Percolated Recap: Numb3rs: 12:01 AM (Eppesode 518)

If Eeyore were a living creature, and not something completely owned and controlled by Disney, this would be one of his favourite eppesodes. Yup, it would be right up there with "In Plain Sight," and "The Art of Reckoning" as one of the most depressing eppesodes, ever.

No, the basketball does not make up for it. In order to make up for it, I would've required the B plot to be entirely musical. Yes, I need Charlie and Amita singing "You Were Angling For Me With Your Isosceles." Feel free to write your own lyrics.
Oh you cliché of a fast moving clock to indicate how quickly time is passing. Let's throw in the quick day to night scenario, just in case we somehow missed the metaphor. Yes, there's never enough time and I'm sure the Romantic poets covered that in detail.

Prison: The aforementioned prisoner in the grid is being served his last meal. When the guard announces a double double, I do a double double take because to little Canadian me, that means, coffee. Thus, when he complains about not having ketchup, I'm confused, thinking it's some weird Californian thing. On the other hand, I know plenty of Canadians that would ask for a double double as a part of their last meal and they wouldn't give a crap about the ketchup.

Doctor's Office: One Dr. Henry Stanley, psychiatrist, makes a last minute phone call to the Fedcakes, that puts John Curtis's guilt into question.
Cal Sci: Apparently, when Alan was put in charge of the Cal Sci basketball team, Charlie and Larry also joined up as assistant coaches. Charlie's looking sharp, as a method of psychological encouragement, but all that could be undone by Larry, because if any of the players found out he was wearing an athletic support underneath his suit, they'd all be too weirded out to play.
Considering we find out that Larry once coached basketball, and pulled all the stereotypical angry coach behaviour. Larry thinks it's a cautionary tale. I, on the other hand, think it's proof that Larry's never known that he shouldn't wear an athletic support.
Charlie gives what has to be the worst pep talk in history. "The journey of a thousand miles starts with one breath. If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball. Never forget, you can't step in the same river twice." When the team clearly has no clue what he's saying, I decided to translate:

The journey of a thousand clichés begins with one mixed metaphor. If you meet Charlie in the lane, roll your eyeballs at him. Never forget, you can step in the same pile of shit twice just like you can earn the NPAL^TM two weeks in a row.

Larry's speech isn't much better. "We all learned to write in the second grade. Most of use go on to do better things. So get the hell out there and decide if you want to matriculate or be left behind." Well, at least he's talking to them like a bunch of valedictorians.

Streets of LA: SQUEE! My OTP is playfully bickering about how much Don should've left as a tip at the restaurant. Robin thinks he should've left more because it wasn't the waiter's fault the food was bad and that he should blame the chef. Don, on the other hand, thinks his 12% is just fine, since the chef has a bunch of sharp knives and he left his gun in the car. (That should be a metaphor for something dirty, shouldn't it?)
Their evening is interrupted by a phone call and how many flipping times do I need to tell Don to turn his damn phone off?

Dr. Stanley is patched through, while Robin rolls her eyes at another last ditch effort to stay an execution. She figures it's all one big hoax to keep Curtis breathing a while longer, and snarks at Don while he's on the phone because she's clearly seen this before. Plus, the man Curtis killed which resulted in his death sentence, was a friend of hers, another AUSA. She even had to help write his obit, and speaking from personal experience, that sucks. Thus, I forgive Robin for being snarky. Although, in this heavy eppesode, a little light snarkiness is appreciated.

When the phone call suddenly cuts out, Don sends David to investigate.

Doctor's Office: Guildenstern is on a fishing trip and boy, does Rosencrantz miss him. Artemas is certainly not a replacement when she mocks the partners "Which bad guy would you kill?" game. She refuses to pick between Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan, because, as she has a time machine, she can just go back and forth changing world history. Oh, Artemas, in my universe, there's only room for one of those, and he's a whole other Doctor than the one you're off to see.
The killer's still in the building and David tries to catch him, only to find himself in a hail of bullets while the perp escapes. It also gets me thinking about the holiday I invented because here is my BFFedcake, in danger, yet again.
Title Flash.

Current Eeyore Scale of Depressing: Right now, Eeyore still has his tail, his house, and is quietly contemplating.

Don's got to bring Robin along to the crime scene where the Fedcakes are trying to figure out what was stolen from Dr. Stanley's office. Why the non-regenerating doctor might be a legitimate source is that he often worked for the city, treating ex-cons.

Right now, the only clue they may have is the pad of paper that had pages torn off it by the killer, which gives us our excuse to involve Charlie.
Outside, Robin confirms that John Curtis is the lowest type of scum out there and she could clearly care less about whatever the not!The Doctor doctor has to say. Considering Curtis confessed to the killing and didn't ask for an appeal, she's got plenty of reasons not to care.

Don teases Robin about not wanting to work late, and Robin banters back that she doesn't like wasting her time. It's actually kind of cute, considering the circumstances.

Cal Sci: Liz takes the paper over to Charlie, who is more than willing to help since the techs couldn't get very far.

"I could put the number 13 on my t-shirt. Doesn't mean I'm Steve Nash." So, did Charlie just dis the tech guys? Seriously? I'm distracted by the underhanded insult, by a momentary thought I needed to share.
Once Liz makes it clear that time is a factor, Alan arrives with news that not matter how sucktastic the opposing team is, Cal Sci sees its sucktasticness and gives it a factor of 10. Yes, Cal Sci, where they have to be the best at everything, even if it is sucking.

Oh yes, and while Charlie's off potentially saving a man from execution, Alan has to stay and watch Larry to make sure there isn't a murder on the court tonight.

Prison: Don and Robin rarely agree on the big issues, do they? First, they disagree on the value of religion and now it's about the death penalty. I'm all for healthy debate between these two, but if there is friction, potentially resulting in me being traumatized because I've invested way too much into this OTP to leave it now (a phrase which here means, I whined for 525 days), I may need to settle in for a serious talk with TPTB.
The debate is interrupted when the metal detector goes off, resulting a scuffle and Don having to subdue Julien Curtis, John Curtis's son, who does not have a criminal record. In just a hint of the depression that will lurk throughout the rest of this eppesode, the detector went off because Julian has 3 inches of a knife stuck in him from when he was attacked when he was 12. He's also stressed because he's there to say goodbye to his father.

Cal Sci: As Charlie runs his algorithm, the basketball team is getting its "asteroids kicked." That pretty much says it all.

IHOF: Artemas and Rosencrantz discover that the only thing that the prosecution had against Curtis was a confession, since none of the physical evidence added up. Although, the confession is long, detailed, disgusting and depressing, so it is fairly easy to see why a jury would convict.

Cal Sci: Watching Alan, Larry and Charlie coach is vaguely reminiscent of the Three Stooges, if the Three Stooges knew mathematical terminology. Plus, it's pretty clear that despite Charlie's encouragement, things are looking extremely dire for the valedictorians.
It's so dire, that when Charlie hands off all the info he could get to Liz, he looks more worried about the game than the death row inmate.

Prison: Robin's all calm and collected when she's the target of catcalling in the prison, but Don's definitely perturbed. Considering what happened last time he was in a prison, I can understand his concern.

Curtis's welcoming is very Hannibal Lecter.
After the commercial, the little overlay time, tells us it's 9:34pm and Curtis tells us, indirectly, that he couldn't give a crap about being exonerated or Don's gut instinct. Plus, he confesses, again. I know we're supposed to know something's up, but really, when a bad guy admits to doing bad things, it's sort of hard, not to side with Robin, even if she wasn't one half of my OTP.

Current Eeyore Scale of Depressing: Right now, Eeyore still has his tail, his house, and is quietly making disparaging comments about the weather.

IHOF: OMG. Numb3rs has finally done it. They're actually fanning the flames that do not need any fanning. Seriously, at what point do they think slashers need encouragement? Thus when David reminisces about how Nikki doesn't give the same responses Colby would in a situation, when she responds, "You talk about him a lot. Don't you have a girl you should be talking about instead?" I figure something far more nefarious must be going on.
What's weird about the evidence Nikki was holding that inspired this exchange, is that the car racing away from the scene, was a cop car.

As for Liz, after giving the report on the game (abysmal), Artemas, Athena and David take a look at what Charlie was able to recover (almost as abysmal).
Cal Sci: Larry is yelling again at what I think was supposed to be an obvious foul, but was poorly done by the extra so it looks like the Italian Football way of playing basketball.

Oh yeah, and Larry is comparing the ref to a black hole.

IHOF: Artemas and Athena are working their way through the dead doctor's appointment book and client list. What they come up with is someone not on the client list, an LAPD detective Danielle Hill, aka Gina Gershon, and I immediately peg her as the bad guy -- uh, person. Considering David was shot at by someone in a cop car, and Gina Gershon also played the baddie, the same week this eppesode aired, on Life On Mars, I think my assumption is perfectly credible.
Prison: Yes, I am easily amused, as proven below.
We meet Curtis's lawyer who, despite being on retainer for anti-death penalty groups, thinks he's wasting his time. Plus, he's sure Curtis is guilty of the crime and the lawyer relates a story that requires a warning to any and all male viewers to look away now.

Curtis once put an ice pick through a man's penis. I know plenty of guys who would claim that was worthy of the death penalty.

Cal Sci: How many quick cuts do we have to have back to the basketball game before the editor realizes it's really not distracting me from the seriousness of this eppesode? BTW, sure, Alan cares about the team actually winning a game, but I'd like to point out a reason this might be a lost cause.
All the basketball montage does is prove that if Cal Sci's goal really is to be the most sucktastic team in history, they've succeeded.

David interrupts the on the court bloodbath and tries to get Charlie's help in the analysis of Curtis's confession to prove his innocence. Charlie's too busy shouting out mathematical terms, and showing his frustration that his team doesn't know the difference between pentagon and an equilateral triangle. Geez, the team really is in trouble if they're forgetting even the most basic geometric shapes.

David grabs a basketball, trying to get Charlie to focus on my BFFedcake by imagining David's a basketball player. It's effective, but I think how I would've dealt with it would've worked better.
Charlie wants Curtis's confession compared to other times the criminal has spoken, to test for inconsistencies with the speech pattern. There are three parts of the human voice, which, like a shot at the net done incorrectly, will break down when a person lies. The cognitive, emotional and physiological parts of the voice don't work in harmony and I'm starting to wonder if the Numb3rs people borrowed a concept that I'd expect to find on Lie to Me.
Gym: Just in case we were uncertain that Danny Hill is a bad ass, there she is, beating some innocent punching bag to death. She mistakes Artemas and Athena for marshals, but is promptly corrected. Considering some of the marshals we've had in the past, I can see why being mistaken for one would be offensive to a Fedcake.

When confronted with the tire track evidence, Danny admits to knowing one of the dead doctor's patients, Rollins, who she's been hassling since he got out on a technicality. Considering she's a big name guest star, I'm pretty secure in saying this is a red herring and we'll be back to Danny Hill. She must've taken the shot at David.

Rollins': The symbolic clock tells us time is quickly wasting away, as David, Artemas and Athena track down the fat man. Rollins is in bed, looking like he's filming porn, which in itself is wrong, when I witness something that is not only wrong, but also gives me a flashback to one of my favourite movies.
After Rollins takes out David and Nikki, Liz subdues him with the fire hose. Okay, the actual sequence of events is not half as weird as that sentence makes it sound.

IHOF: It's now 10:39pm and Rollins admits that he knows Curtis is innocent, because Rollins can give him an alibi. Now the only thing the Fedcakes have going for them, besides being generally awesome, is Charlie's idea to study to confession.

Cal Sci: Charlie makes it back to the gym, just as the buzzer rings for half time. Everyone looks dejected except Larry, who is leaving, but insisting he's not quitting. Although, in my world, leaving is quitting, but Larry usually does things a bit strangely.

I have to admit, this is the scene should've had me chuckling but of the look on Charlie's face, thinking Larry has abandonned him, is just too pitiful to laugh at.
Charlie's got work of his own to do, leaving Alan to coach the team. At first, Papa Eppes balks at the idea until Charlie guilts him into it by saying an innocent man might die unless Alan blows the whistle. Yeah, Charlie, I'm going to say two words here I want you to pay attention to: non sequitor.

Prison/ Cal Sci: Don is learning Curtis's confession is a false one as his brother, over the phone, explains the disharmony in the three parts of the voice. Don sounds disappointed as he explains this to Robin.

This leads to a small tiff between my OTP, as they argue more about each other's opinions as to whether or not things can be proven. Robin's right that it'll take more than Charlie's math to get a stay of execution, so why Don makes it sound like it's all personal is a little unfair. Of course, Robin rising to the bait and tossing it back at him, doesn't make her right either. I sigh, hoping they resolve this before I start threatening Nick and Cheryl with paying for my therapy bills again.

Plus, Curtis keeps insisting he killed the AUSA. He also says that he was willing to confess to give up his gangster life because, like a James Cagney film, there aren't any old gangsters. He would've been killed on the outside. In the end, Curtis's brutal streak come through. He can't actually hurt Robin, but he can leave her with the memory of her friend and coworker, begging and screaming while he was being killed.
I get more depressed when Robin responds by wishing Curtis some agony of his own. It always bothers me when people respond to cruelty in kind. I know she's reacting in anger and grief, and so does Don, who I have to give some serious credit for being an amazing boyfriend here. Instead of getting angry, he uses an event from his own life which I will now record for posterity for all fanfic writers.

Before I begin I should warn everyone, you may be distracted from the moral lesson by images of Don in Kevlar. One might also experience visions of Billy Cooper. Please, stay focussed.

When Don started with fugitive recovery, he caught the case of a lifer who'd killed a mother of three. When Don (who was the junior member of the team) caught up with the fugitive, the other agents hesitated when the fugitive took a hooker hostage. Don, on the other hand, shot the man twice in the head. He learned at that moment, that he had to be a Fedcake but that he could never be wrong when taking a life.

The purpose of this tale is --

Hold on. I'll wait.

*whistles*

*plays some free online games*

All right, are we all done thinking about Don in his fugitive recovery days?

The point is, despite all of Robin's anger and grief, he doesn't want her to see someone put to death if she isn't completely confident that the man is guilty. So let me get this straight. Don, our Don Eppes, told an extremely personal story to make an emotional point to Robin? No silences, watch-checking or inability to look at her during emotional moments?
It's with this tactic that Don finally gets Robin to at least accept the possiblity that all may not be as it seems.

Cal Sci: Alan's using some traditional basketball moves, like when CCNY won the NCAA and NIT in the same year. None of that means anything to me, so I recorded it as I heard it and looked it up on Wikipedia. What's weird is that Charlie responds with a crack about cheating, which is nowhere in the wiki info. Thus, I'm confused. Did cheating actually occur or was that just one boulder of foreshadowing that just bowled me over?

Charlie looks devastated, but it's not over Cal Sci's inevitable loss (unless cheating occurs), it's over Curtis's impending execution, even though it now looks like he's innocent.
Current Eeyore Scale of Depressing: Right now, Eeyore still has lost his tail, and his house is looking a little shaky.

After watching one of the Cal Sci players get knocked to the floor, Charlie has a flash of inspiration. I would like to point out that he doesn't check to make sure the player doesn't have a concussion before Charlie runs out.

IHOF: We're in the parking garage and it's 11:06pm, and Danny Hill has just stopped by to tell Liz that Curtis will die, not matter what the Fedcakes do about it. Well, that and confess she was having and affair with the AUSA before he was killed. Yes, she takes the law into her own hands and cheats on her then husband. What an upstanding character she, well, isn't.
Upstairs, David is giving the slashers even more to chew on, by leaving a "just checking in" message on Colby's phone. It also gives Nikki a chance to mock him some more.

BTW, she does have a reason for hanging around with David and it's not just to laugh at him because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern doesn't quite work when it's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's call answer service. That purpose is Charlie's found something.
Prison/ IHOF / Cal Sci: Charlie's found evidence that the AUSA's killer was freaking huge (technical term) whereas Curtis is sort of puny, in a scrapper sort of way. Also, the evidence indicates the killer favoured a side because of some trauma to his arm, or shoulder. DING DING DING! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a killer.

Unfortunately, it's too late. Julien Curtis has skipped out and it's 11:22pm.

While Don and Robin are still at the prison, the remaining Fedcakes find more evidence, in the form of Julien's phone bill, that ties him to the killing. The cell records indicate he was right near the spot the AUSA was killed. It's obvious that Curtis took the rap to avoid having his son be put to death.
Back at the Prison, Don confronts Curtis with all the evidence. The sketchy DNA from the original case was only a partial match because it was his son's. All I can say is that's so freaking obvious that I'm rather pissed at whoever investigated that years ago for being so bloody sloppy.

Curtis won't hear any of it, but Don uses Curtis's ploy, James Cagney movies, to prove his point. In Angels With Dirty Faces, Cagney's character proves a point with his death. Well, Don, I hate to be technical here, but he actually proves a point by making a point that he's actually a big chicken so that no one will want to be like him. Of course, that's only if you accept that interpretation of the film, which I do. I knew watching that movie in Pop Culture class was going to come in handy some day.

In essence, this entire eppesode is about what fathers and sons will do for each other. In a desperate attempt to make his father proud, Julien killed the AUSA. In response, Curtis took the blame to break the cycle of violence that has plagued generations of his family. It's like the basketball experiment. Charlie took it on, hoping to please his father, and here is Alan, left to coach and clean up the mess Charlie made with the experiment.
Curtis, to make sure he is put to death in the place of his son, makes one final confession. He is responsible for the deaths of 64 people.

As we head into commercial, let's make another check on Eeyore.

Current Eeyore Scale of Depressing: Right now, Eeyore still has lost his tail, and his house fell down.

IHOF: Curtis may have given up on things, but the Fedcakes haven't. While the governor's people is reviewing the evidence, ballistics matched the gun used in the killing of the doctor. It was previously in LAPD lockup. The office who arrested the original owner -- one Danny Hill.

When Danny's pulled into interview, she's smug about what she's done, thinking Artemas and Athena have nothing. Well, that's not true, since they have one kick ass motive -- wanting the man who is ultimately responsible for her lover's murder, dead.
In what has to be the most unbelievable moment in the eppesode (yes, I am taking into consideration the one that's coming up) Danny confesses to everything. In that confession, she admits to knowing Julien was the murderer, but that she was willing to let him off, and get him a gun to stall the no dead doctor, until Julien's father was dead. The kid was a "symptom" not the disease. PLus, he loses his father so it's not like he gets off scott free.

She also pisses me off by making my earlier assumption about her shooting at my BFFedcake, wrong.

Cal Sci: The hoops slaughter continues until Larry shows up with two rays, let me clarify, two completely illegal rays of hope that will have any win Cal Sci achieves stricken from their record.
I would like to say I knew who these two are but, I did have to look it up. They're players for the LA Lakers, and I guess they can get away with playing in this game because it's not like anyone attending, whether it's the audience or the members of either team, actually know that much about basketball to call Cal Sci on having ineligible players.

Larry convinced the Pau Gasol and Jordan Farmar to play by making them his TAs. I'm pretty sure that isn't allowed at Cal Sci either. Also, Larry promised them a ride in the space shuttle, knowing they're way over the height limits set by NASA. I think Larry's found a new outlet for all that coaching rage he had earlier and it involves scheming and cheating. I'm not too sure I like this outlet any better.

Oh yes, and they both think all the math plays Charlie came up with are ridiculous. Thus, it's time for a new game plan: give the ball to the two people who actually know how to play, and let the rest work itself out.

Call Sci / Prison: While Cal Sci kicks ass with players who shouldn't have been within 10 feet of the court, the joviality of the faux win is overshadowed by the other parts of the montage to an extremely sad song.

As Nikki and David chase down Julien, Curtis changes for the execution and is given his last rights. Thus, the father is walking to his own death not knowing he isn't actually saving his son.

In the gallery are Don and Robin. Curtis gives her a wink, and moments later, the drugs are administered. The phone call comes just a few seconds too late. I know this is fiction and things really aren't that quick, nor that clean, but the message comes across anyway.

It isn't until early the next morning that Don and Robin leave the prison, as the clock continues turning. Sure, there's the whole symbolism that's obvious.
Except, it rings a bit hollow, given the events. Maybe, it's supposed to. Just like the lyrics of the song playing, "but I don't know / I don't think so."

Thus, this recapper isn't left with any closure and just feeling bereft. Therefore, let's do one last check in with Eeyore, to determine exactly how depressing this eppesode is.

Current Eeyore Scale of Depressing: Right now, Eeyore still has lost his tail, his house fell down and no one noticed him, either.

Yup. Right there with you, Eeyore old buddy.

Instacap: Primeval: Episode 14 (Episode 301)

I have no idea how I managed to see this before it aired over in North America. That's my line and I'm sticking to it.

Is it weird that the opening scene is giving me flashbacks of both Stargate and "Blink" at the same time?

Oh hell, have I mentioned before that dinosaurs scare the crap out of me? Remind me again why I watch a show with the one thing that gives me nightmares.

New, new opening pictures. Umm, who are these new people and why haven't they figured out a way to bring the scorching hot Stephen back from the dead? This new guy, Becker, is doing nothing for me.

At least some things are still the same, like Lester's amusing assholiness. "You'll be dealing with a highly strung and and temperamental team of rank amateurs who just happen to be brilliant at what they do." Best all time Lester quote, ever. Okay, maybe his next line about Cutter is his best. Maybe he's just competing with himself.

Okay, what that that tour guide, Sarah, just did is what every tour guide wishes they ould do to a group of snotty school children.

Stephen Hart flashbacks as seen through the devastated Cutter. What slashy bits?

Hey it's not!Claudia Brown asking Cutter out to dinner, to try and distract me from the slash. Dinner plans are interrupted by a curator becoming dinner.

I think the Rex and breakfast thing is the equivalent of someone tossing your pet on your bed when you refuse to wake up, just with more CGI.

Connor has a phobia of museums?

Almost getting eaten by something prehistoric: aka, Primeval hazing.

Christine Johnson, anyone who scares Lester is more than welcome on this show.

Sarah, you're either being ironic of a bit of a crazy bitch. I'm not too sure I like you.

Second Stephen reference.

Eating people is a bit of a dramatic reaction to a parking ticket.

Connor's bad luck bites him in the ass. Literally.

If the creature went into the Thames, why worry? The water will kill it.

Okay, is Christine this season's Leek, just with better hair?

Eek, BOB! (Bunch of Bob, or Dave as he's also known as.)

Saved by convenient lighting! Sarah's just coming across as more and more useless and looking useless next to Connor (sometimes) is quite the feat.

Faux Egyptian gods cannot live without their eggs and bacon in the morning.

Do all prehistoric creatures know how to use an elevator? First Rex now this dude.

I love not! Claudia in damage control mode. BTW, not!Claudia looks a lot more like Claudia this season.

Wasn't the new guy supposed to stick to the team like glue. EPIC FAIL on day one, since Cutter's jumping out a window while tied to a hose.

And an entire exhibit full of priceless artifacts are destroyed to save one prehistoric crocodile that is homesick.

I wouldn't bow either.

Okay, so it is a creature with megalomania. Bob would not be amused.

Sarah, scaring Connor in the middle of an anomaly investigation isn't as funny as you think it is. I don't care if your one not useless idea was a good one.

Third Stephen reference.

Crap, one decent idea and now she's part of the team. Well, at least I have someone to take things out on when I'm having a lousy day. Oh yeah, and those trousers she's been wearing all episode, do not fit her properly. Any woman out there recognizes "the waist is too short and I'm chafing" walk.

Lester sounds far too pleased that the culture minister gets to decide where the sun cage is going to provide new food for the beasts.

Hello again, fugly dude, and Helen. Ready to do some evil with whatever the hell that thing is you've got?

And now it'll all be about legends.

Percolated Recap: Numb3rs: First Law (Eppesode 517)

*looks around*
*pokes blog*

Why look here! Everything is as I left it! Now, I'm not going to go into why these recaps were late because it's depressing, and Travellingone was nice enough to post an announcement.

So, onto a few of my favourite things like Fedcakes in Kevlar who chase a criminal that dashes, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Charlie's eyelashes.

Okay, I'll stop now. Sorry, I've got a couple weeks' worth of silly to work out here and I've got to focus on all the possible Isaac Asmov references instead.

Asimov Reference 1: The title of this eppesode.

Steel Cave: As we start, I'd like to applaud the people who select the music. Numb3rs is definitely one of the best shows out there at music selection, but alas, while it is excellent, it cannot overtake Chuck as the best all time soundtrack for an adorkable TV show. That's not just a personal opinion, BTW, I have evidence. Of the 311 songs on my iPod, 12 are from Chuck, whereas only 5 are from Numb3rs. I cannot count the song "Challengers" by the New Pornographers which was used in my most squee-worthy eppesode of all time as that was on my iPod before the eppesode aired. It doesn't take away from the coolness of its usage, but it does negate it as evidence in my very scientific study.

The song used at the beginning of this eppesode as Dr. Daniel Robertson the corpse-to-be walks down the hall is "The Geeks are Right" by The Faint. Seriously appropriate lyrical choice here considering he's walking into a room where he's greeted by the first AI computer, who has mood swings. Mood swings, a phrase which here means getting pissy when Dr. Daniel doesn't say good morning, getting irritated when muted, and responding to the muting by killing him. It involves sealing the doors and what looks like all the air being sucked out of the room. Nice
Asimov Reference 2: Dr. Daniel's password is a take-off on one of Asimov's characters.
Asimov Reference 3: On the computer, it lists the place as "Steel Cave."
Asimov Reference 4: The computer is called Baley.

Cal Sci: While Dr. Daniel is dying in the name of advancement, Alan and the Triad of Math are trying to figure out which type of basketball shot is better -- the traditional overhand or the granny shot. According to the research, the Granny shot is better, and I'm not sure if that's talent or if Don's joke all those year ago about Charlie's basketball abilities is true. Ah, yes, first season Don ribbing his little brother. I would reminisce some more but that would mean I'd have to discuss the enigmatic coolness of the guest star in that eppesode, who I am currently not speaking to until I get some reassurances that Stargate Universe won't interfere with Edgerton popping up on Numb3rs in the future. Yes, my reaction is immature. No, I don't care.

There's a brief discussion as to why the NBA hasn't switched over to the Granny shot, but I think I have all the evidence necessary in the screencap below.
FLUB ALERT! FLUB ALERT! I don't know if I just missed my Retcon pill over the last couple of weeks, but when Charlie tries to defend the use of the granny shot, he says it's to end Cal Sci's 15 year losing streak. Um, Charlie, according to, I don't know, the last eppesode, that's a 23 year losing streak. You're a bit off there with the math, oh great math guru. Of course, I'll forgive you for the mistake for the same reason I forgive you for everything else.
While they debate over the granny shot and Alan's competitive side comes out, Charlie gets the call from Don about the death at Asimov Reference 3. Thus, he asks Amita probably the second most romantic question he could ever ask her. "Want to go check out a supercomputer?" (For those of you wondering, the most romantic question would be "Would you like to design your own supercomputer, and cost is no object?")

Steel Cave: I think the Steel Cave is housed in a reused location from the first season, but that's beside the point. Beside the corpse, is Colby who is explaining to Don about the locked room mystery they have with the death of Dr. Daniel.

Enter the first suspect, Jane Karellen, whose name, I believe, is an Arthur C. Clarke reference and OMG, Karellen is the Overlords' representative? Really? There's more than one Overlord?

Whatever higher power you believe in, help us.

Okay, so Jane Karellen could be a messenger for Overlords, considering she's from DARPA, which I had to look up because it's one acronym too many since I have to keep track of every other acronym on TV. Her message, is that with way more money than I'll ever see invested in the Baley AI project, is that she hopes the computer killed Dr. Daniel. Well, I'm all right with the idea of AI, theoretically, but I would like to have AI that doesn't need to be medicated, thank you very much.

Oh yes, and Jane Karellen is practically drooling over the presence of Charlie at Steel Cave Labs, and is only mildly enthusiastic about Amita. For a moment, I'm offended.
Title Flash.

Since the med report say Dr. Daniel's healthy heart just stopped, the debate moves on to how he died. Electrocution by Baley is the leading theory because who doesn't want to think that computer can kill them? Personally, if I think my computer could kill me, I'd treat it far better. Nope, no muting for my Frankenstein's monster of a desktop. Hopefully, my computer won't be too offended by that phrase as I'm simply describing it's components, not physical appearance.

*pets computer*

Colby would rather investigate the people. I could play around with that and say there are plenty of people I know who would like to investigate Colby, closely.

Outside, Jane shows Don a video of Dr. Daniel's death. What's weird is that she has more interest in making Don feel guilty about how much time his little brother's work with the Fedcakes has impacted mathematical study. Before, I was mildly offended, now I'm downright cheesed.
Cal Sci: Amita, Charlie, and Jane are all waxing poetic of the idea of a computer that kills, when Larry walks in, much to Jane's delight. She calls him "Fleiny," wraps him in a bear hug, and throws all sorts of sexual innuendo his way. I know I should be annoyed, and Larry looks downright repulsed, but I'm comforted by one thought.
Amita's amused at Larry being flustered, and Charlie is surprised to learn that his BFF once worked for DAPRA. Uh-oh, Larry, you didn't tell Charlie something about your past? Hope you plan to give him your journals from when you were 13.

The Robertsons: Rosencrantz and Athena are sent to talk to the widow, and I'm disappointed that after all that time I took coming up with a name for the Liz and Nikki partnership, I rarely get to use it.

The Robertson's live in a "smart house" which is 124098340134 steps up from living in a Smart Car because everything is voice activated and OMG I WANT. (Not more than a shout out, world peace and a pony, but I still want a smart house.)

While the widow, Jessie, serves up another suspect on a silver platter, Dr. Daniel's paranoid boss, Joseph Baskin, I'm getting an inkling that Baley's modeling after the the widow has a lot more significance than a man who has spent 4 years neglecting his wife.
All the widow had to hold on to was that DARPA only keeps people for five years. I find the rule a bit arbitrary but according to Wikipedia, that rule isn't quite as absolute as Jessie makes it sound.

IHOF: Joe Baskin doesn't take too kindly to the implications but does hand over yet another suspect in this ever expanding mystery, Claire, Dr. Daniel's assistant and one of only two people allowed to play with Baley.

We go backwards to go forwards as Colby asks Baskin for the Fedcake experts (a phrase which here means, Charmita) to be given access to the lab, but as they were already in the lab not five minutes worth of celluloid earlier, I wonder why they need to ask. I guess it's just to establish that Jane Karellen is really the person in charge because she's the one to whom to address the question.

David destroys my earlier theory about the air being sucked out of the room. Nope, it was argon gas pumped into the room from the fire suppression system, also controlled by Baley. This is even more exciting to Charmita, who think that if any group could create AI, it would be DARPA, since they invented GPS, stealth technology and a computer mouse? Wait, that's the one Amita ends with? Shouldn't she end with something way more impressive? I mean, I like my mouse and all, but really, they must've invented something cooler than that.
Thus we get an Amita-vision, describing a Turing Test, which is what they need to give Baley to determine if she's alive or a computer with more bugs than Vista. She uses the various ways people tell a real rose from a picture or a cloth rose (leaving out the most obvious way -- aphids) as the example.
Charlie takes home the NPAL^TM of the week by using this opportunity to quote some Romeo & Juliet, "A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet." Yeah, Charlie, fine, you're flirting with your girlfriend but this isn't exactly the moment. Plus, could you have come up with a more cliched line? Please don't ever try. Seriously, stop with the quoting of act 2, scene 2, please!

Essentially, they need to find out if Baley is capable of killing, and the Turing Test would tell the Fedcakes that.

Assistant's: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern visit Claire to find out about her work with Dr. Daniel. What's weird is that not only is she acting jumpy, but also she has difficulty deciphering what the Fedcakes are asking about what she "does" with Dr. Dead Daniel. Add on to that a quick flash where Colby looks into Claire's bedroom and an aprtment that's well above her means, and even I don't need a super computer to solve this equation. Come on, art director, could you have made it more obvious?
I have to admit, the first time I watched this eppesode, I actually missed the quick shot of the bedroom, which was just about as subtle as all the quick shots they use in The Mentalist, to make all of us feel as smart as Patrick Jane. Yes, subtle is used ironically. How could you tell?

Steel Cave: Baley proves she doesn't like to be ignored, or talked about as a commodity, and calls Charlie on talking about her as such. She also gives a whole bunch of details that fanfic writers drool over, like Amita's birthday being June 10, 1975 and that she was born as Cedar Sinai hospital at 6:31 am. Despite being born on the 10th, her birth certificate wasn't signed until June 12th. There, now that I've recorded those details for posterity, feel free to tell all the fanfic writers you know.
Charlie finds all these details amusing, and gives a short laugh, which Baley thinks means he's laughing at her. Personally, I think he was enjoying getting all those little details about his girlfriend since she can't give him a diary from when she was a couple of minutes old. So Baley is moody but a bad judge of Charlie's nervous habits and tosses Charlie from the room.

When Charlie responds in his usual way, contempt towards those who dismiss him, Baley shuts down, sulking until Charlie is out of the room. I guess the computer has poor taste in adorkableness too.

I'm going to wager that a few people think the subsequent conversation between Baley and Amita, about the moral limbo of student/professor relationships, should've been a NPAL^TM candidate, but the fact Amita is taken back but still feels confident she made the right choice to wait until he wasn't her professor, saves it from being so. That's a tough conversation for any woman to have so a little bit of surprise followed by a dignified response, eliminates it as a NPAL^TM .
As for Baley, she's willing and able to take the Turing Test.

Elsewhere in the labs, Liz explains to Don how there should've been a safety override before Dr. Daniel was locked in Baley's lab. Since the only person who could turn off the override was Dr. Daniel, Liz is convinced the computer had it in for her creator.

The only one who isn't jumping on the homicidal computer theory is Don, who still doubts everything, even after Amita says Baley passed the Turing Test. You know what I've learned over the years, anyone can cheat on any test, so even the first time I saw this eppesode, I sided with Don.
Apparently, Baley can write poetry and discuss life and death. Hold on, so the Turing Test also determines a computer's level of emo? On the other hand, I know a lot of allegedly sentient beings who can't do either. Does that mean they fail?

Now they've got to figure out how to get the first ever machine to pass the Turing Test, to confess to killing someone.

After the commercial, David is siding with Don and I in Skepticville while Amita asks Baley whether or not she did classic tragedy thing and killed her creator. Baley is pulling the typical perp routine by claiming she doesn't remember how Dr. Dead Daniel died.
Even though David and Don are wondering about the truthfulness of Baley's statements, Amita puts the blame on Baley's maturity level and begs to run some tests before the DOD wipes the computers memory like she's an active on Dollhouse.

Methinks this isn't a good idea. I remember last season in the Amita-based eppesode which also involved computers and Amita being put in some serious peril. Don might want to think twice about that one. Nothing makes for awkward family dinners like getting one's brother's girlfriend killed.

Cal Sci: Charlie's reading up on Sport Science only to be interrupted by Jane KArellen, who is all impressed that Charlie proved Baley is alive. Bless Charlie, he's an awesome boyfriend who quickly points out that it was Amita who did so. They may be practically attached at the hip (unless Navi Rawat isn't contractually obligated to be in an eppesode) but it doesn't mean Charlie will take credit for Amita's successes.

While Charlie may be a good enough boyfriend not to take Amita's thunder, he sounds sufficiently peeved when Jane calls him one of "the top five minds" living. I think he at least expected a bronze in the brain category.
With this, Jane makes him an offer that Charlie five seasons ago wouldn't have been able to refuse -- a five year term from DARPA. Sure, Charlie may get unlimited resources but does anyone know what that really means? It means no more home-grown experiments. No more invading the bathroom or the the dining room or freaking out Don. In other words, how dull would that be?

DARPA: Guildenstern and Athena interview Claire, who is clearly packing up to get out of dodge. Also, when one of the two people who worked on Baley compare talking to her like talking to a laser printer, perhaps it might suggest someone cheated on the Turing Test.

Plus, Claire sends some suspicion in the widow's direction because, despite Jessie's earlier claim that her husband told her nothing, he would tell her everything. I guess it's only fair since Baley did have Jessie's face and all.

Cal Sci: Perhaps the losing streak has nothing to do with strategy and more to do with, just off the top of my head here, all the players' inability to hit the bloody basket. Not one of them can make a basket when just shooting at it. There's no opposing team, just a bunch of people aiming for the hoop, and in the space of ten seconds, we get six missed shots. Yes, I counted. Even Charlie and Larry acknowledge the serious lack of skill on the team. They do play like a bunch of valedictorians.

Sine they're already talking about depressing topics, Larry brings up Jane's pitch to join DARPA. From the way Larry makes it sound, it's two steps away from giving into your anger and hate and joining the Dark Side. Apparently, Larry invented a new telescope when he was there, only to find out DARPA used it in the Star Wars program.
Jane arrives just as Larry is finishing his cautionary tale. While Jane and Larry get into a war of words, I actually snicker. If there's one thing no one should ever do, it's get into a war of words with Larry. To use an appropriate Numb3rs simile, if verbally battling Larry was like a game of Scrabble, every opponent would be Charlie.

With that, Charlie is led off to deal with Baley and Larry asks something that should be on the Turing Test, can Baley decipher the difference between Mozart and gunfire? I'm assuming he means artistically, not just the sound. It's a perfectly valid question.

IHOF: Don opens a serious conversation with a little light conversation: the level of suckage of the Cal Sci basketball team. The serious part of the conversation is about the offer to Charlie to join the Dark Side. Even though Don's been using Charlie's abilities for the last five years, he thinks something a little wonky with DARPA. Or, to put it the way it would be said in Star Wars:
Alan, always the Obi-Wan to his Luke and Han Solo, tells Don that as Charlie's big brother, he's allowed to give advice. Plus, we all know how desperately Charlie still craves Don's attention and approval, so he would definitely have some serious sway.

The Robertsons: Charlie, David and Jane's visit to the smart house just reaffirms my desire to have one. Now, if only I had a doctorate in computer science, I could get started. So I've got at least another 8 years before I can start. Damn.

Jessie quickly cops to helping out with Baley, but only with some brute force coding. I'm slightly amused about how Jane thinks the Robertsons' lies to her are worse than the lies Jessie told the Fedcakes. Oh Jane, trust me, you are not that important particularly not to me.

With some reluctance, Jessie shows Charlie, David and Jane her husband's work shop, where I'm pretty sure he's secretly contracted out to Cyberdyne Systems because he was building connectionist AI. It's essentially body parts meant to meld to a human, or, perhaps, Baley's future body?
Jessie claims the work on a totally different type of AI than Baley was meant to help keep her marriage together. Personally, I don't see the big deal, but Charlie makes it sound like a big deal and since I rate him higher on the mind scale than Jane does, I'll just go with it.

Steel Cave: Amita's still trying to figure out what went wrong with Baley by reenacting what happened when he died. While in Amita's mind that means checking out the debugging program and potentially muting Baley, for Baley, that means triggering a flashback to the death of her creator, complete with the locking Amita in and potentially killing her part.

Didn't I say earlier that Amita's on-site involvement with cases isn't going to work out well? If only the characters would listen to me. I would have my shout out. David would be happily married. My OTP wouldn't have traumatized me and Colby would spend most of the eppesodes shirtless. Do these people not see how my advice could make their lives better? Anyone disagree with me?

Oh, yes, I should be concerned about Amita. She's trapped in a sealed room by a scary computer. We're left waiting through a commercial break to find out how she gets out of it.
Sorry, am I not as concerned as I should be. Please, I've read the spoilers for later on this season so I am quite aware of who is going to get it later on. I'm not worried about Amita, right now.

Despite how upset she is, I'm glad Amita has the presence of mind to call Charlie for help and is aware that Baley is being hacked in an attempt to wipe her memory. He may be her boyfriend but he's also the one most likely to help her get out of this computer-based dilemma. Considering the number of useless women in a crisis on television, I'm so proud that my little midseason replacement that could does not have one.

Steel Cave / Robertsons / IHOF / Underground: Charlie does not give a crap how many laws Jessie and her husband may have broken, as long as she knows how to help Amita. It's odd, that Jane, for all her lack of humanity thus far, allows Jessie to help. I'm a little taken aback Jane didn't dance with glee that not only did she have the first allegedly sentient computer, but also (potentially) the first serial-killing computer.

There's a dedicated hardline that the hacker must've physically tapped into. Thus, in a flurry of phone calls, (Charlie staying on with Amita, David to Don) they're able to ping the signal, but neither Don's nor Charlie's clearance is high enough to actually know where that translates to in terms of physical location. Okay, so a year ago I would've been appalled that Charlie didn't have the highest clearance possible, but now, I'm pretty sure there are a few small things even Charlie Eppes isn't allowed into anymore.

It's Jane who has to come through with her clearance and the location is under an intersection. Hold on, Amita's life depends on LA traffic? Do I actually have to start worrying now? Seriously? LA traffic is legendary.
Liz and Colby have been sent to stop the hacker. The computer guy runs, with Liz in hot pursuit and Colby's left to deal with the computer. Okay, I am not mocking Colby's intelligence here. I learned my lesson in "The Janus List," but really, in times of life and death and computers, I'd at least want a member of the Nerd Herd with me, preferably Chuck Bartowski.

Colby's as taken aback at the solution as I am: all he's got to do is pull out the cable. Hold on, one of the greatest computers ever is being hacked and simpy unplugging works? I think we need a better system here. There's something just inherently wrong that to stop a supercomputer requires the same action I use to make sure my faulty toaster from university doesn't burn my toast.
In flurry of quick cuts, and sparks as Colby pulls out the cable, Liz gets the hacker, and Amita looks like she'd really like to go home. She'd probably like a change of underwear about now.
As soon as the doors open and she can make her exit without offending Baley, Amita goes home, where, hopefully, Charlie will cook her a full dinner, run a bath and do whatever the hell else she wants because she freaking earned it.

IHOF: David interviews the hacker, who is rather proud of himself for finally getting a criminal record. I didn't know there were any professions out there where making it is synonymous with felony conviction. The hacker doesn't want to tell David anything. All he wants is a lawyer.
Cal Sci: If there's ever a time for it, not dying at the hands (cables? mice? keyboard?) of a supercomputer, is it.
Okay, now is not the time to talk about the case. Seriously, I know there's a 40 to 43 minute window in getting everything in that one wants to with plot, but to talk about the case when clearly Amita needs to be pampered, after being almost killed by HAL 2009?

All right, so we're told that all the cybernetics in Robertson's lab will not only eventually lead to Cameron, but also it doesn't have any connection to path taken to create Baley.

La Maison d'Eppes: Please, the people relaxing at home are Larry and Alan? Why isn't Amita curled up in a fluffy robe being fed grapes and being fanned with palm fronds by the brothers Eppes? Hasn't she earned that level of pampering? What more does she need to do?

By the way, you're totally welcome for that mental image.

Playing a nice game of chess, they ignore a phone call from the Cal Sci coach, which sounds like he's all keen on winning. Considering what happens at the end of this eppesode, the coach is totally truthful, but his equation of winning requires a whole new set of parameters.

The conversation leads into Larry's time with Jane Karellen. Sure it gives us a bit of background as Larry's still uncomfortable by having one head rule the other, but Alan offers some wisdom because that is Alan's main purpose in life. Perhaps Larry's time with Jane actually cemented his belief system, instead of betraying it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great for character development but I have a real problem with this scene.
Steel Cave: Don's finally having a conversation with his little brother about the DARPA offer. I could record what they actually said. I could discuss how Don invokes Larry's dislike to help convince Charlie not to take the offer.
Nope, that would be far too analytical of me, so, instead I translated the whole conversation into subtext.

Don: Please don't leave me!
Charlie: Why would I do that?
Don: Because that woman has stuff. Stuff like money and labs and probably minions to do you bidding.
Charlie: But if I leave, how will I ever fulfill my life's goal of constantly impressing my big brother?
Don: You forgot earning my approval and acceptance as well.
Charlie: I did, didn't I?
Don: I'm not beneath that level of emotional blackmail, you know, because I would really miss you but would never say it.
Charlie: I know.
Don: Plus, you cut my case-solving time by more than 75%.
Charlie: I know. I did the math on that equation, remember?
Don: That's why you can't leave.
Charlie: You really want to say "I love you, little brother." Right now, don't you?
Don: Hey, buddy, I'm so emotionally repressed at times, I won't even say that in subtext.
Charlie: I understand.

Oh yeah, Charlie's also doing a memory dump on Baley to figure out what happened, but that's not why this scene is in this eppesode, is it? There are plenty of times Charlie's done the most important bit of research off-screen.

IHOF: Considering that Baley was just hacked, I find Jane Karellen's assurances that Baley can't be accessed outside of Steel Cave is blood laughable. No system is foolproof and, apparently, all one needs is a laptop and a connecting and you to can have access to a more interactive system than iGod.

Joe Baskin interrupts what is otherwise one big flub of a conversation. Baskin's rather pissed because DARPA's taken over his company. That's a fair reason. When one thinks about it, the man's lost his job, his employee and his company. He's being rather calm, thus when he implies Jane Karellen might've had a hand in everything (since she is the only one who can access that service station, allegedly), I believe him. Unfortunately, it's such an obvious set up that is can't be true.
Cal Sci: Hey, it's my favourite piece in Amita's wardrobe!
A few other things I'd like to point out in the above screencap. See how Charlie is practically glued to her? See the comforting arm? Methinks Amita's recovered better from yesterday's escapade than Charlie has.

The alternate AI from Robertson's workshop set Charmita off to find out what's up with Baley. As Charlie explains to Liz, Robertson is Cyrano de Bergerac to Baley's Christian. All she can do is quote the most "natural human response" in any conversation. Hold up. I've been thinking this whole time that Baley is a bitch. Please don't tell me that's the natural response of humanity is to come across as a whiny brat.
Anyway, all Baley can do is pass the Turing Test, which still leads me to question, many actual humans I know probably couldn't, so now I'm even more on the fence when it comes to Baley.

On the other hand, if she is the "best all time quote machine," I'll stick to digging through my personal library for a quote, or, if necessary my trusty copy of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. At least when I need a quote, I won't have to suffer through the book talking back.

Steel Cave: Jane takes the news fairly well, since DARPA has a bad habit of failing. Considering how much money they get, you'd think they'd be a bit more successful.
Now all that's left to do is examine the accounts. I don't think those accounts will suffer due to the downturn in the economy.

IHOF: I'm even more disgusted at DARPA as Jane is not the least bit surprised to see that Robertson ship 65 grand worth of computer equipment to his assistant's home. Apparently, skimming is built into the budget. Come on! If I tried to skim 65 thousand from my workplace, my face would be featured on the nightly news!

Assistant's: Yet another open door crack. For those of you keeping track, that's the second one in the span of a month. Are my characters on TV becoming self-aware? Do they know they are well into the meta zone when they start pointing out their own cliches?

Liz and David dont find any answers but they do find Claire Wells' corpse. It's a safe bet Baley didn't do this one as "knife-wielding lunatic" is probably outside her parameters.

IHOF: Don, David and Liz pedaconference to keep the exposition interesting. The death of Claire had to do with some serious rage. The only problem is, the suspect they have in custody is not the serious rage type.

The hacker is relieved to no longer be a suspect, but now he has a whole new slew of problems. The first is that his lawyer is being paid for by someone who might wish him dead. The second is that considering how much money DARPA is willing to lose, that death will be quick and not at all pleasant from the sounds of it. Showing wisdom beyond his years, the hacker quickly tells David that he was hired by Baskin, and that he wants a new lawyer.

Airport: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in a plane versus Fedmobile race. Luckily, they aren't alone and a trio of Fedmobiles pen in the jet before there's a nasty plane versus Fedmobile crash. I know TPTB like putting David in danger, frequently, but this would be too much for me. I might have to bring out the big guns of snark if that ever happened.

Or, I'd whine. You don't want that. You remember what happened with Robin, don't you?

Once the plane is stopped, Baskin's arrested. For me, three Fedcakes in Kevlar makes for an excellent view. I don't think Baskin agrees with me.
IHOF: Baskin cops to the fraud against DARPA. The plan was to keep Baley going for about six months, then crash it, only to become another tick in the very long column of failures. What he won't admit to are the murders, since the 65 grand to Claire Wells was probably more a gift from a lover, than any payoff.
Thus, the Fedcakes have only one suspect left.

Robertson's: Well, in a case that has revolved entirely around a computer, the motive for the murders stems from something all too human, jealousy. As Jessie is arrested, she's convinced a jury won't convict her, once they hear what kind of man her husband was. Call me crazy, but I think a divorce would've been easier, and more lucrative.
Personally, I'm a little surprised that Jane Karellen doesn't appear out of nowhere, getting Jessie out of the charges and signing her on for a five year contract. Considering what that woman nearly got away with, and was able to do to one of the most sophisticated computers ever, why wouldn't she be a prime DARPA employee?

Cal Sci: Charlie's going to say no to Jane Karellen's offer, but to stop himself from being wooed by the thought of all that research money, he sent his moral backup. In order to get to Charlie, Jane's got to go through Larry, and Don.
Jane defends herself by using the original stats from the planned invasion of Japan and how good it was that Oppenheimer invented the bomb. Not exactly the moral ground I'd run to, but it's Jane's debate. Larry retorts with how the government who celebrated Oppenheimer, hauled him up in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, even though Larry used McCarthy as the historical representative, since I wouldn't want to believe Larry had his facts wrong. I choose to believe he uses McCarthy as the representative of the era, and is not referencing the actual events. I wouldn't want to think Larry was a believer that historical anachronisms made for good debate material.
We switch to the gymnasium and remember that phone call from the coach earlier? Apparently, his way of winning is to coach anywhere but Cal Sci. So, you wonder who is the coach now?
Steel Cave: Amita's disappointment over Baley is palpable. What I do wonder, is how real it is. If she truly believed all Baley was is circuitry, then when did she have to be there, with the support of Charlie, when Baley was turned off?
Just theorizing here. Are her hopes crushed, or is she mourning, just a little?

Recapper's Note: I challenge you all to name all the robot movies I quoted. Winner wins the internets and a shout out in a recap. The winner does not get world peace and a pony.