Larry Fleinhardt

"Within the small sphere of our lives we can stare into the past, but all we can really change is our future."

- Larry Fleinhardt, Arrow of time

Lawrence Fleinhardt (Peter MacNicol) is, in the words of Charlie Eppes in Robin Hood, one of "the two great adult influences in my life", along with his father.

Backstory
Larry is a cosmologist by profession and a professor, but like Charlie is endlessly intrigued by life in all its permutations, and frequently offers essential insight or a vital moment of refocus. Larry holds a doctorate (or more) and is a professor at CalSci, having (a baker's dozen years before the series starts) been Charlie's instructor when the teenage Mr. Eppes graduated from high school at age 13 and set foot on campus. Unlike many in his position, Larry never seems remotely threatened by the fact that, in certain areas at least, his former pupil has outstripped him.

Personality
Larry is a complex man, crammed with quirks, such as his predilection for white food, but often serves as the counterweight to Don's pragmatism, reminding Charlie of the need to broaden his scope of inquiry, and look beyond the immediate, and obviously necessitous. Larry spends the time from the end of Killer Chat to The Art of Reckoning ticking a big item off his bucket list - in space.

Megan Reeves
Larry has a fluctuating, and reciprocated, romantic interest in Megan for several years, although by the end of her stay they appear to have settled for just being very good friends.

Trivia
Larry is the holder of the "Walter T. Merrick Chair in Theoretical Physics" at CalSci, as he states in "Disturbed". When Alan decides to go 'back to school', he finds Larry a very useful sounding board, as well as a companion whose interests do not automatically end in beer.