Dr. Tom

Season 1, Episode 1: Dr. Tom

Episode Guide

"You know that friend you have? The girl who seems to have it all figured out. She's got the great job, the great guy, the great life. Well, I'm not that girl. My name is Erica Strange. I'm 32, still working a dead end job, still sleeping with my cats.

"I know people will wonder why the cute girl with the great education and the great friends can't get it together. There's a simple answer - bad decisions. I could teach a course on messing up your life. Really. I'm that good at getting everything wrong.

"The worst part is, it wasn't always like this. I used to be a rising star. But these days, I just feel like a flame out."

Erica is walking through the streets of Toronto on her way to the call centre job at WPT Insurance that she calls work. On her way, as she narrates the tale of her life, she casts envious glances at a mother with a young baby and an attractive couple.

In her booth at work she takes the opportunity to look online at the Facebook profile of a former high school flame, Noah LaFleur, while taking a call from a customer. Just then her boss motions her into her office.

"OK, OK. So I know it's my fault my life is where it's at, but I figure I gotta catch a break sometime, right?"

However, her boss proceeds to fire her for, as we hear her telling best friend Judith whilst carrying a box of her belongings, being "too bright." She despairs that, despite her master's degree, she is unable to even hold down a job in customer service.

Judith tries to cheer her up and changes the subject to her date tonight. Erica has been seeing a dentist, called Trevor, and tonight is their third date.

He has been so busy and they've had so much trouble arranging it though, that Erica is sceptical about it going any further - even confessing to having looked up Noah online earlier.

Later that evening, after Erica gets ready for her date in front of the mirror, she is walking to the bar they've agreed to meet at when she gets a call on her cell phone. Trevor says he can't make it as he wants to go to the gym instead because he hasn't been in a while.

Crestfallen, Erica tries to put on a brave face but, when it starts to pour with rain, she struggles to contain her emotions. She seeks cover in a coffee shop.

Clearly upset and with her mascara running after crying, a barista offers her a sample of a new mocha mint latte. She accepts. However, soon after drinking it, she begins to cough and has trouble breathing.

Stumbling to the counter, she asks the barista whether the latte contained any nuts. He says it contained hazelnut. Erica just about manages to tell him to call an ambulance before collapsing.

At the hospital, a man walks past her room and looks in at her through the window. Erica, awake, is deep in thought, clearly considering everything that had happened to her that day.

The man enters and, after confirming her name, asks what happened. She explains her allergy to nuts and how she drank the sample without realising its contents. He wants to know about what happened before that though - anything upsetting.

She tells of her getting fired from her job and then getting stood-up by her date. He sympathises. Intrigued, she asks him whether he is a Doctor. Showing her his business card, he tells her he is a therapist - Dr. Tom.

Erica says she doesn't need a therapist just for an allergic reaction. However, with unnerving accuracy, he asks her whether his description of her life - experiencing bad day after bad day and the feeling of nothing working out for her - is right?

Confused, she asks him who he is. He quotes Albert Einstein and tells her that, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." He gives her his card and tells her to call him if she's interested before leaving the room. Erica is left staring at the card and trying to comprehend this encounter.

Back at her Mom's home in her old bedroom, Erica - dressed in her pyjamas - is staring at her wall containing photos of family and friends. Her Mom comes in with a drink but Erica says she wants to go to her own apartment.

Her Mom says she isn't going anywhere 'til she's got some proper rest and, instead, she has invited 'round family and friends for brunch. Erica seems unenthusiastic about the idea but has little time to disagree as people start arriving at the door.

We are introduced to her sister, Sam, and her fiance Josh. Also present are Erica's Aunt Roberta and Uncle Joe, and Judith. At the table, we learn that Sam is a surgeon and Josh an investment banker, both jobs which the pair of them work tirelessly at.

Josh asks Erica how her job at the call centre is going - clearly trying to patronise her. She confesses she's not working there anymore, jokingly enquiring whether anybody is hiring before suggesting suitable jobs for herself - a food stylist, calligrapher, or cat psychic.

Things go from bad to worse when her Mom attempts to change the topic of conversation onto Trevor. She admits that she's not seeing him anymore - and makes up stories about him spitting while he talks and the fact he has herpes "in both places."

Uncle Joe, unable to understand how somebody with a masters is unable to find a career, then challenges Erica - asking her when she's going to get a proper job. Josh, seemingly not one to allow an opportunity to poke fun at Erica go amiss, suggests he knows a good therapist she could see.

With brunch fast turning into a dissection of her failed life, Erica, unable to continue to put a brave face on things, excuses herself from the table. However, as she's exiting she doesn't take kindly to her Mom's suggestion of her always being so sensitive.

"I'm suffocating under the weight of your collective disapproval," she exclaims, as she hastily beats her retreat into her bedroom, locks the door, and then, finding a pair of shoes and a thick coat, decides to make a dash for it by jumping out of the window.

She makes her way into the city, seeking out Dr. Tom from the address on the card he gave to her. We are given a close up of the business card, which reads: 'Dr. Tom. The only therapy you'll ever need. Results guaranteed.'

The address reads 47, Sugar Street, which turns out to be a small white building across the road. Erica enters and is instructed up a spiral staircase to see Dr. Tom, who is apparently between patients.

Erica enters his office - a dimly lit room with shelves full of books and artifacts. Pleased to see her, Dr. Tom - sitting behind a large wooden desk - invites Erica to sit down and begins with another quote: "Curiosity does, no less than devotion, pilgrims make."

He anticipates that she must be wondering what all this is about. He confesses he doesn't have a whole list of letters after his name and his treatment is not traditional. However, whatever she is unhappy about, he can fix. As long as she is committed, he promises to solve her problems.

He is even happy to joke when she suggests he's putting himself under a lot of pressure. "Pressure makes diamonds," he retorts. He then asks Erica to tell him what she feels her problem is.

She says that her life wasn't supposed to turn out this way. She had hoped to already have a great career, to have met a guy, and to be living an amazing life. However, because of poor choices, she blew it.

Dr. Tom asks her for an example before changing his mind and, giving Erica his notepad and pen, asks her to write down all the regrets she has. This process seems to last a while. "How's it going?" he asks her. "It's going," she replies.

We're able to see a few of the last ones - including the final entry, 'Leo Died.' Although admitting there are more, she hands the notepad back to Dr. Tom explaining these are the regrets which keep her up at night.

Dr. Tom flicks through the pad before stopping and asks Erica to explain the one he is pointing to. She tells him that it occurred at the Fall Dance during Grade 11.

What was supposed to have been the best night of the year - making out with her boyfriend, Noah, and "dancing her ass off," - had turned into a nightmare after she and some friends had drunk too much vodka.

After she had ended the evening vomiting and convulsing on the dance floor, she had been dumped by Noah, and was blamed by the rest of the school for ruining the night. She says it changed the way people looked at her.

Dr. Tom sighs and begins to become impatient. He interrupts Erica, declaring that she cares a lot about people think about her - the tone of his voice clearly suggesting that's not a good thing.

"Not really," she replies. However, he stands up and walks away from his desk. He removes his glasses and begins to swing them around. He says as interesting as Erica's story is, he can't really help her until she's ready to make a decision.

He issues her with an ultimatum, asking her if she wants to jump off the cliff and fix her life, or not? Erica, confused by his sudden turn in mood, scoffs, and suggests that coming to see him might have been another error.

"What's one more really?" he goads her. Erica complains before challenging him on how much he will be charging her. He responds that he had never talked about money, he only wanted to know whether she wanted to fix her problems or not. "Yes or no?"

"Yes," she replies emphatically. He smiles and sits back down at his desk, asking her what she would do differently at the Fall Dance if she had the opportunity. Erica, standing up, says she would make it the best night of the year, as it was supposed to be.

Dr. Tom fixes his gaze on Erica who, holding herself, appears to be feeling cold. She asks him if there's a window open. He doesn't reply, but simply removes his glasses. Finally, becoming even colder, she pleas with him to help her before suddenly finding herself spinning around.

Next thing she knows, she is back in a corridor at High School and wondering what on earth has just happened. She walks, backwards, stunned, out of the school - bumping into someone who turns out to be her friend, Katie.

Katie hugs Erica, telling her that somebody called Seth has managed to secure them some vodka for tonight's dance. Erica asks Katie what year it is, but her friend thinks she's just joking.

She then encounters a teacher, Mr Leeds, who, wants to talk to her about the Yearbook layout. Overwhelmed by her surroundings, Erica runs for home where, on her arrival, she finds her dad, Sam, and Josh - who appears to be very interested in Erica.

Erica tries to rationalise her surroundings as she makes her way into her bedroom:

"So dad's in the living room smoking pot and my 13-year-old brother-in-law just checked me out. If this is a dream, it's scary real. I have no words. Well, maybe three - what the hell!

"Am I really back in High School? OK. OK. Panicking here. Stop. What did he [Dr. Tom] say? He asked me if I wanted to fix my problems? He asked me if I could go back and do it differently. That's it. Do it differently. Just fix it and go home. OK. OK. I can do that. Yeah."

The next morning, after wading through her closet to try and find something amongst her '90s clothes that she is now willing to wear, she finds her family in the kitchen having breakfast.

Just then, her brother Leo walks into the room, getting ready to leave for college. Erica, barely believing what she is seeing, goes over to hug him tightly. Confused by his sister's sudden outpouring of emotion, he assures he will be back to see her at Christmas.

On her way to school, she stops outside the entrance to get a cup of coffee from a stand selling hot dogs. However, she recognises the vendor as being Dr. Tom and demands to know what he has done. Has he hypnotised her or drugged her?

She insists that she didn't sign up for whatever he has done and wants out. Dr. Tom quotes back at her: "The life which is unexamined is not worth living."

Erica, struggling to believe she is time travelling, worries about whether such actions will impact on the present day in 2008. Dr. Tom responds by saying he is just doing what she asked him to - help her.

"We learn by doing. There is no other way," he tells her. Erica walks off into school, trying to work out what exactly she is supposed to do. She is greeted by Katie and another friend, Jenny, who checks how she is feeling after her strange behaviour the previous day.

Then Noah arrives on the scene who Erica proceeds to push up against the locker and start kissing.

Later that evening, she is getting ready for the Dance when she realises her legs need shaving - and that's not the only place that requires some attention. Unfortunately, she is watched trying to shave - with some pain - by Josh, who has arrived to pick up Sam.

Erica catches him peering through the crack in the door and is mortified. Not that it stops her from trying to have sex with Noah in his sister's car outside the school. Confused by her forward behaviour, he asks her what the rush is.

She replies that patience is overrated and asks him to consider what might happen if he dumped her tomorrow - leaving her to spend the next 16 years dating guys she doesn't have any chemistry with and wondering what it would have been like to sleep with him.

Noah laughs at the idea and, concerned at her hysterics, tells her to go inside to the dance and that he will join her shortly. However, when Erica enters the hall she is met by Jenny who tells her the whole school is talking about a rumour about her and a vibrator.

Erica tries to set the record straight but, when after he finds out about it, Noah is angry - and turns on Josh after Erica identifies him as starting it. Erica is unimpressed with Noah's aggressive behaviour, but he storms off after she starts lecturing him.

After a confusing conversation with Mr Leeds, who is chaperoning the event, where Erica berates teenagers, she leaves the hall and goes to find Dr. Tom at the entrance - still on his hot dog stand.

She says that if the point of this time travelling was not to get drunk, then she has achieved it. He congratulates her. Frustrated at his lack of communication, Erica berates Dr. Tom who replies with yet another quote: "Do not weep, do not wax indignant. Understand."

A teary Erica pleads with Dr. Tom to help her understand what she is doing trapped back in 1992. Is she stuck here forever? He says that nobody is ever stuck anywhere. Rather, Erica is where she needs to be right now and she will move on once she has finished what she needs to.

"If life's journey be endless, where is its goal? The answer is, it is everywhere," he proclaims. Erica, still confused, heads back into the school where she is accosted by a drunk Katie and dragged into the toilets.

Erica tries to stop Katie from drinking any more of the vodka, but her and Jenny accuse Erica of ruining their evening. Just as Erica is leaving them to drink, Katie is sick all down Erica's dress.

Katie continues to be sick into the toilet and Erica, whose dress is ruined, asks Jenny to go to her locker to get her spare gym clothes so she can change. After Jenny has gone though, Erica finds Katie slumped on the floor having passed out.

Erica's shouts for help go unheard and, after eventually waking Katie up, she goes to find help. Trying to cover herself up in toilet paper, an almost naked Erica goes into the dance hall - with everyone stopping to stare at her.

Noah looks disgusted, while Jenny, instead of helping, is making out with a guy.

Later, Katie is wheeled out by paramedics and Erica, now clothed, runs outside the school entrance trying to find Dr. Tom, but he is gone.

She then spots Judith amongst a group of people but, after Judith fails to recognise her, Erica realises that they were not yet friends in '92.

As Erica is getting ready to leave, Mr Leeds comes out to check if she is OK. She confesses that she's not really been acting herself of late and tries to explain that she is actually travelling back in time.

He looks confused, but tells Erica - who feels as if she has messed up again - she was brave in getting Katie the help she needed. However, Erica is concerned that all the school will again be talking about her.

Suddenly, she starts to feel very cold again and is transported back to the present day where she is asleep on the couch in her apartment. She is awoken by a knock at the door - and takes time to rediscover her bearings, as well as trying to make sense of what has just happened.

Her parents are at the door, with her mom saying she had been repeatedly calling her but she hadn't been answering. Erica discovers that just an hour has past since brunch. Then, Trevor arrives in Erica's building and asks her whether she wants to grab something to eat.

Erica accepts, but when he jokes she should change out of her pyjamas, she changes her mind and rejects his invitation saying she doesn't want to waste his, or her, time. Instead, she walks out of her apartment building and returns to Sugar Street.

On her arrival, she is amazed to discover that, instead of Dr. Tom's office, a coffee house now resides at Number 47. She tells herself that it's impossible, but then bumps into Dr. Tom on the same street.

He tells her he doesn't like to keep a regular office, but that their next session will start soon as they have a lot of work to do. Erica is unhappy though - she accuses Dr. Tom of setting her up to humiliate herself again and regrets making her commitment to him.

Dr. Tom criticises Erica for, once again, caring about what others think about her. Erica begins to lose her temper, telling him she will always care.

He tells her that she cared about her parents' judgement but still rejected Trevor. She also walked through the school wearing practically nothing despite knowing what people at school would say.

Erica says she had to do it, but he replies that we never have to do anything. Erica, her patience exhausted, tells Dr. Tom that they're done, and tries to walk off.

Dr. Tom snaps and grabs her by the arm and shouts that they are not done. "I never expected you to stop caring, Erica. I just wanted you to stop letting that get in your way," he explains.

Erica, scared, pulls away from him and begins to walk away. He tells her that she didn't fail and that, although other people's opinions will always matter, it's her's which matters the most.

For the first time, it appear that Dr. Tom's words have finally struck a chord with her. He tells her he has to go, but that he'll see her soon. Still trying to fathom him out, she watches him leave before trying, and failing, to catch up with him.

Erica is left alone trying to comprehend everything that has happened:

"Change. Sometimes it sneaks up on you. Sometimes it hits you over the head. And sometimes you turn a corner only to find you're different in some small way and the world doesn't look quite like it used to.

"So, where do I go from here? No idea. And, for the first time, I feel like that's a good thing," she concludes.