Alan Eppes is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama Numb3rs, played by Judd Hirsch.
Also in Season 2, in episode "Protest", Eppes reveals that he was also an anti-war activist thirty-five years ago, alongside Matthew "Matt" Stirling, the leader of the movement and accused in the ROTC center bombing.
Alan worries about his sons being able to settle down and have a family, especially given their problems in maintaining relationships with women for extended periods of time.
Recently he had been on his first date since his wife's death, with a caterer he was fond of, and has once more taken up work, investing in a consulting firm with Stan Fisher, which is related to "all his years in urban infrastructure."
She also notes where Charlie gets his interest in numbers after overlooking Alan's engineering analysis of the lighting system ("End of Watch").
Alan held onto his wife's clothes, which he hid in the garage, despite Don helping him pack it six months before.
Don confronted him as well, but both were criticized for giving advice as unmarried men and Mr. Eppes finally decided to get rid of the clothing on his own.
He was astonished when his son noticed that some of her other compositions were dated after the birth of their children as he thought she had put her music work aside for her law career to help the family.
Alan has considered moving out of his son's house in order to live alone (something he has not done in forty years) and accomplish things on his own, but was rather hesitant to tell Charlie.
More predicaments in his living arrangements are revealed when a break-in at his precious Craftsman home causes him grief ("Pandora's Box").
He also enjoys an occasional game of chess with Larry and was surprised at his friend for his love interest in Megan Reeves and his nomadic lifestyle.
His recent involvement in his sons' lives has been extended to aiding the FBI more frequently with his expertise in urban planning ("Under Pressure") and traffic engineering ("Money for Nothing").
Alan is auditing a mechanical engineering class at CalSci for fun, but Charlie is disappointed that he could not interest him in advanced mathematics after all these years ("Velocity").
Being very busy, Charlie fails in helping to teach his father the engineering material, as all he does is solve the thermodynamic problem set from this class for him.
At the start of season six, while offering David a chance to vent any frustrations about his promotion, Alan hints at a change in his financial status.
In an interview with IGN.com’s Travis Fickett, creator/executive producer Cheryl Heuton said that, during the first season of the show, she told people that law enforcement officials having a home life is more realistic than constantly working on the crime.
Melanie McFarland, TV critic for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, stated that Alan was not an individual character.
[6] Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle, however, said that Hirsch’s presence, although not having a large role in the pilot, “adds value”.
[7] Robert Bianco of USA Today stated that Alan was “a subdued, funnier version of his [Hirsch’s] meddling dad from Independence Day”.