DECEMBER 1968: DONALD MAY "ONE-HANDER"
Devoting a full half-hour of airtime to just one character was a fanciful conceit, but that's exactly what headwriter Henry Slesar did in this memorable 1968 episode. Adam Drake, defending Julie Jamison in a spectacular murder trial, delivered an impassioned closing summation to the jury, and in doing so, was the only character to speak for the entire live telecast. Memorizing a forty-eight page monologue proved a formidable challenge to actor Donald May, but he rose to the occasion, giving an impeccable (not to mention legendary) performance. This episode proved so successful that Slesar penned a similarly-styled script eight years later.

DECEMBER 1, 1975: NINETY-MINUTE SPECIAL
When EDGE shifted networks in late 1975, headwriter Henry Slesar was presented with the unenviable task of creating a transition episode that would conclude CBS storylines, while launching new ones for ABC. Sympathetic to Slesar's plight, the network approved a special expanded telecast for EDGE's debut on ABC. Only the second daytime serial to air for ninety minutes (the first was NBC's premiere of "How to Survive a Marriage" in 1974), EDGE's first ABC show was a tautly written, acted, and directed showcase, which was loaded with the same suspense and surprises that had kept viewers enthralled for almost twenty years on CBS. First, Slesar shocked viewers with the revelation that Dr. Clay Jordan's mysterious Parisian patient was in fact the presumed dead Nicole Drake (returning fan-favorite Maeve McGuire), whose body had never been recovered following an explosion-at-sea two years before. Later in the show, the dramatic custody trial between Mark and Serena Faraday reached an astonishing climax when Serena's split-personality "Josie" emerged and shot husband Mark to death on the courthouse steps. It may have been a new network, but it was still classic Edge.

NOVEMBER 16, 1976: KARR "TWO-HANDER"
Like the Donald May one-hander eight years before, this off-beat episode showcased the talents of veterans Forrest Compton and Ann Flood (Mike and Nancy Karr), who were the only performers to appear in the episode. Brilliantly written and directed, the show focused on the disintegration of Mike and Nancy's marriage. For months, Nancy had been seen in the company of the mysterious "Mr. Smith", who presumably had ties to mob kingpin Tony Saxon. Nancy pleaded with Mike to stop his investigation of Saxon's criminal activities, and when Mike refused, Nancy issued an ultimatum: "Quit the crime commission or our marriage is over." By the end of the half-hour, Nancy had packed her bags and prepared to leave. What made this episode work so well was that Slesar withheld the fact that Nancy was actually being blackmailed with death threats against her adopted son Timmy Faraday. For viewers, it seemed as though the Karr's perfect marriage might be irrevocably destroyed.