Date of airing: May 23, 1998 (CBS)
Nielsen ratings information: 9.59 million viewers, 6.4/14 in Households
written by: H. Wiggens
directed by: Daniel Attias
Even if the characters of this show are involved with the mob, there will never be a gun fight to the death, and the explosion to sink a tug boat with a couple of bodies on it is never bigger and never resembles anything more than the explosion of a grenade. Sometimes, the family values that EARLY EDITION brings along can hinder the story from being told in a thrilling and exciting fashion, but then again, there is something about the writers using G-rated material to get their characters out of what would otherwise be a violent and deadly pickle. The reason those characters got into these kinds of pickles might a bit absurd here and there and a little too fantastical for a family-friendly show, but kids are also allowed to watch stories about mobsters and killers, and they should also get the chance to root for the characters freeing themselves from their fiery graves and going against the hitmen later. Although EARLY EDITION once again served up a mobster story, because we all know, Chicago is full of them.
Meanwhile, it was great to see that the writers remembered some elements from the show's past, even if it was rewritten for this episode. The mystery woman Gary saw walking around the city in the season-one episode "Baby" returned, although back then she was portrayed by a different actress (who was uncredited, so no one knows who she is) who was blond. In this episode, she was a redhead, and the actress' name is Dawn Lewis, even though she was also uncredited for her appearance in this hour (it should be a law with the Screen Actors Guild to give every actor a credit if they have speaking lines). With the woman's appearance, the writers may have easily brought some backstory about the paper, as it came with a reader this time. As if there is always someone looking out for Gary, even a mystery woman he had a quick crush on almost two years ago.
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| Fake moustaches are the best cover. |
The problem I have with the redheaded mystery woman is that she appeared after not having been in Gary's sight for 42 episodes. But here, he immediately sees her on the streets and knows who she is, even though she changed her hair color. Gary immediately chased after this woman even though the audience most likely didn't even know who she was, as I cannot imagine that the TV broadcast of this episode had a "previously on" part that would have successfully reminded the viewers about a random woman (portrayed by a different actress) who had screentime for 20 seconds two years ago. However, if the redheaded mystery woman would have been someone like the Observers from FRINGE, then maybe I would have accepted Gary's instant recognition, as him chasing after her would have been part of the show's mythology. But in the end, she was not much else than a plot device. The woman who came to Marissa's help and read the paper to her. The redheaded mystery woman was the plot device to conclude the story, and to not make things any more complicated between Marissa and the paper.
By the way, I was so happy that Marissa got the paper. I mentioned in a review for a past episode that her receiving the paper would cause a lot of great conflict and drama, and it somewhat worked in this episode, even if the writers decided to keep the plot limited in the end. Granted, one might ask themselves why Marissa, a blind woman, got the paper, and not Gary's parents, who got the paper when Gary was in a different kind of pickle and needed help, but maybe this episode was also somewhat about Marissa. Maybe she needed to learn what it feels like to be part of this fantastical mystery, to know what it's like to know something you can't explain. Hopefully, this was not the last time Marissa receives the paper – this should happen a couple more times.
In the meantime, consider me surprised that Chuck got a farewell in this episode. I couldn't remember whether he was just written out of the show and placed in Mandyville or if his exit from the series was explained when I got into this episode, but it was nice to see that the writers cared enough to explain his absence from here on out. And yes, it is not a big shocker that I am somewhat happy about Chuck's exit from the series, as he has never been one of my favorite characters. However, there was something touching about his goodbye scene with Marissa and Gary at the end. Take away the absurdity of how he got his hand at a lot of money and what he decided to do with it, but at least he is gone now and I don't have to get frustrated about his crappy behavior any longer. But who willbe gary's devil on his shoulder now?
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| Gary's mystery woman also comes with the paper. |
And the story of the episode? Well, there was nothing crazy about it. Chuck witnessed the aftermath of a murder, retired Detective Crumb returned to also involve himself in the affairs of crime around Gary and Chuck, and in the end, there wasn't even a proper murder investigation. All Gary needed to fund out was where Chuck was being held – it is not much of a plot, kept alive by Chuck's teeth-grinding behavior and the side story of him helping the lady cross the street. Would you scream your name into the heavens when you are on
the run from the mob? I'm surprised Chuck wasn't killed on the spot after that scene, as I was wishing for his character to be offed just for that dumb stuff he yelled at the clouds. But hey, this is still a family-friendly show,
so only two guns were visible in this episode, and only one was drawn, while none were actually used.
