Analysis / Numberjacks

The Numberjacks Themselves

Society

Numberjack society works a lot like human society. They pretty much have the same morality as humans (no Blue-and-Orange Morality for instance), and have a lot of the same traditions, such as Christmas.

One major difference between Numberjack and human society is that Numberjack children can live independently and work in jobs, and they don't seem to have currency since the Numberjacks aren't seen getting paid for their missions (although it's possible that adult Numberjacks work in paying jobs, though if they do, their jobs are a lot different from human jobs, since in "Almost Human", they mention getting a typical job as a human thing to do).

Three seems to be the lower age limit for going on standard missions but is still considered pretty young for going on them. The upper age limit seems to be seven, and once you reach that age, you go on different sorts of missions.

It could also be that Numberjacks start their education earlier, as evidenced by Four's status as a Mr Fix It, but he could also just be a Child Prodigy, which is further evidenced by the fact that Two and Three are only learning to count, which is normal for toddlers.

The Numberjacks aren't expected to wear clothes, but that's understandable since there's nothing that needs to be covered up and they'd look pretty weird in clothes.

Numberjacks interact with humans on a regular basis— the agents are all human, and they've occasionally spoken to humans on missions. Despite this, the family whose sofa they live in isn't supposed to see them and it's unclear why. They occasionally make references to Jasper "not minding" seeing them launch, so maybe they're afraid the family would react badly.

Biology

We know very little about Numberjack biology, but we do know that:

• They apparently eat and drink, as they're heard commenting positively on food and drink.
• Nobody Poops is played straight, with bathrooms not seen and baby characters going naked.
• They have similar sleep schedules as humans, with Zero and One being Sleepyheads, Two needing a nap, and everyone else going to bed at night.
• They can change their sizes— but only to an extent, since in "One Won", One needed brain gain to grow big.
• They have their own disease called lurgi, which features in "The Dreaded Lurgi". Its symptoms are inability to jump high, headache, body aches, general malaise, lethargy, giddiness, and affected perception. It seems to be contagious, as Three makes a reference to "catching" it.
• They can jump from high heights without being injured, although they can still be injured by falling.
• They have brains, as evidenced by the brain gain and the fact that in one episode, Three teases Four for having a smaller brain than her.
• Their numbers correspond to their ages, but gender and colour seem to have no meaning.^note All of the even numbers are male and the odd numbers are female, however, this seems to be a coincidence, as when Three turned into a four in one episode, she did not also turn into a boy.

The Meanies

Most of the episodes have the conflict be caused by one of five "meanies" (antagonists). These are:

The Numbertaker

A silent man in a white coat and top hat. He mainly takes things, hence the name, though occasionally he creates numbers and calls himself the Numbermaker. Despite the name, numbers aren't the only things he takes. Signs that he is the problem-causer is if:

• Things are being stolen or created, though that's not a given since the other meanies occasionally steal and creating unwanted things is common among meanies.
• Things are being taken with a net, vacuum, or hook instead of simply disappearing.
• Also, his Leitmotif sometimes plays before he's revealed, although that's not a clue to the Numberjacks or agents themselves.

He's the least likely of the meanies to be physically sent away or destroyed— he's generally defeated by being made to give up.

The Problem Blob

A green, slimy blob who makes gurgling noises and has an eye on a stalk in his mouth. Unlike the other meanies, he has no specific thing he likes to do— he just causes whatever trouble he can. He also has the most obvious tell out of the meanies — the affected person or thing will have a green blob of slime on it.

The Puzzler

A floating head who speaks in rhyme, wears glasses, and has a red beard. Like the Problem Blob, the problems he causes are pretty random, but they usually involve things being in the wrong position, and they always take the form of some kind of puzzle, hence the name. In addition to causing trouble with the citizens, the Puzzler likes to trap Numberjacks inside orange bubbles that come out of his mouth and have them solve puzzles in exchange for their freedom.

He also has an area called the "pattern place", which looks like an oddly-decorated living room and, like his bubbles, he likes to trap Numberjacks there and only set them free if they solve a puzzle. It is pretty hard to tell if he's the one causing the problem without actually seeing him, since he doesn't have any "tells", like the Numbertaker or Problem Blob (save for one episode, in which his bubbles were seen before him).

The Shape Japer

A deranged, flying, purple sphere who sometimes turns into a cube. She behaves mostly on instinct and speaks in either broken grammar or a strange language. Like her name suggests, the problems she causes usually have to do with shapes. Signs that she's the troublemaker are:

• Things are changing shape.
• All the affected objects are the same shape.
• She can be heard laughing.

Spooky Spoon

A narcissistic, flying, pink plastic spoon in a yellow necklace. Most of the problems she causes are for egotistical reasons such as wanting to stand out or simply because she is bored, and they tend to involve "mixing things up". She might be the antagonist of the episode if:

• She can be heard laughing.
• Things are happening in the wrong order.
• Things are being swapped around.

The Sofa

Rooms

The four main rooms in the sofa are:

• The Control Room: An area which houses the "diamond screen" (where agents call in), the main view screen (where things are monitored from), the "room screen" (where the living room is monitored) controls used to ring the doorbell and the brain gain machine. It is always occupied by at least one Numberjack during the day, and during a mission, all of the main Numberjacks will be in the control room helping the one who is outside.
• The Cosy Room: A room with bookshelves, toys, a TV, and beanbag chairs. Mainly for entertainment.
• The Gym: A room full of slides, climbing frames, and games (such as the "direction machine" and the "hover dice"). Like the Cosy Room, it is mainly for entertainment although sometimes it's used for exercise or training practice.
• An unnamed room that contains the launcher.

Other rooms include the bedrooms, the corridors, and wherever the bigger Numberjacks work from.

Assorted Machines and Toys

• The Brain Gain Machine: A purple machine which is activated by a button and serves to make brain gain, which is a purple, electricity-like substance made from the combined thoughts of the Numberjacks, agents, and viewers that serves to correct problems. The brain gain is created by repeating a phrase while having one or more Numberjacks jump inside the machine, occasionally with objects to help them. Phrasing is very important as sometimes the brain gain will do something that goes against what the Numberjacks wanted but is within the confines of what was said, and continuing to make brain gain even after the problem is solved and trying to make brain gain while something else is going on (such as the ice skating in "Counting Down to Christmas") are also bad ideas. Generally, when the brain gain is sent to the Numberjack on the mission, they can feel if something is awry.
• The Launcher: The launcher is what allows Numberjacks to leave the sofa and is accessed via a slide. First, the Numberjack is scanned (a promotional video reveals that the purpose of this scanning is to determine who is going out), and then the correct number lights up on a screen, then a machine picks up a compartment that the Numberjack jumps into. Once a button in the control room is pressed, the Numberjack is launched and turned into a cloud of dust (in a promotional video, Six describes this process as being "particulated" and compares it to being tickled) and can only materialise on their number. If a number is not found within a certain amount of time, the Numberjack will disintegrate and eventually materialise somewhere random, but will not have the ability to return home without assistance. Once launched, a Numberjack can choose when to turn back into dust and arrive home. The launcher also has a setting which causes Numberjacks to teleport out, be frozen in place, and cause trouble, as revealed in "Zero the Hero".
• The Bloop Ball and the Boing Ball: Two toy balls, one of which floats and makes blooping noises and one of which bounces.
• The Jump Pad: Basically, a stamper device meets a trampoline. You jump on it, then land on paper, making an imprint of yourself.
• Hover Dice: Voice-activated, flying dice.
• Thinky-jump: A game where you match pictures by jumping.
• Beautiful Things: A collection of sparkly objects Three admires.
• Slidey Shapes: Flat shapes that are kept in the Cosy Room.
• The Beeper: A timer that beeps for every second.

The Agents

All of the agents are human, and they all have British accents and can show up in person, suggesting that the Numberjacks only recruit people within their area. They're also all kids, and while the out-of-universe reason is so that kids feel empowered, the in-universe reason is unknown.

In the "mission to learn" Licensed Game, you play as an agent-in-training and learn how to recognise the Numberjacks, spot meanies, etc, but it's hard to tell if this game is canon since it also gives you a bedroom in the sofa while in the series there is no evidence of humans living in the sofa.

Despite being told to call the Numberjacks at the end of each episode, the viewers are generally not supposed to be agents.