Shooting for more heart on brainy 'Numb3rs'
LOS ANGELES - A bullet hole joins the X's and Y's and and - symbols scrawled on the chalkboard.
Narrowly missed by the gunshot, math genius Charlie Eppes is under the table amid shards of glass, his body curled protectively around his laptop computer.
FBI agent Don Eppes, who pushed his brother to safety, has his pistol drawn as more gunfire rips through the FBI's Los Angeles headquarters.
Per usual, "Numb3rs" is cutting between the cerebral and the violent - a successful formula for the CBS crime drama airing Fridays at 10 p.m., with the network recently renewing the series for a third season.
But a new element has been added to the winning equation - the Eppes brothers, played by David Krumholtz and Rob Morrow, are now being given more feelings, even a little romance.
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"More than most shows, this show had to tell people what it was about a little longer than most," says co-creator and executive producer Cheryl Heuton.
"It was a different kind of premise, but now I think, and certainly at the beginning of next season, we can finally say 'OK, people know what it's about.' They get how math solves crimes, so let's go on to see where the personal problems are and why," she says.
"Numb3rs" has a very loyal fan base, notes Krumholtz as he waits for the gunfire to erupt on the FBI office set at L.A. Center Studios. "What we are trying to do now is attract more people and broaden the audience."
The series is the most-watched show of the night, averaging 11.6 million viewers this season. It skews more female than male - 60 percent to 40 percent - but that's still a fairly solid percentage of male viewers, not an easy group to pull in on Friday nights.
Krumholtz' Charlie has already flirted with romance this season - in a recent episode with a brainy British beauty.
"Charlie was very attracted to her mind (pause) and her body, so hopefully she'll be back," says the highly verbal actor, who enjoys portraying the clever character's "eagerness, passion and perfectionism."
Morrow, too, is delighting in a deeper exploration of his character's emotions.
"I think we are starting to get into what are the conflicts at the heart of our characters, aside from just solving the crime," says the actor. "In terms of Don, I'm starting to get into how he kind of rationalizes not being in a relationship based on the burden that he has on the job."
Morrow also would like to see "more conflict within the family," both with the Eppes' father, Alan (Judd Hirsch), and between the brothers - the very brainy Charlie, who deals in theory and probability, and the more factually-minded Don.
"Don's smart. He's a smart character. He's intelligent, but, I think, no matter what, in his mind he's got a little chip on his shoulder because he'll never be that smart, compared to Charlie," says Morrow.
But smart has a different ring to it when the bullets start flying.
"Hot weapon on set. There will be gunfire!" a crew member warns the production team as cameras are repositioned for another angle on the mayhem wreaked by an unidentified gunman.
When the attack began, Charlie was explaining the "inequality bonding theory," one of many mathematical equations he provides to the FBI to aid in crime solving.
Also endangered by the gunfire are other FBI agents - series regulars Megan Reeves (Diane Farr), David Sinclair (Aimi Ballard) and Colby Granger (Dylan Bruno.) The show also co-stars Peter MacNicol of "Ally McBeal" fame as Dr. Larry Fleinhardt, Charlie's physicist friend.
"The characters of Don and Charlie were always very strong, but we've got a lot more out of the character of Larry. We had just intended him as sort of spice and comic relief, but Peter has brought so much more than that," says Heuton.
Just what happens in the big shoot-out scene, no one was telling, but Krumhotlz notes that the show's not likely to take a "24" turn and start killing off popular characters.
"When you've established a great ensemble of actors, why do that?... we are trying to stick to what's good for us, what keeps our series operational," says the actor. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
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