrease in ratings, CBS reduced Numb3rs episode order, the number of episodes airing per season, from 22 to 16 on November 4, 2009. Although the series had high ratings for the night, the 18-49 demographic was not as strong. CBS also wanted to air a series during the middle of the season.For the cast and crew, the announcement about the reduction in the episode order came during the production of the eleventh episode of the sixth season. Series creators/executive producers Cheryl Heuton and Nicolas Falacci, who wrote "Cause and Effect", developed the episode to be a season finale that could also serve as a series finale in case the show was cancelled. They decided to write the episode in a way in which fans would see some kind of resolution of storylines in the event that the series was cancelled. They included some closure to several storylines, especially David's storyline and to one of Don's storylines.
To finish the season's storyline, several plot lines had to be modified by removing some individual stories within the season's main storyline or by revising some stories. For example, writers had planned for Charlie and Amita's wedding to be ornate with 200 people and with Amita's parents in attendance. Heuton and Falacci changed it to a small wedding at CalSci with Larry officiating the ceremony.
Reception
Although network executives originally scheduled the episode to air in May and then in February, they scheduled "Cause and Effect" to air on March 12, 2010. Over 8.34 million people in the United States watched "Cause and Effect". Critically, the television critics focused on the idea of the episode being a series finale, but several critics commented on the episode. Rob Owen, a television critic with the Pittsburgh Post-GazettePittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
, stated, "Kudos to them [the producers of Numb3rs] for rewarding long-time fans by crafting the season finale to also function as a series finale." Matt Roush of TV Guide Magazines web site was surprised by the amount of closure in the episode. David Johnson, a reviewer for DVD Verdict, felt that the episode was excellent.