#numb3rs

The first thing a viewer might notice off the bat is that this episode feels different than any other. This is because it was directed by Tony Scott, producer of NUMB3RS, well-known Hollywood director, and brother of Ridley. Most people recognize him from his films in the 1980s, including Top Gun (1986), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), and Days of Thunder (1990), but someone closer to my age might know his work from Man on Fire (2004) or Unstoppable (2010). After so many rewatches of Deja Vu (2006), I cannot tell you how stupid I felt for not putting the dots together that Tony directed this episode until a few months ago, because WOW. This SCREAMS Tony Scott.

New drinking game: take a shot every time one of the following Tonyism happens in “Trust Metric”:

Snap zooms

Constant 360 degree pans around a character

Lingering shots of helicopters

Lingering shots of boats/watercraft

Lingering shots of helicopters and boats/watercraft

News footage on a screen

Trains!

Graphics made of moving, thin white lines and/or text imposed in post-production

Fast cutting between shots to the point where your head hurts

Seizure-inducing shaky cam

Characters are sweaty

Choppy slow-motion

Characters are bathed in the glow of a sunset or sunrise

Repeat actors from previous Tony Scott projects

….I hope you were drinking water. 😬

There’s also some other elements of Tony’s style on display here, mostly the color grading and stark lighting/shadows of the episode, and the extreme close ups on characters faces in dialogue scenes. It will also not shock anyone that Tony had notes about hair and costumes, because just about everybody has a new hair style (Megan’s bob, Charlie’s frizz, Charlie and Larry’s growing beards) or new clothes (Megan’s short sleeves/tank tops and gun holsters, Larry’s oversized sweat shirt and jeans, Amita’s capris, Charlie’s jeans + plaid shirt + striped blazer + tie combo, Colby’s tank top and beanie, etc).

To be clear, this is not a knock on Scott for a having a style – I actually have a lot of affection for it! – it’s simply fascinating to see it on a show we’re so comfortable with and use to. It’s easier to see not only the director’s style, but the typical style for the show in contrast. I wish other famous directors would randomly director an episode of a network show, just for fun. In fact, I think one of my favorite scenes of Numb3rs shot-wise is this one:

This episode is pretty good, so we already know who wrote it! It’s not Sanzel’s best in my opinion, as the extremely action-oriented nature of the episode makes it hard to include subtly in character writing; there’s just not enough time. But he’s still able to show us what each character has been wrestling with.

David is the one with the most obvious, visceral reaction, which makes sense, Colby is his best friend. As good character continuity from “Contenders”, we see that David’s response to a situation where he is hurt or betrayed is to become angry and cruel. Extremely and uncharacteristically so, as we know David to be a generally chill, laid back kind of guy. At points he refers to Colby by his last name, something he hasn’t done since the first few episodes of season 2. That opening scene with him and S.W.A.T. is brutal to watch; it’s almost a different person. The fact that Alimi Ballard has never been nominated for an Emmy is a crime. Despite being furious and in pain, David’s by-the-books tendencies are still around; he was insisting that Don tell D.C. that they had heard from Colby, as it’s protocol, not once, but twice. He also got a very short scene with Alan, which isn’t enough, but it was nice for David to have a conversation with someone outside of the VCS.

Don’s reaction, meanwhile, is opposite to how we’d expect, and almost opposite to David’s. Where David is red hot, focused, and wants to cut all emotional ties with Colby and move on, Don is quietly obsessing by watching the interrogation footage, explicitly blames himself for not discovering this situation sooner, and is so emotional that it’s affecting his work. Don becomes loud, angered, and unfocused the second he learns that Colby escaped prison, the same way one would panic upon hearing upsetting news about a loved one. (The scene where Don is yelling about losing his keys hits especially hard for me, as I have been in multiple situations where a loved on hears horrible news, and I was stuck trying to help them while also staying small as possible to avoid their wrath.) He says out loud that he feels he should’ve seen this coming, that Colby was his responsibility, and agonizes over whether or not he should’ve shot Colby in the subway. This isn’t the focused rage of the agent who shot Crystal Hoyle – this is the doubtful scrambling of a man who had his trust absolutely decimated.

Speaking of trust, did you notice this?

Uh huh.

Sanzel’s good.

This isn’t even the only banger of a line Colby gets this episode!

COLBY: I need to talk to Don. CHARLIE: Then why call me? COLBY: Because the FBI doesn’t have enough time trace me through your phone, Charlie. Think like a mathematician.

DWAYNE: Remember when I dragged your ass outta that humvee? COLBY: Yeah, you remember why?

MASON: Do they know my name? COLBY: Your name, your dog’s name, your grandmother’s name, everybody knows everything.

COLBY: Dwayne, I really wished someone else had pulled me outta that fire. DWAYNE: Why? COLBY: ‘Cause I hate owing you.

Colby in particular is at the epicenter of the action scenes, so there’s less emotional meat for him to chew. But Dylan is still acting his ass off; he does a fantastic job in the chemical torture scenes!

Rounding out the VCS is Megan, who has spent most of the 5 weeks between “The Janus List” and “Trust Metric” on leave. The one-two punch of participating in the DOJ’s torture camp and then finding out Colby’s lies is making her question her place in the FBI. To quote myself: “It would be hypocritical of me to say that I’m not happy to see someone leave the police force. I’m happy that Megan will grow and evolve past being a soldier for fascism! I wonder if maybe that arc would’ve been better suited for David, as men of color are oppressed by fascism far more than white women are. Or this whole thing could just be an excuse for her character to be permanently written off in season 4 and I’m thinking too hard about it.” I appreciate that she’s the one trying to get her teammates to communicate better, even if everyone’s still to volatile to really go into it.

Megan’s beau, Larry, is enjoying his time at the monastery, and is mostly just here for emotional support. As is Amita. Which, though I would’ve loved to hear more about their feelings on this matter, I recognize that we only have so much time on the clock.

Dwayne Carter is a racist, which, we already figured, but it was nice to get some confirmation. There is something poetic about the fact that the first piece of information we learn about Dwayne is that he saved Colby’s life, and then saving Colby’s life was the last action he ever took.

...Didn’t this guy have a kid he was supposedly doing all this spy work to support? Where did all that go?

And last, and arguably least, is Charlie, whose beats are a lot more tell than show. Which, again, I’m sympathetic to Sanzel, as an episode with this much going on doesn’t leave room for subtly, but it makes for less engaging discussion. He says he’s conflicted and struggling with situation, but he does all the math just fine. The only really interesting things to note here is that A. Charlie has not done any FBI consulting between “The Janus List” and “Trust Metric”, allegedly because “Don hasn’t asked”. Which I’m going to say is not the only reason because Charlie was the one who wiggled his way into helping Don in the first place; I theorize Charlie also wanted a break. And B. I sense there was an attempt to parallel Charlie’s “friendship math” with the trust metric he had done on Colby. This is very thin, but it’s interesting that Charlie presented the trust metric on paper, not electronically as all other formats of his findings are relayed. Paper which was carried in his breast pocket, making it feel very intimate 😭

Other small things I wanted to highlight:

They added the Z-axis animation to the opening Black Boxes which will continue through the rest of the series.

The unnecessary location name for the prison annoys me every time. They have never done a location establishment before (and possibly since?) We can tell it’s a prison. There is no need to insult the audience’s intelligence.

Charlie mentions Millie urging him to publish. I believe this is the last reference to her.

Charlie ruins Megan’s food again. Though we should’ve seen it coming, as the bullpen doesn’t normally have open pitchers of tea lying around lol

Sanzel wrote some good comedic lines this time around, but “It’s like a self-help manual for eggheads” catches me off guard every damn time. Thank you, Rob Morrow, for this line delivery!

David screaming at Colby to “stay with [him]” becomes more haunting the more times you hear it.

The only special features for the disks of season 4 is Crunching Numb3rs: Trust Metric, which is a five-part featurette about the creation and filming of the episode. The parts are labeled as follows: Pre-Production, Tony’s Touch, The Ambush, The Freighter, Post-Production.

Tony and Ridley both wanted to direct an episode, but they were both so busy with other projects, Tony was the only one who got the opportunity.

There’s footage of Tony and Ken blocking the pool hall SWAT scene, as well as the entire team trying to work through the logistics of the ambush action scene.

Ken specifically wrote 3 action scenes instead of one as Tony was directing, hence why the episode is so action-heavy and character development-light.

The team made a “hair reel” for each actor’s hair style throughout the season when Tony insisted on picking everyone’s hair styles himself.

Diane was happy that her shorter hair meant less time in the makeup chair.

Tony had the set design team add more props and elements to all the sets for texture. It does help make the garage feel more lived in! I think he also added the fish tank. Between the fish tank and the Pilot Bird, everyone wants the Eppes family to have a pet...

Tony hired actual gang members for the ambush scene?? Crazy if true.

Tony did blocking rehearsals without the actors, which is the opposite of how the cast was used it. He also began filming immediately, so the first dialogue rehearsal was filmed.

Tony picked the 10 Freeway to film the ambush scene, meaning about 35 feet above the explosion is just… everyday L.A. commuters. Fucking wild and scary!

The explosion shot used an Eyemo, a camera designed capture footage but break easily to avoid destroying a more expensive camera.

We see footage of stunt and special effects team working on the truck explosion.

We also see David K getting to hold the prop rocket-launcher and was still wanting yet another action scene for Charlie.

The crew totaled the armored car when they didn’t mean to.

There were a totally of 11 boats and 2 helicopters involved in filming the boarding of the freighter and the ensuing shoot out. They were able to shoot all of that in ONE DAY. That’s insane!

Tony had worked with the helicopter cameraman for over 22 years. That camera man is very talented, those aerial shots are beautiful.

Tony was originally involved in the design of the graphics for the pilot, and then he came back to oversee the changes in the AudienceVisions in this season.

He also oversaw the sound design, even down to the FBI computers software beeps.

“Trust Metric” aired on 11/28/07. Four days prior, there was a preview at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with some cast and crew, including Nick Falacci, Cheryl Heuton, Dylan Bruno, Ken Sanzel, Diane Farr, Judd Hirsch, Rob Morrow, David Krumholtz, Navi Rawat, and Alimi Ballard (in a fantastic all white suit!) We only got a little taste, which is disappointing as I would pay hard cash for the whole panel, but watching everyone do impression of Tony Scott is hilarious!

This episode is over the top, action packed, invigorating, occasionally headache inducing, and overall a great watch. Everyone did a fantastic job both on and off camera, and I think it’s an actual crime that this was not nominated for an Emmy.

This may be all the thoughts I have about “Trust Metric,” but I still have thoughts about Numb3rs. And I bet you do, too! Just because SCTN is ending doesn’t mean we have to stop thinking or liking or critiquing or watching or theorizing or headcanoning about Numb3rs. My ask box is always open, even to anons, and hey, I don’t own the concept of a rewatch review show, everybody and anybody is welcome to do their own, or pick up where I left off! Just make sure to tag me ;)

My offer still stands to record and share any footage from the DVDs that anyone may ask for. Please just reach out.

On the chance that this is goodbye, I want to thank each and every one of you for joining me in this series. I have had a blast rewatching, discussing, and hearing from all of you. I’ve loved every comment, every like, every reblog, and every request. I’ve learned so much, and feel we’ve done fantastic work together. Even if we are the only people who take the time to over-analyze a 20-year-old crime procedural, I truly believe our time and effort was well spent, as art preservation and art critique is as important today as it was then, and will always be.

Thank you all <3