"Early Edition" (1996) TV series 1996-2000

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Creators:

Ian Abrams
Patrick Q. Page
Vik Rubenfeld

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

28 September 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Family

Plot:

His name is Gary Hobson. He gets tomorrow's newspaper today. He doesn't know how. He doesn't know why. All he knows is when the early edition hits his doorstep, he has twenty-four hours to set things right.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Newspaper | Peril | Helping People In Peril | Altering History

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Kyle Chandler	...	Gary Hobson (90 episodes, 1996-2000)
Shanesia Davis-Williams	...	Marissa Clark (90 episodes, 1996-2000)
Fisher Stevens	...	Chuck Fishman (48 episodes, 1996-2000)

Runtime:

60 min | USA:60 min (90 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:PG | USA:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Angelica Films

Trivia:

The newspaper used by Gary throughout the series was actually printed by the Chicago Sun-Times for each episode.

Quotes:

Gary: Look, isn't there any way you can just stamp me as not crazy and let me get outta here.

The 'Quantum Leap' without the time-traveling

'Early Edition' is another 'Quantum Leap,' although it's slightly different since it doesn't involve time-traveling. Instead, our hero, Gary Hobson, gets the paper one day in advance. By getting tomorrow's news today, he has no more than 24 hours to prevent the bad news from happening.

The series has a lot of charm. I watched this show sporadically throughout its four-year primetime run, but began watching it more often during its last few months on the air.

The addition of Kristy Swanson (the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer) for the show's third season was a perfect one. Her character Erica, a single mother, was a nice match for Gary. To me, Swanson is an underrated talent, and fit into the show very well. It's just too bad that she was out of the picture for the show's fourth (and final) season. I would have liked to see her remain on the show until it was cancelled.

Of course, EE was cancelled in the summer of 2000, after four years. That is generally a good run for a show like this. While the chances for a fifth season are extremely slim (despite the best efforts of its loyal fans), reruns of the series can now be seen on the Fox Family Channel. But if you don't have cable, all is not completely lost: You have a good chance of finding EE reruns (whether daily or weekly) on one of your local stations.