The importance of "Being Erica"

Photo courtesy of Facebook

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a show that is new to me, thanks to the Degrassi Fans group on Facebook. Some people were talking about how a bunch of actors from Degrassi: The Next Generation were on this show called Being Erica. So naturally, I had to check it out. It's not often that I feel like a show is completely meant for me. I don't know how I missed it when it first aired, but I think it was just on Canadian networks at the time. However, I'm so thankful to have learned about it now. And now that I'm done, I feel like I'm going through withdrawal. I'm really going to miss the characters and all the time travel scenarios. 

Reasons this show is totally meant for me:

1. I love time travel stories. This is the essence of Being Erica. 

2. There are a lot of "chick lit" elements: romance, career, family, friendships, fashion, etc.

3. Erica was born the same year as me and graduated high school at the same time I did, although this show takes place when she was in her early to mid-thirties. Having said that, there are a lot of time travel trips to the nineties. 

4. Erica is Jewish and we get to see elements of Judaism that you don't always see in TV shows. There were episodes about her Bat Mitzvah, Purim, and Yom Kippur, just to mention a few. I also loved her dad's shirts. They were always Jewish themed since he's a Rabbi. 

5. There is a lot of LGBTQ focus, such as a Pride Parade episode and a prominently featured gay romance. 

6. Erica works in publishing. I am seeking publishing work. She's also done editing, which is something I love doing already. There's a lot of focus on books. 

7. There are so many appearances by actors from Degrassi TNG. I know I mentioned this before, but it's something that appeals to me. Just to name a few (with their Degrassi character names): Lauren Collins (Paige), Drake (Jimmy), Paula Brancati (Jane), Adamo Ruggiero (Marco), Shannon Kook-Chun (Zane) Olivia Scriven (Maya), Jake Epstein (Craig), Jake Goldsbie (Toby), etc. Even some minor characters had various large or small parts on this show, such as the guy who plays Wesley's uncle/teacher, the cell phone kiosk owner who hires Drew, K.C.'s mom, Kelly (Emma's college boyfriend), Charlie, Sadie, Dylan, Dean, Johnny, Dakota, Becky's grandma, the guy who steals Craig's guitar, Mia's ex-boyfriend who bullies J.T., the teacher who K.C. was trying to set up with his mom, the film director Eli was trying to impress, the magazine publisher Clare wanted to work for, the racist store manager, etc. 

8. Tatiana Maslany is in it and if you know how much I love Orphan Black, you know why I think this is cool. 

9. There are a few actors from Schitt's Creek on the show, as well. I spotted Ivan (the baker), Antonio (the guy trying to copy Rose Apothecary, and David for that matter!), and Marnie (the woman at the unemployment office).

Here's what the show is about:

Erica Strange is thirty-two and just got fired from her job and her date cancelled on her at the last minute. She then gets caught in a rainstorm and ends up getting anaphylaxis from a drink sample at a coffee shop. She wakes up in the hospital and is greeted by a therapist named Dr. Tom. He invites her to visit with him and after a rough morning, she does just that. He asks her to write down her regrets and then sends her on her first trip back in time to change one of them. Soon Erica is taken on a journey through all of her regrets, which teaches her lessons about her reactions to present day experiences. 

This show has made me think a lot about how I view my regrets. It's really poignant and emotional at times. It also gives perspective on what we expect from ourselves by a certain age vs. what others expect from us. There was an episode where Erica's mother was mapping out her life for her...at her Bat Mitzvah, and she made a big deal about being married and having kids by age thirty. That doesn't work for everyone!

Intrigued yet? Check out this trailer. Not sure what else I need to do to convince you to watch this show at this point. It's available on Hulu and you can also find it on YouTube. 

For those of you who have seen all four seasons of Being Erica, read on after the trailer for my thoughts, with spoilers included. 

 

If you reached this part, I assume you've seen the entire series and want to hear my thoughts on it. If you'd like to share your thoughts, please feel free to do so in the comments. 

First of all, I love this show so much. I wish there were more than four seasons because it has so much room to still go in new directions. I thought it was cool how things came full circle with Erica becoming Sarah's doctor. I had a feeling that would happen from her visions, but it was nice to see anyway. 

Thoughts on Erica: 

I liked that Erica wasn't perfect. She's pretty and sometimes she seems like she has her act together, but then you see through all these glimpses of her past that she has messed things up a lot in her life. I love that she can sometimes be awkward and anytime she time travels, she does something clumsy upon entering. She looks like a mix between two of my friends, as well as Shenae Grimes. I didn't like that she could sometimes be condescending to people or act like she knew what was best for everyone else. Like I get that she hated Josh and thought Sam was making a huge mistake, but was it worth saying something for the sake of her relationship with Sam? Sam would have come to the same conclusion either way. Aside from that issue, Erica just reminds me a lot of myself. I found her to be totally relatable. 

Thoughts on time travel aspect:

Sometimes Erica's time travel adventures made me think of Quantum Leap, even though she was usually leaping into her own life. I would have liked her to see someone else's face in the mirror when she was leaping into a different character, like the times she went back to see her mom before she even existed. I know they did this with Tom when he went back into his younger body, but we still saw his current, albeit shaven, face. They also did this when Erica got to be teenage Julianne. I also thought she should have been played by someone else as a teenager, even if we only saw that through images in a mirror. 

The show had an Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus) quality in the way time and space were able to be bent so easily. Like walking into different offices through doors. I love the symbolism of doors in this show and how they kept saying that when one door closes, a window opens. When Tom's office decorations disappear in the final episode, it has such a magical quality to it, where it almost seems like his office was enchanted. Same with Erica first imagining her office into being. There was a lot of suspension of disbelief in this show, but it was so much fun to watch for that reason.'

It also made me think of The Time Traveler's Wife, especially in regards to Erica's relationship with Kai. 

The episode where Erica is being tested before becoming a doctor made me think about a lot of things. I kept wondering if she and Tom were actually dead and that's how they could do all this, but that would mean that all the extra characters were also dead, yet we see them have their own stories too. Also, how could Erica be dead in 2019 from an explosion on a train if she is already dead now? The final episode didn't give any more answers and somehow Leo's appearance made things even more questionable. Also, how would Erica not have any interaction with Dr. Tom if she is helping his daughter? I'm guessing he'll just be on vacation with Amanda the whole time? 

There's also the alternate life concept that Erica brought up when she came back to 2011 as her 43 year-old self. She introduced the concept when talking about the episode where she lost her virginity to Zach Creed originally, and then to Alex Berlin when she time traveled. So there's a Sliding Doors (yes, doors again) concept to the show, as well.

I love how there are no actual devices to enable the time travel. It just happens when Erica says she wants to go back and do something different and Dr. Tom makes it happen. We usually see the time travel occur through someone's eye. 

Thoughts on the theme song: 

It is probably going to be stuck in my head forever. I didn't even like the theme song all that much. I think it could have just been something instrumental and with a shorter intro video altogether. I always skipped through it anyway. 

Favorite characters (aside from Erica):

Julianne: At first, I didn't like her at all. I hated how rude she always was to Erica. Then when Freidken pulled all that crap on her, she became so likable. And even more so when she started 50/50 with Erica. I love how she called her "chicken" all the time and said "Pronto Toronto!" Her friendship with Dave and Ivan was sweet too. Also, she's so girlcrush-worthy. 

Dave and Ivan: You can't have one without the other. They're such a fun couple and I love that they got married on the show. I think I probably like Ivan more than Dave, but they were so cute together in general. (P.S. Dave is played by the cell phone kiosk guy from Degrassi that I mentioned about earlier.)

Kai: He's my favorite out of all of Erica's romantic interests. It's just too bad that it could never really work between them because he wouldn't always be in the past (which is Erica's present). He is gorgeous and has such a sexy singing voice. 

Dr. Tom: He's just wonderful in so many ways. I love how he took Erica under his wing from the very beginning, that he has demons in his past, that he tries genuinely hard to be a good person, that he quotes different people all the time, from Shakespeare to Spider-Man. 

Sam: I liked Erica's sister a lot. She came a long way from figuring out that her marriage wasn't what she was hoping for, to getting back on her feet, to landing in a stable relationship, to becoming a mom. She looked a lot like Jane Levy (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist). 

Lenin: I liked him from the moment he first started flirting with Sam. He's such a great boyfriend for her. 

Cassidy: I can't really pinpoint why I like her aside from being nice and pretty. Her confidence, perhaps?

Least favorite characters:

Thomas Freidken: I really wanted to see someone take him down. He was such a horrible creep with the most inflated ego ever. I was literally yelling the F-word at him whenever he spoke. 

Scott Galvin: He was a terrible boss and I hated how he treated Julianne and Brent. 

Josh: I never liked him for Sam and I'm glad she finally came around to realizing it. He had a few nice moments, but then he would ruin them by acting like a jerk again. 

Claire: She was always rubbing her relationship with Ethan in Erica's face and then she ended up cheating on him and trying to take him for everything in the divorce. She had a good moment in one of Erica's time travel scenarios, but it wouldn't have happened in the original version of that same evening. 

In the middle:

Jenny: She could be a bully and a hot mess, but I feel like she genuinely cared about Erica and their friendship. (This is the character played by Paula Brancati. However, I liked Paula better as Jane on Degrassi.)

Brent: He started off nice, had a period of being a jerk, and then came around again and was a lot more likable. I love that he and Julianne finally got together!

Dr. Naadiah: She always seemed to be in Dr. Tom's business and trying to make decisions for him, but when she invited him to see her life outside of work, it endeared me to her. Also, she's the reason Dr. Tom got to be a therapist in the first place. 

Leo: There were just some things I liked about him and some things I didn't. Like he could be a good brother to Erica and Sam sometimes, and then act selfishly at other times (like with the car situation). 

Adam: He was cute and a good match for Erica, but I didn't like how he'd get mad at her over every little thing. And yes, he wasn't Kai, so I had trouble completely investing in their relationship. He was considering getting a BSC wax though...

Ethan: I liked his friendship with Erica, but not their romantic relationship. He was so rigid and boring. 

Erica's parents: It took me a while to warm to them, but then I liked them later on. I enjoyed learning more about her mom through seeing her in the past and learning that she wasn't perfect either. 

Some of my favorite episodes:

* Pride parade. I love anything with LGBTQ and this reminded me of the times I went to the Chicago Pride parade.

* The one with Erica's final test. It was such a game changer (it had me panicking) and made me think a lot. 

* Erica's Bat Mitzvah. She had a Dirty Dancing theme. Too bad she's a fictional character or we have totally been friends! 

* When Erica becomes Julianne on Christmas. I especially loved when she did the air quotes.

* The Groundhog Day (or half-day) episode.

* The one where she goes into the future (2019) to learn more about Kai. It was fun to see what they thought 2019 would be like in 2009. 

*The camp episode that featured Jake Epstein (Craig from Degrassi). 

*The one where she brings Judith's baby to her college memory.

*When she goes back to 1969 to find out the truth about her mom's past. (Her mom was played by Lauren Collins--Paige from Degrassi--and she fit the role so well since she looks like Erica's present-day mom.)

*When she's Julianne's doctor-in-training and we find out more about why Julianne lashes out at people.

*The episode about Purim because it doesn't often happen on TV shows and because of how Erica repairs her relationship with her Zadie.

Little inconsistencies I noticed:

1. The actress who plays Erica at her Bat Mitzvah is completely different from the actress who plays her in the Hanukkah episode. They're supposed to be around the same age.  

2. The Goblins sign reverts back to the old design in one of the episodes of season four, but changes back after that. 

3. Erica got mad at Dr. Tom for trying to change her history, but she felt it was okay to change Adam's timeline in the episode where she has control over time travel. 

4. I heard Kai call Dr. Fred "Dr. Frank" in one episode. At least it sounded that way.

Things I thought were funny:

*The kitty book

*Adam walking into Dr. Tom's office completely naked

*Erica's jokes at the Purim party and her Zadie wanting to know the punchline of the one he interrupted.

*Brent's dog licking his mouth.

*Erica calling Dr. Tom out on quoting Spider-Man

*Erica ruining the ice penis sculpture at the Pride party

I'm sure there are many more, but these were at the top of my head.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on Being Erica.