The WORST episodes of Numb3rs

Every episode of Numb3rs ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Numb3rs!

We all use math every day... Inspired by actual cases and experiences, Numb3rs depicts the confluence of police work and mathematics in solving crime. An FBI agent recruits his mathematical genius brother to help solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles from a very different perspective.

Last Updated: 11/10/2024Network: CBSStatus: Ended
Share:
Arrow of Time
star
6.73
465 votes

#1 - Arrow of Time

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/2009

Don turns to his newly found religious beliefs when he is forced to deal with an escaped criminal who is bent on seeking revenge.

Directors: Ken Sanzel
Writer: Ken Sanzel
Watch Now:Apple TV
Obsession
star
6.89
708 votes

#2 - Obsession

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/7/2005

The FBI becomes involved in the stalking of a popular singer after she is threatened by an intruder in her house and reveals a series of threatening letters she's received through the mail. Charlie determines the letters are from two different people after analyzing the handwriting. When a photographer is found dead near the singer's house, Don believes the photographer was murdered and his death is somehow related to the stalking case.

Directors: John Behring
Writer: Robert Port
Watch Now:Apple TV
Hot Shot
star
6.93
567 votes

#3 - Hot Shot

Season 2 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/19/2006

Don investigates the murders of two young women found in their cars outside their homes. Their deaths were made to look like drug overdoses, but Don realizes a serial killer is responsible. Meanwhile, Charlie is having bizarre dreams about his parents. In one dream, his deceased mother appears and tells him he has a question to ask her, but he can't imagine what it could be.

Directors: John Behring
Watch Now:Apple TV
Protest
star
6.94
540 votes

#4 - Protest

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/3/2006

Don and his team investigate an anti-war bombing outside an Army recruiting center that resembles the work of a 1970s anti-war activist who disappeared 30 years earlier after being accused of planting a bomb that killed two people. Retired Agent Thomas Larson, who tried to solve the case 30 years ago, returns to help but questions Don's loyalty when it is revealed Alan knew the radical activist and participated in demonstrations with him, thus causing tension within the family.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Running Man
star
6.98
633 votes

#5 - The Running Man

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/3/2006

When a DNA synthesizer with the capability of customizing diseases is stolen from the campus where Charlie teaches, Don fears the thieves may be terrorists out to start or advance a bio-warfare program and also believes the theft was an inside job.

Directors: Terrence O'Hara
Writer: Ken Sanzel
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Mole
star
7.00
524 votes

#6 - The Mole

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/13/2006

Don and the team attempt to figure out what happened when a Chinese interpreter turns up dead.

Writer: Robert Port
Watch Now:Apple TV
Contenders
star
7.04
490 votes

#7 - Contenders

Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/16/2007

One of David's closest friends is called into question after a man dies while boxing with him. When it turns out this is not the first time such an event has happened, things look even worse. Charlie is busy practicing what little he knows about poker, so he can take Larry's spot in a tournament.

Directors: Alex Zakrzewski
Watch Now:Apple TV
All's Fair
star
7.04
659 votes

#8 - All's Fair

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/31/2006

In an effort to find the murderer of an Iraqi woman who had been making a documentary that promoted the rights of Muslim women, Don enlists the help of the victim's cousin. Through her cousin, Don uncovers a connection to Saddam Hussein. Back at home, Charlie rekindles a romantic relationship with a former girlfriend when she visits him while on a book signing tour.

Directors: Rob Morrow
Watch Now:Apple TV
Undercurrents
star
7.06
613 votes

#9 - Undercurrents

Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/12/2006

The FBI becomes involved when the bodies of young Asian girls are washed up on the beach. The situation becomes more critical when it is discovered one girl has avian flu. As the investigation continues, Don and his team discover a connection between the girls and the sex trade industry. Meanwhile, Amita considers a transfer to Harvard University, which causes Charlie to re-evaluate his feelings for her.

Directors: J. Miller Tobin
Watch Now:Apple TV
Trouble in Chinatown
star
7.14
576 votes

#10 - Trouble in Chinatown

Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/23/2009

A feud between Chinese gangs leads to the kidnapping of an undercover agent and the reappearance of Samuel Kraft.

Directors: Julie Hébert
Watch Now:Apple TV
Scorched
star
7.14
743 votes

#11 - Scorched

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/16/2005

An arsonist sets a fire at a car dealership that kills a sales person. The name of an extremist environmental group is spray-painted on the scene, but the group denies involvement. It becomes Don's task to determine whether the group or someone else is responsible. Charlie is called in to help figure out if there is a pattern to the fires that would help provide a profile of the arsonist.

Directors: Norberto Barba
Writer: Sean Crouch
Watch Now:Apple TV
Harvest
star
7.14
613 votes

#12 - Harvest

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/27/2006

When an Asian teenager is found in the basement of an old downtown hotel where she was apparently being tortured, the investigation soon reveals the girl and three other missing women, are victims of a black market organ-harvesting scheme. Amita assists the FBI by communicating with the girl, who is from the same part of India where Amita's family once lived.

Directors: John Behring
Watch Now:Apple TV
Scratch
star
7.16
891 votes

#13 - Scratch

Season 6 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/8/2010

Charlie meets his mathematical equivalent when LOTTERY AGENT JANE assists in the investigation into a complex scam that involves thefts of unsold lottery tickets.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Toxin
star
7.16
762 votes

#14 - Toxin

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/25/2005

After four people nearly die from poisoning, Don learns someone is tampering with nonprescription drugs. When the perpetrator publishes a manifesto in a local paper, Don is led to believe the person may be a former employee of the drug company that manufactured the drug.

Directors: Jefery Levy
Writer: Ken Sanzel
Watch Now:Apple TV
Bones of Contention
star
7.17
672 votes

#15 - Bones of Contention

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/9/2005

When a researcher who specializes in Native American antiquities is killed at the museum where she works, the FBI is called in because the museum is on federal land.

Directors: Jeannot Szwarc
Watch Now:Apple TV
Burn Rate
star
7.20
554 votes

#16 - Burn Rate

Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/6/2007

When Don investigates a series of bombings, he calls in Charlie to help pinpoint the bomber. But the two disagree over who the culprit is. Is it a new terrorist, or an old enemy?

Directors: Fred A. Keller
Writer: Don McGill
Watch Now:Apple TV
Traffic
star
7.20
548 votes

#17 - Traffic

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/20/2006

Don and the rest of the team investigate several attacks occurring on LA highways that may be connected.

Directors: J. Miller Tobin
Watch Now:Apple TV
Pandora's Box
star
7.21
558 votes

#18 - Pandora's Box

Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/30/2007

When a jet crashes in the middle of a forest, Charlie suspects that there is more to the crash than what meets the eye.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Writer: Andrew Black
Watch Now:Apple TV
Assassin
star
7.21
674 votes

#19 - Assassin

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/2005

Don uncovers a secret code that begins the hunt for a skilled and trained assassin, and the efforts by the FBI to save the life of a Colombian exile living in Los Angeles.

Directors: Bobby Roth
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Convergence
star
7.21
719 votes

#20 - Convergence

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/11/2005

When a father is killed in a home invasion, Don and his team investigate the connection between the murder and a rash of robberies in the upscale community.

Directors: Dennis Smith
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Art of Reckoning
star
7.22
582 votes

#21 - The Art of Reckoning

Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/27/2007

When a former mob hit man on death row suddenly has a change of heart and agrees to confess to his crimes, Don has an uneasy feeling about the whole affair.

Directors: John Behring
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Take Out
star
7.23
609 votes

#22 - Take Out

Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/2/2007

When two police officers are killed while eating dinner out, Charlie tries to figure out where the killers will strike next. Don's superiors make him see the department shrink.

Directors: Leslie Libman
Writer: Sean Crouch
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Arm in Arms
star
7.23
863 votes

#23 - Arm in Arms

Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/15/2010

The gang uses their math--and a reluctant gun merchant named RANDALL P. -- to track down a missing shipment of new, deadly but defective assault weapons which are hidden among the thousands of containers in one of L.A.'s busiest ports.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Guns and Roses
star
7.24
611 votes

#24 - Guns and Roses

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/21/2006

When an ATF agent is found dead under unusual circumstances, Don wants to take the case, which revolves around an elaborate bank robbery, after he learns the victim was his former girlfriend. He then becomes quite introspective as he realizes the impact his career has had on his personal life and decides to turn his attention toward a new woman.

Writer: Robert Port
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Thirteen
star
7.24
543 votes

#25 - Thirteen

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/19/2007

Don, Charlie, and the team attempt to stop a serial killer who is seemingly obsessed with people resembling Biblical figures.

Directors: Ralph Hemecker
Writer: Don McGill
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV