Date of airing: January 10, 1998 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 10.09 million viewers, 6.6/11 in Households
After two weird episodes filled with absurdities and eyeroll-worthy moments, the show went back to its roots, brought Gary back to his superpower of helping people before they tragically die, and gave Chuck the annoying B plot that had me wonder why the character was ever popular in the first place. This was a fine episode. Even though the writers continue to portray Chicago’s Finest in a very bad light by not having them listen to what Gary has to say (let alone pushing the agenda that Gary snatched the little girl, instead of thinking about the possibility that she might truly be lost in the sewer system), it at least was an hour of television that brought some excitement back into the game. Maybe the producers even wanted to recreate “Hell and High Water” with at least half the budget of what said ER episode cost, hoping that EARLY EDITION would get similar press coverage and a boost in the Nielsen ratings business. Sure, this episode and George Clooney's breakthrough episode in 1995 cannot be compared, but there aren’t a lot of differences between Gary saving a girl before she drowns in a Chicago sewer system, and Doug Ross saving a boy before he drowns in a sewer system. Apparently, it gets dangerous for children when it rains in Chicago.
What a shame that Taylor Momsen wasn't even credited for her appearance as Allie in this episode. First of all, I couldn't even recognize her at all – probably because her days on GOSSIP GIRL and as the lead singer of The Pretty Reckless had her dolled up to punk rock stardom too much that she would be unrecognizable when not wearing any makeup or wearing high society New York or punk rock outfits. Although I would love to know why Momsen wasn't credited. Her role was quite substantial (she was the missing girl after all), and she got enough dialogue to satisfy the Screen Actors Guild. Then again, half of her dialogue happened off-screen. There have been moments during which Allie was screaming "Help me!", but she did so while she was off-screen. And when the camera went back to her, she was this calm girl who was just looking a bit confused, not speaking at all. How Momsen went from this unspectacular second role of her career to HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS two years later is beyond me.
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| The light is right up there, and it leads to freedom. |
This episode was one of those predictable ones, and
according to the events unfolded, Gary hasn’t learned anything about
what to do when people are in need of some serious help. Between Walter
almost getting crushed by Chuck’s car (I'm surprised he still has that red car – I thought it would have been impounded by now, or blown away by the tornado in the season one episode "His Girl Thursday"), and the cat leading Gary to the
television news about heavy rainfall on the horizon, with storm drains potentially
filling with an ocean of water, someone like Gary, who has been doing
this for a year and a half now, should have come to the realization that everything
is connected and he should have immediately started searching in the sewer system. It's not like this was the first time the paper threw Gary in front of a clue that should have helped him narrowing things down when he was truly asking for some help, and yet, he didn't realize any of it. Maybe next time he asks the paper or the cat a question will he realize that the answer was actually given to him?
Has Gary already forgotten absolutely everything that happened in “Redfellas?” You don’t just meet a random cab driver and then have him not be involved in the life of the person he was supposed to save. Granted, I’m not surprised that the writers didn’t make Gary realize the signs the paper has been giving him, but it definitely develops into an annoying plot device – one the writers will most likely use more often. Including having Gary look suspicious in the eyes of Chicago law enforcement because he just wants to be nice and help out, when everyone else sees a suspect in him.
That is also a plot device this show has not used for the first time in this episode, but it became frustrating during this hour, as the detective thought for every minute of his waking life that Gary had something to do with Allie's disappearance, even after he said that cops aren't that stupid. No wonder American police are constantly in the news for making bad and deadly decisions. Yes, if I would
have been in the shoes of Detective Barns, I would have believed Gary was the
perp as well, but at least I would have listened to him and followed
every clue he was giving to me. Does Gary say the girl might be in the sewers? Heck, I will get a bunch of guys and search the sewers while interrogating Gary at the precinct. But Barns wasn't even doing that. Ugh!
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| The crackpot con men are here to save the day. |
Meanwhile, Walter was a bit of a weird character. I was rolling my
eyes somewhere far away from here when he turned up in front of Chuck’s
car the second time around. And after I finished rolling, I did laugh –
it was a ridiculously funny scene, and so forcibly turned comedic for the sake of the audience who were probably getting desperate and frustrated with Gary's story as well. The thing is just, I never knew what was up with Walter. Was he just having a case of social anxiety, or was he otherwise mentally challenged? Also, the fact
that I knew from the beginning he would turn out to be the hero and find
the girl with his machine didn’t make him a very intriguing
character, and all he could have done from his introduction to his hero
moment was at least strike an intriguing conversation with the main
characters. In the end, Chuck was part of a silly B plot again, and the guest character of the week is still unknown to me. It's kind of a waste of time.
