Mathnet
Encyclopedia
Mathnet is a segment on the children's television show Square One
, of which five seasons were produced (1987-88, 1990-92). This parody
of Dragnet
featured detective
s at the Los Angeles Police Department
who solved mysteries
using their mathematical skills
. There were two main characters: detectives Kate Monday (Beverly Leech
) and George Frankly (Joe Howard
). Mary Watson also had a regular role as the duo's technical analyst, Debbie Williams. The third season had the show's setting moved to New York City
. Beginning in the fourth season, Kate Monday was replaced by Pat Tuesday (Toni DiBuono). James Earl Jones
played a recurring role as the chief Thad Green. He also briefly appears in season 4 and indicates he knows Pat Tuesday. When the duo was transferred to New York, Captain Joe Greco (Emilio Del Pozo) became their leader and undercover NYPD
officer Benny Pill (Bari K. Willerford) became their semi-regular backup support.
Each segment of the series aired on one episode of Square One, a production of the Children's Television Workshop aimed at teaching math skills to young viewers. Five segments made up an episode (one for each weekday), with suspense building at the end of each segment. A Mathnet comic briefly appeared in 3-2-1 Contact
.
Both Mathnet and Square One went off the air in 1994
(it ran as reruns until then after the final 1992 season was completed), reappearing from 1999
–2003
on the cable television network Noggin, a joint venture of Nickelodeon
and CTW.
The show had the habit of breaking the fourth wall
often, with such things as talking about what happened in (say) "an earlier episode".
Square One (TV series)
Square One Television is an American children's television program produced by the Children's Television Workshop to teach mathematics and abstract mathematical concepts to young viewers....
, of which five seasons were produced (1987-88, 1990-92). This parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
featured detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
s at 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...
who solved mysteries
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
using their mathematical skills
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...
. There were two main characters: detectives Kate Monday (Beverly Leech
Beverly Leech
Beverly Leech is an American actress who is perhaps best-known for her portrayal of Kate Monday on Square One TV's Mathnet....
) and George Frankly (Joe Howard
Joe Howard
Joe Howard is an American actor known for his role as George Frankly on Square One TV's Mathnet. He is the father of actor Jeremy Howard.-Filmography:-External links:...
). Mary Watson also had a regular role as the duo's technical analyst, Debbie Williams. The third season had the show's setting moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Beginning in the fourth season, Kate Monday was replaced by Pat Tuesday (Toni DiBuono). James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
played a recurring role as the chief Thad Green. He also briefly appears in season 4 and indicates he knows Pat Tuesday. When the duo was transferred to New York, Captain Joe Greco (Emilio Del Pozo) became their leader and undercover NYPD
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
officer Benny Pill (Bari K. Willerford) became their semi-regular backup support.
Each segment of the series aired on one episode of Square One, a production of the Children's Television Workshop aimed at teaching math skills to young viewers. Five segments made up an episode (one for each weekday), with suspense building at the end of each segment. A Mathnet comic briefly appeared in 3-2-1 Contact
3-2-1 Contact
3-2-1 Contact is an American science educational television show that aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop, teaches scientific principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G...
.
Both Mathnet and Square One went off the air in 1994
1994 in television
The year 1994 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1994.For the American TV schedule, see: 1994-95 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
(it ran as reruns until then after the final 1992 season was completed), reappearing from 1999
1999 in television
The year 1999 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1999.For the American TV schedule, see: 1999-00 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
–2003
2003 in television
The year 2003 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2003.For the American TV schedule, see: 2003-04 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:...
on the cable television network Noggin, a joint venture of Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
and CTW.
The show had the habit of breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
often, with such things as talking about what happened in (say) "an earlier episode".
Math and science
Real principles of math and science used by the detectives to solve crimes include:- KinematicsKinematicsKinematics is the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of bodies and systems without consideration of the forces that cause the motion....
("The Problem of the Missing Baseball") - Chromatic scaleChromatic scaleThe chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
("The Problem of the Passing Parade") - Displacement of fluidsDisplacement (fluid)In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured, as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed object can be deduced .An object that sinks...
("The Problem of the Trojan Hamburger") - ModularModular arithmeticIn mathematics, modular arithmetic is a system of arithmetic for integers, where numbers "wrap around" after they reach a certain value—the modulus....
Fibonacci sequence – the Pisano periodPisano periodIn number theory, the nth Pisano period, written π, is the period with which the sequence of Fibonacci numbers, modulo n repeats. For example, the Fibonacci numbers modulo 3 are , 1, 1, 2, 0, 2, 2, 1, 0, 1, 1, etc., with the first eight numbers repeating, so π = 8.Pisano periods are named after...
mod 5 ("The Case of the Willing Parrot") - Statistical samplingSampling (statistics)In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
("The Case of the Deceptive Data," "The Calpurnian Kugel Caper," "The Case: Off the Record") - TriangulationTriangulationIn trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
("The Case of the Map with a Gap", "The Case of the Bermuda Triangle", "Despair in Monterey Bay") - Random number generationRandom number generationA random number generator ) is a computational or physical device designed to generate a sequence of numbers or symbols that lack any pattern, i.e. appear random....
("The Calpurnian Kugel Caper") - Databases ("The Case of the Pocono's Paradise")
- Handwriting analysisQuestioned document examinationQuestioned document examination is the forensic science discipline pertaining to documents that are in dispute in a court of law...
("The Case of the Purloined Policies") - Hamiltonian pathHamiltonian pathIn the mathematical field of graph theory, a Hamiltonian path is a path in an undirected graph that visits each vertex exactly once. A Hamiltonian cycle is a cycle in an undirected graph that visits each vertex exactly once and also returns to the starting vertex...
("The Case of the Smart Dummy") - Process of eliminationProcess of eliminationProcess of elimination is a method to identify an entity of interest among several ones by excluding all other entities.-In education testing:...
("The Case of the Great Car Robbery") - Number patterns ("The Case of the Missing Air")
External links
- SquareOneTV.org - Guide of episodes guest star appearances
- Mathnet - To Cogitate and to solve - Episode guide, photos, sound clips, and actor bios.