Shark Bytes

Kyle Chandler as Gary Hobson in Early Edition is coming to DVD for the first time ever in all 4 Seasons collect it all!!!

The combination of Gary, Chuck, Marissa and Gary's parents was perfect. I agree that when Chuck left, it put a big hole in the show that was never fixed by the actors who followed.
I was sorry to see the show get cancelled. The only good shows in the 90s were Early Edition, Northern Exposure and Frazier. The rest were crap.
But, nothing lasts forever.

My thoughts on Early Edition:
I liked the original cast of Marissa, Chuck, and Gary. Gary is the everyman, just trying to survive in the big city. (I thought I was the only one that thought that EE's Gary Hobson was a kind of parallel character to "Quantum Leap"'s Sam Beckett. <Further expanding on this logic, the EE equivalent of "Al" is the cat. Did the cat have a name, by the way? I don't remember. > )
Anyway, Marissa acted as kind of the conscience of the show- the "angel" on Gary's shoulder, if you will- countered by Chuck's "devil". "Gare" should have listened to Chuck a little more often- it would have made for a funnier show. It was great watching the trios' interactions play out. The show lost its magic when Chuck left, but I kept watching.
I did like the later addition of Kristy Swanson as Gary's love interest, although if it were me, I would have gone for Brigati. That woman was gorgeous, but Kristy's no slouch either. (How did she end up getting with Henry's father? The guy seemed like such a loser in a later episode. Better yet, who names their kid Henry in this day in age? It's so 1950's). Henry was sometimes annoying (actually quite a bit), but his relationship with Gary was pretty well handled. Patrick, the (bartender?) added nothing memorable to the show; Crumb was interesting for the first few episodes (especially when he thought Gary was insane- they should have kept that dynamic with his character), and I would have loved to have seen Gary's parents in more episodes. Him being embarrassed by them showing up in Chicago in that RV was priceless.
I agree with one of the previous posters that said that Gary should play the lottery more often and just use the paper more to his advantage (since he seemed to be in financial trouble quite a bit). You could bet I'd be doing that if I had the paper. Henry's father had the right idea when he went to the racetrack with the paper.
My question, though, involves the Cub game episode. In that time (late 90's) in baseball, with Sammy Sosa on the team in real life, would it have been possible to go to Wrigley Field the day before a given game and get two tickets? The Cubs routinely sell out way in advance (like the Red Sox). A more believable storyline (for me, at least) would have involved the Chicago White Sox. Nonetheless, Early Edition rocked.

It's a shame that Early Edition never achieved the popularity and large cult following of shows like The X-Files, Lost, and Heroes. Personally, I'd watch EE over those three shows any day of the week. It was funny and uplifting and never resorted to needless graphic violence and death. I must say that Early Edition really wasn't the same after Chuck left, but the first two seasons should be considered classic TV.

I hate to admit it, but the show jumped after Chuck left. Great ones always 'jump' when star duos break. Even so, I fondly enjoyed it afterward. This was truly a magical show.

Truthfully, I was HAPPY when Chuck left..he was a really annoying character. As long as Melissa was still in the show everything was fine...I was a little sad after the first barkeeper was gone, and the new one was sometime to dumb for my tast, but this wasn't drawback enough to destroy the show for me.

Early Edition is high quality TV, partly because they changed so much from season to season. The episodes were never predictable, and I enjoyed nearly all of them immensly.

I've been watching Early Edition in syndication on PAX and I'm just now coming to realize how brilliant this show was its first season. Clever, intelligent writing, intriguing and inventive premises and story arcs, stylish art direction... Early Edition was a truly unique show that effectively resisted the temptation to delve into the airheaded, action-oriented plots you would expect from such a concept. I'm convinced that Bob Brush, who developed the series and wrote most of season 1's episodes, is one of TV's best show runners, as evidenced by shows such as EE, The Wonder Years, and Karen Sisco. Beginning with the second season, however, things seemed to change. The writing wasn't quite as clever and although it's difficult to quantify, the show was just less engaging. Perhaps it was only a coincidence, but Brush wrote no season 2 episodes as compared to 11 of season 1's 23 episodes. As disappointing as season 2 was, however, season 3 was a million times worse. As mentioned by other posters, Brush left altogether, the tone of the show changed, Fisher Stevens was gone, and he was replaced by three exceedingly pointless characters who rightfully disappeared the next season. The show was simply no longer worth watching. Jeff Melvoin shame on you.

I never realized it before, but it has become clear to me in syndication that the show jumped when Melvoin took over from Brush. The overall tone of the show went from an intelligent, light-hearted drama to more of a kid's show. One of the best episodes, IMHO, was the one with Adrienne Shelly as Gary's love interest, and then he lets her go at the end of the show. Brilliant writing aimed at an adult audience. Compare that to a later episode where Gary and Chuck (returning for a guest appearance) run into a football game and the difference is clear. It is no wonder why Fisher Stevens left the show with the obvious degradation in writing and theme. I think the show also jumped when Fisher left- he was fantastic in the show!

I started watching this show years ago, but then I stopped once I realised it was more or less the same plot but with different characters. Yes, I liked the fact it was very similar to Quantum Leap and stuff. I think the most pivotal moment came in the 2-part presidential assassination plot - with excellent writing, clever thinking and perhaps the best episode because the plot had connections to the JFK assassination and it send shivers down my spine, but I think it was a bit too complex - was "JT Marley" the second gun man? Is there really a cat in any of the JFK assassination pictures? That'd be REALLY spooky. Anyhow, none of the other episodes recaptured this form and I stopped watching, realising that this was the best episode.

'Early Edition' was one of my favorite shows...when it first premiered. It had a good mix of comedy and drama, an intriguing premise and (at first) a solid cast with great chemistry. I enjoyed the balance between do-gooder Gary and scheming Chuck and...well, at the risk of sounding shallow, Kyle Chandler is just adorable. I especially enjoyed the slowly evolving mystery behind the origins of the paper, Lucius Snow, ect. It was one of the few truly unique shows on TV. I wish I could say it never jumped, but that would gloss over the horror that was Kristi Swanson. GAH! Her character was like fingernails on a chalkboard, and her Red Menace of a brat didn't help matters. After she joined the cast and Chuck (wonderful, wonderful Chuck) left the show vaulted straight over the tank. I tried to stick with it (it really was a favorite of mine) but after a couple post-Chuck seasons I just couldn't do it anymore. As I recall, Swanson left but they brought the kid, Henry, back for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, the damage she wrought was unrepairable. Amazing how one actress can poison something so good. That cat was pretty darn cool up until the end, though.

Never jumped but the show ended up being controlled by a shark named J.Melvoin.This is for the above post about filming in summer the show had 4 episodes in which in was obvious it was summer.The "blackout" episode where Gary had to deal with a neighborhood mob, the one with the guy from N.Y. who also gets a paper and wants to see his soon-to-be-married daughter.Kyle Chandler even has a tan in that one,the baseball episode about the rookie pitcher and the funny show where his parents come to stay for good and end up getting Gary aka "DUCKMAN" and themselves taken hostage in a bank!

This show obviously went on hiatus each summer but it would have been nice to have a few episodes in the sweltering humidity that makes the Chicago area so miserable every year. Gary could have rescued people from dying of the heat. A viewer might be forgiven for thinking Chicago is located on Hudson Bay instead of Lake Michigan. Also, while Gary never played the lottery, he did play the horses to get Marissa her guide dog.

JTS when that Jeff Melvoin guy came in.I love Kyle Chandler's acting so much that i watch this on tv then I pull out the tapes and watch them.I Do feel the Kirsty Swanson hire was a good idea,giving her a kid was the mistake.The episode in which Gary is jealous of her doctor friend was touching when he called the guy on the phone and didn't know Erica had answered and heard him say he had feelings for her but never acted on them.But the Company Brass threw E.E. to the sharks by denying the show fifth and finale season that could have wrapped up loose ends on all the stuff we all speculated on including Gary.

This show never jumped. It was best during seasons 1 and 2, but then, it looked like the producers had no idea what to do with the show, with Chuck leaving, and Erica and Henry coming...and going... then here comes Patrick, who leaves-just as things start to get good, and Crumb-who starts getting replaced by Armstrong, as he gets more cynical, and Brigotti, and Miguel, and than Marissa starts to be less lenient on Gary... and when Gary starts to have a nervous breakdown when that homeless guy- Jeremiah- dies? By the way, for those who like to watch the show, reruns are on Monday through Thursday from 9-10 on PAX.

EE was one of the most decent shows of all time with a mix between comedy and drama. Not only that, it never jumped! And it way better than all the crappy shows that is on TV (as of today). Seasons 1 & 2 were the best, when it was just Gary, Chuck, and Marissa. After Chuck left, Season 3 came by. That's when Erica, her kid Henry, and Patrick joined in. For Erica, she did kinda get on my nerves but for most of it, she seems to be average love interest for Gary. Henry was a very cute little boy, but he does get a little annoying at times and Patrick is a funny and cool character, he is way better off as his main partner for Gary. For that season, it was average. After Erica and Henry left, the fourth season came along, Patrick was still there until he left and was replaced by Miguel and Brigotti For Detective Brigotti,I couldn't believe on how much I can't stand her! Even for a tough girl, she can be such an arrogant, annoying, and self-centered. I mean, why would Gary date this chick anyway, after she literally sock him in the jaw, about to pull a gun on him? Seriously, who would thought of added such a character like that? It's too bad that last episode with Chuck (who was marrying Amber/Jade) on EE wasn't a good episode, it could have been the last saving grace if it wasn't for the writers and Brigotti! They should have kill her off! As for Miguel, he's a pretty decent character, for a photographer/editor. Of course, there has been other characters like Gordon, Marion Crumb, Detective Winslow and Gary's Parents. Ether way, I love Early Edition. It would make a perfect gift for this show to be on DVD pretty soon!