Great Googly Moogly, what a boring episode. When I end up reading a book by an author I don't like during the show, boring has transmogrified into something much more sublime-an apathy so deep it can only be dispelled by the hot, sweet agony of driving a pencil through my face.
I'm tired of the gimmick cases. They're loose to the point of incredibility, and in this instance, they didn't bother to show the apprehension of the killer. Mac just tosses out the resolution in a glib one-liner, matched in stupidity only by his parting zinger of "Time's up."
That's not to say there weren't some great moments. Once again, Hawkes and Flack are beautiful counterpoints to one another, with Flack busting out the Dr. Who references and snide remarks about straitjackets and Hawkes geeking out over the victim's genius and the theoretical possibilities of time travel.
But if this was their Numb3rs homage, it fell flat. Dr. Dead Guy had no way of knowing that the killer would come back at 9:45AM, no matter how l33t his math skills. Leave the math fu to Charlie Eppes. Please. For the love of God.
According to this episode, Flack has a brother. Since when? If he does, why didn't he turn up in COTP or merit a passing mention during Danny's Crisis of the Season in S2? The commonality of a fraternal bond seems like something Flack would've used to reach Danny or offer insight. And why didn't Gavin mention him in S1?
There are several theories, of course. Either they're estranged, the brother is dead, or it was a throwaway line the writers tossed in without considering the canonical ramifications. And Flack's line to Hawkes and Mac about enduring his insults for the chance to eat his mother's corned beef hash again implies that the brother is older. If so, why wasn't he named for his father instead? Sure, there's precedent for the second son to be given the name, but it's rare, since most parents aren't sure there'll be another son. And Flack doesn't strike me as the type to be cowed by a younger sibling.
TPTB have a pisspoor track record with continuity, so I'm betting this brother is never mentioned again. And frankly, I'd rather have him fall into the Plot Chasm of TV Writer Corner Painting than be trotted out during sweeps as the druggie black sheep of the family a la Messer Family Drama Redux.
The comment clearly points to marked estrangement from his father, however, as he specifically mentioned his mother's house in Queens, not his parents'.
Setting aside the fact that his original bio had him growing up in Yonkers, not Queens, the revelations of a sibling and possibly estranged parents don't jibe with his reminiscence in S3 about his parents taking him to the Arboreum. He said he was taken by his parents, and there was no mention of a sibling. The inconsistent recollection of family life can be explained away by a later divorce, but the sibling is more problematic. Either his sibling was locked in the root cellar and beaten with sticks while little Donnie got the lollipops and trips to the flower zoo, or he's a plot contrivance that has just boned a million fanwriters up the bazoo.
I can only hope that the writers will let whatever tumorous plot bubble that spawned Bro Flack burst and drain. I don't want to see the festering piles of sloppily sculpted turdmen that the typewriting monkeys will no doubt turn out under the dubious label of "gripping drama."
Stupid people, stupid cases, stupid, unchecked canon.
C-
I'm tired of the gimmick cases. They're loose to the point of incredibility, and in this instance, they didn't bother to show the apprehension of the killer. Mac just tosses out the resolution in a glib one-liner, matched in stupidity only by his parting zinger of "Time's up."
That's not to say there weren't some great moments. Once again, Hawkes and Flack are beautiful counterpoints to one another, with Flack busting out the Dr. Who references and snide remarks about straitjackets and Hawkes geeking out over the victim's genius and the theoretical possibilities of time travel.
But if this was their Numb3rs homage, it fell flat. Dr. Dead Guy had no way of knowing that the killer would come back at 9:45AM, no matter how l33t his math skills. Leave the math fu to Charlie Eppes. Please. For the love of God.
According to this episode, Flack has a brother. Since when? If he does, why didn't he turn up in COTP or merit a passing mention during Danny's Crisis of the Season in S2? The commonality of a fraternal bond seems like something Flack would've used to reach Danny or offer insight. And why didn't Gavin mention him in S1?
There are several theories, of course. Either they're estranged, the brother is dead, or it was a throwaway line the writers tossed in without considering the canonical ramifications. And Flack's line to Hawkes and Mac about enduring his insults for the chance to eat his mother's corned beef hash again implies that the brother is older. If so, why wasn't he named for his father instead? Sure, there's precedent for the second son to be given the name, but it's rare, since most parents aren't sure there'll be another son. And Flack doesn't strike me as the type to be cowed by a younger sibling.
TPTB have a pisspoor track record with continuity, so I'm betting this brother is never mentioned again. And frankly, I'd rather have him fall into the Plot Chasm of TV Writer Corner Painting than be trotted out during sweeps as the druggie black sheep of the family a la Messer Family Drama Redux.
The comment clearly points to marked estrangement from his father, however, as he specifically mentioned his mother's house in Queens, not his parents'.
Setting aside the fact that his original bio had him growing up in Yonkers, not Queens, the revelations of a sibling and possibly estranged parents don't jibe with his reminiscence in S3 about his parents taking him to the Arboreum. He said he was taken by his parents, and there was no mention of a sibling. The inconsistent recollection of family life can be explained away by a later divorce, but the sibling is more problematic. Either his sibling was locked in the root cellar and beaten with sticks while little Donnie got the lollipops and trips to the flower zoo, or he's a plot contrivance that has just boned a million fanwriters up the bazoo.
I can only hope that the writers will let whatever tumorous plot bubble that spawned Bro Flack burst and drain. I don't want to see the festering piles of sloppily sculpted turdmen that the typewriting monkeys will no doubt turn out under the dubious label of "gripping drama."
Stupid people, stupid cases, stupid, unchecked canon.
C-
