Classics: Early Edition 1:21 - Faith

Plot Synopsis:

When the episode opens, Gary and Chuck are sitting in Chuck's car, waiting. The paper reports that the owner of a black Mercedes will be killed in a hit-and-run accident while changing a flat tire, but Chuck is starting to doubt that this Mercedes will appear at all. Gary's sure though; as far as he knows, the paper is infallible. Eventually, the car in question does appear - but instead of stopping, it speeds right on by. As Gary tries to puzzle through this twist, another car comes barreling onto the bridge, hitting Gary and knocking him unconscious.

Some hours later, Gary has a dream in which he sees a young girl bathed in a white light. Then he comes to. Immediately, Gary's thoughts turn to the paper, but Dr. Adams won't let him leave; instead, he sends Gary down to get a CAT scan. While waiting on a gurney in the hallway, Gary hears someone "psst!" at him from somewhere underneath. As Gary's leaning over to look, the girl jumps up on the other side, and he falls off the gurney in surprise. The girl - who is identical to the one he saw in his dream - claims to be his guardian angel but doesn't divulge her name.

He manages to find out, however. Later in the day, Gary finds Cat in his hospital room - but the paper is missing. After a search, he finds the girl reading his paper in the lounge. Gary demands the girl hand the paper over, but the girl insists that it can't possibly be his, as no one can own a paper that hasn't even been published yet. Then the girl's doctor - Dr. Marks - shows up and takes Gary to task for arguing with children. From Dr. Marks, Gary learns that the girl's name is Rachel Greenburg - and that she is waiting for a heart.

After sending Chuck and Marissa out to stop a van robbery, Gary goes to visit Rachel. As soon as her mother leaves, Rachel jumps out of bed and pulls Gary up stairs and onto the roof. As the two admire the view, Rachel tells Gary that she likes to go up to the roof to be closer to "you know who." After seeing Gary's reaction, she concludes that Gary doesn't believe in God. Gary starts to deny this, but Rachel states that Gary believes in things instead - like the paper, for instance. She urges Gary to have faith that things will work out.

Meanwhile, Chuck's attempt to stop the car thieves doesn't go as well as planned; the older kid, Eddy, pulls a gun on Chuck and steals Chuck's car instead. Eddy and his companion, Tommy, take the car to a chop shop for some quick cash. Tommy objects when Eddy gives him a piddling share of the money, but Eddy points out that Tommy didn't really participate in the robbery and leaves. Resigned, Tommy uses what money he does have to buy groceries for his ailing mother.

Gary once again tries to escape the hospital after he hears what's happened to Chuck's car. A killer headache stops him in his tracks, though, and Dr. Adams decides to keep him one more night. The following morning, Gary reads in the paper that Rachel will receive a mismatched heart and will die later that night. Gary stops Dr. Marks just before she goes in to perform Rachel's transplant and convinces her he knows what he's talking about by mentioning Dr. Marks' intention to take a directorship in Albany. Rachel, however, doesn't appreciate Gary's intervention. Deeply disappointed that the transplant didn't work out, she refuses to give Gary the time of day, insisting that she could've made it work.

Dr. Adams, in the meantime, finally lets Gary go despite being very curious about Gary's ability to predict the future. At McGinty's, we see that Gary feels bad over what happened with Rachel. Marissa tries to assure him that there was nothing else he could do, observing that it is better to be disappointed than dead.

The following morning, though, the news is good: the paper reports that Rachel will be getting a heart after all. Relieved, Gary relates the news to Chuck and Marissa. Then Chuck notices the story above the fold, which reports that Tommy will be killed in an armed robbery attempt. "That's one of the punks that stole my car!" Chuck exclaims. Gary decides to try to call Tommy from the payphone, but before he even dials the first number, the headlines on the paper change. Now it reports that Rachel will receive Tommy's heart. "I'm not gonna play God," Gary whispers.

Gary heads over to the hospital to ask Dr. Marks about her current condition. Dr. Marks informs him that Rachel took a turn for the worse during the night and probably won't make it through the next twenty four hours. Gary spends the next several hours agonizing over the decision he has to make outside the pediatric ICU. Dr. Adams eventually sits down next to him and figures out during the ensuing conversation that Gary must know something "in that way that you know things." He advises Gary to do what he has to do.

Ultimately, Gary decides to leave the hospital to help Tommy. When he sees Tommy voice second thoughts about Eddy's plan, he steps out of the shadows and tries to convince Tommy and Eddy not to go through with the robbery. Eddy pulls out his gun and fires a round at Gary, but Tommy pushes Gary to the ground, saving Gary's life, but also knocking him unconscious for the second time this episode.

In his dream state, Gary wakes up in a hospital bed. He hears Rachel's voice and follows it out into the empty hall. Then he sees a group of doctors wheeling a gurney into an OR. He follows them and finds Rachel lying prostrate on the table. He asks the nurses if Rachel is all right, but no one answers him. Then an apparition of Rachel sits up on the table and tells Gary she understands that he had to go save Tommy. She assures Gary that things will work out and tells him to drop the paper and have faith.

When Gary wakes up from this dream, Dr. Adams informs him that Rachel is in surgery. They did in fact find another match.

Overall: 9.8

I may be wrong, but I believe this episode is the only episode in the series that explicitly mentions God's hand in directing events. That alone puts this episode among the series' best. It also has an odd sense of humor that is very charming - and a sympathy for the sinner that is undeniably Christian.

Cut for length.



SABR Matt's Ratings:

Writing: 10.0

The leading strength of this script is the message it conveys, and we'll talk more about it in a moment, but I think it should be noted that the dialogue demonstrates a warm mixture of humor, sentiment, and Gary's real anguish over the great ethical dilemma with which he is presented that is a cut above Early Edition's usually high standards for pathos and compassion. A good writer knows how to vary mood and keep a story fluid enough to let the audience soak in the theme without getting fatigued. One of the biggest problems with Battlestar Galactica, for example, is that I started to get desensitized to the emotion and the constant drama after a while because there was no break in the story - no time for humor or childlike innocence or romance without high drama, etc. This plot idea is, by its very nature, potentially melodramatic. The star nearly dies TWICE - and he's faced with a choice that nearly destroys his sense of purpose. Thankfully, we didn't get melodrama and the meaning of his near-death experience and his brush with God could fully reach us. You'll see many classically gentle giggles in the highlights below. Those things are absolutely essential.

The pathos doesn't stop with the regular cast or the Hollywood "kid trick" (everyone in Hollywood knows...if you want people to like your characters, have a kid in your story that likes your characters), either. Actually, what really sells this show is how much we come to respect one of the "villains." The reality is that a lot of juvenile offenders aren't committing crimes because they're bored or antisocial or angry...a lot of it stems from a combination of very positive qualities that get misdirected. Loyalty to one's friends, duty to one's family, a will to survive - these are all virtues that can lead a good kid to break the law and get people hurt, or even killed. I like that honest portrayal of the struggles of inner-city youths...and it puts a big exclamation mark next to one of the lead messages in this episode.

Acting: 9.0

Emily Anne Lloyd (Rachel) and Billy O'Sullivan (Tommy) were both very strong for walk-on child guest stars. It's very hard to find quality child actors on short notice and the casting folks for EE did a fantastic job here. They also managed to get sci-fi acting guru Robert Picardo to play Dr. Adams, which is awesome - he seems to get typecast as a doctor, though, doesn't he? :) The regulars were their usual skilled selves as well, though the best acting seemed to occur right at the end of episode (between Gary's second brush with death and the closing credits) and things weren't quite as powerful early on (though perhaps this is just a function of the flow of the script).

Message: 10.0+ with a BULLET

There are actually two messages here - one that leads from the title of the script onward, and one that sneaks in there like a stealth fable. They both need some discussion. We'll start with the less obvious message. As I mentioned above, the ugly realities of inner-city poverty affect even the most well-intentioned children in ways we can't always predict. I am willing to bet that a lot of good, well-meaning kids wind up breaking the law for reasons that are entirely unselfish and lacking in malice. Certainly, they still need to face consequences for their actions, but it's very important to remember that not all criminals are bad people. I just got out of a sermon today on the meaning of "let he who is without sin cast the first stone," so it's quite a happy coincidence that I get to flex my theological and philosophical muscle on this very subject. What if Gary HAD pre-judged and convicted Tommy? Chuck's encounter with him could easily have left a very reasonable conclusion in Gary's mind - this kid's no good. You could well imagine even a moral, upstanding citizen (like Chuck - for all his foibles) deciding the world is better off if Rachel survives - even if it means Tommy has to die. But we don't get the luxury of playing that role. That's God's job. Gary had information that could save a young boy's life, and he knew in the end that he had to act on that. If we all valued every life equally (in terms of intrinsic spiritual value), this would be a much better world.

On the subject of faith - Gary has the paper to lean on most days, but the paper is really just a stand-in for our own worldly identity. Climate scientists, for example, have become so absorbed in the belief that they have the responsibility of controlling Earth's future climate that they've turned to outright evil on several occasions to "get the job done." It is a dangerous game we all play - the physical world demands that we spend a significant amount of energy defining ourselves in the currency of worldly matters. We all have jobs and relationships and material goods that can often come to define who we are. Gary has the paper and his calling - that is EVERYTHING about who he is in the physical world. There's a reason he finds it so difficult to give that up. But we all have to give up some of who we are on the mortal coil - you can't have faith in the greater good if you can't turn your thoughts away from your possessions and your career and spend some time thinking about God and trusting that no matter what happens, you can take from it something wonderful.

Stephanie S.'s Ratings:

Writing: 10.0

After reading SABR Matt's remarks regarding the script, I find I have very little to add. Thus, I'm afraid I must put a big fat DITTO in this space.

Acting: 9.0

SABR Matt is right: each member of the guest cast fit into his or her role rather nicely. But I would like to focus on Kyle in my comments because there are things he does with his body language in this episode that are just fantastic. What particularly sticks out in my mind is the scene between Gary and Dr. Adams in the hallway outside the ICU. The way Kyle conveys Gary's inner struggle here by hunching over, rocking slightly, and avoiding Dr. Adams' eyes is just -- well, let's just say that I feel this rock form in the pit of stomach whenever I watch it because it is just that good.

Message: 10.0

By this time in the series, Gary has unintentionally developed a bit of a God complex. We can see this in the way he paces his hospital room fretting over what he imagines are the twenty stories in the paper that are not being handled while he's out of commission. That level of anxiety only comes from a deep-seated belief that you - and just you - are the glue that is keeping the city of Chicago from collapsing.

As this episode reminds us, Gary's worry is based on nonsense. Chicago is not enormous like New York, but it isn't tiny either. Millions of people live in the immediate metropolitan area. Thus, chances are pretty high that people are getting into trouble of one sort or another on an hourly basis - and not all of these mini-disasters are going to be reported in the Sun Times. Do the math - one guy could not possibly handle everything that goes on in a mid-western city of Chicago's size. It is far more reasonable to assume that Gary is being handed a very small fraction of the city's woes - and that God is handling the rest in other ways that are invisible to Gary and to us.

I think Chuck's final voice-over captures this episode's dominant message precisely: Some things we just don't know because we're incapable of seeing the whole landscape; only a vantage point in eternity could give us such a view. This, I think, is the thread that ties everything SABR Matt has mentioned together. Only from Heaven's point of view can you truly measure the value of one life against another. Only from Heaven's point of view can you judge the worthiness of a soul. Only from Heaven's point of view can you understand the larger plan that is at work.

The Benevolent Hand:

All of the people in Gary's life at this particular moment are focused on teaching Gary the same thing. Rachel, of course, urges Gary to trust in Providence and explicitly mentions God's role as the Benevolent Hand guiding events. Dr. Adams, meanwhile, seems to be involved in some greater conspiracy to keep Gary idle for his own good. Heck, even Marissa chimes in, suggesting that perhaps Gary's concussion is the paper's not-so-subtle way of reminding him to take it easy. This eerie convergence of minds is certainly the Holy Spirit's work - as are Gary's two dreams, the last of which is quite possibly this series' most direct intervention of the Divine.

Highlights:

Chuck: They better show up. I don't want us to be sittin' out here freezing our buns off for nothing.
Gary: Just don't worry about it. They're going to show up.
Chuck: If - if - they show up.
Gary: All right, what does that mean?
Chuck: Well, maybe they already fixed the flat tire, did you ever think of that?
Gary: You read that? What's that say? {points at paper} "Motorists killed by hit-and-run driver. Incident occurs while changing tire."
Chuck: Maybe the paper's wrong. Did you ever think of that?
Gary: And how do you figure the paper's gonna be wrong?
Chuck: Maybe there's some atmospheric disturbance in the force. Maybe the Hale-Bop comet got in the way of the information highway.
Gary: What's your point?
Chuck: This stuff doesn't even surprise you anymore, does it?

Marissa: Is he gonna be okay?
Adams: Well, that depends. Was he okay before this happened?
Marissa: Well, not particularly.
Adams: Then no guarantees. (Heh!)

Gary: Doc, I gotta go.
Adams: You can't.
Gary: Why?
Adams: Because we have your pants. (ROTFL!)

Gary: I'm not staying here! I'm not staying here!
(In the next shot, Gary is being wheeled down the hallway on a gurney.)
Marissa: Look's like you're staying. (Hee!)

Gary: Can I ask you a question? What were you doing under there?
Rachel: Hiding.
Gary: Hiding from who?
Rachel: I can't tell you. It's classified. (Gary gives her a Look.) Okay, I've been here since birth, living off scraps. (Gary gives her another Look.) Okay, the truth. I'm your guardian angel. Like John Travolta. Except I don't smoke. Any questions?
Gary: Boy, I really did get hit in the head, didn't I?

Gary: How's it look?
Adams: Well, the good news is, you've got a brain. The bad news is, it took a shot. What were you doing standing on a bridge in the middle of the night?
Gary: Fishing.

Gary: Look, kid, it's one thing to play little Miss Commando around here, and it's another thing to go and st--
Rachel: You look good in that gown, you know that? Weird, but good.
Gary: The paper.
Rachel: Who says it's yours?
Gary: I say it's mine.
Rachel: It can't be. For one thing, your name's not on it, and for another, it's not even today's. It's tomorrow's. How can you possibly own something that hasn't even come out yet?

Gary: Who is that?
Marks: The question is, who are you?
Gary: Oh, uh, Gary Hobson.
Marks: Well, Mr. Hobson, do you make it a point to argue with children?
Gary: No, no...
Marks: Then may I suggest that you don't.
Gary: Excuse me. Who are you?
Marks: I'm a surgeon.
Gary: Ah. And do you make it a point to pass judgment on people who you don't even know? (Zing!)

Mrs. Greenberg: Mr. Hobson, I have to go speak to the doctors. Will you see if you can talk her into staying where she is?
Gary: Uh, I'll do my best.
(Mrs. Greenberg leaves.)
Rachel: (sighing) Parents, how embarrassing. You got any?
Gary: Uh, listen, uh, Rachel, uh...
Rachel: Oh, no, they told you, didn't they?
Gary: Huh?
Rachel: About me. Somebody spilled the beans. I can see it all over your face. (sighing again) There goes a perfectly good romance down the tubes. You married?
Gary: No.
Rachel: Okay, then, maybe there's still hope. Now come on, take my arm.
(She jumps out of bed and takes Gary's arm, pulling him towards the door.)
Gary: What? Wait, wait, wait. Where're you going?
Rachel: To seek an adventure, wherever it may be.
Gary: No, no, no, no, no. Look, I promised your mom that you were going to stay right here. I'm...
Rachel: You said you'd do your best.
Gary: Yeah.
Rachel: What are you, a man or a mouse? (Cute.)

Rachel: I love this place. It's high up, close to you know who. (She notices Gary's discomfort.) You don't believe in Him, do you?
Gary: What makes you say that?
Rachel: Just a feeling. You believe in things.
Gary: And what does that mean?
Rachel: It's that newspaper. You don't like it out of your sight.
Gary: No, this, uh...
Rachel: That's okay. It's just for me, it more's like faith. Knowing things will work out. You gotta try it sometime.

Marissa: For the record, do you know what you're going to say?
Chuck: Yeah, I know what I'm going to say. I'm gonna say whatever Gary says.
Marissa: You got that written down somewhere?
Chuck: Yeah, I got it right up my sleeves.

Adams: A guy shows up at the hospital with a dent in his head. He starts predicting the future. Unusual, but it's happened before. Hell, people mistake their wives for a hat. But in this case, the guy with the dent is actually right. What is that, dumb luck?
Gary: I wouldn't know.
Adams: Therein lies my problem.
Gary: Look, you think I'm some sort of a nut or something, but I'm not.
Adams: I'm thinking... I don't know what to think. That paper you carry around, what is that? Some kind of fetish?
Gary: No, that would be a Chicago Sun-Times. Now, can I go now or not?
Adams: I have no medical reasons to keep you.
Gary: Good.
Adams: Hobson, if you feel like you're in trouble, call me, okay?
Gary: What kind of trouble?
Adams: I'm a doctor. Whatever you got.

Adams: Well, well, well. Out one door, and in another. What happened? You missed the food?
Gary: Mm hmm.
Adams: Rumor has it you've been blocking traffic here since nine this morning. Is that true?
Gary: Something like that.
Adams: She's in there, huh? Well, Marks is an excellent doctor. Knows what she's doing. She'll stabilize her as long as she can.
Gary: How long?
Adams: Well, this is a hospital, despite the fact that it looks like uh-- a hospital. And in hospitals, things happen.
Gary: You mean people die, doc.
Adams: Something like that.
Gary: What if they don't have to?
Adams: Is that a question?
Gary: Oh, no.
Adams: You know something, don't you? I mean in that way you... know things.
Gary: I know that if I stay here until seven o'clock, that little girl is going to live.
Adams: And if you don't?
Gary: Then it'll be someone else.
Adams: That's a hell of a burden. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. You want some advice? Do what you have to.
Gary: What if it doesn't work?
Adams: What if it does?
Gary: Oh, I need to know!
Adams: Why?

(Dr. Adams checks in on Rachel.)
Marks: Don't you have patients of your own to watch out for?
Adams: I think that's what I'm doing.

Rachel: They can't hear you.
Gary: Rachel...
Rachel: I know. You had to save that boy. I understand.
Gary: There's nothing else I could do.
Rachel: Then why are you feeling bad?
Gary: Because it was...if I let him go..
Rachel: You couldn't. That's all there is to it.
Gary: It was your last chance to live.
Rachel: You don't know that.
Gary: Yes, I do, you see the paper, it says...
Rachel: I told you, you believe too much in things.
Gary: It says what's gonna happen.
Rachel: Things'll work out. You need to believe that. Put down the paper.
(The heart monitor goes flat line.)
Surgeon: She's flat line. Cardiac massage, now!
Rachel: You have to have faith, Gary Hobson. Put down the paper.
Gary: I can't do that.
Rachel: You can. You have to.

Chuck [vo]: Maybe it's chance that turns people's lives around. Maybe it's something more. Maybe it's believing what could be. After all, some things you know, and some things you never will, tomorrow's newspaper or not. Sometimes, you have to leave it in other hands. Sometimes you just have to go on faith.