Spree (Numb3rs)
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"Spree" is the first episode of the third season of the American television show ''
Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
'' The episode features
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(FBI) agents pursuing a couple of spree killers. Series writer Ken Sanzel drew inspiration for the episode from pursuit curves. "Spree" also launches a more general trend toward the serialization of the series.
David Gallagher David Lee Gallagher (born February 9, 1985) is an American actor and former model. He began his career as a child actor and model at the age of two, and is known for his roles as Mikey Ubriacco in '' Look Who's Talking Now'', Simon Camden in '' ...
and
Kim Dickens Kim Dickens is an American actress. She is known for starring as Madison Clark in the AMC (TV channel), AMC horror drama series ''Fear the Walking Dead'' (2015–2018; 2022–2023), Joanie Stubbs in HBO's ''Deadwood (TV series), Deadwood'' (2004 ...
guest-starred as the couple. For Gallagher, the role of Buck Winters was a sharp contrast with his role in a previous series.
Lou Diamond Phillips Louis Diamond Phillips (né Upchurch; born February 17, 1962) is an American actor, director, and writer. His breakthrough came when he starred as Ritchie Valens in the biographical drama film '' La Bamba'' (1987). For his performance as Angel ...
, reprising his role of FBI Special Agent Ian Edgerton, made his third appearance on ''Numb3rs''. "Spree" first aired in the United States on September 22, 2006. Critics gave the episode positive reviews.


Plot summary

A recently married couple, Buck Winters (David Gallagher) and Crystal Hoyle (Kim Dickens), shoot the people inside a convenience store outside of
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and drive off in a stolen a convertible. Some time later, FBI Special Agent Ian Edgerton (Lou Diamond Phillips) informs FBI Special Agents
Don Eppes Donald "Don" Eppes is a fictional character and one of the protagonists of the CBS crime drama ''Numbers''. He is portrayed by Rob Morrow. Don is an FBI Special Agent who runs the FBI Violent Crimes Squad in Los Angeles. Don recruits his mathemati ...
(
Rob Morrow Robert Alan Morrow (born September 21, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Dr. Joel Fleischman on '' Northern Exposure'', a role that garnered him three Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations for Best Actor in a Dramati ...
),
Megan Reeves Megan Reeves is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama '' Numb3rs'', played by Diane Farr. Created as a replacement for the character Terry Lake, who served in the same capacity, Megan is a profiler working with Don Eppes' team and serves ...
(
Diane Farr Diane Farr (born September 7, 1969) is an American actress, producer, and writer. Her television roles have included FBI agent Megan Reeves in '' Numb3rs'', the firefighter Laura Miles in '' Rescue Me'', and the division chief Sharon Leone in ...
), David Sinclair (
Alimi Ballard Alimi Ballard (born ) is an American television actor. He is best known for his role as FBI agent David Sinclair on the CBS police procedural thriller ''Numb3rs'' (2005–2010), as well as the Quizmaster from ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''. Earl ...
), and
Colby Granger Colby Granger is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama '' Numb3rs'', played by Dylan Bruno. First introduced during the second season, he has become a part of the team led by FBI Special Agent Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) and is usually partne ...
(
Dylan Bruno Dylan Bruno (born September 6, 1972) is an American actor and former model. His first major film role was a supporting part in Steven Spielberg's ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), followed by a lead role in the horror film '' The Rage: Carrie 2'' ...
) that Crystal and Buck have been on a 17-day robbery spree from
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
to Los Angeles. Don and Ian take a map to CalSci and ask Dr.
Charlie Eppes Charles Edward Eppes, Ph.D., is a fictional character and one of the protagonists of the CBS crime drama ''Numbers''. He is portrayed by David Krumholtz. Eppes is portrayed as a young mathematical genius and professor of applied mathematics at ...
(
David Krumholtz David Krumholtz (born May 15, 1978) is an American actor. Krumholtz is best known for portraying Bernard in ''The Santa Clause'' franchise (1994–present), Michael Eckman in '' 10 Things I Hate About You'' (1999), Goldstein in the '' Harold & K ...
), Don's brother and an FBI
math Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...
, for assistance. Charlie gets an idea that Ian missed a shooting in
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
. At the office, the team learns that Crystal was Buck's high school teacher and that they killed Buck's father before beginning their robbery spree. A call stating that Crystal and Buck were involved in a shootout in a Wyoming bar confirms Charlie's suspicion and fills in a gap in the timeline. A background check reveals that Crystal, along with her friend Lydia Campos (Georgia Hatzis), was arrested for drug possession in Los Angeles at age 15. Meanwhile, Buck and Crystal drive into a downtown car dealership belonging to Pierce Brenner (Jerry D. O'Donnell). Brenner recognizes Crystal, and she shoots him. After arriving on the scene, Megan realizes that Crystal and Buck's actions have been changing since Ian started following them. Meanwhile, Alan Eppes (
Judd Hirsch Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS ser ...
), Don and Charlie's father, contemplates moving into a condo, citing privacy issues and the need to invest the money from the sale of the house. Also, Dr.
Amita Ramanujan Amita Ramanujan, Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., is a fictional character from the CBS crime drama ''Numb3rs'', played by Navi Rawat. Over the course of the series, she has become a professor at CalSci and has since become romantically involved with ...
(
Navi Rawat Navlata Rawat (born June 5, 1977) is a former American television and film 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''. Early life Rawat was born ...
) tells Charlie that she is accepting the CalSci associate professor's position extended to her some time earlier, enabling Charlie and Amita to start dating. While telling his friend and colleague Dr.
Larry Fleinhardt Larry Fleinhardt, Ph.D., is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama '' Numb3rs'', played by Peter MacNicol. He is the best friend and colleague of Charlie Eppes. Dr. Lawrence Fleinhardt holds the Walter T. Merrick Chair of Theoretical Ph ...
(
Peter MacNicol Peter MacNicol (born April 10, 1954) is an American actor. He received a Theatre World Award for his 1981 Broadway debut in the play '' Crimes of the Heart''. His film roles include Galen in '' Dragonslayer'' (1981), Stingo in '' Sophie's Choic ...
) about these changes and the idea about the Wyoming shooting, Charlie becomes inspired to use pursuit curves to model Crystal and Buck's as well as Ian's movements throughout the western United States. The team stakes out Campos' house and learns through a wiretap that Crystal is going to a
meth Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity ...
house. Buck and Crystal grab some grenades and blow up the meth house. Crystal calls Campos again, and Campos tries to talk Crystal out of leaving a bag of drugs and cash outside Campos' house. Unwilling to let Crystal kill Campos, David and Colby take Campos into custody. At the FBI office, Campos tells them that Brenner was connected to the meth dealers and that Billy Rivers, Crystal's boyfriend after her relationship with Brenner, was charged along with Crystal and Campos. Charlie assumes that Crystal and Buck are after something else, and the team realizes that Crystal wants to eliminate anyone and anything connected to her past "mistakes". This makes Rivers a target, and the team race to find him. After narrowing down the number of places where Rivers could be, the team stakes out the house of Rivers' cousin. Ian cautions Megan about not letting Crystal's background influence Megan's perception of the case. Buck arrives, and Ian shoots Buck in the wrist. Buck is then taken to jail. Megan meets Larry at an all-night café for an early breakfast, and they discuss Megan's own decision to leave home at the age of 16. After Larry leaves, Crystal appears and
carjack Carjacking is a robbery in which a motor vehicle is taken over.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is usually i ...
s Megan.


Production


Writing

"Spree" and the following episode " Two Daughters" were originally written as one episode. ''Numb3rs'' series writer Ken Sanzel based the original script on the concept of pursuit curves. When Sanzel sent the script to the network, CBS executives requested that he divide the script into two parts. The second part became "Two Daughters". "Spree" had two differences in storytelling. Beginning with season three, creators
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'' (2005–2010). The couple created the show, a mathematics-centered departure ...
and
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'' (2005). Falacci and Heuton won the 2005 Carl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Scien ...
decided to serialize the show in terms of character's lives. Since the series already delved into the personal lives and relationships of the characters, serialization was a natural progression in the development of the series. Also, "Spree" marked the first time in which the story was told from the criminal's viewpoint.


Casting

David Gallagher was cast as Buck Winters, and Kim Dickens was cast as Crystal Hoyle. Looking to show more acting depth than exhibited in his previous role in '' 7th Heaven'', Gallagher auditioned for the role of Buck Winters. The casting director noted the difference in roles but awarded Gallagher with the role. Kim Dickens, formerly of ''
Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...
'', auditioned and won the role of Crystal. Dickens enjoyed the role so much that she was disappointed in not being able to return. Lou Diamond Phillips reprised his role of FBI Special Agent Ian Edgerton. The episode marked Edgerton's third appearance on ''Numb3rs''.


Reception

When the episode premiered, 11.42 million people in the United States watched "Spree", beating ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'' by about 490,000 viewers. Critically, the episode was very well received. Although she called Gallagher "out-of-character", Cynthia Boris of DVD Verdict seemed to enjoy the episode. Jeffrey Robinson, a DVD Talk reviewer, called "Spree" " e of the season's strongest episodes". Grouping "Spree" and "Two Daughters" together, Donald Liebenson, an Amazon.com editor, called "Spree" "compelling".


References


External links

* {{Numbers (TV series) Numbers (TV series) episodes 2006 American television episodes