Patrick @ Dec 27th 2007 3:18AM - "Thank God. The picture on rear projection TV's sucks."

Uh,huh. Which would explain why most of the people who know wtf they're talking about (like, say, Tom Holman) still rate Sony's RP-DLPs as best overall picture (no, not best value - that's a no-brainer - but best picture).

And note that SXRD is not some fundementally different technology - it's just Sony's tweak on DLP, just like their VAIO is Windows w/ a tweaked desktop & controls.

And now that it's official, I'm looking forward to snapping up a 60" SXRD for less than half what it cost a year ago; and for $200 every several years, I'll have a perpetually bright image while you suckers are squinting to see your burnt-out LCD's & Plasmas. Such is the fate of obsessive Leading-Edge types (and to all you whiners who paid double for the i-phone the minute it hit the shelves - serves ya right).

I just watched last week's episode - which I'd taped - with my wife. Odd for us dedicated fans, in view of the negatives above, that we rated it as slightly sub-par; but only slightly so. A sub-par night for Numb3rs is still better than 99% of the rest. We slightly de-rated it because the plot lacked the usual convolutions, the denounment seemed forced, the Earth Day message was fairly blunt, and there was that cloying pop-song epilogue, which seems (or seemed) de rigeure for every show but Numb3rs. On the other hand, they spent a little more time on character development and addressed some reality issues, such as how Charlie seems to spend so much time with the FBI without sacrificing his University duties.

Comments to the effect that the police procedurals are getting stale completely miss the other pleasures Numb3rs has to offer - the deft direction and editing, the first-rate acting all around (yes, including Ms Farr, who has created an intersting and attractive character in Agent Megan Reeves - slightly unkempt, a little sarcastic, romantically interested in a brainiac. And, I like her nasal voice - I find it refreshing). Also, the interesting casting (except the drop-dead gorgeous Navi Rawat - why can't the female love interest ever be ordinary looking? Oh, right; this is network television. Given what they're attempting, we can allow the producers something to grab a few more viewers. I withdraw my objection). The walk-on characters who are always more than walk-ons. The writers have Hillerman's talent for sketch artistry; the small but illuminating detail - sometimes just one line - that brings a character to life.

Besides, I don't think the police work has gotten stale. Indeed, I marvel at the way they can tweak a seemingly ordinary crime into something very unordinary.

Did I mention the math? They're making math cool; sexy even! Who could object to that? The math is also real. I don't know from math, but I read people who do. See the January/February issue of Skeptcial Inquirer, "Do They Have Your Numb3r?" Math is a tool for advanced logic. Very few of us have that talent, but we can all try to be more logical, more rational in our daily lives. If Numb3s does nothing more than convince a few people of that, it deserves to be the most popular show of all time.

So, I encourage all you nay-sayers above to pay a little closer attention. I guarantee you will be amply rewarded.

And: Rob Morrow has finally put Joel Fleischman to rest.