Nine Wives
Encyclopedia
"Nine Wives" is the 12th episode of the third season of the American television show Numb3rs
. Paralleling the Warren Jeffs
and David Koresh
cases, the episode features Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agents and mathematicians
attempting to locate and arrest the leader of a polygamist cult in which members marry young girls. Julie Hébert, a series writer, incorporated slave quilts
and Levy flight
into her script. She also included two explosions in the script.
The episode marked Hébert's directorial debut. Although initially adverse to directing a script that she wrote, she agreed to direct it. The episode reunited her with actors Teri Polo
and Joshua Molina, both with whom she had worked before.
"Nine Wives" first aired in the United States on January 5, 2007. Critics gave the episode positive reviews.
(CBI) Agent Rachael Willions (Teri Polo
) tells FBI Special Agent Don Eppes
(Rob Morrow
) that the girl is Josephine Kirtland (Alexandra Krosney), the 73rd wife of Abner Stone (W. Earl Brown), the leader of a polygamist cult called the Apostolic Saints. Drs. Charlie Eppes
(David Krumholtz
), Don's brother and a FBI math consultant
, and Amita Ramanujan
(Navi Rawat
), Charlie's girlfriend and fellow colleague, receive Don's call for assistance while traveling to Stanford University
to attend a mathematics conference. Charlie and Amita find six likely areas from where Josephine could have come. Using satellite photographs of the areas from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
, Don and FBI Special Agent Megan Reeves (Diane Farr
) narrow the number of areas down to a tract of land with a trailer on it. When FBI Special Agent Colby Granger
(Dylan Bruno
) and a FBI SWAT team go to the trailer, they find the trailer booby-trapped and empty, with the exception of a blanket with Aramaic characters and lines on it and a donation jar.
Willions talks to Josephine at the hospital and finds Emmanueline Kirtland (Anne Dudek), Josephine's mother, there. Emmanueline expresses her displeasure of Josephine's preference of dating a young man who was no longer a part of the cult, Lee Brady (John Patrick Amedori), to being Stone's wife. Upon questioning at the FBI office, Lee insists that he and Josephine went out to get hamburgers. Meanwhile, Don learns that Willions was a member of the cult for 18 years before leaving, explaining both her ability to communicate with the Kirtlands and her desire to capture Stone. Upon their arrival back in Los Angeles
to see the results of their assistance, Charlie and Amita unintentionally interrupt Alan Eppes
(Judd Hirsch
), Charlie and Don's father, and Dr. Millie Finch (Kathy Najimy
)'s date at Charlie's house. After applying Wright's equation to their analysis, Charlie and Amita, along with Millie, who had suggested the equation while leaving the house, realize that Stone is revising his genealogy to remove any references to his sterility created by inbreeding within the cult. Charlie and Amita also realize that, since she is not biologically related to him, Stone's next potential wife is Emmanueline Kirtland, Josephine's mother and, as the analysis demonstrates, half-sister. Meanwhile, Stone kidnaps Emmanueline. A fellow cult member fatally shoots a California Highway Patrol
officer who had stopped the van they are traveling in for a traffic violation.
Megan breaks the news of Emmanueline's kidnapping to Josephine and Lee and asks them where Stone would likely take Emmanueline. They tell Megan that Stone wanted to build a new community in either California
or Canada
. Don gives Charlie a MP3 player that the FBI found at the scene of the shooting. While listening to Stone's podcasts to find a likely location, Charlie finds a location in Southern California
and gives the information to Don. Stone gathers several members of the cult at the location and, upon the FBI's arrival at the site, orders a shootout. During the shootout, Willions is shot in the leg and is rescued. Don tries to negotiate with Stone. Stone instead walks out of the building with Emmanueline and sets fire to the house, killing the remaining people inside. Don and the team take Stone into custody and rescues Emmanueline. At the house, Alan and Charlie discuss the fact that Stone took advantage of people's spiritual searches to further his agenda. Depressed about the case's outcome, Don joins Alan and Charlie at the house.
, the case featured in the episode paralleled both the Warren Jeffs case and the Waco incident. The leader of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamous sect of the Mormons
, Warren Steed Jeffs was accused of raping two minors and of conspiracy to commit rape near Colorado City, Arizona
, in 2002. In 2005, a grand jury in Mohave County, Arizona, indicted Jeffs on the charges, and the United States District Court in Flagstaff, Arizona, issued a federal arrest warrant 18 days after the indictment.
Hébert developed the story first and then asked researchers to find information about searches. One of the ideas the researchers found that she incorporated into the script was Levy flight. While others questioned whether the audience-vision, a graphical representation of the math used, was to be delivered by a man, Hébert insisted on Amita delivering the audience-vision.
Hébert also incorporated slave quilts into the script. Hébert designed the patterns, using large letters to indicate males and small stitches to indicate females.
, and Hébert worked with her on The West Wing. Casting director Mark Saks wanted Polo to be in the episode, but he was not sure if she was interested. Upon calling her, he learned that she was a fan of the series.
Molina had been in the Numb3rs episode "Waste Not", which was also written by Hébert. He and Hébert had worked together on The West Wing.
W. Earl Brown previously starred in Deadwood
. Due to his appearance, he was cast as Abner Stone.
During the writing of the episode, Hébert consulted fellow series writer Robert Port for information about explosives and included two scenes in the episode. One was at a trailer in the wilderness near Santa Clarita, California. Using a bicycle and a shotgun, Tom Bellissimo, Numb3rs special effects supervisor, built the booby trap for the explosion at the trailer. Christy Somner, California's first female pyrotechnician, assisted Bellissimo, and stunt coordinator Jim Vickers pulled the door to the trailer once filming was underway. Four cameras captured the scene, which took three to four takes to film.
The other scene was shot at a compound that was built in the 1950s. Bellissimo used 60 explosives inside the house to set off the explosion. He also used propane to prevent a fire. The film crew filmed the indoor scenes first and then shot the outdoor scenes. To create the illusion that Stone and Emmanueline were closer to the house than they were, the crew used a long-lens camera to shot the explosion.
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...
. Paralleling the Warren Jeffs
Warren Jeffs
Warren Steed Jeffs was the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints . In 2011, Jeffs was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault....
and David Koresh
David Koresh
David Koresh , born Vernon Wayne Howell, was the leader of a Branch Davidian religious sect, believing himself to be its final prophet. Howell legally changed his name to David Koresh on May 15, 1990. A 1993 raid by the U.S...
cases, the episode features 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...
attempting to locate and arrest the leader of a polygamist cult in which members marry young girls. Julie Hébert, a series writer, incorporated slave quilts
Quilts of the Underground Railroad
In 1999 a theory surfaced indicating a possibility slaves used quilt blocks to alert other slaves about escape plans during the time of the Underground Railroad...
and Levy flight
Lévy flight
A Lévy flight is a random walk in which the step-lengths have a probability distribution that is heavy-tailed. When defined as a walk in a space of dimension greater than one, the steps made are in isotropic random directions...
into her script. She also included two explosions in the script.
The episode marked Hébert's directorial debut. Although initially adverse to directing a script that she wrote, she agreed to direct it. The episode reunited her with actors Teri Polo
Teri Polo
Theresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo is an American actress known for her role of Pam Focker in the movie Meet the Parents and its two sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers...
and Joshua Molina, both with whom she had worked before.
"Nine Wives" first aired in the United States on January 5, 2007. Critics gave the episode positive reviews.
Plot summary
A traveler finds an unconscious young girl beside a road. California Bureau of InvestigationCalifornia Bureau of Investigation
California Bureau of Investigation is a fictional law enforcement organization of the U.S. state of California featured predominantly in the TV series The Mentalist....
(CBI) Agent Rachael Willions (Teri Polo
Teri Polo
Theresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo is an American actress known for her role of Pam Focker in the movie Meet the Parents and its two sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers...
) tells 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...
) that the girl is Josephine Kirtland (Alexandra Krosney), the 73rd wife of Abner Stone (W. Earl Brown), the leader of a polygamist cult called the Apostolic Saints. Drs. Charlie Eppes
Charlie 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...
), Don's brother and a FBI math 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...
, 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....
), Charlie's girlfriend and fellow colleague, receive Don's call for assistance while traveling to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
to attend a mathematics conference. Charlie and Amita find six likely areas from where Josephine could have come. Using satellite photographs of the areas from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
, Don and 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:...
) narrow the number of areas down to a tract of land with a trailer on it. When FBI Special Agent 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:...
) and a FBI SWAT team go to the trailer, they find the trailer booby-trapped and empty, with the exception of a blanket with Aramaic characters and lines on it and a donation jar.
Willions talks to Josephine at the hospital and finds Emmanueline Kirtland (Anne Dudek), Josephine's mother, there. Emmanueline expresses her displeasure of Josephine's preference of dating a young man who was no longer a part of the cult, Lee Brady (John Patrick Amedori), to being Stone's wife. Upon questioning at the FBI office, Lee insists that he and Josephine went out to get hamburgers. Meanwhile, Don learns that Willions was a member of the cult for 18 years before leaving, explaining both her ability to communicate with the Kirtlands and her desire to capture Stone. Upon their arrival back in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to see the results of their assistance, Charlie and Amita unintentionally interrupt 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 and Don's father, and Dr. Millie Finch (Kathy Najimy
Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy is an American actress, most notable as Olive Massery on the television series Veronica's Closet, Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act and the voice of Peggy Hill on the animated television series King of the Hill. Prior to her film work, she was best known for two Off Broadway shows...
)'s date at Charlie's house. After applying Wright's equation to their analysis, Charlie and Amita, along with Millie, who had suggested the equation while leaving the house, realize that Stone is revising his genealogy to remove any references to his sterility created by inbreeding within the cult. Charlie and Amita also realize that, since she is not biologically related to him, Stone's next potential wife is Emmanueline Kirtland, Josephine's mother and, as the analysis demonstrates, half-sister. Meanwhile, Stone kidnaps Emmanueline. A fellow cult member fatally shoots a California Highway Patrol
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and also acts as the state police....
officer who had stopped the van they are traveling in for a traffic violation.
Megan breaks the news of Emmanueline's kidnapping to Josephine and Lee and asks them where Stone would likely take Emmanueline. They tell Megan that Stone wanted to build a new community in either California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
or Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Don gives Charlie a MP3 player that the FBI found at the scene of the shooting. While listening to Stone's podcasts to find a likely location, Charlie finds a location in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and gives the information to Don. Stone gathers several members of the cult at the location and, upon the FBI's arrival at the site, orders a shootout. During the shootout, Willions is shot in the leg and is rescued. Don tries to negotiate with Stone. Stone instead walks out of the building with Emmanueline and sets fire to the house, killing the remaining people inside. Don and the team take Stone into custody and rescues Emmanueline. At the house, Alan and Charlie discuss the fact that Stone took advantage of people's spiritual searches to further his agenda. Depressed about the case's outcome, Don joins Alan and Charlie at the house.
Writing
Series writer/producer Julie Hébert decided to base a script on the fundamentalist polygamous groups and cults found in 12 states. According to series creator/executive producer Cheryl HeutonCheryl 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:...
, the case featured in the episode paralleled both the Warren Jeffs case and the Waco incident. The leader of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS), a polygamous sect of the Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
, Warren Steed Jeffs was accused of raping two minors and of conspiracy to commit rape near Colorado City, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, in 2002. In 2005, a grand jury in Mohave County, Arizona, indicted Jeffs on the charges, and the United States District Court in Flagstaff, Arizona, issued a federal arrest warrant 18 days after the indictment.
Hébert developed the story first and then asked researchers to find information about searches. One of the ideas the researchers found that she incorporated into the script was Levy flight. While others questioned whether the audience-vision, a graphical representation of the math used, was to be delivered by a man, Hébert insisted on Amita delivering the audience-vision.
Hébert also incorporated slave quilts into the script. Hébert designed the patterns, using large letters to indicate males and small stitches to indicate females.
Casting notes
Teri Polo, Joshua Molina, and W. Earl Brown guest starred in the episode. Polo and series regular Rob Morrow had worked together on Northern ExposureNorthern Exposure
Northern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes.-Overview:The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a...
, and Hébert worked with her on The West Wing. Casting director Mark Saks wanted Polo to be in the episode, but he was not sure if she was interested. Upon calling her, he learned that she was a fan of the series.
Molina had been in the Numb3rs episode "Waste Not", which was also written by Hébert. He and Hébert had worked together on The West Wing.
W. Earl Brown previously starred in Deadwood
Deadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
. Due to his appearance, he was cast as Abner Stone.
Filming
Hébert had written several scripts, including "Nine Wives", for Numb3rs. "Nine Wives" marked her directorial debut on the series. Although she was open to directing another writer's script, series executive producer Barry Schindel suggested that she directed the episode. For the scenes set in the Eppes' family garage, Hébert removed the back wall of the garage to obtain a specific camera angle. She also had to rework the walls of the hospital set to facilitate movement through the hallways. To hide series regular Diane Farr's pregnancy, she used a folder and a bag made from a material that was not supposed to make a sound when folding it. Ironically, the bag did not stay folded during filming.During the writing of the episode, Hébert consulted fellow series writer Robert Port for information about explosives and included two scenes in the episode. One was at a trailer in the wilderness near Santa Clarita, California. Using a bicycle and a shotgun, Tom Bellissimo, Numb3rs special effects supervisor, built the booby trap for the explosion at the trailer. Christy Somner, California's first female pyrotechnician, assisted Bellissimo, and stunt coordinator Jim Vickers pulled the door to the trailer once filming was underway. Four cameras captured the scene, which took three to four takes to film.
The other scene was shot at a compound that was built in the 1950s. Bellissimo used 60 explosives inside the house to set off the explosion. He also used propane to prevent a fire. The film crew filmed the indoor scenes first and then shot the outdoor scenes. To create the illusion that Stone and Emmanueline were closer to the house than they were, the crew used a long-lens camera to shot the explosion.
Reception
Critically, the episode received positive reviews. IGN.com rated "Nine Wives" as the best episode of the week in their "Crime Time" countdown. Jeffrey Robinson, a reviewer for DVD Talk, highlighted "Nine Wives" as an excellent episode, stating that it "revisits a somewhat common cult theme to crime-dramas".External links
- Numb3rs: Nine Wives 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: Nine Wives (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...