# Numb3rs and the diminishing role of Rob Morrow **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numb3rs-and-the-diminishing-role-of-rob-morrow/528215 "2010-02-09T00:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numb3rs-and-the-diminishing-role-of-rob-morrow/528215/1 "2010-02-09T00:57:34Z")
Does anybody here know why Rob Morrow’s screen time on “Numb3rs” has been shrinking? In recent episodes, he’s seen for maybe five minutes total, and that spread out amongst a bunch of tiny throwaway bits. Is Rob sick, or just doesn’t want to work much anymore? Please don’t tell me that it’s because those second-stringers are getting really popular; both the actors and the characters are so uninteresting as to make them better suited as a sleep aid. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numb3rs-and-the-diminishing-role-of-rob-morrow/528215/2 "2010-02-09T04:03:42Z")
He’s by far the least interesting character on the show. By miles. Five years and they haven’t given him a personality yet. And I don’t think his role has been shrinking as much as you say. It’s been an ensemble show from the beginning and those shows naturally give the supporting characters more time over the years as audiences grow more familiar with them. CSI being the prime example. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numb3rs-and-the-diminishing-role-of-rob-morrow/528215/3 "2010-02-09T04:21:38Z")
According to IMDB, he’s currently filming a movie (The Good Doctor with Orlando Bloom). Assuming that Numb3rs is currently in production, perhaps they gave him some time off to do it. (Normally, though, I think that television actors do movie work in between seasons.) ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numb3rs-and-the-diminishing-role-of-rob-morrow/528215/4 "2010-02-09T20:12:27Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > He’s by far the least interesting character on the show. By miles. Five years and they haven’t given him a personality yet. Well, few of the characters are particularly interesting. Charlie and Larry and Alan are the only ones that have much of a personality. But at least Rob Morrow is interesting to watch as an actor. The guy who plays Colby has all the expressive range of a stuffed animal, and the guy who plays David has all the range of a stuffed animal with bendable joints. When those two are on screen, I just start nodding off. I enjoy watching the interactions between Don and Charlie, and between Don and Alan. The interactions between Colby and David feel like a bad junior high school play. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numb3rs-and-the-diminishing-role-of-rob-morrow/528215/5 "2010-02-10T01:13:12Z")
I’ve loved this show from the beginning, and watch it pretty much every week. But I’ve only recently remembered the Colby’s name, and can never remember the names of the other characters (with the exception of Charlie, Larry, Alan and Don. And sometimes Amita). But I was a big fan of Nash Bridges, too, which was on in the same timeslot, and which was just about as believable. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numb3rs-and-the-diminishing-role-of-rob-morrow/528215/6 "2010-02-10T03:39:05Z")
I stopped watching awhile ago. The first season was well done, but they changed it around to be _CSI: Math_ and it grew less and less interesting. Also, the constantly moving camera and incessant soundtrack grew tiresome as tricks. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/numb3rs-and-the-diminishing-role-of-rob-morrow/528215/7 "2010-02-10T03:48:30Z")
I gave up when they started walking through imaginary landscapes and putting on costumes to patronisingly explain the mathematical nonsense they desperately squeeze into every single crime (which on any other show would get solved just fine with no maths at all).