Numb3rs

Season 5

High Exposure

1. Skeet (Theresa) mentions that a new climbing route "might even be as hard as a 5.14"; later, Pete says that it "might be the first 5.15 in California". These are references to the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS), one of several grading systems for the difficulty of climbing routes. The major numbers run from 1 (walkable) to 5. Originally, the scale was planned to run from 5.1 to 5.9, but the development of new techniques and disputes over relative difficulty led to expansion past 5.10 and the addition of a letter grade. In September, 2008, Chris Sharma completed a climb on Clark Mountain in California, which he called Jumbo Love. This route has a proposed YDS rating of 5.15b.
2. First appearance of Sophina Brown as Special Agent Nikki Betancourt. The actress previously guest-starred in season 2, episode 11 ("Scorched") as completely unrelated character Bianca Styles.

The Decoy Effect

Blowback

1. David Krumholtz and Morena Baccarian were in Serinity (2005).
2. Many elements of this episode's plot are taken from the movie L.A. Confidential (1997), which in turn was adapted from James Ellroy's novel of the same name. For example, the initial crime in both is a murder of a whole diner full of customers, most of whom are found in a back storage room; in both, the plot hinges on a prostitute named Lynn who sleeps with one of the investigating officers; in both, a prominent member of the Hollywood community is being blackmailed with sexually compromising photos before his blackmailer gets murdered. When Lynn Potter (Morena Baccarin) is first interviewed by the FBI, she says that on the night in question, she had fallen asleep on her couch while watching L.A. Confidential (1997).

Jack of All Trades

1. This is the first episode to guest star Henry Winkler. Don's first line in the episode starts with "Eyyy!", a nod to Winkler's character The Fonz in 'Happy Days'.

Scan Man

Magic Show

1. When Penn Jillette demonstrates the guillotine magic trick on Larry, the blade reflects Nikki and Charlie, standing in-between them is Penn's magical partner Teller. Blink and you miss it.

Charlie Don't Surf

1. The title of this episode "Charlie don't surf" is a famous line from the movie Apocalypse Now. It is also the name a song by the Clash.
2. The episode is called "Charlie don't surf," but in fact, Charlie goes out twice to attempt surfing.

Thirty-Six Hours

1. This episode aired later in the season than intended because a big train crash happened close to the original air date. Several scenes involving Charlie's loss of FBI clearance were cut as a result. One remnant of the cut story line is that Charlie wears an LAPD security pass at the train scene, not an FBI pass.

Conspiracy Theory

1. When Robin tells Don that she talked with his rabbi, she says, "I just want to make sure you don't end up on the roof with a fiddle." Rob Morrow has said his first big role was playing Tevye in a high school production of Fiddler on the Roof.
2. Near the end, Josh Gad's character is asked what he knows about the next year's Super Bowl. He says "Take the points, and the over". In the next Super Bowel after the show aired, Pittsburgh won 27-23, but was favored by 7. The over/under was 46. Both bets would have won.

Frienemies

Arrow of Time

1. The synagogue scenes in this episode were filmed in the Korean Philadelphia Presbyterian Church (which, despite its name, is in Los Angeles) because the building was built in 1909 as an Conservative Jewish synagogue called Temple Sinai, and it still contains much of its original Jewish-themed decoration, including a large Star-of-David stained-glass window.
2. In the final showdown between Don Eppes and Buck Winters at the synagogue, Don tells Buck that he has 180 bullets targeted on him. In Judaism, the symbol Chai, meaning life, adds up to 18 and Jews use multiples of 18 when making donations.
3. This episode is a follow up to the Season Three premiere.
4. AUSA Robin Brooks says that she'll hold a suspect responsible if his cohorts kill a federal officer, and should that happen she has 'good seats in the gallery watching them cook you.' California has never used an electric chair as a form of execution. At the time of broadcast, the only two approved forms were by lethal injection or the gas chamber, and the gas chamber required a special request. Federal cases were carried out according to the laws of the states in which the crime was committed or for specific crimes by lethal injection.

Jacked

1. Series regular Rob Morrow and guest star Fisher Stevens have been close friends since they were teenagers.
2. It appears that in the final exchange, about duck season and rabbit season, Alan is toasting with a beer from Duck-Rabbit brewery in North Carolina.
3. This the second appearance of the character Tim King, play by Chris Bruno, who is the real life brother of Dylan Bruno (Colby Granger).

Trouble in Chinatown

1. First episode not to contain Judd Hirsch.
2. The place Colby and David investigate as the sweatshop is the same location that is used for exterior shots of Paddy's Pub in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Sneakerhead

1. The two Albanian leaders are Ekin Zetroc and Nadroj Ria, which reversed make Nike Cortez and Air Jordan, two popular makes of shoes.
2. Emilio Estevez directed this episode, reuniting him with David Krumholtz after Krumholtz appeared in Estevez' passion project Bobby (2006).

Guilt Trip

1. When hacking into a computer the password is shown as LEONARDSHELDON4A. Leonard and Sheldon live in Apt. 4A on The Big Bang Theory (2007).
2. A group of social anthropologists who are credited with performing some of the first fieldwork from which network analyses were performed, investigating community networks in southern Africa, India and the United Kingdom are Max Gluckman (The Manchester School), including John A. Barnes, J. Clyde Mitchell and Elizabeth Bott Spillius .

Cover Me

First Law

1. The episode title and other elements of the story are both based on the robot stories of the late Isaac Asimov. The First Law of Robotics is, "No robot may harm a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." The AI program is named Bailey and Daniel Robertson's password used in the opening scene is Daniel R. Olivaw. Elijah Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw are the main characters in the Asimov novels The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun. The 'R' in Olivaw's name stands for 'robot'.
2. The name of the company developing the AI, "Steel Cave," is a reference to one of the Asimov Robot Novels, "Caves of Steel".

12:01 AM

Animal Rites

1. Charlie mentions Bob Dylan's second album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" had four tracks removed because they were considered too controversial. A few original pressings were accidentally released in the new sleeve that did not list them. These copies are very rare and have been sold for as much as $35,000. The deleted tracks were "Talkin' John Birch Blues", "Rocks and Gravel", "Let Me Die in My Footsteps," and "Gamblin' Willie's Dead Man's Hand". Dylan refused to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show on May 12, 1963 because CBS told him he could not sing "Talkin' John Birch Blues" In the lyrics to this song he says he became paranoid about communism so he joined the Birch Society and equates them to Nazis. "Now we all agree with Hitlers' views Although he killed six million Jews It don't matter too much that he was a Fascist At least you can't say he was a Communist"

The Fifth Man

1. Don Epps hospital visitors all bring Hello Kitty balloons when they visit, totaling three.
2. The book Alan Epps has fallen asleep reading while sitting in the hospital room appears to be a fake book, titled _Dreaming of Sean_ by one R. D. Port. The show's producers include Robert David Port and Sean Crouch. The book shows a unicorn and a crescent moon on the cover. Alan responds, "Ah, I've read better" when Don wakes and asks, "Good book?"
3. The actress that plays the wife at the first home robbery is Rob Morrow's wife, Debbon Ayer.
4. The song at the end of the episode when everyone is in Don's hospital room is José González's cover of "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. Coincidentally, the original is the theme song to House MD, a medical drama that takes place in a hospital. González's cover was also featured in one of the episodes of House MD.

Disturbed

1. Michelle Feynman, who played the irritated mother during the surveillance scene at the end, is the daughter of Richard Feynman, the mathematician on whom Charlie Eppes' character is loosely based.
2. This is the 100th episode (excluding episode 0, which was unaired), as referenced ("100 episodes") in the opening shot (the black screen with data) with. It has several references to the first episode.
3. While on stakeout, Colby and Liz discuss "Sea of Love", and Colby asks if Liz is a "big Pacino fan". She replies that instead she is a big Michael Rooker fan.

Greatest Hits

Angels and Devils

1. Larry remarks at one point that he's always believed himself to be "more a Mycroft than a Dr. Watson." The reference is to Sherlock Holmes' equally (or, arguably, more) intelligent older brother who rarely assists in cases because his interests are so different than Sherlock's. And of course to Sherlock's smart but non-genius famous sidekick.
2. In this episode, James Callis plays a cult leader, with a harem of girlfriends. In the fourth season of Battlestar Galactica (2004), his character, Gaius Baltar, becomes the charismatic leader of a monotheistic "cult" (differentiated from the "mainstream" polytheistic culture of the show), surrounded by a devoted group of young women.