Season 1, Episode 4
Date of airing: October 19, 1996 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 15.7 million viewers, 10.4/19 in Households
written by: Bob Brush, John Romano
directed by: Michael Nankin
This episode felt like it was supposed to be the third episode, since it sort of continued right after the finale of the second episode, with Gary looking at the picture of the typewriter and the cat, and yet the dialogue sometimes made this episode sound like it could have been part of the middle pack of the season. Gary talked like he was receiving the paper for months already, that he was trying to figure out where it came from for his whole life now, but this is only the fourth episode and he just figured out, without specifically mentioning it, that Lucius Snow might have been the recipient of the paper before him. Also, not noticing Snow’s date of death (which conveniently was updated in his personnel file quite quickly, considering this is only the fourth episode and Snow kind of passed away fairly recently) was also super convenient, as well as a potential clue to this episode being set much later in the run of the show, because someone like Gary, who despises the paper, should have noticed a connection between Snow’s day of death and him receiving the paper immediately. One is allowed to question why Mr. Morris didn’t recognize Snow in the picture when the guy supposedly died a few weeks ago, according to the current run of episodes.
So, did CBS play with the episode order here? EARLY EDITION might not have much of a timeline with important events slated on specific days, but things can still get weird when episodes are shuffled, and suddenly here I am, wondering how the death of an old man a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago, has already been forgotten like this. Or maybe Lucius Snow didn’t make much of an impact on the people around him, but that can’t be true as well, since he was the one receiving the paper and saving lives left and right for years on end.
Nevertheless, it was a solid episode, even though, in hindsight, it never even should have been a solid episode. But it showed for the first time what EARLY EDITION might look like as a show when Gary isn’t hopping from one place to the next to save a life and prevent a bad outcome, and how much fun an episode can be if it follows a straight story from one plot point to the next, and maybe even what it feels like when it focuses on something that resembles a crime mystery. Granted, the writers never bothered to get into what the Cooper murder was about, which Meredith worked to solve for the Chicago Sun-Times, but I guess all that was needed for this episode was to make sure that Meredith was going against the mob and that Gary can slide right into a conspiracy of sorts without even knowing – facing off against mob-hired killers, without even looking for that sort of danger.
 |
| A reporter behind bars – authoritarian government leaders will love this image. |
And yes, it seemed like fun when Gary was right in the middle of some potentially brutal action without even expecting it, but because EARLY EDITION was conceived as a family-friendly show, it makes it a bit weird that Gary is facing off against these dangerous foes, all while not getting all in with violence and all that bloody jazz. There wasn’t even a single shot fired from a gun in these 44 minutes. Yes, the two goons had a gun when they chased Gary and Meredith from the motel, but damn, is this a G-rated family show or a fantasy drama about a guy receiving tomorrow’s newspaper today? By the way, I assume Richie was tortured and murdered after he didn’t give the goons a straight answer. The non-mention of Richie’s fate kept the episode family-friendly, but it kind of smacked the show straight in the face. Such a premise, and the writers couldn’t swing with their fists.
Gary and Meredith turning into a romantic pairing for this episode was a bit ridiculous, which is why this episode shouldn’t even be considered “solid.” It turned EARLY EDITION into an episode of STAR TREK or MACGYVER or KNIGHT RIDER, in which the main character tries to help out the attractive woman guest star and makes out with her midway through because it’s what the male hero does in his own show while in an adventure. I didn’t mind in this case, since Gary has been bitching and moaning about his life, not getting any action in the bedroom department, and as it happens it was the paper that led him to Meredith and a kiss and somewhat of a romantic life, even if it’s just for a couple of days. In a way, the story showed that the paper isn’t taking anything from Gary’s life, it’s giving something to him, which is something he might have bothered recognizing at the end of the episode, but I don’t even think the writers did.
Well, a least Lucius Snow was identified as the previous recipient of the paper, which is a mystery other shows would have carried for a few more episodes, but EARLY EDITION decided to go with it now, although at the end of the hour Gary didn’t find much else in that regard. Not even the treasure chest in the basement of the hotel he stays in gave him closure (a piece of paper for such a huge chest... are you kidding me?). But then again, everything needed to be about Snow giving Gary a message, right? Still, the viewers are allowed to ask some more questions: Snow stayed at the hotel? Did he know that Gary would be his successor? Is the paper connected to the hotel, considering two of its recipients were frequent guests there? One mystery question answered brings a few more mystery questions out of bed.
 |
| What's in the (very large) box? |
The funniest part of the episode belonged to one of the two turd
villains who couldn’t hold his balance after Gary kicked the gate open
and literally threw his pet mouse away. It was some funny stuff, but the
guy also proved that he could never be a good guy when he can’t even
leave his pet at home while going out and potentially killing reporters.
The guy is no friend of animals when he thinks bringing them to the
scene of the crime is a good idea. This was not a "bring your pet to work day" kind-of day.
