Alan Eppes is a fictional character in the CBS crime drama Numb3rs, played by Judd Hirsch. Alan is the father of the main characters, brothers Charlie and Don Eppes. First introduced in the pilot episode, the character of Alan received mixed reviews. Evolution over the series Alan Eppes is the amiable and kind father of Charlie and Don Eppes, and is particularly protective of his younger son, Charlie. He is a widower and retired city planner, and in "Waste Not", Charlie refers to him as an engineer. He keeps busy by getting involved in the personal lives and careers of his sons as well as volunteering for causes he believes in. It makes him proud to see his competitive sons working together. He knows their best friends and colleagues, most of whom address him respectfully as "Mr Eppes". 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. Don's superior in the FBI also reveals Alan was a "Leader" Eppes, involved in anti-national activities, which Alan vehemently denies. 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." He has been dating Dr. Mildred "Millie" Finch, Chair of the CalSci Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy Division. When he is being sued by neighboring residents of a tennis court because of its disruptive lighting he designed, the relationship proves invaluable as Alan even overcomes the problem involving his new job venture with the aid of Millie, who helps Alan to discover that he is blameless. She also notes where Charlie gets his interest in numbers after overlooking Alan's engineering analysis of the lighting system ("End of Watch"). He later makes a bet with her whether they can go without consumer products. For much of the first two seasons, his wife's name was never mentioned in the show, though she was referred to on the set as Margaret. He met Margaret when she was working for