Fri, Nov 15, 1996
When Gary reads that a young boy will unwittingly shoot and kill his brother with his mother's gun, he embarks on a mission to prevent it. Pretending to be from the school, he makes contact with the divorced mother and befriends her and her boys. When the ex-husband finds out about Gary, he becomes furious and causes untold trouble until Gary succeeds in getting him arrested. However, one of the sons is still in danger and Gary must find a way to prevent his untimely death.
Fri, Nov 22, 1996
Meredith Carson and Gary make contact once again, rekindling their relationship. At first she takes the high road and resists using the paper to get a good story, but temptation overtakes her and she follows the paper's leads to an arson fire, causing friction between Gary and herself. To make matters worse, she lets Chuck get a peek at the financial section and he scores huge in the stock market which lands him in deep trouble with SEC. Meredith finally makes a courageous decision about the paper and takes a position with a paper in another city.
Fri, Dec 6, 1996
Gary is having trouble moving on from his divorce after an encounter with Marcia. At the same time he finds his ex-boss will have troubles with one of his former co-workers. Despite the contempt he has for his ex-boss, Gary must find out who the disgruntled employee is and stop him in time.
Fri, Dec 20, 1996
Tis the Yuletide season, and Chuck is about to embark on an exciting skiing trip when his car is impounded. After becoming belligerent with the police, Chuck is thrown into a jail cell with a man who believes he is Santa Claus. They escape in a stolen car and head for McGinty's Bar. Meanwhile, Gary and Detective Crumb try to catch a mad bomber, only to discover the bomber is actually stalking them. They finally catch up to him in McGinty's, where he is threatening to blow the place up. Chuck and Santa Claus show up, and a standoff occurs until Santa grabs the bomb, rushing outside where it promptly detonates, killing Santa. Later, Chuck and Gary both receive very special Christmas presents, causing them to wonder if Santa really was blown up.
Fri, Jan 10, 1997
The city is suffering from a severe cold-snap and Chuck's apartment loses its power. He moves in with Gary for the day and takes over the entire hotel room with his pet gold fish and various possessions, frustrating Gary to no end. Out on the street, Gary keeps running into the same homeless kid begging for money and then reads that the kid is going to freeze to death. Gary finds the abandoned building where the kid is living and they both become trapped and in danger of freezing to death. Chuck sees the paper and reads that both Gary and the homeless kid freeze to death, so he rushes to the rescue but he's worse than useless.
Fri, Jan 24, 1997
Theresa LaParco is the pretty moll of a big time mob boss named Frank Pirelli. When she decides to leave him, Pirelli tries to put a "hit" on her. Gary and Chuck make contact with Theresa as she attempts to go "on the run", putting their lives in danger also. Besides having mobsters on her trail, the police are also looking for Theresa to testify against Pirelli. Gary is questioned by both the police and Pirelli repeatedly, but he truly doesn't know where Chuck and Theresa are. Complicating matters even more, Chuck has fallen in love with Theresa.
Fri, Jan 31, 1997
The discovery of an envelope hidden in a wall, left there by Lucius Snow, coincides with a visit of the U.S. President to Chicago. Gary uncovers an assassination plot is in the works, and he is at the center of it. The envelope left by Snow reveals that Snow faced a similar situation in 1963. Colleagues are not safe as part 1 of "The Wall" plays out.
Fri, Mar 7, 1997
While trying to help someone, Gary finds himself serving on a jury. The trial is a little unusual because the defendant is defending himself so the judge has the jury sequestered, which means Gary can't get access to the paper. When it does come it's taken away from him and he manages to get a glimpse of it which tells him that the man is innocent but he's not doing a good job defending himself. Eventually Gary has to turn to Chuck for help.