Mathnet
| Mathnet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime-Drama |
| Developed by |
Janette Webb George E. Swink |
| Written by |
David D. Connell Jim Thurman |
| Directed by |
Charles S. Dubin James F. Golway Karl Epstein Jesus Salvador Treviño Bill Schreiner |
| Starring |
Beverly Leech (1987–1990; 19 episodes) Joe Howard (1987–1992; entire series) Toni DiBuono (1991–1992; 11 episodes) James Earl Jones (1987–1988, 1991; 5 episodes) Emilo Del Pozo (1990–1992; 16 episodes) Mary Watson (1987–1990; 13 episodes) Bari K. Willerford (1990–1992; 16 episodes) |
| Opening theme | "Danger Ahead" |
| Composer(s) |
Gerald Fried John Rodby (Conducted and arranged by) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
Los Angeles (1987–1990) New York City (1990–1992) |
| Editor(s) | Ed Brennan |
| Camera setup |
Film (Principal Photography) Videotape (Post-Production) Single-camera setup |
| Running time | Varies |
| Production company(s) |
Children's Television Workshop The Webb Organization Turtleback Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | PBS |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Audio format |
Mono (1987–1990) Stereo (1991–1992) |
| Original release | January 26, 1987 – October 23, 1992 |
Mathnet is a segment on the children's television show Square One Television.
Premise
Mathnet is a parody of Dragnet, in which the main characters are mathematicians who use their mathematical skills to solve various crimes and mysteries in the city. Each segment of the series aired on one episode of Square One, a production of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) aimed at teaching math skills to young viewers. Five segments made up an episode (one for each weekday), with suspense building at the end of each segment.
Both Mathnet and Square One went off the air in 1994 (it was rerun until then after the final 1992 season was completed), reappearing from 1999–2003 on the cable television network Noggin, a joint venture of Nickelodeon and CTW. However, only 65 episodes were leased by the Noggin network. Mathnet segments also aired on Phred on Your Head Show (one of Noggin's original programs).[1]
Characters
- Kate Monday (Beverly Leech) - A parody of Jack Webb's Dragnet character Joe Friday, Kate usually does not show her emotions when on the job and tackles almost every situation with a calm and rational mind. She appears in Seasons 1, 2, and 3.
- George Frankly (Joe Howard) - The partner of Kate Monday and later Pat Tuesday, George takes his job seriously but is frequently prone to fits of comical mishaps and immature reactions. He appears in all five seasons. He has a wife named Martha who he often mentions but is never seen or heard.
- Pat Tuesday (Toni DiBuono) - George's second partner, appearing in Seasons 4 and 5 to replace Kate (the reason for her leaving Mathnet being unrevealed). Like Kate, Pat shares the deadpan mannerisms and no-nonsense attitude of Joe Friday.
Los Angeles cast
- Thad Green (James Earl Jones) - The Chief of the Los Angeles precinct where Kate and George works. He briefly appears in Season 4.
- Debbie Williams (Mary Watson) - Technical analyst at the Los Angeles precinct, she is frequently called upon to process data obtained during Mathnet investigations.
New York City cast
- Joe Greco (Emilio Del Pozo) - Captain of the New York City precinct, he is the man who George, Kate, and later Pat report to when they move to New York City starting in Season 3.
- Benny Pill (Bari K. Willerford) - An undercover NYPD officer, he is Mathnet's semi-regular backup support.
Guest stars
A number of well-known actors made guest appearances on this show. Among them were
- Edward Winter
- Eve McVeagh
- Yeardley Smith
- Dick Wilson
- William Windom
- James Karen
- Kenneth Mars
- Henry Jones
- Kevin McCarthy
- Madge Sinclair
- Geoffrey Lewis
- Russell Johnson
- McLean Stevenson
- Dick Sargent
- Jack Riley
- Marcia Wallace
- Estelle Harris
- Tammy Grimes
- Arnold Stang
- Paul Dooley
- Maddie Corman
- John Michael Higgins
- Jayne Meadows
- Bob Arbogast
- Melba Moore
- Weird Al Yankovic
- John Moschitta, Jr.
- Wayne Knight
- Al Lewis
- Betty Buckley
In addition, real life L.A.P.D. officers Sam Salazar and Steve Fellman have also appeared as themselves, as did head writers David D. Connell and Jim Thurman as various characters.
Math and science
Real principles of math and science and mathematical tools used by the detectives to solve crimes include:
- Alphanumerics ("The Case of the Unnatural")
- Fibonacci sequence and modular arithmetic (see also Pisano period) ("The Case of the Willing Parrot")
- Kinematics ("The Problem of the Missing Baseball")
- Chromatic scale ("The Problem of the Passing Parade")
- Displacement of fluids ("The Problem of the Trojan Hamburger")
- Hamiltonian path ("The Case of the Smart Dummy")
- Process of elimination ("The Case of the Great Car Robbery", "The View from the Rear Terrace")
- Number patterns ("The Case of the Missing Air")
- Bar charts and line charts ("The Case of the Purloined Policies", "The Case of the Great Car Robbery")
Development and Production
After a successful first season, production began on six new episodes for the second season. By the time production ended on the third season and its six episodes in 1989, Beverly Leech (Kate Monday) left, and was replaced by a new character named Pat Tuesday, played by Toni DiBuono. Production on the first six episodes with the new character commenced in 1990, and ended in 1991, in time for Square One TV's fourth season. Production on the final season and its five episodes began taping in 1991, and the last episode aired in 1992.
During production, the background music also changed. Originally, it had a synth score. But gradually, as the series progressed, it was replaced with an orchestral score.
The building where Mathnet was filmed in Los Angeles is located on 6045 York Boulevard. It now houses a museum about the LAPD.[2][3]
Home video release and reruns
In 1991, GPN released five episodes from the first two seasons on VHS ("The Problem of the Missing Baseball", "The Trial of George Frankly", "The Problem of the Dirty Money", "The Case of the Missing Air", and "The View from the Rear Terrace").
Around the same time, select PBS stations combined parts of an episode to air in primetime. This was done primarily for seasons 3-5 (New York City era), although at least one omnibus from the Leech era was also broadcast. These versions were re-edited so that they would come in at just under an hour long, featured other segments from Square One TV as "commercials", and newly created end credits, among other differences. Two of the primetime airings were also commercially released as VHS tapes from Republic Pictures in 1992 ("Despair in Monterey Bay" and "The Case of the Unnatural").
A Mathnet comic briefly appeared in 3-2-1 Contact magazine.
Episode list
Season 1 (1987)
| Number in series | Number in season | Title | Directed by | Original air dates | Production codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Problem of the Missing Monkey" | Charles S. Dubin | January 26–30, 1987 | |
| 2 | 2 | "The Problem of the Missing Baseball" | Charles S. Dubin | February 2–6, 1987 | |
| 3 | 3 | "The Problem of the Passing Parade" | Charles S. Dubin | February 9–13, 1987 | |
| 4 | 4 | "The Trial of George Frankly" | Charles S. Dubin | February 16–20, 1987 | |
| 5 | 5 | "The Problem of the Dirty Money" | Charles S. Dubin | February 23–27, 1987 | |
| 6 | 6 | "The Mystery of the Maltese Pigeon" | Charles S. Dubin | March 2–6, 1987 | |
| 7 | 7 | "The Problem of the Trojan Hamburger" | Charles S. Dubin | March 9–13, 1987 |
Season 2 (1988)
| Number in series | Number in season | Title | Directed by | Original air dates | Production codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | "The Case of the Willing Parrot" | Charles S. Dubin | September 19–23, 1988 | |
| 9 | 2 | "The Case of the Great Car Robbery" | James F. Golway | September 26–30, 1988 | |
| 10 | 3 | "The Case of the Deceptive Data" | Charles S. Dubin | October 3–7, 1988 | |
| 11 | 4 | "The View from the Rear Terrace" | Charles S. Dubin | October 10–14, 1988 | |
| 12 | 5 | "The Case of the Missing Air" | Karl Epstein | October 17–21, 1988 | |
| 13 | 6 | "The Case of the Map With a Gap" | James F. Golway | October 24–28, 1988 |
Season 3 (1990)
| Number in series | Number in season | Title | Directed by | Original air dates | Production codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "The Case of the Ersatz Earthquake" | Jesus Salvador Treviño | January 15–19, 1990 | |
| 15 | 2 | "The Case of the Swami Scam" | Charles S. Dubin | January 22–26, 1990 | |
| 16 | 3 | "The Case of the Parking Meter Massacre" | Charles S. Dubin | January 29–February 2, 1990 | |
| 17 | 4 | "The Case of the Unkidnapping" | Charles S. Dubin | February 5–9, 1990 | |
| 18 | 5 | "The Case of the Strategic Weather Initiative" | Charles S. Dubin | February 12–16, 1990 | |
| 19 | 6 | "The Case of the Masked Avenger" | Charles S. Dubin | February 19–23, 1990 |
Season 4 (1991)
| Number in series | Number in season | Title | Directed by | Original air dates | Production codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 1 | "The Case of the Unnatural" | Jesus Salvador Treviño | September 30–October 4, 1991 | |
| 21 | 2 | "Despair in Monterey Bay" | Jesus Salvador Treviño | October 7–11, 1991 | |
| 22 | 3 | "The Case of the Calpurnian Kugel Caper" | Jesus Salvador Treviño | October 14–18, 1991 | |
| 23 | 4 | "The Case of the Galling Stones" | Bill Schreiner | October 21–25, 1991 | |
| 24 | 5 | "The Case of the Poconos Paradise" | Charles S. Dubin | October 28–November 1, 1991 | |
| 25 | 6 | "The Case of the Purloined Policies" | Charles S. Dubin | November 4–8, 1991 |
Season 5 (1992)
| Number in series | Number in season | Title | Directed by | Original air dates | Production codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 1 | "The Case of the Mystery Weekend" | Bill Schreiner | September 21–25, 1992 | |
| 27 | 2 | "The Case of the Smart Dummy" | Bill Schreiner | September 28–October 2, 1992 | |
| 28 | 3 | "The Case: Off the Record" | Bill Schreiner | October 5–9, 1992 | |
| 29 | 4 | "The Case of the Bermuda Triangle" | Jesus Salvador Treviño | October 12–16, 1992 | |
| 30 | 5 | "The Case of the Piggy Banker" | Bill Schreiner | October 19–23, 1992 |
References
- ↑ "Square One TV Episode 211". TV.com. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ Los Angeles Police Museum
- ↑ "Actual Location". Google Maps.