I haven’t watched network television since a few months before Friends finished up. I’m not bragging about this, I just haven’t found anything that I’ve really liked to watch since then. Apparently, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the Fall lineup because this great show flew right under my radar last season.

• NUMB3RS

The premise of the show focuses on two brothers. Don Eppes (Rob Morrow) is an FBI agent. Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz), Don’s younger brother, is a genius mathematician with a doctorate and tenure at the university. When Don needs help with some sticky crimes, Charlie can jump in with number theory to save the day. Math Man to the rescue!!

Rob Morrow played Joel Fleischman on Northern Exposure. I have several episodes of that series memorized, so I worried that I would only be able to see Joel Fleischman instead of Don Eppes. Not a problem. Within ten minutes of the first episode, Joel was forgotten and Rob Morrow morphed into Don Eppes in front of my eyes. Sabrina Lloyd was in a sci-fi show I liked called Sliders. She’s even better in NUMB3RS as Don’s tough FBI partner and profiler. Best of all, Judd Hirsch (from Taxi fame) plays Don and Charlie’s father. I love how he toes the line between father and disinterested sounding board. They have a great cast!

I have seen eight episodes and I just love this show. It shows me just how rusty my old math degree is. I love the idea of a mathematical sleuth. He’s much more believable than some of the other amateur sleuths that I have loved. Every time I see an episode I am eager to see the next one. I remember what this felt like: loving television. I haven’t had it happen to me in a long time.