Being Erica

As we near the end of the first series of Being Erica, Erica is still avoiding Ethan.As that relationship becomes increasingly sour, Erica has to concentrate on her book launch at work for the chance to become a junior editor.

First though, Erica's responsibilities at work increase as she rushes to put together a launch for the new book, The None. She rubs her colleague Brent up the wrong way when she refuses his advice and goes on to draft in a mentalist to be part of the presentation. This is the start of a snowball effect of craziness which leads to Erica insulting Ethan's wife Claire. After Claire storms off, Erica confronts Ethan about their kiss and tells him some harsh truths.

In Mi Casa, Su Casa Loma, Erica decides to investigate why her relationship with former best friend Katie has turned sour, and goes back to the moment when she believes that happened.

In the present, Erica and Ethan meet Judith and their friend Katie for a cinema date. However, things are tense between Ethan and Erica, so when Katie makes a few barbed jibes about their relationship being "friends...or friends with benefits", Erica loses her temper.

After attempting to patch things up with Katie, Erica is dismayed when Katie pitches a book idea based on Erica's life to Erica's boss. Feeling betrayed, she turns to Dr. Tom to help her work out where the relationship went wrong.

Erica wades deeper into family trouble in the eighth episode of Being Erica. She's already being cold-shouldered by sister Sam for warning her not to get married to Josh, but tonight she recalls the feud between her parents that led to their divorce.

It's been fairly obvious from earlier episodes that Erica has a closer relationship with her father. Erica's mother brings this to the fore when she visits Erica at her office, but old resentments come to the fore. When Erica, Sam and their mother attend a Yom Kippur service, the tensions bubble over and they end up in a very public argument.

I've been meaning to mention Being Erica on these pages for a couple of weeks now. In some ways, it should be a 'strictly for the chicks' kind of show, but there's something about this therapy-meets-time-travel drama that makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy.

The show is about Erica Strange, a 30-odd underachiever who's failing at life, love and career. She blames her lack of success on bad decisions that have led her to this point. However, she meets a mysterious therapist who calls himself "Dr. Tom", who challenges her to list all the regrets in her life. She does this, and Tom chooses one at random - a high school regret - and promptly sends her back in time to deal with it. They're calling it Quantum Leap for girls, but I get a slight My Name Is Earl vibe from the 'righting the wrongs' foundation of the show.