Mathnet

Mathnet

Mathnet is a segment on the children's television show Square One Television, of which five seasons were produced. This parody of Dragnet featured detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department who solved mysteries using their mathematical skills. There were two main characters: detectives Kate Monday and George Frankly. Mary Watson also had a regular role as the duo's technical analyst, Debbie Williams. The third season had the show's setting moved to New York City. Beginning in the fourth season, Kate Monday was replaced by Pat Tuesday. James Earl Jones played a recurring role as Chief Thad Green. He also briefly appears in season 4 and indicates he knows Pat Tuesday. When the duo was transferred to New York, Captain Joe Greco became their new boss and undercover NYPD officer Benny Pill became their semi-regular backup support.

Seasons

1. The Problem Of The Missing Baseball

Air Date: 1987-01-26

Burbank, summer 1985. Young Howie and his friends have lost a baseball belonging to Howie's father. It's a unique baseball in that it has Babe Ruth's autograph. Kate and George determine, through mathematical and physical laws, that the ball entered a house. Apparently Mrs. McGregor left her door open when she left for the store. So the valuable baseball is in Mrs. McGregor's house. When Kate and George call her the next day, they learn her house has been stolen.

2. The Problem Of The Missing Monkey

Air Date: 1987-02-02

Los Angeles, 1986. A grocery store is robbed of 20 pounds of bananas, the first of several heists apparently done by a gorilla. When the L.A. Zoo reports a gorilla missing, Kate and George are convinced he is the guilty party. Only the gorilla's friend, a teenage girl named Jane, stands to the gorilla's defense.

3. The Problem Of The Passing Parade

Air Date: 1987-02-09

Santa Monica, 1986. After the Mathnetters help estimate the crowd at a parade honoring rock star and Burbank native son Steve Stringbean, they get word Stringbean has been kidnapped. His buddy Rimshot helps Kate and George immensely on the pursuit of the kidnappers. One strange lead is a badly-written march called 75 Trombones.

4. The Trial Of George Frankly

Air Date: 1987-02-16

Los Angeles, May 1986. George Frankly comes back from a week in the Great North Woods. He has just heard of a robbery at the Next to the Last National Bank three days before. When he and Kate look at the bank's videotape recording of the robbery, they see the impossible: George is doing the heist. Evidence piles up against George as his preliminary hearing looms. George knows he is innocent, as does Kate. But can they prove it?

5. The Problem Of The Dirty Money

Air Date: 1987-02-23

Glendale, 1986. Three truck drivers call within six hours to report that their dump trucks full of dirt have been stolen. Initially, this ""Case of the Missing Dirt"" turns up a long-lost tale about Merle Fish, the man who pulled off the Finks Armored Truck Robbery in 1965. Rumor had it he had an accomplice who took the money and left the country. This is all explained in a book written by the fishy Norman Mailbag.

6. The Mystery of the Maltese Pigeon

Air Date: 1987-03-02

7. The Problem of the Trojan Hamburger

Air Date: 1987-03-09

L.A. County, April 1985. Two crimes start separately, but merge a few days later. Multi-talented Hans Ballpeen is kidnapped for one of his special skills. Before they can bear down on this case, Kate and George must help with the delivery of an oak hamburger to the mansion of tycoon Orson Kane. Within a day, Kane reports that one of his prized possessions, the Despair Diamond, has been stolen.

1. The Case of the Great Car Robbery

Air Date: 1988-09-19

Los Angeles, September 1988. For two months, the number of stolen cars in the area has skyrocketed. An estimated 20,000 cars have gone missing–permanently. Amidst all the data, Kate and George do find certain ""preferences"" in what kind of cars are stolen. But can they figure out what has happened to the cars?

2. The Case of the Deceptive Data

Air Date: 1988-10-03

Los Angeles, 1988. A shocking development in the rapidly-deteriorating TV scene: The Mike Pliers Show has been canceled. The leader of the Mike Pliers Fan Club wants to know the truth behind its axing. With the Mathnetters at her side, she learns that it all comes down to ratings and Nielsen boxes. But these numbers don't add up to what they say.

3. The View from the Rear Terrace

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Los Angeles, 1988. Kate is out with an injured foot, leaving George Frankly to investigate a strange set of pranks. One by one, a different brand of bank falls prey to a prank, and the hoodlum responsible leaves a poetic note on a bank slip. But there's more to the caper than that, as Kate telephones in to say she has looked through the rear terrace. She has seen someone working on plastique bombs.

4. The Case of the Willing Parrot

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5. The Case of the Missing Air

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6. The Case of the Map With A Gap

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1. The Case of the Ersatz Earthquake

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Los Angeles, fall 1988. For some time, a ""prognosticator"" named Sybil Divine has been exposing her apparent ability to predict earthquakes. She intends to extort money from L.A. Mayor Quail [sic] with her big scam. Everyone in town is convinced she can predict the big quake that will rock Southern California within the next half-century. Assistant Chief Rosa Morales knows better, as do Kate and George. They must prove it.

2. The Case of the Swami Scam

Air Date: 1990-01-13

New York City, November 1988. Kate and George have just moved in to the Mathnet division at NYPD, with a new chief and a new ally, cabdriver Benny Pill. As they are fresh off ""The Case of the Ersatz Earthquake,"" Kate and George are well-prepared to hear about another prognosticator. This guy worked long hours to swindle five prominent city lawyers out of a few thousand bucks by predicting the results of a horse race.

3. The Case of the Parking Meter Massacre

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4. The Case of the Unkidnapping

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5. The Case of the Strategic Weather Initiative

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6. The Case of the Masked Avenger

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1. The Case of the Unnatural

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Rivervale, New Jersey, 1991. In the minor leagues, a journeyman baseball player attempts to attract every major club's attention. Roy (Lefty) Cobb is hitting a ball at 143 miles per hour for a wicked batting average. A sneaky agent is following him everywhere, or, more correctly, Cobb is following him. Pat Tuesday, George's new partner, gets to meet Cobb on the field, thanks to his good friend, who plays a game of number sequences with him. But those aren't number sequences. They are codes.

2. Despair in Monterey Bay

Air Date: 1992-09-07

3. The Case of the Calpurnian Kugel Caper

Air Date: 1991-09-23

4. The Case of the Galling Stones

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5. The Case of the Poconos Paradise

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6. The Case of the Purloined Policies

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1. The Case of the Mystery Weekend

Air Date: 1992-09-21

2. The Case of the Smart Dummy

Air Date: 1992-09-28

3. The Case: Off The Record

Air Date: 1992-10-05

4. The Case of the Bermuda Triangle

Air Date: 1992-10-12

5. The Case of the Piggy Banker

Air Date: 1992-10-19

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Rating

7.0/10

Release Date

1987-01-26

Episodes

30 (5 seasons)

Status

Ended

Cast

Production Companies

Children's Television Workshop

Children's Television Workshop

The Entertainment Group

TurtleBack Productions