TV Recommendation: Being Erica

[liz_marcs]

Okay, okay. I've been remiss about mentioning that I got sucked into Being Erica (proof positive that Canadians use their inbred niceness for soul-sucking evil) on SOAPnet (proof positive that Americans are just batshit insane).

By the way, I have positively no clue why a show like "Being Erica" is on (of all things) the Disney/ABC-owned SOAPnet. It's a straight-up genre show. Think Quantum Leap meets My So-Called Life.

The series in a netshell: Erica Strange is a 31-year-old fuck-up. She somehow is recruited to go into therapy so she can overcome her problems by the mysterious Dr. Tom. One problem: it's not just any therapy. It's time-traveling therapy where Erica gets to reverse her regrets. As she works through her list, Erica's life slowly starts to improve. However, dark hints are starting to emerge that there's "a price" for this free and supernatural therapy, and it sounds like it's a heavy one.

Now, I don't know how it all started, as I came into the series three episodes into Season 2 completely by accident. I think I caught an ad for the show on another network (USA, I think), and it looked interesting enough for me to give it a try.

I've got to tell you that even after watching the episodes I have, I still can't tell you why "Being Erica" is on SOAPnet.

Cablenets that would also make a lot more sense than SOAPnet for "Being Erica":

• USA Network, which I think could really, really, really use another television series with a female lead. Right now they've got exactly one: In Plain Sight. All of their other series, both original and purchased, have male leads. Seriously.
  
  
• Lifetime Network. While Lifetime has oodles of female-led shows, wouldn't it be nice to have a Lifetime show where the female lead wasn't passively going through life, a victim, a soon-to-be victim, or any combination of the above? Yeah. It would be kind of nice to have a plucky, over-30 heroine who's taking an active role in improving herself on Lifetime, wouldn't it? (Whoops! Forgot they have Drop Dead Diva, but that's one show in a sea of Lifetime crap.)
  
  
• SyFy. If SyFy wasn't so deluded into believing that only men 18-34 watch their network, "Being Erica" would probably be double-billed with Eureka. However, since SyFy seems to think that women avoid their network like it's herpes, I think the idea of ever seeing "Being Erica" or a show like it on this network is pretty much doomed.
  

In any case, I am *uncontrollably excited* (see icon) because I found out two things:

• Rumor has it that the crack-dealing CBC has renewed "Being Erica" for a third season
  
  
• Hulu is streaming the entire series on-line (U.S. Audiences only). This means I can actually watch all of Season 1 and the beginning bit of Season 2. Yay!
  

Yes, "Being Erica" is not terribly deep. It's a cute, fun show that frequently passes the Bechdel Test. It's got a relatable female character who not only actually takes an active role in improving her life, but is actually capable of learning from her mistakes. Not only that, she's over the age of 30. Sure, it's a soap-bubble of a genre show, but it's a show that makes me pretty damn happy in a goofy kind of way.

Definitely recommended.

Comments

[szandara.livejournal.com]

Oh, that sounds like fun! I will be spending way too much time on hulu really soon.

Also, season 4 of Eureka is coming in April, whee!

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

It's a very cute show. It's not going to win any major awards any time soon, but it's a perfect "I've had a tough day, I need to unwind and watch a show where I can root for someone" kind of distraction.

The writing is solid, the internal "rules of the game" make perfect sense, and I really kind of dig the lead character and the actress who plays her.

[the-jackalope.livejournal.com]

I sorta feel like women centric networks are snickering behind their hands at SyFy. They're all, "oh, women don't watch genre shows? you're right SyFy, of course you're right." and then sneakily producing female centric genre shows. Like Being Erica, and Drop Dead Diva.

[liz-marcs.livejournal.com]

Gah! I forgot about Drop Dead Diva (which is actually on Lifetime), so I've edited to add.

But, seriously, I cannot even begin to explain why "Being Erica" is on SOAPnet. It makes no sense for it to be there at all. It's an utter mystery.

Plus, it's nice to see a show that's filmed in Toronto actually *be* a television series that takes place in Toronto, y'know?

And have I mentioned? Relatable female character who's over 30! YAY!

[the-jackalope.livejournal.com]

Yea, it's just kind of a bizare placement.

I keep meaning to watch it, but forget that it's on, so I'm glad you mentionted the Hulu thing.

[gwynnega]

I am a fan of the show as well.

The reason it's on Soapnet? Because the guy in charge of Soapnet is not-so-subtly trying to phase out the actual soap content of the network and replace it with...other stuff. Sort of like MTV having no music content! There are rumors that Soapnet will be rebranded/renamed and all the soap content removed.

But anyway, yeah, Being Erica is a fun show!

[the-jackalope.livejournal.com]

Maybe they could make it the "women are awesome and like genre shows so there SyFy" network. Possibly I am bitter.

[gwynnega]

Heh. I watch soap operas and would like Soapnet to stay soapy--but then again I'm happy I wound up watching Being Erica!

[the-jackalope.livejournal.com]

Oh I enjoy soaps as well, so I'm ok with it staying soapy. Just, if they're going to change...

[dragonydreams.livejournal.com]

I've been enjoying it since mid-way through the first season. I actually downloaded the episodes when they aired in Canada for season two, and am watching them again now on SOAPnet. (SN is editing out some parts that ran in the original Canadian episodes - nudity and sex and so forth.) It was an easy show to get sucked into.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

This sounds kind of awesome. I'm going to add it to my summer TV watch list.

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

I've been watching "Being Erica" since last year, and I really like it--even though Erica can be painfully stupid sometimes. But then, I suppose we all can. I just get to sit in judgment on Erica being stupid in ways I probably wouldn't.

The other thing that's awesome about it: Erica is not just over 30 and capable of making her own decisions, she's also Jewish! and she cares about being Jewish but she's also sometimes conflicted about it! And her family gets together for religious events but they're not, like, all obsessive about it! And her mother isn't a purely stereotypical Jewish mother but is a complex character in her own right!

OK, I realize that's too many exclamation points. It's just so exciting for me to see religion treated as what it is for most people, an important but not all-consuming aspect of life. Not to mention seeing a main character's parents presented as something other than caricatures.