Mathnet
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Mathnet was a segment on the PBS series Square One Television, and was named after the police station sub-department of the same name. Mathnet is a sub-department of the local LAPD police station. A parody of Jack Webb's Dragnet, the main characters on Mathnet are mathematicians who use...
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Square One Television Wiki
Mathnet was a segment on the PBS series Square One Television, and was named after the police station sub-department of the same name.

Premise[]

Mathnet is a sub-department of the local LAPD police station.

Background[]

A parody of Jack Webb's Dragnet, the main characters on Mathnet are mathematicians who use mathematical skills to solve various crimes and mysteries throughout the city. Each segment of the series aired on one episode of Square One, and five segments made up an episode of Mathnet.

Cast[]

CHARACTER CAST DESCRIPTION LOCATION(S) George Frankly Joe Howard George is a mathematician who is the also the partner of Kate Monday and later Pat Tuesday. He has a wife named Martha who he often mentions, but she is never seen or heard. LA/NY Kate Monday Beverly Leech A parody of Dragnet character Joe Friday, Kate is a mathematician who 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. LA/NY Pat Tuesday Toni DiBuono Possessing the deadpan mannerisms and no-nonsense attitude of Joe Friday used by George's first partner, Kate, George's second partner, Pat, appears in Seasons 4 and 5 to replace Kate upon the show's move to New York City. NY Police Chief Thad Green James Earl Jones Chief Green is the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department who briefly appears in Season 4. LA Captain Joe Greco Emilio Del Pozo Captain of the New York City precinct, Captain Greco is the man who George, Kate, and later Pat report to when they move to New York City starting in Season 3. NY Sergeant Bill Dietrich - NY Officer Benny Pill Bari K. Willerford An undercover NYPD officer, Benny Pill is Mathnet's semi-regular backup support. NY Debbie Williams Mary Watson Debbie the the technical analyst at the LAPD division where Kate and George works. She is frequently called upon to process data obtained during Mathnet investigations. LA

Guest Stars[]

Several well-known actors made guest appearances on the show, including:

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 LAPD officers Sam Salazar and Steve Fellman have also appeared as themselves, as did head writers David D. Connell and Jim Thurman as various characters.

Episodes[]

To see an episode guide of Mathnet, click here.

Principles[]

The principles of math and science and the tools used by the detectives to solve crimes include:

Alphanumerics ("The Case of the Unnatural")

Bar charts and line charts ("The Case of the Purloined Policies", "The Case of the Great Car Robbery")

Chromatic scale ("The Problem of the Passing Parade")

Displacement of fluids ("The Problem of the Trojan Hamburger")

Fibonacci sequence and modular arithmetic ("The Case of the Willing Parrot")

Hamiltonian path ("The Case of the Smart Dummy")

Kinematics ("The Problem of the Missing Baseball")

Number patterns ("The Case of the Missing Air")

Process of elimination ("The Case of the Great Car Robbery", "The View from the Rear Terrace")

Trivia[]