Season 1, Episode 3
Date of airing: October 12, 1996 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 17.2 million viewers, 11.8/22 in Households
Written by: Bob Brush, Alex Taub
Directed by: Randall Zisk
Was this episode trying to tell me that fate was playing a role in the show’s universe, becoming its central point of mythology? Chuck couldn’t escape being the hero of Chicago and helping a woman giving birth to one or two babies, which means he was always destined to have that picture taken of him and to become a better person for a hot minute, even if behind the shut elevator doors it wasn’t him who assisted in the birth. But when fate starts playing a role in this show, that could mean a lot for the writers. First of all, they could have been playing with that premise, teasing that there is a higher power directing Gary’s heroic actions and that he will always be receiving tomorrow’s paper, whether he wants to or not. It could also mean that the show, if it chooses to explain where the paper is coming from and why Gary is receiving it, would go into a more fantastical direction, or maybe the writers determined not to give a damn and keep the show grounded instead, because creating a fantasy series is too complex than just writing simple family-friendly Saturday night drama TV. Getting no explanation as to the background of the paper means you don’t have to think much about that backstory, let alone have to create an arc around it. Although I do believe it’s necessary at one point to go there and explain some stuff. After all, the paper is the only fantastical element of the show, and not shining a bright light on it is going to be extremely lazy.
I loved that Chuck was front and center during this episode, that it was his hour to shine, and that he was not such a big asshat for once. He might only be interested in making some money out of the paper, but it also turns out he is a solid human being, even if just for a day. Maybe a scared human being. Freaked out for sure. But at least he wasn’t going crazy and manic when he realized he was walking straight into his fate without being a sexist prick, when he realized he was in the elevator with a pregnant woman and decided to make jokes about being a pregnant woman. Chuck is an asshat every once in a while, but he is a friendly asshat, and maybe the events in this episode have established that Gary can trust Chuck with a mission to save a life or two. Maybe Gary doesn’t need to do all of this by himself after Chuck managed to stand on his own two feet at the end. Although let’s not forget that Chuck didn’t even do anything. But is falling into unconsciousness better than running away from being a hero? Is this an argument this episode was making?
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| If you cross the street, you will help deliver twins! |
The writers also tried a few different things with this episode. It started with Gary walking through town with Chuck, having a discussion about movie night, and during every minute Gary is preventing a bad thing from happening, whether it’s a robbery, a kid becoming a runaway, or a politician becoming the center of a sex scandal. That sort of reminded me of the good days of ER (the first six seasons anyway), during which the doctors treated patients and then left the exam room to enter another and treat more patients, with the former patient never being seen or heard of again, simply because it’s part of that show’s premise. Sometimes the doctors just need to treat a little cold or bandage someone’s foot. In EARLY EDITION, sometimes Gary just needs to hold a horny politician back from meeting his date for the night and it's a story good enough for a single scene right before the intro credits. There is no need to hear more from that politician, and there is no reason to even remember this ever happened, as Gary will go save a life that will have meaning, as it’s being the focal point of that episode’s narrative.
By the way, about that woman Gary kept seeing... She clearly was a part of the narrative about fate in the episode, as his fate was to miss her every time she showed up in his peripheral vision, including the moment he was sitting at the fountain, believing he has missed her, only for the viewer to realize that she was still there, only to be missed by Gary yet again. He was a bit idiotic about how he handled the situation when he was asking a florist of all people whether the woman was married or not. But the story showed that Gary can be truly distracted (by an attractive woman, of course), which means if something bigger and larger is at stake, will Gary be able to pull all focus on his heroic action, or will he be again distracted by a pretty blonde walking through the streets of Chicago, because Gary is now a person living the single life, which means randomly hooking up with strangers for a night and then never calling again? Since Gary’s now ex-wife isn’t calling for a quick nooner any longer, it means Gary is destined to ... never have a relationship again. Does it mean the paper doesn’t want him to be in a relationship? Is that part of the fate narrative as well?
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| A moment of happiness and joy in this crazy world. |
Plus points for Cynthia Nixon guest-starring here, because she made
for a good fake pregnant woman during the final third of the episode. It
almost excuses her for the rather dull bid she made for New York
Governor in 2018, which for some reason I decided to follow, even if the
outcome of that primary was crystal clear from the beginning. She also
reminded me here to start thinking about whether I should be watching
SEX AND THE CITY or not, because the show, even though I watched four
seasons of it when it aired on German television, is a huge hole in my
pop-cultural mind, as I have forgotten absolutely everything about the
series. Her appearance here reminded me of the good old days when
celebrities were still just doing their jobs and not lambasting their
fans with single-minded opinions on social media. Sometimes I miss that
era. Of social media not existing, I mean.
