Date of airing: December 21, 1996 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 9.1/16 in Households
Here is another example of how the show was turned into a weekend family entertainment product: The story of a serial bomber turned out to be tamed and toned-down, just so it can be part of a PG-rated weekend primetime show. The tension of the story (a mad bomber terrorizing Chicago) was anything but utilized, especially when the premise was relocated from random places in Chicago to the standing set of McGinty’s Bar, where the mad bomber not only showed up for some inexplicable reason, but also turned out to not be mad at all. He was just crazy, mentally cracked and ready to give up, but with a bomb and with the inability to pull the trigger and blow everyone up with him in the center of it all.
Any other show would have turned this idea into an hour-long thriller, or into a hostage situation, during which the police outside would try their best to negotiate with the mad bomber, while Gary, who is inside the bar, is doing his best to diffuse the situation. But on EARLY EDITION, a show for the entire family, the premise of a mad bomber was a way to make Detective Crumb look like a lazy butthead and a fool by not listening to the tips of a concerned citizen, so that the scene in the bar is more absurd and weird than horrific and tense. Also, the mad bomber seemed like a nutcase himself, only bringing pain and torture and fear to the people for whatever reason, because the writers decided to forego his motives, since this is still a family show, and delivering any kind of motive would turn this episode into something else that isn’t suited for a family audience.
 |
| A typical day in Chicago in December: Take a rest on the ice, read the paper. |
In a way, this hour wants to be an episode that wants to be on your Christmas must-watch list, because the spirit of the holiday still somewhat comes over thanks to Chuck’s weird prison break story with a Santa Claus who is either real or just another nutcase of Chicago during the holiday season. But at the end of the day, this seemed like an episode pushed to become the first-best EARLY EDITION Christmas episode, because this is the first season of the show and this is the first Christmas episode of the show, but it also happened to be a weird Christmas episode that was also extremely watchable and enjoyable. Probably because half of the episode was sporting real Chicago locations during wintertime.
But the execution of the story was the thing that made the hour weird. Gary and Crumb were like oil and water, so I’m not so sure this was even close to comfort for the writers if they ever planned to bring realism to the show and have the events depicted in it be grounded in that always usable realism. The way Crumb was negative about everything Gary told him became annoying and unrealistic quickly, and at one point I wished for the absent Mayor to just fire Crumb, since he wasn’t doing his job. Gary came along with a tip and some worry on his face, but because Crumb was pissed for whatever reason (the holidays, probably – notice that he was at a bar on Christmas Eve and not with his family, making me wonder if the man even has a family), the whole story turned into a “Gary wants to help, but Crumb doesn’t want to listen” story, in which there wasn’t even an interesting or funny back and forth between the two, just to push the narrative of an unlikely duo in a buddy-cop comedy. Maybe Crumb was the main character of the story here, since Gary always managed to stay calm and not flip out, but then again we need to remember that the mad bomber wasn’t given a motive or a reason why he followed Crumb. If Crumb had been the center of the story, the writers would have delivered a motive. But hey, at least Gary was in the heat of the situation for once, including what he thought was a bomb, which he took in his hands and threw away. A few more of these, and Gary is an action hero.
In the meantime, Chuck went through all the necessary weirdness, making this show super annoying for a few minutes. First of all, he doesn’t give a damn about the hundreds of parking tickets he has gotten over what maybe the past few months? He did not expect to be caught at some point? He did not realize he might be in a bit of a legal pickle? It sounds to me like Chuck was even dumber than the real or fake Santa Claus and the mad bomber combined. It doesn’t help his character though, as Chuck has gone through yet another episode in which he was not allowed to be a hero himself, or to at least be a little less of an egotistical asshole. And let’s forget Santa Claus because this surely wasn’t a character from any of the magical Christmas stories in existence.
 |
| A miracle has happened here. |
This was an episode that wanted to deliver the Christmas spirit, but
all it did was go far away from what EARLY EDITION has been for the
first ten episodes and instead become something else. I guess the
writers were still experimenting here and there, delivering a weirdly
and annoying hour of television that was also somewhat entertaining.
Probably because of its Christmas theme. And please, can we do something
about Chuck? Like... kick him out of the series? I can’t be the only one
who doesn’t like him. I do not understand why the character was so popular with the viewers back then. The man is making me rip out my hair out of frustration.
