The BEST Episodes of Early Edition
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Mar 25, 2021
Network: CBS
Gary Hobson was a regular Chicago stockbroker. One day his wife dumped him and he was forced to move into a hotel room. The next morning, at 6:30 am, a mysterious yellow cat showed up at his front door with tomorrow's edition of the Chicago Sun-Times. From that day on his life was never the same. At first skeptical, Gary started to try saving people's lives and stop disasters from happening. With the help of his friends Chuck and Marissa, Gary became a man with a mission, even though he doesn't know why or how the paper gets to him every morning.
#1 - False Witness
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired Mar 25, 2000
While stealing cars for a chop shop, Jose (Joey) encounters Gary, who is brought in by police to ID the teenager in a criminal lineup. When Gary realizes that Joey is Miguel's little brother, he denies knowing him in order to protect his friend. Although Joey promises Gary that he will go straight, his accomplice pressures him into pulling another job, a heist in which the owner of the car is shot and Gary is taken hostage. While trying to convince Joey to give up his life of crime, Gary is wounded by gunfire and left to ponder whether or not he should have acknowledged Joey's involvement the first time around before people were seriously hurt.
9.17 
#2 - Angels and Devils
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired Nov 1, 1997
Gary and Chuck become involved with a basketball program at a local church for inner city youth, where they meet a young nun named Sister Mary. Gary helps Sister Mary from abandoning her call after a young man involved with the basketball program is killed during a convenience store holdup, which Gary fails to stop.
9.14 
#3 - March in Time
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired Nov 15, 1997
After learning that a leader of a racist movement will be assasinated during a march, Gary begans to debate whether he should save his life or let him die. Marissa manages to convince him to save him, but the dilemma is further compromised when the leader's comrades attack and vandalize McGinty's. Now Gary has to stop the sniper from killing the leader of the movement. The situation is further complicated when the leader's son befriends a young African-American kid.
8.97 
#4 - Blowing Up is Hard to Do
Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired May 15, 1999
Gary saves a woman from drowning in a pool at a women-only gym, who turns out to be Detective Armstrong's wife. The Armstrongs invite Gary and Erica to dinner at their house; Det. Armstrong is suspicious about Gary saving his wife, and accuses him of trying to kill her. Erica decides to end her relationship with Gary, and leave Chicago. Meanwhile, Gary has to prevent two places from blowing up after a manifesto is sent to the Sun Times and the TV station, both of which refuse to read or publish it, and then are targeted by the people who wrote it.
8.80 
#5 - The Fourth Carpathian
Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired Apr 18, 1998
Gary's parents receive the paper when Gary is trapped in an absndoned theater trying to save a monkey. Gary's parents and Crumb accidentally bring together a family of Letonian trapeze artists in Chicago.
8.69 
#6 - Snow Angels
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired Feb 26, 2000
While out in the snow, Gary encounters two men, Earl Camby, a reformed criminal who now devotes his life to helping those less fortunate than himself, and Cliff Mourning, a sleazy motel operator. As Gary tries to save Earl's life when a building collapses on him, he reads that Cliff is going to succumb to a heart attack. Torn between leaving Earl alone to die while he saves an ungrateful human being, Gary contemplates a decision that could ultimately tie the two men's lives together.
8.60 
#7 - Everybody Goes to Rick's
Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired May 20, 2000
Gary travels back in time to 1929, and is the proprietor of a speakeasy at the location where McGinty's is currently located. He must try to prevent the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
8.57 
#8 - The Iceman Taketh
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired Oct 16, 1999
As Brigatti carries out her plan to entice the thief with an expensive diamond pendant, her relationship with Gary grows more personal since they are forced to spend several days and nights together. When it appears that the case has been solved, Gary reads that the diamond will turn out to be a fake -- putting Brigatti's career in jeopardy. Armed with tomorrow's news, only Gary can save Brigatti's job by finding the true thief and returning the diamond to its owner.
8.57 
#9 - Camera Shy
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 23, 1999
While covering the opening of a local pickle factory, Miguel winds up in the middle of one of Gary's saves, when he falls head first into a barrel of kosher dills. After Miguel's pickled puss winds up in all the papers, he loses his job and must take a position at a museum, where he's forced to photograph uncooperative school children. When Gary reads that one of the kids at the museum will be injured, he races to prevent the tragedy - only to cost Miguel another job. To make matters worse, while at the museum, Miguel inadvertently takes a photo of Bruce Bryce a vicious criminal thought to be dead. When he realizes he has evidence that could potentially get him his newspaper job back, Miguel heads over to the Sun Times with the film. But Bryce tracks him down and threatens him with bodily harm if he doesn't hand over the photos. With Miguel's life in jeopardy, Gary must figure out how to save him before his days as an inquiring photographer are over.
8.56 
#10 - The Cat
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired Apr 13, 1997
Gary takes the cat to the vet thinking he's not feeling good. He is obligated to leave him there overnight, but rushes to the clinic in the morning for the paper, only to find out it's not there (nor is the cat). The cat mysteriously appears at Eunice's (the vet's mother) house with the paper, and Gary wonders if the cat decided to abandon him. He later finds out that the cat only wants him to save Eunice, who was madly in love with Lucius Snow 40 years ago and is now dying from cancer.
8.54 
#11 - Occasionally Amber
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired Apr 29, 2000
When Chuck returns to Chicago to get married, Gary recognizes Chuck's bride as Amber, a jewel thief. She is now calling herself Jade. Gary confides in Marissa who tells him that he must inform Chuck. Gary confronts Jade, who tells him that she truly loves Chuck and that she is really Jade. He decides not to tell Chuck what he knows. The next morning's paper says that a large diamond will be stolen from an auction. Gary and Marissa throw a private rehearsal dinner for Chuck and Jade to keep Jade there while the theft is suppossed to happen. Jade hires two female strippers to handcuff both Gary and Chuck. She then leaves and steals the diamond. When she returns to her apartment Gary confronts her. Jade tells Gary that she had to steal the diamond because it was once a national treasure of her country. Gary doesn't believe her story. He takes the diamond from her and puts it into the curator's mailbox with a letter warning them to tighten security.
8.54 
#12 - A Bris is Just a Bris
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired Dec 20, 1997
Gary comes between his cook and an accident-prone librarian. Chuck turns truthful while dating a Rabbi.
8.50 
#13 - Where or When
Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired Apr 11, 1998
After Gary is injured in a fall, he becomes housebound while his broken leg heals. In a ""Rear Window"" style plot, he watches people in the apartment building across the street and is attracted to a new neighbor who seem to have been the victim of a murder almost 50 years ago.
8.50 
#14 - Don't Walk Away, Renee
Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired May 9, 1998
Gary helps Renee, a woman who is being targeted by thieves.
8.50 
#15 - A Regular Joe
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired Nov 22, 1997
Gary is stressed out, and just wants a regular life. He is having recurring dreams about a psychiatrist, who encourages him to take Sundays off from the paper. Gary decides to take that advice. However, he finds out that he needs to convince a famous quarterback to stop playing in order to avoid a serious injury.
8.48 
#16 - Mum's the Word
Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired Apr 4, 1998
Gary take Marissa who poses as an Egyptian princess to gain admission to a exibission so that he can save an archeaologist from being struck in the head by a ancient Egyptian stone at the museum, Gary pushes the man out of the way only to see that someone wanted the archeaologist killed. The day after Gary reads in the newspaper that there'll be a fire in the museum, so he checks up on a journalist who was at the museum the night the archeaologist was almost killed. When the eyes are stollen from a cat mummy, a curse is released, causing everyone involved, including Marissa, to fall seriously ill.
8.47 
#17 - Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired May 6, 2000
Gary must keep rescuing an accountant who is determined to become a bounty hunter.
8.46 
#18 - Downsized
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 25, 1997
Gary and Chuck must stop an old friend of theirs from their former job from having a fatal plastic surgery to impress his girlfriend and enhance his career.
8.45 
#19 - The Quality of Mercy
Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired Apr 25, 1998
The paper sends Gary to save a man John Hernandez from getting killed in a road accident. After doing that the paper changes and it states that Hernandez is going to kill Rachel Stone the prosecutor who sent him to prison. Gary can't help but wonder why the paper sent him on such an errand. Gary then goes to the courthouse to stop Hernandez; Hernandez gets away and Gary is arrested and brought to Ms. Stone. When he tries to warn her about Hernandez; she doesn't believe him cause Gary won't reveal the source of his information. Hernandez got away by knocking Chuck out and taking his car. While Gary waits at the hospital, the paper now says that Hernandez is going to try again this time at her home. Gary goes there and gets him and Ms. Stone taken as hostage.
8.44 
#20 - Show Me the Monet
Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired May 2, 1998
Gary learns that a British person who assisted him with a mission is actually a forger with many enemies.
8.43 
#21 - Walk, Don't Run
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired Jan 24, 1998
Gary tries to use his nomination to a public job to get a light put at a dangerous crossroad.
8.41 
#22 - Romancing the Throne
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired Jan 17, 1998
Gary must deal with a stowaway princess who hid in his trunk.
8.37 
#23 - Collision
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired Oct 3, 1998
Chuck has left McGinty's in financial chaos and Marissa announces for a pub manager in the paper without telling Gary who has hands full with the choice of preventing a major car crash or saving an 8-year-old.
8.36 
#24 - Fate
Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired Mar 20, 1999
A homeless man plummets to his death while Gary tries to save him. Gary is rattled by his inability to prevent the tragedy and questions his involvement with the paper. When Gary refuses to prevent the next day's bad news, he winds up being forced to confront his own fate when he reads his obituary in the paper and must figure out what he's done wrong so he can save his life.
8.36 
#25 - The Play's the Thing
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired Apr 8, 2000
While at the theater, Gary runs into his old friend, ex-Chicago police detective Marion Crumb, who joined the Shakespearean troupe after the play's director, Bonnie Rousseau, convinced him to pursue his natural born acting talents. While pooling the cast's money to put on the production, Bonnie recruits Gary to replace one of the leads who has had an accident. As Gary throws himself into his new role, the production is threatened -- first by a producer claiming to have rights to the theater and then by an arsonist. As Gary and Marion work together to put out all the fires, damaging evidence arises against Bonnie that reveals she's a scam artist. With hours left before show time, it's up to Gary to stop Bonnie from deserting her devoted troupe -- or else it's curtains for everyone.
8.35