diff --git a/datascience/tables.py b/datascience/tables.py
index bd93b6dec..2c0602540 100644
--- a/datascience/tables.py
+++ b/datascience/tables.py
@@ -5709,7 +5709,8 @@ def item(self, index_or_label):
                 index = index_or_label
             else:
                 index = self._table.column_index(index_or_label)
-            return self[index]
+	    value = self[index]
+    	    return value.item() if hasattr(value, 'item') else value
 
         def __repr__(self):
             return 'Row({})'.format(', '.join('{}={}'.format(