Why "Early Edition" never got much attention I'll never know, because it was brilliant. I mean that without exaggeration; if ever a show deserved to be called brilliant, this is it. The concept alone was genius, because it was an attention-grabbing idea that didn't need much explanation... a guy gets a peek into the future each day through the local newspaper, and it's up to him to set things right. The writing was amazing, alternating between comedy and suspense. Some episodes were hilarious, and others were downright scary.
The thing I most admired about the show, I think, was the way it never ran out of ideas. A concept as simple as this one could get stale fast, and to tell the truth the show probably would have gone downhill if it had run longer, but during its four years it was always coming up with new twists and variations on the central idea. What if Gary had to save someone he didn't want to save? What if Gary had jury duty and couldn't leave his hotel to save people? What if Gary's paper was accidentally destroyed? What if Gary's not the only one who gets tomorrow's paper? Each episode had a cool new story that always made it fun to watch.
The three cast members were great, too. Kyle Chandler's Gary is probably the nicest character in TV history, and he had perfect chemistry with his friends Chuck and Marissa (how many shows have a blind black woman as a main character)? Even when Chuck left the show and other characters came and went, the two leads held it up all by themselves. I used to watch this every weekend on CBS, and I still miss it. Ah, good times.
(P.S. I can't believe this isn't on DVD yet. CBS, what is wrong with you!?)
