Jeff Melvoin, Billie Worley, Myles Jeffrey

TVGEN: Welcome to the TVGEN/Yahoo! Chat Auditorium. Our special guest tonight is Early Edition executive producer Jeff Melvoin. We'll also be joined by Early Edition stars Billie Worley (Patrick Quinn) and Myles Jeffrey (Henry Paget). Welcome, Jeff. Thanks for joining us tonight.

Melvoin: I just want to welcome all of our loyal fans. We couldn't have gotten this far without the terrific fan support. And we look forward to having you support us for this season and hopefully many more!

TVGEN: We're joined now by Early Edition stars Billie Worley (Patrick, the bartender) and Myles Jeffrey (Henry). Thanks for joining us, guys.

Worley: Hello everyone! Billie here.

Jeffrey: Hi!

aaron_14_98: If you really got tomorrow's paper, what would you do with it?

Worley: That's a tough one. I would probably go the racetrack, win a little extra cash, go over to the Powerball numbers. And then I would go spend it on people that need it.

Jeffrey: Basically, the same thing.

Melvoin: Having grown up in Chicago, I would want to know if my heart was going to be broken by the Cubs again. I don't think any of us would be as altruistic or as clever or as courageous as Gary Hobson.
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babydancer_67: What is the hardest part of your job?

Jeffrey: I would probably say not remembering your lines, but remembering what to do next, and getting into different emotions.

Melvoin: As executive producer, the most difficult part of the job is always coming up with fresh stories and seeing them through to becoming good scripts. Compared to that, the actors have it easy.

Worley: I would have to say the hardest part is keeping the emotional arc of the piece in order, even though we are shooting out of order. Also hitting my mark consistently.

Melvoin: To elaborate on what Billie said, TV actors work tremendously long hours under very grueling conditions. For example, Kristy Swanson's first shot was set in a scene that was supposed to be mid-afternoon, and we shot her first take at 2:00 in the morning. So that just reinforces what Billie says. After having waited around for what can be hours for reasons that are totally out of the actor's control, the TV actor is expected to be fresh and ready whenever the director asks them to be. That's a big part of the craft.
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Violawest: Whose idea was it to cast Kristy Swanson as a romantic interest for Gary? Her previous roles are all sex kitten/bimbo types. Why cast her for the show?

Melvoin: The idea for casting Kristy came from both CBS and the studio. I would respectfully disagree with the questioner in regards to her previous roles. I would particularly point out that in a movie called Higher Learning, she took on quite a challenging and emotionally difficult role. When I looked at her work, I found that she was a vibrant and versatile and, not incidentally, very beautiful actress who I thought could bring a great deal of charm, beauty and depth to the role of Erica Paget. And I have not been disappointed in my expectations. Everyone at the network and at the studio is thrilled with her performances. And I would ask my fellow actors who are in the chat room how they like acting with Kristy.

Jeffrey: She's fun working with because she's just really nice, and she plays a really nice person, so she's always really nice.

Worley: I would have to say that she is somebody who is definitely always present in the scene, even when she is not on camera. Which makes is a lot easier for me to recreate take after take the action that I want to achieve. She is very light, and we have a really fun time on set, which also makes it nice for working conditions when the actors get along.

Melvoin: While I am always respectful of our fans' opinions, I would ask our fans to withhold any prior judgment about Kristy's performances until they see her in our episodes.

Worley: I think that a lot of people, knowing her mostly from Buffy, will be pleasantly surprised. She is playing a hard-working mother making ends meet for her child. I think she does a really nice job at it. And I don't think I've ever seen her to this kind of thing before.

Melvoin: Kristy told me she had never played a mother before. And for someone as young and attractive as she is, I think it's quite a bold and career-building move to take on a part like this. And I agree with Billie that she will surprise a lot of people with her range.

Worley: In the times that I've seen her work, especially with Myles, there are some super, super, super touching moments that are actually really endearing.
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babydancer_67: Myles, what is your favorite part of your new job?

Jeffrey: Well, I guess my favorite part of my new job is working in Chicago 'cause it's a great city. And I like working on this show because I get to do a lot of my own stunts, and I like working with the animals. And all the actors are really nice. I live in Orange County, CA, normally.

Worley: And he's a big hockey fan, so we hope to get him to some hockey games out in Chicago.

babydancer_67: Will Gary become Henry's new "dad"?

Melvoin: No. We are very concerned that Gary not become domesticated. The three new parts that were added this year each had a specific motivation or explanation. I should preface this by saying that when we decided to let the character of Chuck Fishman, played by Fisher Stevens, depart for greener pastures, we made a conscious choice not to try to replace Chuck in a one-for-one switch. Rather, we saw his departure as an opportunity to broaden both our canvas as storytellers and to broaden the appeal of the show. The first character that we added was Patrick Quinn, the character that Billie plays. And we felt it would be fun, after Chuck Fishman's rather cynical way of dealing with things, to put a fresh, energetic, optimistic, slightly goofy young man behind the bar. And Billie fits that role like a glove. Next, we thought we could use an attractive woman in the center of things. And deliberately, to avoid the possibility of too much romance or too much domestication early on, we decided that character should be a young divorcee with a young son. So, to get back to the original question - Will Gary become a father to Henry? - in a strange way the insertion of the boy, as far as Gary is concerned, was to put up obstacles to too much romantic development too quickly. We also felt of course that adding a young boy could help us attract the juvenile audience. We have had a lot of fun with all three of these new characters. And one of the unexpected features of the new setup is that Patrick and Henry have become very good friends on camera. Patrick is almost like a big brother or favorite uncle to Henry. And that takes some of the pressure off Gary having to play the surrogate father. Gary clearly likes Henry, but we've allowed some occasional irritation and impatience to slip into the relationship, which we think adds to the fun and spirit of the show. Henry finds out the secret of the paper in our third episode, and this really helps to complicate the relationship with Gary in a productive and entertaining way.
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earlydues: The voiceover was missing from several episodes last year. Will they be completely gone this year? And if not, who will be doing the voiceovers now that Fisher is gone?

Melvoin: Good question. The voiceovers disappeared a bit last year because I felt they had become a bit of a straightjacket. If we have nothing to say in a voiceover then I prefer that we not use a voiceover, rather than force some empty phrases onto the show. This year however we've started the year with a healthy number of voiceovers. After experimenting with the idea of an omniscient, unnamed narrator to deliver the voiceovers, we've settled on Kyle Chandler to deliver the voiceovers, which we think works very well.

Ninashair: Who came up with the idea for Early Edition???

Melvoin: The idea originated before I came to the show. There were two freelance writers that were hooked up with Ian Abrams to write a pilot. They wrote the pilot, Bob Brush was brought in to executive produce the show, he worked on the script, and the rest is history.

Chr21: Jeff, I hope you don't mind me asking, Will Bob Brush be writing any episodes this season? His scripts have been missed!

Melvoin: I don't mind the question at all! Bob has written one episode already for us this year, number six, which is a very special Halloween episode. And I just spoke with him yesterday about the possibility of him writing one more for this season, at least. Additionally, Bob is an executive consultant this year, and he and I discuss virtually all the story ideas that we are developing for this season. I'd like Billie and Myles to comment a bit on the Halloween episode, because they play a very big role in it.

Jeffrey: Actually, I wanted to say that in the episode Kyle says I can't go out, because in the paper he sees that Halloween candy is poisoned, and he won't let me out trick-or-treating. I really want to go. Finally he leaves, and Marissa lets me go out. And I almost eat a poison apple.

Melvoin: And fate somehow miraculously intervenes.

Worley: I think people out there who watch the show will be pleasantly surprised by my look. And I have a feeling that this will start a whole new Halloween trend, larger than the Scream mask! I wanted to say though, about Bob Brush, that his writing on the show for this episode has a whole fun feeling to it, and he puts /seems like there should be an "in" here?, for my character at least, really great comic timing and moments juxtaposed to things that are more serious without being over the top. And hopefully, I am executing those comic bits.

Melvoin: We'll save it in the editing room! We're editing it now. We'll make him look great!
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mpleiss: What are the special challenges and rewards of filming on location in Chicago?

Worley: I'll start. I've been in L.A. for six years, from Oregon originally, and when you come to a new city, I didn't know north, south, east or west for about three weeks. I was lost! The rewards of the show for me are the people who are working on Early Edition, and that includes /add "people"? beyond the actors, the crew and producers, for making me feel like part of their family that's already been established for the last two years. And they really allow me to be myself.

Jeffrey: When you come here from California, it's like, there is nothing like the architecture in Chicago, and the museums are great. That's kind of the rewards. One of the challenges is being away from your family and your school. But it's a great city, there is a lot of fun things to do.

Worley: I just want to let everyone out there know that when I was eight, I couldn't say "architecture"!

Melvoin: There are a number of challenges that working on a remote location presents for a production company. Communication becomes critical. You need to have a first-class team on the ground at the remote location who can pretty much run things by themselves. At the same time, it's the executive producer's responsibility to be sure that an outpost mentality doesn't develop. In other words, you don't want Chicago and L.A. thinking that they are really comprising two different camps. It's easy for the team on the ground, for the Chicago unit, to feel that L.A. doesn't understand their problems. And the same is true for L.A. regarding Chicago. So trust and communication become key issues. And in this regard we are very fortunate that we have such a talented, genuinely congenial crew, both in Chicago and here in L.A. Other than that, there are some simply physical problems that make it tough. When we write a script, we don't know what actual locations are available in Chicago. And although we can get location pictures by e-mail, it's still not as advantageous as being there ourselves and getting immediate feedback. The same is true about dailies, the film we shoot each day. In order for L.A. to receive dailies, Chicago has to cut film and send it to us by the middle of the afternoon, when they might have many more scenes to shoot that day. So we are always a day or so behind, in essence, looking at film in Los Angeles. It's annoying, but it's a fact of life. But the reward from a production viewpoint, is that a remote location gives you a look and creative opportunities that are simply not available in L.A.
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LilaniaTwilight: Is her kid played as cute, bratty or something in between?

Jeffrey: He's a little bit over the middle.

Melvoin: One of the qualities we prize most about Myles as a young actor is that he is very believable. He's a very good-looking kid. But he doesn't trade on that. He's an honest actor who comes across as a real kid. And we all love him.

Worley: I haven't been doing this a long time, but you have to remember that he is a seven-year-old kid, and to not only remember the lines but also to have an emotional core about it, is pretty amazing for anyone. I've worked with adults who haven't been able to do that as well. So it makes my job so much easier.

Melvoin: I should add that he has one of the greatest moms around, which explains where his personality comes from and why he is so easy to work with.

SkyMartha: I am from Mexico, and I only want to tell you that I love the show! I really do!

Darren_Gough: I'm an Aussie and Early Edition was my favourite show until they stopped broadcasting it. Do you have any idea if it will be coming back?

Melvoin: We certainly hope it will. And all Aussies should write Les Moonves, President of CBS, and tell him "We want Early Edition Down Under!"
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jman922: What are some things we can look forward to on Early Edition?

Melvoin: There will be some exciting romance. There will be some touching human stories. There will be the same type of charming, spirited, mysterious and unpredictable plotlines that have characterized the show. For our female viewers, Gary goes undercover as a lieutenant in the Navy in our fourth episode, and according to the reaction of the women in our L.A. office, you haven't seen anything until you've seen Kyle Chandler in dress whites! The first episode is about a blackout that hits Chicago. The second episodes introduces Henry and Erica and presents Gary with a horrifying choice. The third episode, Henry stumbles onto the secret of the paper, which creates great complications and ultimate jeopardy for his family. The fourth episode features Gary undercover as a naval officer. The fifth episode is like a screwball romantic comedy featuring Kyle and Kristy. The sixth episode is our Halloween episode. The seventh episode features the return of Chuck Fishman, and a wild plot that ends up with our hero on the set of The Jerry Springer Show. And the eighth episode, which is as far as we've written so far, has to do with Gary trying to save a condemned man and explores the history of the paper and its previous recipient, Lucius Snow.

CMJ_2000_27: What day/time is the show on?

Melvoin: It's on CBS, 8 p.m./ET. And please keep watching, tell your friends about it. We love our fans, we love hearing from you, we can't do it without you!

TVGEN: Thanks for joining us tonight Jeff, Billie, and Myles. Please join us again.

Jeffrey: Just what he said.

Worley: Thanks for writing in tonight, and enjoy the show as much as I do! And I want to thank my co-hosts Myles Jeffrey and Jeff Melvoin.

TVGEN: And thanks for all questions that were submitted. We wish we could have gotten to answer more of them.
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