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"Being Erica" More at IMDbPro »

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63 out of 70 people found the following review useful:
Wonderful heart warming show with quirky and upbeat story lines!, 27 January 2009

Author: spaccygirl from CANADA

This is the first time I'm addicted to a Canadian show on a Canadian channel! It is such a great show with very interesting characters and a heart warming romantic subplot. I really like how each story centers on the fact that Erica has to go back in time to change something in the past so she can deal with something in the future differently. I really like how this show has quirky and insightful dialogue and I like how Erica is someone many people can relate too. I think many of us would have liked to change something in the past and Erica does that but, at the same time things don't always end perfectly which makes this show more realistic and interesting. This is a show where a normal person is put in an extraordinary situation but because she's a real person with real problems, she can pull it off and she does!

58 out of 64 people found the following review useful:
Worth checking out - 7.5 or 8 out of 10, 6 January 2009

Author: GrammarMatters from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

(not major spoilers - I won't ruin it for you)

I just saw the first episode and enjoyed it. It's also fun to recognize familiar downtown Toronto filming locations. (King Street, the park in Yorkville.) I don't think I'm giving away anything that the description in the TV Guide doesn't mention by telling you that the main character Erica Strange (played by Erin Karpluk) meets a therapist and goes back in time to relive emotionally traumatic times in her life.

This concept is enticing and I imagine we all wish we could go back to our youth and undo some of the mistakes we made.

Watching the show is a bit like sitting in on a therapy session yourself - sort of like therapy lite. One message that you get out of the show is that you have to make a decision about whether you are going to commit yourself to a decision to keep working at looking at your issues. Those familiar with therapy may understand how easy it is to come up to an issue you don't want to deal with and then find some way avoid confronting difficulties. It's so common to start feeling uncomfortable or afraid in therapy and then just stop going. This show might encourage you to commit to "working" at it.

I don't think I'm giving away too much to say that one idea that comes out of the first episode is that even though we think we can go back and do everything perfectly, we will still end up making "mistakes" (not everything will turn out perfectly like we daydream it could have) but what matters is that we act with courage to do what we know is right - to "do what we have to do" - and stop worrying so much about what other people think of us.

This episode brought some tears to my eyes (and I'm a guy), and I think it may encourage you to spend a little time in reflection about your past.

The production values are high - the scenery is pleasant to look at - and so is the main character.

If you get a chance - don't miss checking out a few episodes.

56 out of 69 people found the following review useful:
Canada deserves this show!, 12 February 2009

Author: denverocean from Canada

"Being Erica" is:

* fresh

* fun

* positively female identified (I watch out for that)

and every week's episode contains a life-affirming message that helps both Erica and potentially the audience.

The acting is superb and I wish the show was on more than once a week. Luckily CBC posts in online so you can watch repeats whenever - bless them!

Finally, "Being Erica" showcases the hard-working Canadian book publishing industry, which can only help with self-sustainability efforts.

The show gets me and I dig it, through and through!

43 out of 47 people found the following review useful:
Much better than I expected!, 13 February 2009

Author: ashaaley from Canada

When I saw the commercials for Being Erica I thought it would be just another stupid low budget Canadian show but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! The premise of the show is about Erica, a woman in her thirties, who has many regrets. She collides with this therapist who is very unconventional. He makes her go back in time and correct her "regrets"; each episode she corrects one. I watched it the first time because I was bored but have looked forward to each new episode ever since. I like it because it's very different. You learn so much more about the characters because you get to see them in different times. It is also funny, and I find the characters easy to relate to. The time travel stuff isn't too heavy; don't let that turn you off. I definitely say give it a try!

44 out of 49 people found the following review useful:
Incredibly well played and just a purely lovable main actress!, 12 March 2009

Author: allansmithee-1 from Germany

What can I say, form the beginning to the end, the show hits the nerve of all feeling, sometimes struggling 30+ women and men. There are few shows enough, that hit right where they have to do, like "lie to me", "firefly" or "in treatment". So what is more humanly than people, who do make a lot of comprehensible and sometimes live changing choices, but still are able to forgive and so been forgiven?! Ever changing, self critical, life affirmatively and heart warming souls like Erica Strange - clearly benefiting from Erin Karpluk - are the ones, which make life just worth living. If I wouldn't new, that this is a TV show and the characters are mastermind views of manifold daily story's, I'd just be overwhelmed and hopelessly falling in love with Erica/Erin. And by not being gay, saying, even the guys are well painted, I'm looking forward to see a lot more of this. Canada/Canadians, another 10 points to love YOU.

27 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Being Erika is a really cute, entertaining, awesome show, 6 March 2009

Author: Kath P from Australia

I read the last comment .. and WHAT !! This show is great..its light hearted, funny, romantic, hopeful. Erica and Ethan are just awesome.. and I'm only up to watching episode 4... I'm hooked.. And to the powers that be, you better see this show for what it is, before canceling it for what they think it isn't !!!!! oh... i love this show!!! :-) Cant you tell !! So many shows are canceled before they get to even realise their full potential... there is nothing wrong with taking the time to set the scene.....if they didn't do they then the writers would be criticised for trying to hard to cut to the chase .. and the viewer wouldn't appreciate the little moments that have been a long time coming if you know what i mean. Watch this show!! Its definitely well worth the time..

19 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Wish a major network (NBC, etc) would pick this gem up..., 21 February 2009

Author: Roni & David Seaborne (seaborne7577@gmail.com) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Having graduated in 1995 with questionable self-esteem, this show completely recognizes the issues so many women (and men!) including myself gave endured. I'm not crazy about time-travel concepts, but this is just a setup on the setting and basis for the plot background. If you are looking for sci-fi, this is far from it and you'd be missing the point. Being Erica expands the characters and gives enough depth to remain a sustainable, realistic comedy. Its acting and directing is definitely above average and keeps me yearning for more after each episode. If you're not exactly like Erica, open your mind and tweak this great show to sort of fit into your own life. There is plenty of junk "critically-acclaimed" television and this happens to be a refreshingly great, if not with great ratings, non-junk comedy-drama! Also it has a fantastic thematic soundtrack that brings back the good ol' days of high school. Guess that means I'm getting old! Happy watching & my official grade on "Being Erica" is an A-.

20 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Being Erica: A diamond in the rough, 22 July 2009

Author: Vince Bacani (vince-bacani) from Canada

"Being Erica" is one of those shows clearly targeted at the "Sex and the City" audience: female-friendly, hip, nice to look at. Ho hum. But before you can click on the remote, you catch a glimpse of Erin Karpluk in the role of Erica Strange, and you're hooked. She is so natural, so lovable - she inhabits the character effortlessly. She can be wistful without being whiny, insecure but not needy. She is also a virtual chameleon who can morph into whatever situation the show's time travel premise requires.

The writing is so fresh and witty. Other Canadian shows have a tendency to be too real and mundane, utterly humourless. Being Erica is funny without trying too hard; the humour seems to flow out of normal situations and conversations, as it does in real life.

The entire premise of the show is that the audience gets behind Erica and roots for her little victories in a harsh world. And we do.

This is a hidden gem of a show that needs an audience. Someone should send a tape of the bat mitzvah episode to Ellen or Oprah. If either of them saw it, the show would surely have a champion who could help ensure its survival.

17 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
More brain!, 23 April 2009

Author: yveemm from Netherlands

I watched my first episode two days ago (which was the third I think) and I enjoyed it! It is funny, contains beautiful people and MAKES YOU THINK too.

This opposed to most series lately (I know I sound like an old person) I think it's great we have a new show with a little bit more brains and serious life than most shows we've seen in the tradition of Sex and the City (which is a lot of fun! But shallow at the same time). I hope it makes people realize there's more to life than looking beautiful.

I think it's brilliant that Erica is not perfect! And the fact she wears normal clothes and is intelligent makes my boyfriend watch it with me too :) The only thing that I am confused about is the absence of the idea that whatever you change in the past, will change yourself and others and everybody's lifes.. I miss this, but I realize too it would be an unbelievable task to implement this in the show. Then maybe it's just good as it is. Recommendation!

16 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Unique and unexpectedly addictive, 30 May 2010

Author: sereneredhd from United States

I'm grateful for Hulu because without it, I would not have accidentally stumbled upon the gem called "Being Erica".

It's got a little bit of everything you could hope for in a television show. Michael Riley is BRILLIANT, absolutely BRILLIANT in his role. I remember him in two other roles, I think. One was in "Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story". If memory serves, he played her father. He also played a writer in "Her Perfect Spouse", a made-for-TV movie.

Erin Karpluk, the actress who plays Erica, makes me laugh, cry, wonder, ponder, and just mull things over.

The other actors/actresses on the show are incredibly talented as well.

The show, while maybe not different in its basic foundation, is definitely different in its presentation. Ultimately, it's about life, regrets, and how to learn from them, see for a second time around what we were blind to the first time, and hopefully, change what's within us, what we don't like about ourselves, strengthen what we love about ourselves, others, and life in general.

It's hard to watch at times, yet I can't take my eyes off of it. For the past four days, I've blazed through the only seasons they've produced: Seasons 1 and 2. I finished Season 2 about two hours ago, and I'm already going through withdrawal.

Great television should entertain in one form or another. After every episode of "Being Erica", I feel like I've just watched a feature length film that flew by only to be disappointed that I've reached the end.

The writers of this show demonstrate grace and finesse with the written word and throughout each episode, sprinkle great quotes from other famous people throughout history.

Like the end of a great book, a fantastic movie, or a inspiring play, "Being Erica" will surprise even the most critical of today's television.

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