Subject: Gary and Erica |
|
| Author |
Message |
| maverick_88 08/01/00 |
Wouldn't anybody have liked to see Gary hook up with Erica? She looked perfect with Gary. |
| Hitomi315 08/01/00 |
Sorry, but I'd have to disagree with you on this. First, Gary and Erica never had chemistry. Erica was somewhat aloof yet needy. Do you remember what she said at the end in "Blowing up is hard to do?" She needed somebody to have a stable family with for Henry and to rely on. I think she wanted to have somebody who would help her. Gary was too busy with himself and the paper for her. Gary doesn't need a girl like that. He needs somebody who would understand and support him for what he does and yet share a great romance and fun with him. I said this before under a different subject, but in "Fate" when Gary was pulled out, Erica wasn't even emotional or anything... It was Marissa he hugged first, not his "girlfriend" Erica. For those reasons, "No" to Gary and Erica. Sorry!! |
| maverick_88 08/01/00 |
It was Gary's fault, he couldn't really tell Erica how he felt about her. If he had just told her that he loved her, she definately would have stayed. It's obvious that Gary has trouble telling the truth, here he messed up a perfect relationship. The "prom queen" and the "homecoming king". Gary made a rare error in judgement. |
| Dollene 08/02/00 |
Physically they may have been perfect for each other, but emotionally? Oh, no, no, no! I have the feeling when Gary meets the right woman he will be willing to do just about anything for her and he in return should get that from his partner. Gary wasn't willing and neither was Erica. I don't even think if Gary had given up the paper for her she would have been satisfied. But I did feel sorry for her in BUIHTD. How bad would you feel knowing that a guy you cared for , especially Gary, doesn't return the feelings. |
| TerriRuth 08/02/00 |
I was never keen on Erica, I wanted to like her. She may have been good looking but there's no substance to go with it. She would have tried to turn Gary into what she wanted/needed rather than accept him as is. My first choice is Meredith, 2nd Brigatti. My husband's first choice is Erica, 2nd Meredith. When I asked him about Brigatti, his comment was, "Brigatti's too butch." |
| maverick_88 08/02/00 |
Maybe it is a guy thing, your husband agrees with me. I don't think that Erica would have changed the way that Gary was. It was Erica who saved Gary in the episode where Toni needed to protect him. That was the episode that changed my view of Erica, before I didn't really like her either, but I felt bad for her when Gary kept standing her up. She obviously cared for Gary, and Gary cared for her, but he just couldn't show it. |
| mike613 08/02/00 |
Physically, Gary and Erica were a good match. Good looking guy-cute girl. I can only assume the writers kept the relationship cool, knowing that Kristy wasn't going to be around forever. I thought I detected some chemistry between Gary and the "Weathergirl". |
| Lilya 08/03/00 |
I liked Gary and Erica originally. But as time went on I saw Erica was not the girl for Gary. There are things about Erica that I don't like. The top one being she expected Gary to know how she felt without communicating it to him. She never told him about the neglect she was feeling until she broke things off with him. The reason Gary was so floored by her break up was that he didn't see it comming. Also in order for a relationship Gary is involved in to work out I feel the woman needs to understand about the paper. Something Erica clearly did not do! I understood her being ticked off before she knew the explanation, but she stayed ticked after she found out and that part I didn't understand. Initially I liked Erica, in Fate I became torn a few episodes later I leaned towards no. In Sammo, when she accused Gary of cheating on her and got mad at him for exagerating and didn't trust him was the clencher. Also in Return of Crumb and In Gary We trust I loved him with Brigatti. I think that Brigatti will be supportive of him and the paper so that is why I think she is the better match. |
| maverick_88 08/03/00 |
It seems that I am the only person that thought Gary should have hooked up w/ Erica. I don't really understand why everybody didn't like her. I think if all of you were in her place you would have acted in the same way she did, but u are all entitled to your own opinions and I respect you for that, but I at least thought 1 person would agree w/ me. If there is a person that shares my views PLEASE speak out. |
| mike613 08/03/00 |
Hey maverick, I more or less agree with you. I think Gary and Erica made the cutest couple. Kristy Swanson may not be the world's greatest actress, but I think the blame she gets, should go to the writer's. One week she was sweet and the next 3 weeks she was mean. It must have been a hard character to get into. I have read that Kristy was only signed for 6 episodes. If they wanted to give Gary a long-term relationship, they should have found an actress that could commit longer. Anyone agree? |
| Finabair 08/04/00 |
I
honestly thought that Erica, as a character, was well
written and acted. Mind you, that doesn't mean I liked
her. She was one of *few* characters on the show who was
a person I'd not really want to meet; she was (IMO) a
slightly immature mother who was doing her level best to
make her life work out and working with a deficit she
just couldn't overcome. This made her needy (as someone else pointed out) and I don't think that would make for a healthy relationship with Gary. It also supports the idea that she would swing between sweet one minute and mean the next. She's got so many warring sources of stress, and the problem is that Gary, and his lifestyle, were NOT really helping her all that much. She really seemed to want someone's relatively undivided attention and support. Underneath it, she was very likely wanting Gary to choose between her and 'the paper' but the choice wasn't that simple. It was a choice between her and people's *lives*, which is a contest she was destined to lose time and again. That means that for her, a relationship with Gary would be very frustrating (and by extension, it would be frustrating for Gary too!) Oddly enough, I think Erica has a lot in common with Gary's ex-wife, Marcia. I don't see Marcia as anyone who would have wanted to take a back seat to the paper either. Marcia's main motivation seemed to be more that she wanted a husband who was more of a 'shark' than Gary was, and that she wanted to fit her father's idea of 'successful' but in the end it had a similar effect on the relationship she had with Gary. With both Marcia and Erica, they looked good together and there was a definite attraction, but in the end they didn't have the same goals or motivations. Exactly the sort of thing that would break up a relationship in exactly the way that Gary's relationships with them broke up. So, basically, I didn't see anything wrong with the writing (or the acting.) I would have if they'd kept Erica in Gary's life, but this worked out quite well. Again, IMO. ;) |
| Lilya 08/04/00 |
See I think most people would of handled the situation differently, I certainly would have. THe perfect example is Erica's lack of communication she'd been unhappy for weeks and never said anything. That alone is not something that all of us would have done. As for the paper it takes a special person to put up with a man who gets tommarow's newspaper today. Fact is that Erica had to realize she would be on back burner to the paper. And the fact that Gary makes the paper his priority is a part of what makes Gary who he is. If he had put Erica first the way she wanted him too, Gary simply wouldn't be Gary and that I believe is the reason Erica left. |
| Hitomi315 08/06/00 |
I was watching Fox Family Channel this weekend and thought I would suggest this. I might be just far-fetched, but I thought Kelly Martin might be a good match for Gary. Kelly does a lot of TV movies and was a regular on ER as Lucy Knight. Some of you might feel that she is too much a girl next door type, but, hey, I had to try! I could picture her and her character, whatever name she would be on the show, as Gary's wife, warm, loving, supportive and understanding, yet strong and independent. Your opinion? |
| SarSar 08/06/00 |
I agree. My friends were like "Why did Erica have to leave?", but I think all she did was create a conflict in the storyline. Erica really wanted Gary to be with her- and only her- all the time. Gary did have feelings for her, but it wouldn't have worked out anyway. Gary had to spend too much time with the paper. |
| Candii 08/07/00 |
Well
Maverick.....I honestly didn't think that Gary *loved*
Erica at all. He liked her, and cared for her, but love?
I don't think so, and certainly didn't care enough to
marry her. *She* wanted marriage and I'm sure had she
been asked, would have said yes in a heartbeat! :) Actually, whatever it was that they had, it was certainly *not* a perfect relationship. Strange, maybe, but it seemed as if the writers or whoever didn't want them to get too close, for whatever reason, and there were a few mentioned. We never saw any snuggling, or caressing, or smooching going on. Never any holding, or words of "sweetnothings" being whispered, (except for in the beginning of Fate, which I thought was sooo sweet!) :) Theirs was indeed a strange relationship. Erica was just too fussy, and even after she found out about the paper, she wasn't very understanding towards Gary, and what he had to do. But in all fairness to Erica, I think that a lot of people would find it hard to deal with being *second* in their spouse's line of work. I know that there are a lot of people married to doctors, and lawyers, and paremedics, and firemen, etc. and I'm sure that they have had their moments. They have to be very understanding spouses with a *lot* of love. :) |
| Candii 08/07/00 |
Can
someone please tell me which episode makes everyone
believe that Toni would make a good partner for Gary. In
order to have a good relationship, you would have to have
trust...wouldn't you? So far, I haven't seen any episodes
where Brigatti has trusted Gary. True, because of what he
does, he has had to hide a lot from her, but he has
proven time, and time again to her, that he is decent
person. She already knows that there is something strange
and weird about him, but she should know by now that is
is not a bad guy. He has saved her life, about four times
that I can remember. She is aware of at least 2 of those
times, and she still can't find enough room in her heart to trust him. I know that he lied to her on certain occasions but even in the episodes where he didn't lie, she slammed the door in his face, shut him out after he took a chance and let down his own shield. A person may be the way that they are because of things that has happened to them in life, and some people are just how they are. I'm not saying that they can't change, but Gary doesn't have time to try and change Brigatti with the paper and all, that is something she is going to have to do on her own, and if she really cares for him, she is going to have to drop the tough guy image, and just lay her heart on the line. I feel that even after he tells her about the paper, she will be jealous of the paper too. At least with Erica, there were no hitting, or kicking, or bruising, or put downs. We can all speculate on what would have been had there been a 5th season, but we will really never know....will we? From what I have seen so far there is no reason for me to believe that Toni would have been supportive of Gary. Someone mentioned that Gary needed someone who was the opposite of himself, and that person was Toni. What exactly would the opposite of Gary be? I could speculate, but it wouldn't come out to be Brigatti. I liked Brigatti, and felt that she brought alot to the show, but as a steady girlfriend, or wife? Not until she's willing to let down her shield. Maybe in a fifth season, anything could have happened, but I guess we will never know. Who knows, they may have brought in a totally different person for Gary. |
| SkyDancer59 08/08/00 |
Candii
wrote: //In order to have a good relationship, you would have to have trust ... wouldn't you?// Absolutely. And if Brigatti's been burned in the past by men who have lied to her, I can see exactly why she acts the way she does towards Gary. Gary lies to her. Not only does he lie to her, he's been caught big time lying to her. She's a policewoman, her job is based on the truth. She's also italian, and all the true italians i've met don't hold back their feelings, but after they express them, they are quite able to completely forgive and love as if nothing ever happened. Having said that, I would expect Gary to know if he's going to piss Brigatti off, he's going to have pottery heaved in his direction. On the other hand, by now he should know exactly what Brigatti will not tolerate. Lies. //So far, I haven't seen any episodes where Brigatti has trusted Gary.// Fatal Edition. Instead of shooting him, she let's him go trusting her instincts that Gary Hobson "is" peanut butter and jelly. That's a lot of trust for a woman as strong as Brigatti to give someone who has the entire police force after him. She has no problem using a gun for its intended purpose and she put her own career in jeopardy by letting him slip away. //She is aware of at least 2 of those times, and she still can't find enough room in her heart to trust him.// I don't think that's the problem. I think the problem is that Gary didn't trust her enough to tell her what was going on, which was made perfectly clear in Occassionally Amber. If you think about the general flavor of that entire episode, Gary was always the one in charge. There was never any hint of compromise or even trying to discuss the situation with Brigatti. The end result was Brigatti was made to look like a complete idiot by not only the FBI but every other agency that showed up in the synagog. How would you feel if some guy that had asked you out to dinner just spent the day making a fool out of you? That's like your boyfriend sleeping with your best friend and you having dinner with the two of them after they just did it. Marissa, Chuck, and Jade were all in on it. Brigatti wasn't invited to the party on that one. //I feel that even after he tells her about the paper, she will be jealous of the paper too.// With her background in police work, I don't think so. She's terribly work-oriented...a workaholic if you think back to the episode she was introduced in. Learning of something as life-changing as the paper has a profound effect on people. While Brigatti still trusts Gary, she has to do that completely blindly. She has no idea how he keeps showing up at the scene of the crime. Being that her job is a service to the public, I think knowing about the paper could be incredibly cleansing for her. Especially if she had the opportunity for a little "girl talk" with Marissa. If Marissa let out privately how much Gary really liked Brigatti, it would give Brigatti an opporutnity to express how scared she was about getting involed with Gary with another woman - a safe third party. That would give Marissa an opportunity to relate all the problems Gary has had in the past with relationships and the paper (after all, at the end of Ice Man Taketh, its clear to Marissa Gary fell for Brigatti hard) and let her know that if she really wants to love Gary, she should simply go for it! I think Brigatti would be able to relate to Gary's responsibility to the paper because she has an equally demanding job that many husbands would not be all that thrilled with. At least Gary would be able to sympathize with her, knowing that when something has to be taken care of, it simply has to be taken care of. Season 5 could be a very potent example of the way two people must work to find each other through the frenzy of every day life. Brigatti knows how to love very deeply, but she is frightened of rejection by Gary. Gary, with Brigatti, almost acts the same way. Remind you of high school? How akward it was when some guy wanted to ask you to the dance, but he was so scared that when he did finally get down to asking you, you weren't sure whether he really wanted to go with you or not? Not only would the growth of both Brigatti and Gary be a wonderful example to younger viewers, but the lessons that each of them learn on their way to being completely comfortable, loyal, and up front with one another (i.e. no lies) would be a wonderful example to all those people from dysfunctional families that are STILL trying to figure out what a good marriage really consists of. Gary's shown us over the past four seasons that you can be an only child, yet still have the unconditionally loving relationships of siblings through friends. Why not show us that you can really fall in love with someone you have great chemistry with and make it work even when the both of you are scared to death to get into the relationship? Successful relationships are far and few between on TV today. Most relationship examples are based on "who gets thrown off the island first" it seems. |
| SnowsCat 08/08/00 |
I agree that Gary and Erica did not have very good chemistry. There was just something about their relationship that was wrong from the start. It took forever for them to finally get together. He would lie to her because he was afraid to tell her about the paper. When he finally did, she freaked out and left town! She said it wasn't about the paper, but I beleive otherwise. I wanted more than anything for Gary to be happy and find a girl who would understand the responsibilities that came with the paper. |
| mrwiseman 08/09/00 |
Amen!
I love Toni and Gary together! In the Episode the Iceman
Taketh, remember her saying that she was afraid of dying
alone. I think the phrase seemed telling of Bragatti's
life. I bet we find out Toni has no one else in the world
(Remember in Fatal Editon she was surpised that her
mother faxed her?--I bet she no longer has one). She has
only had her work. And because she has only has her work,
she is a workaholic. It is ashame we do not know more
about Toni. I think a little more insight into her life
would change peoples opinions of her. Also looking at the
issue of trust with Gary and Toni, I think it has been
one sided. Toni has been the one trusting in Gary, not
the other way around. Well, I like to watch the scene where Armstrong asks Bragatti how she could know that Gary was innocent (after all evidence pointed to his guilt)? Toni and Gary look at each other. She never answers, except with her eyes, but I will for her. Because she loves him. |
| Candii 08/09/00 |
She loves him. Exactly! Or she has deep feelings for him, which is probably *Why* she let him escape that night in Fatal. Her heart over ruled *her* better judgement which would have been to turn him in. |
| ZIGGY07734 08/29/00 |
Of
all of the episodes I have seen with Gary and Erica, I've
never seen the chemestry for a long and happy
relationship. Before Gary finally told Erica about the
paper everytime he had to tell her another lie about
where he was or what he was doing, his stomach got upset
and he passed out. Could this be because he loved her?
NOT! I think it was just GUILT because Gary is always
trying to do the right thing and in this case, it was to
be honest. I'm going to review my video files and look
more closely. The only time I can recall a feeling of
love between them was when Erica (in writing) said her
final goodbye. I am ITALIAN and can't help but like Brigatti she has that fire within her carefully designed by the writers. After Gary keeps her from falling from the hotel roof and she is more than greatful for what he has done. Look at her face as she is careing for the wound on Garys hand. They are sitting on the bed and start to kiss and it does appear a really compassionate moment when the telephone rings. Both seem genuinely disappointed. In a later episode find out that Gary is having dinner (NOT A DATE) with her. Sometimes I think the writers make us want to dislike a character. But the antics of both Gary and Toni only make me want to see more sparks. I'm so sad that at the time of this post, EE has not been renewed. I would have liked to see what happens next. Gary and Brigatti maybe, but there could always be someone else, but I do not know who...:) |
| Candii 08/29/00 |
Actually the sparks were beginning to fizzle in my opinion, and I was beginning to get a little disappointed after awhile, because of Brigatti's unwillingness to open up, especially after seeing Gary opened up as much as he would allow himself to, only to be smacked back down again by her. We know for a fact that Gary had been hurt in the past, yet he took a chance and opened up for her, and she hurt him, repeatedly. (Guess I can't stand seeing him hurt ) You are probably right about the writers wanting us to dislike a character by writing it a certain way, only for it to backfire, and everybody ends up loving that character anyway. Could be what the writers had intended all along. Would have been interesing though. :) |
| Ren713 08/29/00 |
I initially liked Erica -- the first episode I was like, "Whoa, she isn't going to put up with any of his crap," and she never did -- however, she was pretty darn good at dishing it out. And I can understand how hard it would be to have a relationship where you are number 2 -- I know a lot of guys I've dated have had a hard time being 2nd to my career. But I'm going with the theory when it's the right guy, they'll understand the priority my career has and in the same breath I'll decide my career isn't everything. But that wasn't going on with Gary and Erica. I think a really telling point was in the beginning of "BUIHTD" when Gary asked Erica if she would lie to Armstrong as to why he was at the gym and she wouldn't -- knowing full and well the reason he needed her to was for the paper. And then he was willing to get her a membership to the gym after she had been such a b!@$h at dinner at Armstrong's. But the last nail in the coffin was in the same episode when she asked him what would be missing from his life if she was gone and he couldn't think of anything. I mean, it was beyond he was having a hard time expressing himself, he just went blank. I can't help but wonder if it was a realization to him, too. Like, "What would be different? Uh..... Well, there may be less whining and no one trying to push me into being a surrogate father for a 9-year-old." |
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