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This past weekend I did something I’ve never done before.
No, I didn’t get a tattoo.
Cooked a meal? Nope not that either.
Gave up my dream of Mike Morrison reality show? Not a chance.
It was none of those, instead I watched two CBC shows. And not just a couple of minutes of them. The entire show. From start to finish. Being Erica and Wild Roses both premiere this week and I was able to get to catch their pilot episodes early.
Being Erica premieres tonight and Wild Roses (filmed in Alberta) debuts on Tuesday. Check back Tuesday for my thoughts of Wild Roses but for now let’s talk about Being Erica.
Being Erica stars canadian actress Erin Karpluk as a quirky Liz Lemon-esque 32-year old woman named Erica Strange who has lost her way. She is perpetually single and stares longingly at her ex-boyfriend’s facebook page at her dead end job. Needless to say she is an all too familiar rut.
Within the first couple of minutes of the show, her life is turned upside down when she is given the chance to do something we would all kill to do. After a mysterious therapist gets her to write down all the things she wishes she can change about her life, she throw back in time to right what she considers her wrongs.
The first episode takes her back to her high school days to fix an embarrassing situation at the big dance. Erica is in the body of her 16 year old self but has the thoughts and panic of her 32 year old self.
The show is a funny (yes, I said funny) spin on shows that we’ve seen before (My Name is Earl, Twice in a Lifetime, Joan of Arcadia). But this one is different because Karpluck is upsettingly charming. So much so that you cheer for her almost instantly. And I’m not just saying this being Erica Strange has her own hilarious blog!
One of my favorite moments of the show was when Erica began to go through her early 90’s stuffed closet and try to find something to wear to the big dance. Her expressions are hilarious and you can’t help but wonder what clothes we would struggle to wear if given the same experience.
The show also leaves us with lots of questions mostly: What happened to her dead brother? And how will these changes effect her adult life?
After watching the first episode, I added Being Erica to my Season Pass list on my Tivo. This is only the third Canadian show to have that honor. The two others are Degrassi and The Aftershow (they’ll call some day right?)! Future episodes will see Erica joining an old secret society, reliving the loss of her viriginity, standing up to an old professor and returning to her Bar Mitzvah. Oh vey indeed.
Being Erica premieres on CBC tonight at 9pm.
