Erica Strange Wins the Game

Every person has one of those moments when they meet or see somebody and think, “they have the perfect life or they seem so successful”. Envious, we examine our own lives and ponder which decisions of our past might have prevented us from having that life. It is in these moments that a bright light shines upon our inner souls, revealing the flaws of our past that cast the shadows of discontent upon our self-identify. Then a voice deep inside asks us, “Why do we never seem to win the game?”  

Four years ago, we met somebody struggling with that question. Her name was Erica Strange of the CBC show Being Erica. Her character was a 32 year old rising star that made a series of bad decisions and ended up as a flameout, working in a dead end job, living with her cat and wondering how she ended up in this place. She meets a time-travelling therapist known as Dr. Tom who gives uses time travel therapy to resolve the regrets and help her to “win the game”.  

I have to admit that I was drawn to Being Erica because it was a time travel show. I was looking forward to her saving the world from the past, experiencing significant historical events and meeting famous historical figures. Basically, I was expecting a remake of Quantum Leap with a psychotherapy twist. While some episodes of Being Erica had those story elements and time travel was a story vehicle, it wasn’t really a time travel show. It was really the story of a woman’s quest to eliminate the discontent of her present and obtain the future she wanted by resolving the events of her past. 

Erica’s quest has been the subject of much dissection by the show’s fans. It has been documented in multiple formats, critiqued from a variety of perspectives and alternative storylines debated all over the internet. In case you’ve missed all the excitement, one of the best show recaps/critiques can be found on TVAngie’s website. All of the episodes can also be seen on youtube. However, it wasn’t the technical debates that I found most fascinating. It was the bond fans were forming with the show and understanding why it was happening.

During that first season, fans began to emotionally connect with Erica’s character. They started posting online how the show “spoke” to them and how they were using Erica’s lessons to resolve problems in their own lives. The show was becoming something much more than evening entertainment. It was being incorporated into people’s daily lives. I think that connection had something to do with Erica being an onscreen personification of that voice deep inside us trying to cope with the discontent in our lives. Our inner challenges were reflected in Erica’s struggles with the feelings of inadequateness, love, longing, death, friendship, being disappointed and meeting society’s expectations. Her inward exploration and outward transformations became ours as we applied the lessons from her past to our futures. 

In the “Erica Interrupted” episode in Season 3, Erica is struggling with the fact that all her work to change her life for the better had been a dream. In the next to last scene, a vision of Erica’s brother (Leo) meets her on a bridge. Erica tells Leo, “Even if everything I’ve experienced wasn’t real, I’ve been changed by it, and that’s real.”  Then Leo disappears and Dr. Tom, acting as a surrogate for her inner voice, informs Erica that she had passed the test. Erica had finally realized that “winning the game” had nothing to do with the outward things we possess or accomplish but rather had everything to do with finding happiness through the inward changes that lead us to contentment.  

In the age of reality shows and formula vampire, legal, medical and crime scene investigation dramas, it just doesn’t seem like there is room on television for shows about the philosophical exploration of our lives. The fact that a show like this was even given a chance on network television was truly remarkable. It refutes the corporate mindset that television has to be theater for the mindless to be successful. Goodbye Erica, your fans are going to miss you!