A conversation with Rob Morrow

“Numb3rs,” a new mid-season series on CBS, is the first television drama series from multi-Oscar nominated director Ridley Scott, whose film credits include “Black Hawk Down” and “Gladiator,” and Tony Scott, who won an Emmy for “The Gathering Storm.” The series focuses on two brothers: FBI agent Don Eppes, played by Rob Morrow (“Street Time,” “Quiz Show,” “Northern Exposure”), and his genius brother, Charlie, played by “Ray” star David Krumholtz. Together, the siblings take on the bureau’s most challenging criminal cases (all of them inspired by actual events) by using a combination of police work and mathematics to produce remarkable revelations that ultimately lead them to the resolution of the crimes. Also starring in “Numb3rs” are Judd Hirsch (“Dear John,” “Taxi”), Peter MacNicol (“Ally McBeal”), Sabrina Lloyd (“Sports Night”) and Alimi Ballard (“Studio City”).

Rob Morrow says when he was first asked to do the new CBS series “Numb3rs,” he thought — Oh, no, not another show about FBI agents.

“But then I found out that it wasn’t just ‘another’ FBI series. The premise was original and the writing intriguing. And when I learned I’d be working with Peter MacNicol, and that Judd Hirsch would play my father and David Krumholz my brother, that was it: I had to do this show.”

Morrow says the real star of the series is mathematics — which, he insists, is really a very sexy subject.

“Nothing could happen without mathematics. I know a lot of people may remember struggling through algebra and geometry,” Morrow says, “and thinking how great it would be when they finally don’t have to deal with math. Well, we all deal with math every day of our lives in one way or another, whether it’s to balance a checkbook, build a house, paint a picture, plot the course of a space vehicle, play a musical instrument or retile the bathroom floor.”

Or solve baffling crimes on “Numb3rs” every week.”That, too.”

Rob Morrow and his wife, Debbon (Debbie) Ayer, with whom he collaborated in 2001 as writer, director and co-producer on their award-winning film “Maze,” have a daughter who will be 4 in April.

“Children are fascinated by numbers,” he says, “and love to count things that are around them. And as I see with my daughter, they have a wonderful curiosity about the world — the same sort of curiosity that you find in scientists and artists. (Children) are intrigued by new discoveries and want to know more about them. But unfortunately, unless this natural love of learning is encouraged, it can be lost as the kids get older.”

Finally, a recent survey indicates that the CBS “CSI” franchise (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “CSI: Miami” and “CSI: New York”) has turned a lot of young people on to chemistry, biology and entomology.

Asked if he thinks “Numb3rs” will do the same for mathematics, Rob Morrow says, “I would hope so. (This country) has led in every (aspect) of science. At least two of our (founding fathers), Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, were scientists, and they encouraged the study of math and science in our schools. But now we’re increasingly dependent on people from other countries who have the math and science skills we need.”

In Focus

“Merge” returns to Lifetime for a third season with Lisa Rinna (who also has a recurring role on UPN’s “Veronica Mars,” on which she and her real-life husband, Harry Hamlin, play a married couple) back as host.

Rinna believes “Merge” has helped to show many newlyweds how to avoid the hard feelings that can develop among couples who find themselves suddenly confronting the challenge of accepting or rejecting each other’s “precious” belongings.

Rinna notes that the show is more about relationships than design. “It’s always stressful to give up something you thought you’d keep forever,” she says. “But there’s always room for compromise, and sometimes something that one person absolutely hated suddenly becomes acceptable with a little fixing up. But once an item is declared totally unacceptable, it goes out.”