Head Over Heels

Season 2, Episode 7, Aired

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9.0
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EPISODE RATING: Superb
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Rated: TV-14-DLSV
When a few body parts of an "adult film" star are found in a dumpster, Brenda and the team must scramble for more pieces to solve this puzzle. Once they begin putting things together, the suspect list seems to get longer.
Adding more questions to her life, Brenda also finds herself making a potentially life-altering discovery.

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Fan Episode Reviews (7)

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  • Brenda investigates the murder of a male porn star who is said to have HIV by the coroner but not the same by the lab who tests him. Brenda fears she could be pregnant but discusses her problem with Pope rather than with Fritz.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By bry3, Dec 20, 2008
    Superb! From the beginning to the end. Brenda totally possessed me near the end, when she counts the amount of women that were affected by the victim's transmitted HIV and that the last woman she named was his wife, who hoped not to have contracted it. Brenda thinking she was pregnant added some spice to her life and she could have made a great mother and Fritz a great father, but unfortunately both work too much! I still wished the story about Gabriel and Daniels would go on with more details but other than that the episode deserves a big fat 10!moreless

  • An HIV positive porn star, with a head and some feet in a dumpster can only lead to an interesting episode

    9.4
    "Superb"
    By Slayergirlkal, Jan 09, 2008
    This is one of the few episodes from season 2 that I have taken the time to watch and I must say it was a good choice.

    Gabriel was brilliant throughout I loved him trying to kiss up to Brenda with French toast in the beginning. You could have missed the beginning and still noticed that there was something going on between Gabriel and Daniels! Gabriel agreeing with her was priceless to mostly because of the look on Brenda's face when she noticed.

    The porn star parts in the dumpster was freaking fabulous! I loved Johnson telling Tao to 'head' back. The looks she received for that were priceless.

    Sanchez knowing where he had seen Mundy from was brilliant as well. The look on his face when he was asked if he remembered any of the films he had been in was just perfect, I loved it!

    Brenda being worried that she might be pregnant and all mostly seemed like an irritating side story. It was however amusing to see her all touchy about sex. I loved when she told Pope she might be pregnant because that was just humorous. As always I felt a little bad for Fritz especially when Brenda broke out the crime scene photos while he was eating.

    I loved that the victim had been chopped up with a chain saw and thrown into dumpsters around town it was quite interesting. It was a very good storyline in my opinion.moreless

  • it's all about the porn...

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By xblvr, Jul 01, 2007
    So the other "acting" in Los Angeles got some screen time in this episode. Following an episode on mainstream actors now we have anther big LA industry porn. I don't even want to know how Sanchez recognized him (wasn't he supposed to be watching the ladies?!?). I loved when they were all in the interrogation room watching his work and talking about porn Provenza not liking it because the woman has a broken fridge that never gets fixed. There is a slight strain in Brenda's life she thinks she is pregnant and tells Pope (after making it very clear she just wants a professional friendship with him) and doesn't tell Frtiz (but he finds the pregnancy test). She is still unsure about ever wanting kids, but skirts the issue. We do find out that she never opened the birthday gift from Pope I am still dying to know what it was.moreless

  • Well written and well acted!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By JPPT1974, Aug 01, 2006
    The show is getting better and better and thank goodness
    That is has been picked up for a fourth season
    Pornography is the topic of discussion as the team investigates a porn star's murder.
    Meanwhile Brenda's professional life is now hindering her personal life with Fritz and what she wants out of that life! Very good writing and acting!

  • Provenza: "You know why I hate porn? Guy delivers pizza, it never gets eaten. Girl's refrigerator breaks down, it never gets fixed." Buzz: "Yeah, that's real unsatisfying."

    8.8
    "Great"
    By Tim_Bronx, Jul 31, 2006
    The whole HIV fiasco with Chris Mundy really had me confused. He has HIV, he doesn't have HIV; he's positive, he's negative. I was starting to come to the conclusion that they had the wrong body. I don't know why I didn't think about the clinic lying about Chris's results, being paid by the porn company owner.



    This brings me to Morgan bloom. I found her the most despicable out of all the people we've seen this season. All she cared about was her company and money. She hired the Brazilian ladies because their cheap; she paid the clinic to lie about Chris's HIV status because he earned such good money for her company. By lying about Chris's status, she basically signed of the lives of both Chris and thirteen other women. More women could have even become infected if Chris hadn't found out when he did. Morgan even sold out her own son in an effort to keep eyes off her and her company. She really was a low life and I felt no sympathy when she was faced with a life sentence.

    I found it very interesting that Brenda went to Pope with her pregnancy scare. I thought it was a little unfair of Brenda, knowing how much Pope likes her and how's he's trying to distant himself away from her since her brush off a few weeks back. I could see chemistry between the two for the first time today though. Both actors did a great job with that scene, and when looked at closer you can see many little subtleties that were present.



    On a lighter note, I loved the conversation about porn names Brenda and Gabriel had in the morgue with Terrence (who I find a lot more interesting and funny then coroner Uncle Phil; Terrence deserves more screen time). I had never heard about combining your first pet with the first street you lived on to derive your theoretical porn name. Gabriele revealed his was Light Saver Central, while Brenda started saying "Lucky..." but then stopped suddenly (I wonder why she stopped? I'm guessing her street sounded bad coming off of Lucky.) Mine by the way would be Bailey Simpson. Pretty exciting, huh?

    This was a really fun episode that successfully mixed a dark crime with fun light hearted humor. Bravo

    Final Notes and Quotes

    - Terrence (holding out a male hand): "I checked the inventory and this was all we had on hand." Was that pun intentional?

    - I found it bizarre that a mother and son would run a porn business together.

    - The opening scene was fun. With a crime coming to Brenda and Gabriel on a peaceful breakfast outing, Brenda falling in the trash, and Gabriel missing a bite from his French toast :)

    - I laughed when Sanchez recognized the victim from a porn video, and then again when the whole crew sat down to watch it.



    - Daniel's and Gabriel are now officially dating. There was a nice subtle awkwardness between the two of them and Brenda in the office today, now that Brenda knows.





    Final Rating: 3 out of 4 stars.



    - Tim Bronx
    Find this and many other reviews at: www.motionpicturereviews.commoreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (0)

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  • QUOTES (12)

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    • Brenda: (After vomiting) There's some dirty diapers in the trash over there. Sgt. Gabriel: Yeah. That's the only thing around here that could make someone throw up.

    • Terrence: (back in the morgue, holding a woman's mummified hand) I checked the inventory and this is all we have on hand. Male body parts don't turn up all that often. It's usually the women that ... go to pieces. We did locate a bag of legs, but they turned out to be from North Ridge Hospital. Gabriel: Well the diner where we found the head is close to Cedar Sinai ... Brenda: No, this wasn't done by a surgeon. Medical Examiner: No, this head was cut off in one continuous lateral motion by a rotating blade. Brenda: Probably used a chainsaw. Was our victim alive when his head was ... removed? Terrence: Well, decapitations can be tricky, because it's a procedure that in most cases will kill a person. Medical Examiner: (pause) Thank you.

    • Pope: Since when does sex make you so irritable? Brenda: I have no problem with loving, responsible, two-people-in-the-dark sex. I have a problem with the stupid, irresponsible mistakes people make. Pope: Seems to me your murder victim was very deliberate in his irresponsibil... Brenda: (Interrupting) I think I'm pregnant. Pope: (long pause) I take it congratulations are not in order. (another long pause) You might be pregnant, or you are pregnant? Brenda: I haven't taken the test. Pope: What does Fritz have to say about all this? Brenda: I haven't told him yet. Pope: And you're telling me this after a dinner at which you told me you need this relationship to remain strictly a professional friendship. I know that you don't really understand the boundaries of "friendship" very well. I know this is hard for you. I get it. And I ... (breaking up a little) I ... cannot have this conversation with you. For my sake. (composing himself) Really, OK? Nothing personal. Brenda: (breaking up more) Sure. It's not personal.

    • Lawyer: Naked people are being filmed in every attic, every car and on every swingset in the Valley. No one can keep that from happening.

    • Gabriel: How did you determine the head had HIV? Terrence: We do this procedure where we swab the inside of his cheek? It's the kind of test that gives us the results rapidly. Gabriel: What's it called? Terrence: Rapid HIV Test.

    • Gabriel: A minivan. How many porn stars live here?

    • Provenza: You know why I hate porn? A guy delivers pizza, it never gets eaten. A girl's refrigerator breaks, it never gets fixed. Buzz: Yeah, it's really unsatisfying.

    • Flynn: Chances are whoever he is, he had some priors. Provenza: Yeah. Model citizens don't usually end up with their heads in dumpsters.

    • Brenda: (at the scene) Lt. Tao, could you head on back ... (officers giggle) Could you go back to the office, please, and search the Missing Persons database for a white male early 30s, brown hair, brown eyes, height ... Lt. Tao: He's at least 2 feet. Brenda: (over more giggling) Thank you.

    • Brenda: Is this diner on your regular route? Homeless Guy: I eat here twice a day. Right now is good 'cause it's just before the garbage truck comes. I ususally have my best luck with dinner after 10. But I'm-a tell you, last night they wasn't servin' no head.

    • Brenda: Oh for heaven's sake. It is a head. Oh my Lord, I found some feet! Homeless Guy: Do these feet go with this head? Gabriel: I sure hope so.

    • Homeless Guy: Hey! You guys cops? Gabriel: Yeah. Why? Homeless Guy: Somebody's head is in my Dumpster!

  • NOTES (7)

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    • Original International Air Dates: Czech Republic: May 22, 2007 on Prima

    • The fictional FITS, where the blood tests were faked, is based on the non-profit Adult Industry Medical Service (AIM.) Based in the San Fernando Valley, AIM emphasizes medical and emotional care services for sex workers and patients with high-risk sexual practices. It also contracts to with the adult film industry to provide pre-shoot and scheduled HIV and STD tests, using the highly sensitive PCR/DNA HIV test. Founded by a former adult film star, AIM participated in the CDC/LADOH study of the industry's 2004 HIV outbreak, doing all their HIV testing.

    • The subject of this episode is timely in that an HIV outbreak rocked the Los Angeles adult film industry in early 2004. In early 2004 adult star Darren James was found to be HIV-positive after working with three HIV positive Brazilian adult-film actresses, one of whom infected him. James, in turn, infected an American actress, Lara Roxx. Between them, they contacted another 25 adult film actors. The CDC and LA County Department of Health, with the cooperation of AIM, studied the outbreak, and shut down the industry until virus was contained. LADOH later required all adult-film actors to wear condoms. Both actors were barred from further adult film work. Each of the actors who worked with them were "under quarantine" until their HIV tests came back negative. Of these, five were found to be HIV-positive. Because of this outbreak, both the adult film industry and the LADOH worked together to develop mutually acceptable guidelines for the health and safety of adult film actors.

    • The episode's Bloom family, the owners of Opulence Films, may have been loosely based on the Glasser family, featured in Showtime's "Family Business," who run an adult film production company in Los Angeles.

    • Because the head and feet that begin the episode's murder case were found in West Hollywood, the medical examiner running an HIV test was a matter of routine. This was done because the city of West Hollywood's population is predominantly gay, which strongly influences the city's social and political agendas.

    • Much of the action in this episode takes place in LA's San Fernando Valley. "The Valley" is often referred to as the adult movie capital of the US because of the number of adult films made there, often in private homes, each year.

    • This episode marks the first time an episode of The Closer carried a warning due to content.

  • ALLUSIONS (1)

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    • Brenda: I will be pressing murder charges today, Mr. Catalina, and I need your help in deciding whether I charge Oscar by himself, or Oscar and his mother. Mr. Catalina: Excuse me? Brenda: Oh, come now. This is hardly "Sophie's Choice." This in reference to the 1982 film "Sophie's Choice," in which the lead character revealed that during the Holocaust, she had been forced to choose between sparing the life of her son or her daughter. "Sophie's Choice" has become an expression for a tragic, or extremely difficult, decision.

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