Larry Fleinhardt

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Larry Fleinhardt
Cause and Effect"
Portrayed byPeter MacNicol
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationTheoretical physicist

Larry Fleinhardt,

Numb3rs, played by Peter MacNicol. He is the best friend and colleague of Charlie Eppes
.

Dr. Lawrence Fleinhardt holds the

Zero Point Energy and Quantum Cosmology, which could provide insight into the cosmological constant problem
(episode 3x4, "The Mole").

Backstory

Larry Fleinhardt has always been fascinated with the stars. He had his first

quantum physics class at the age of 13. Charlie's father, Alan Eppes, said that all the family heard about that first year was Professor Fleinhardt. Dr. Fleinhardt has worked on building a space telescope for DARPA in the past, but it was weaponized against his wishes as part of the star wars missile defense project
.

The only thing he remembers of his mother is her warm smile and tweezed eyebrows. He rarely has spoken of his father, a painter who wished his son had seen the world the way he did and was disappointed by his son's path; Fleinhardt expressed his sorrow with a memory he does not gladly inhabit, stating it is a father's folly to impose his will on his son. Consequently, Larry has an exhaustive knowledge of art and attempted a career as a painter, but failed as he was required by his father to study the great works of the masters before he could create an original work.

Characterization

Larry is quite awkward in social situations; his students have described him as "boring and intellectually inaccessible." Some of his irregular views have made Charlie wonder, "What flavor of crazy

St. Louis or Cleveland, when it was actually in Minneapolis. A perpetual preoccupation with celestial phenomena often has him spouting cosmic metaphors. His character is not unlike that of former acquaintance Richard Feynman
, who is noted for being both a genius and an eccentric.

Larry frequently wears casual patterned shirts and drove a 1944

Zen rock garden and has constructed his own Heron's fountain. He likes to "contemplate the koi
pond" in front of Charlie's home, with each fish named by Eppes.

Evolution over the series

Larry constantly challenges Charlie to employ a broader point of view to his work with the

academia rather than consult with the FBI. Along with Alan, Fleinhardt provides words of wisdom to Charlie, reminding him that human behavior is unpredictable. He even comforts Don Eppes (Charlie's brother and FBI contact) about his love life with his perspective on quantum entanglement, yet Charlie has accused him of "mixing cosmic metaphors" after he inadvertently referred to his relationship with Amita Ramanujan as a black hole
.

After the "untwinable" event of having "carnal" relations with Laurel Wilson ("Sabotage"), a

Megan, and describes to his confused friends, the Eppes family, that they are closer to understanding the mystery of gamma-ray bursts than his feelings in this matter.[1] Thus, Larry begins a relationship with Agent Megan Reeves. When he finds out she is kidnapped in "Two Daughters", Larry's emotions overcome him. Megan claims to like him for his unpredictability. Larry shortly thereafter becomes distracted by his relationship with Megan, and desires more structure. Charlie has not seen such an emotional uncertainty with Larry as when he speaks of her and, as Larry has commented himself, his previously unstructured relationship with Megan made baryogenesis
look neat. In "Long Shot" (episode 3x06) they create a schedule for dinner and a movie every other Friday, lunch on Wednesdays, and a monthly wild card that Megan can use at her discretion. Though, he has recently commented that his relationship with Megan has made him less concentrated on his work.

After selling his home, Fleinhardt has for some time since been living as somewhat of a

vagabond, finding shelter in his office, his car, hotels and friends' places, and often sleeping on couches or in CalSci's steam tunnels. Larry claims he didn't want to inconvenience Charlie and thought that sharing one bathroom would be problematic, and further did not want to move in with Megan and ruin something "before it even began." He also claims to believe it allows him to focus on the sublime rather than the mundane, as well as gravity. Alan has commented on his state during one of their chess
games, providing the same advice he has dispensed to all geniuses he knows: "Don't be an idiot." Contrarily, Megan finds his situation oddly attractive. However, he "rethought the pursuit of a purely intellectual endeavor." Wanting less complexity and more structure in his life, as well as time to be with Megan, Larry states that he has decided to buy a condo. However, life has never been simple for Larry, and Alan has said that simplicity may be impossible for him, so he must deal with structured complexity.

In the episode "Brutus", it is revealed that Larry's divestment of his personal property was in anticipation of being selected as a

launch
over a glass of milk due to Larry's propensity for white foods, with Charlie being particularly emotional.

In "The Art of Reckoning", Fleinhardt returns from the

Inca quipu, each knot representing certain accomplishments he made in space exploration throughout his life. He wants to live without obsessions such as white foods, focus more on life than the stars, and temporarily live in an Altadena, California monastery to make "a transition into reentry
." As seen in "Trust Metric", Larry enjoys his time of contemplation and lets his facial hair go, but still has time to dispense advice to Charlie, whether it be mathematical or about life, and even participate in a CalSci student tradition.

The only one with visitors at the monastery, Larry has been rejected by the

DØ experiment
team, as he received a "tantalizing offer" from them. Amita further points out that this is in line with his spiritual endeavor, after she says that he wants more from life than his recent habit of just walking in gardens, and he shares the same view. Larry reveals he still doesn't have a home when he suggests that Alan would be able to stay with him if he had a place.

In "Tabu", Larry and Megan have become closer again, as she has even asked him to come on the trip to New York to be with her father. He notes his wanderlust has stoked in him the desire to visit New York anyway. As custodian to Brother Theo's rabbit, however, he must speak with him first.

He and Amita spend at least twenty hours a week doing DØ research, though, in "End Game", Larry has a crisis of faith regarding his Higgs boson work, wondering if he is a hypocrite to be searching for something he may not want to find. Charlie points out to him the problem isn't that Larry wouldn't find the Higgs boson, but that he would and his feelings would be the same as his trip to the ISS. The question becomes moot in early 2009 when Larry's Higgs research is stopped due to problems at CERN. In "When Worlds Collide", it is revealed that Megan is leaving the FBI to go back east, to which Larry says that their relationship has never depended on geographic proximity.

Larry and Amita stand in for Charlie with aiding Don until his security clearance is restored, once tricking Charlie into helping unknowingly. His insight into current moving across a conductor is even applied to a case. Larry argues with Alan about the direction of the think tank comprising both of them, Charlie, and Amita ("Jacked"). With Don, Larry advises Charlie to stay clear of the duplicitous Jane Karellen (Nancy Travis), head of DARPA special projects, due to his own experience with her (including romance), and they confront her ("First Law"). Alongside Charlie and Alan, he has been coaching the struggling CalSci basketball team with his physics calculations, but he is not above shouting and even getting NBA players to achieve a win ("12:01 AM").

At the end of season five, Charlie is attacked, and Amita is kidnapped. Don asks Larry to provide the math for the case. Larry agrees and involves Nikki and Liz in some field work. Larry even provides the clue that Amita's kidnappers have been whittling Burr puzzles.

Despite Charlie's engagement to Amita, it is discovered Larry turns down an opportunity to meet with the greatest minds of the world in

Las Vegas. After buying tickets to visit one of several locations, they fly out of his car, and as he goes to retrieve them, he spots several acres of land for sale with a view of the stars that makes him pause. He has continuously contemplated how the universe must taste like raspberries, as astronomers have discovered the 'fruity molecule' ethyl formate in interstellar space
.

At the end of "Devil Girl", Larry is seen hiking over a ridge toward Los Angeles a short time after Don passes the ridge on his motorcycle. He reveals himself in the following episode as he hides out in the Eppes garage. Larry has long unkempt hair and a beard, with Alan stating he has a "

Otto Bahnoff
.

Creation

The script called for Charlie to have a mentor at MIT.[2] Peter MacNicol was cast as Larry Fleinhardt.[3]

In episode 4x12, "Power" (air date 1-18-2008), Fleinhardt accepts an invitation to join

Theory of Everything. Co-writer Nick Falacci offered the following explanation for this plot development: "Like real-life physicists, Fleinhardt hit a roadblock trying to create an 11-dimensional supergravity theory. The search for an answer takes Fleinhardt to his particle physics roots and a cutting-edge study of extra-dimensional gravitons and the Higgs boson -- DZero and its sister detector collaboration, CDF, are leaders of that search at the energy frontier."[4]

Accommodation of MacNicol's appearance on 24

Peter MacNicol appeared in the first 11 episodes of season three before taking on his role on

TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello, they already developed a few story ideas to write Fleinhardt back into the script.[6] Fleinhardt became a regular again shortly after MacNicol's return to the show.[7]

The arc began with "Brutus" (air date 11-24-2006), with Fleinhardt leaving for the ISS at the end of episode 3x11, "Killer Chat" (air date 12-15-2006), and returning in "The Art of Reckoning" (air date 4-27-2007).

Reception

Early reception for Larry was positive. Larry was a favorite character for CBS executive Nina Tassler.[8] Tim Goodman, of the San Francisco Chronicle, liked MacNicol's performance as Larry, calling him "nutty" and "wonderful".[9] Toni Fitzgerald of Media Life Magazine stated that MacNicol, as Larry, "brings a welcome eccentric flavor to "Numb3rs" that's missing from "CSI" and its ilk".[10] Robert Bianco of USA Today called Larry "the show's most original character".[11] Creator and executive producer Cheryl Heuton acknowledged in an interview with TVGuide.com's Michael Ausiello that Larry is a fan favorite.[12]

At Larry's mention of DZero's research effort, real-life researchers with the project were pleasantly surprised.[13] DZero members have taken a fondness to the show's reference to their research and have created an office for the fictional particle physicist in the assembly building.[14][1]

References

  1. ^ Season 2, Episode 9, "Toxin"
  2. ^ The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) (March 10, 2004). "Development Update: March 10". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  3. ^ The Futon Critic Staff (TFC) (March 10, 2004). "Development Update: March 10". The Futon Critic. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  4. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
    . Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  5. ^ Eric Goldman (September 21, 2006). "Numb3rs: Exclusive IGN Set Visit". IGN.com. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
  6. ^ Michael Ausiello (January 3, 2007). "Will Peter MacNicol be coming ..." Today's Take: Our Take. TVGuide.com. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  7. ^ Michael Ausiello (June 21, 2007). "Exclusive: Numbers Adds Peter MacNicol Back Into Equation". Today's Take: Our Take. TVGuide.com. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  8. ^ Travis Fickett (April 3, 2008). "The Return of Numb3rs: Behind the Scenes". IGN.com. Retrieved September 2, 2009.
  9. ^ Tim Goodman (January 21, 2005). "No crime in getting another CBS whodunit". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  10. ^ Toni Fitzgerald (January 17, 2005). "'Numb3rs,' deft addition to cop genre". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  11. ^ Robert Bianco (January 20, 2005). "'Numb3rs' looks like a winn3r". USA Today. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  12. ^ Michael Ausiello (June 21, 2007). "Exclusive: Numbers Adds Peter MacNicol Back Into Equation". Today's Take: Our Take. TVGuide.com. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  13. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
    . Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  14. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
    . Retrieved August 6, 2009.
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