Completed: Being Erica

Originally published December 12, 2011 on tumblr


The beginning of a story is a happy accident, the end a fate for which it’s met.
-Adel, Princess tutu

Let me start off by saying i don’t watch a lot of life action TV. however 4 years ago there was an add for a show that looked kind of interesting.

It looked like it was about a
girl who could go back in time to fix her regrets… but honestly it ended up being so much more.
At first the show took a few episodes to hook me, we start with meeting the titular character who seems to just be in a rut. She explains through narration that every choice she’s made in her life has been a bad one. So after being fired (i think at least… i saw the show 4 years ago and never re watched it so going off memory here) from her job she wanders down a Toronto street and goes into a cafe (i think a Starbucks… not completely sure) they are giving out samples, she tries it then to her horror she finds out it has hazelnuts in it which she is deathly allergic to… she wakes up in the hospital…. lucky to be alive and a strange man is there. he hands her a card that seemed extremly simple.

“Dr. Tom
The only Therapy you’ll ever need
Results Guaranteed.”

Eventually she goes to his ‘office’ and he asks her to write down every regret and then Tom looks at the list, smiles and asks her about one…. after a short discussion he sends her back in the past to change what she feels she needs to.

And this is how it all started.

there were 4 seasons total, season one dealt with Erica getting used to the therapy, dealing with her sister who ends up hating her after certain events and eventually dealing with her brothers untimely death.

Season two’s focus shifts over to a character named Kai who is back dealing with a regret from the future. Erica leaves her stagnant relationship with a boy she’s liked since college and she continues to grow and even moves up in her company before her and her boss essentially get fired/quit and work together to make a new company.

Season three focuses on Group therapy where different clients help each other out, this is the start of doctor training essentially and we learn more about dr tom and the therapy in general.
The final season has her passing her final test to become a doctor and slowly she starts helping people around her as if they were patients… the final episode she gets her office and her first real patient… thus the cycle is started anew.

I adore this show, forget that it’s well made Canadian content (other then the atrocious product placement) Forget that it is a glorified soap opera that will use every weapon in it’s arsenal to make you sob (mostly in season 1 with the fight with her sister and dealing with the death of her brother) none of that matters. This show was well written, well shot, the characters were well done and developed over time. Yes Erica started out as being a horrible person but you do grow to like her as a character fault and all.

As far as i know it does stream on Netflix but that may only be in Canada…. i have no idea how the licensing works…. but if you do see it there give it a shot…. out of all 4 seasons 1 is the best… though Kai is adorable….

anyways a great show and i’m glad it’s finished…. though i’m sad to see it end…. then again i guess we all have to go through that door when we come to it.