Democracy (Numb3rs)
Encyclopedia
"Democracy" is the 18th episode of the third season of the American television show Numb3rs
. Written by Cheryl Heuton
and Nicolas Falacci
, the episode highlights a Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) investigation into the murder of one of their math
consultant
's friends while an agent learns that she has been selected for a United States Department of Justice
(DOJ) assignment. Heuton and Falacci also brought back fan favorite Oswald Kittner, portrayed by Jay Baruchel
.
The episode marks series regular Diane Farr
's final appearance before delivering her baby. Her pregnancy during season three presented writers and producers with the challenge of deciding whether to include a pregnancy into the season's storyline. They decided against it and opted to hide her pregnanacy. While filming "Democracy", Farr had her baby.
"Democracy" first aired in the United States
on March 9, 2007. Critics gave the episode positive reviews.
(David Krumholtz
), gives Charlie a list of names of her colleagues who died under suspicious circumstances. She asks to see Charlie's brother, FBI Special Agent Don Eppes
(Rob Morrow
). When Charlie asks why she does not go to the police about the matter, she reveals that she could be next. The next day, with Don present, Charlie identifies her body in the morgue. Friends with her since graduate school, Charlie does not believe that she could have committed suicide. Don agrees to look into Lawson's death.
The team learns that Lawson and most of her colleagues were, in fact, murdered. In looking at the connections between the people on Lawson's list, the team learns that the people are statistician
s and demographer
s who worked for SDKG Corporation, a Hong Kong
subsidiary of J. Everret Tuttle (William Sadler) that is involved in developing computer software. They also learn of Assistant United States Attorney Howard Meeks (Joshua Malina
)'s parallel investigation into Tuttle's ties to election fraud. In the meantime, Don asks FBI Special Agent Megan Reeves (Diane Farr
) about being assigned to the Department of Justice
(DOJ) for a while; Megan states that she does not want it. Meanwhile at CalSci, Charlie attempts to talk a reluctant Oswald Kittner (Jay Baruchel
), a fantasy baseball player who has helped the team before during a case involving sabermetrics
, into enrolling at CalSci.
Interviews with Tuttle and Austin Parker (Alexander Chaplin), one of Lawson's colleagues who is still alive, are unproductive. Parker dies during a car explosion after his interview with FBI Special Agents David Sinclair
(Alimi Ballard
) and Colby Granger
(Dylan Bruno
). Another colleague of Lawson's, Jane Aliano (Jama Williamson
), is still alive but missing. Charlie and Oswald analyze a list of numbers that Charlie received as evidence and learn that the software was, without the knowledge of Lawson and her fellow colleagues, designed to alter votes in precincts with close elections. Following campaign contributions, the team learns that Jason Brasher (Scott Waara), a candidate who has received campaign contributions from Tuttle, was elected in a close race in precincts using SDKG Corporation's software. With the help of Aliano's sister, the team finds Aliano, who agrees to be a witness upon learning of her friends' deaths. Cliff Dawkins (Tim Monsion), a manager of SDKG Corporation, accepts responsibility for the software design. When Don goes to Tuttle's house to inform Tuttle that he would be arrested when Don gathers the evidence, Tuttle accuses Don of having a vendetta.
After Meeks learns through the newspaper that the California legislature wants to investigate Tuttle, he accuses Don, who is surprised to see the article, of leaking the information to the press. At the house, Don learns that Charlie, using public information and Lawson's research, published Lawson's work in a journal, which issued a press release to the newspaper about the impending publication of the article. Oswald comes into the house and announces that he plans to enroll at CalSci. At the office, Megan receives a phone call from the DOJ telling her that the assignment is mandatory and effective immediately. She tearfully boards the elevator clutching her badge and keys.
complicated the storyline even further, as the potential father would be absent for part of a season.
During the filming of "Democracy", an obstetrician and a midwife from Florida were on set in case Farr delivered her baby on set. While filming, Farr had early contractions but insisted on working. The producers rushed to rearrange the shooting schedule so that that day could be Farr's last day on set. She delivered her baby.
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...
. Written by 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...
, the episode highlights a 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) investigation into the murder of one of their math
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...
consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
's friends while an agent learns that she has been selected for a United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
(DOJ) assignment. Heuton and Falacci also brought back fan favorite Oswald Kittner, portrayed by Jay Baruchel
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders "Jay" Baruchel is a Canadian actor. He has had a successful career in comedy films, and has appeared in supporting roles in such box office successes as Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder, as well as starring in films like She's Out of My League, The Trotsky,...
.
The episode marks series regular Diane Farr
Diane Farr
Diane Farr is an American actress. She is known for her roles as FBI agent Megan Reeves in the CBS television series Numb3rs and Laura Miles on Rescue Me.-Life and career:...
's final appearance before delivering her baby. Her pregnancy during season three presented writers and producers with the challenge of deciding whether to include a pregnancy into the season's storyline. They decided against it and opted to hide her pregnanacy. While filming "Democracy", Farr had her baby.
"Democracy" first aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on March 9, 2007. Critics gave the episode positive reviews.
Plot summary
One night at CalSci, Dr. Rachel Lawson, a friend of FBI math consultant Dr. 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...
), gives Charlie a list of names of her colleagues who died under suspicious circumstances. She asks to see Charlie's 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...
). When Charlie asks why she does not go to the police about the matter, she reveals that she could be next. The next day, with Don present, Charlie identifies her body in the morgue. Friends with her since graduate school, Charlie does not believe that she could have committed suicide. Don agrees to look into Lawson's death.
The team learns that Lawson and most of her colleagues were, in fact, murdered. In looking at the connections between the people on Lawson's list, the team learns that the people are statistician
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
s and demographer
Demography
Demography is the statistical study of human population. It can be a very general science that can be applied to any kind of dynamic human population, that is, one that changes over time or space...
s who worked for SDKG Corporation, a Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
subsidiary of J. Everret Tuttle (William Sadler) that is involved in developing computer software. They also learn of Assistant United States Attorney Howard Meeks (Joshua Malina
Joshua Malina
Joshua Charles Malina is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps most famous for portraying Will Bailey on the NBC drama The West Wing and Jeremy Goodwin on Sports Night.-Personal life:...
)'s parallel investigation into Tuttle's ties to election fraud. In the meantime, Don asks FBI Special Agent Megan Reeves (Diane Farr
Diane Farr
Diane Farr is an American actress. She is known for her roles as FBI agent Megan Reeves in the CBS television series Numb3rs and Laura Miles on Rescue Me.-Life and career:...
) about being assigned to the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
(DOJ) for a while; Megan states that she does not want it. Meanwhile at CalSci, Charlie attempts to talk a reluctant Oswald Kittner (Jay Baruchel
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders "Jay" Baruchel is a Canadian actor. He has had a successful career in comedy films, and has appeared in supporting roles in such box office successes as Million Dollar Baby, Knocked Up and Tropic Thunder, as well as starring in films like She's Out of My League, The Trotsky,...
), a fantasy baseball player who has helped the team before during a case involving sabermetrics
Sabermetrics
Sabermetrics is the specialized analysis of baseball through objective, empirical evidence, specifically baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research...
, into enrolling at CalSci.
Interviews with Tuttle and Austin Parker (Alexander Chaplin), one of Lawson's colleagues who is still alive, are unproductive. Parker dies during a car explosion after his interview with 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....
) and 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:...
). Another colleague of Lawson's, Jane Aliano (Jama Williamson
Jama Williamson
Jama Williamson is an American actress. She was active in New York City theater throughout the early 2000s, during which she appeared in such shows as Avery Crozier's Eat the Runt, Hunt Holman's Spanish Girl, A. R. Gurney's Sylvia and Simon Mendes da Costa's Losing Louis...
), is still alive but missing. Charlie and Oswald analyze a list of numbers that Charlie received as evidence and learn that the software was, without the knowledge of Lawson and her fellow colleagues, designed to alter votes in precincts with close elections. Following campaign contributions, the team learns that Jason Brasher (Scott Waara), a candidate who has received campaign contributions from Tuttle, was elected in a close race in precincts using SDKG Corporation's software. With the help of Aliano's sister, the team finds Aliano, who agrees to be a witness upon learning of her friends' deaths. Cliff Dawkins (Tim Monsion), a manager of SDKG Corporation, accepts responsibility for the software design. When Don goes to Tuttle's house to inform Tuttle that he would be arrested when Don gathers the evidence, Tuttle accuses Don of having a vendetta.
After Meeks learns through the newspaper that the California legislature wants to investigate Tuttle, he accuses Don, who is surprised to see the article, of leaking the information to the press. At the house, Don learns that Charlie, using public information and Lawson's research, published Lawson's work in a journal, which issued a press release to the newspaper about the impending publication of the article. Oswald comes into the house and announces that he plans to enroll at CalSci. At the office, Megan receives a phone call from the DOJ telling her that the assignment is mandatory and effective immediately. She tearfully boards the elevator clutching her badge and keys.
Writing
"Democracy" marks the temporary exit of Diane Farr. During the start of season three, series regular Diane Farr learned that she was pregnant. The series' writers and producers discussed whether to include the pregnancy in the storyline for the season. At the time, series writers and producers planned for Larry to romance Megan during season three. They decided against a story involving pregnancy, feeling that it was too early in Larry and Megan's relationship to discuss pregnancy. They also felt that it was too early in the series to explore working mothers in the FBI. Furthermore, series regular Peter MacNicol's temporary departure for 2424 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
complicated the storyline even further, as the potential father would be absent for part of a season.
Filming
Since writers and producers decided that Farr's pregnancy would not be a storyline for season three, they had to disguise Farr's pregnancy. Over the course of the season, they used a fitted vest and a scarf, folders, and a bag constructed from material that was soundless. Farr used her hand to block her abdomen. The camera crew filmed around Farr's pregnancy. At one point, series writer Ken Sanzel wrote a script in which Megan could be at the office.During the filming of "Democracy", an obstetrician and a midwife from Florida were on set in case Farr delivered her baby on set. While filming, Farr had early contractions but insisted on working. The producers rushed to rearrange the shooting schedule so that that day could be Farr's last day on set. She delivered her baby.
Casting
"Democracy" marked the return of Oswald Kittner. Originally a one-time role, fans and executive producer Cheryl Heuton enjoyed having Jay Baruchel's performance as Oswald Kittner on the show. As a result of fans' request for a return appearance of Kittner, writers wrote "Democracy" and decided to feature Kittner.External links
- Numb3rs: Democracy at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- Numb3rs: Democracy (2007) at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...