Learn the Math Behind CBS Show Numb3rs Dan Koelsch, February 21, 2010 There are a lot of procedural shows on right now, shows in which a problem is introduced, investigated and solved all within the same episode (think CSI, Bones, almost every one hour show other than LOST). Many have gimmicks to try to separate them from the bunch (his partner is a psychic!), and one of my favorite gimmick procedurals is Numb3rs on CBS. There’s a nifty website created to supplement the show. The show centers on the Los Angeles branch of the FBI, where agent Eppes (rob Morrow) has a brother who is a math genius and professor at Cal Tech. Each episode has Professor Eppes (David Krumholtz) using advanced mathematics to help solve a case. For us regular folk, this stuff goes over our head, but if you are interested in the math, Wolfram (makers of software Mathematica) have teamed up with the show to help you out. Wolfram’s Numb3rs website goes through each episode and explains the mathematical principals the characters are using or talking about. The well designed site is meant to look like a case file being opened, and you can watch videos that show the math. For a much more detailed look at the science, each concept has a link to it’s own Wolfram page. It’s nice to know that the characters aren’t talking gibberish, and this kind of stuff can actually work. Numb3rs airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS. Viral Marketing CBSNumb3rsNumbers
SNL Takes On Taken 2 and California October 14, 2012October 14, 2012Saturday Night Live had Up All Night star Christina Applegate as host last night. My favorite sketch of the night was Tech Talk: iPhone 5, but we got two good movie/TV sketches as well. There’s a trailer for a movie that combines Taken 2 and Expendables 2, as well as… Read More
As You Might Have Guessed, “The Five-Year Engagement” Has A Wedding Blog January 14, 2012It seems like only yesterday that we were talking about wedding blogs becoming the viral website of choice for television shows (in fact it was yesterday). Not to be upstaged, the romantic comedy film The Five-Year Engagement, starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt have their own wedding blog. Get the… Read More
New “Pacific Rim” Viral Poster Teases Where Jaegers Get Fixed [Updated] April 9, 2013April 9, 2013Pacific Rim has released some effective online teasers over the last few months that have offered a glimpse at the epic scale of the film without revealing any plot points or surprises. The movie’s Facebook page was recently updated with another such tease, but instead of newscast screenshots of Kaiju… Read More
The show’s “Chain Factor” ARG is still my favorite example of integrating the viral with the tv show. Took the premise from the Primacy and extended it seamlessly (which is pretty difficult, after watching the episode’s resolution) onto the web and into the real world.