:Head over Heels (American TV series)

Set in Miami Beach,{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1997/08/26/upn-goes-on-the-offensive-with-its-2-foul-and-repulsive-sitcoms-upn/|title=UPN Goes On The Offensive With Its 2 Foul And Repulsive Sitcoms UPN|last=Boedeker|first=Hal|date=August 26, 1997|website=Orlando Sentinel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614180246/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1997-08-26/lifestyle/9708250726_1_esposito-hitz-andrew-dice-clay|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}} the series is about the Head over Heels video dating agency, operated by brothers Jack and Warren Baldwin (Peter Dobson and Mitchell Whitfield, respectively).{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/UPN-Stoops-To-Conquer-Good-Taste-2829788.php|title=UPN Stoops To Conquer Good Taste|last=Carman|first=John|date=August 25, 1997|website=San Francisco Chronicle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723032848/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/UPN-Stoops-To-Conquer-Good-Taste-2829788.php|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1997/tv/reviews/head-over-heels-3-1200450610/|title=Head Over Heels|last=Sandler|first=Adam|date=August 26, 1997|website=Variety|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614180245/https://variety.com/1997/tv/reviews/head-over-heels-3-1200450610/|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}} Portrayed as opposites of one another,{{cite web|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/561783/UPN-adds-4-more-sitcoms.html|title=UPN adds 4 more sitcoms|last=Pierce|first=Scott D.|date=May 21, 1997|website=Deseret News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723032848/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/561783/UPN-adds-4-more-sitcoms.html|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=dead}} Warren is more involved in managing the agency than Jack.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/08/25/upn-fall-scoreboard-1-hit-2-misses/9c678d0f-0658-41dc-a443-b314c7cb1128/|title=UPN Fall Scoreboard: 1 Hit, 2 Misses|last=Shales|first=Tom|date=August 25, 1997|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723032848/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/08/25/upn-fall-scoreboard-1-hit-2-misses/9c678d0f-0658-41dc-a443-b314c7cb1128/|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live}} While Jack dates female clients,{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1997/08/25/upn-specializing-in-crude-sitcoms-previews-if-andrew-dice-clay-is-your-cup-of-tea-youll-gulp-down-upns-latest-lemons/|title=UPN specializing in crude sitcoms Previews: If Andrew (Dice) Clay is your cup of tea, you'll gulp down UPN's latest lemons|last=Zurawik|first=David|date=August 25, 1997|website=The Baltimore Sun|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723032848/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-08-25/features/1997237028_1_coolio-clay-hitz|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live}} Warren still loves his estranged wife, who had an affair with a professional football player.

The rest of the staff includes two romance counselors: Carmen (Eva LaRue) and Ian (Patrick Bristow). A self-identified feminist,{{cite web|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4396980.html|title=Dating games fall flat in 'Heels'|last=Grahnke|first=Lon|date=August 26, 1997|website=Chicago Sun-Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725213543/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4396980.html|archive-date=July 25, 2018|url-status=dead}} Carmen is a PhD student studying human behavior and sexuality. The bisexual, celibate Ian is frequently questioned about his sexuality, and former stripper Valentina (Cindy Ambuehl) is a receptionist who is knowledgeable about computers. Karen Dior and Bernie Kopell guest starred in the series as themselves. Jim Lange, who Jack had idolized since childhood, also appears in an episode as himself.Terrace (2009): p. 657

Head over Heels often relies on sex comedy, leading The Washington Post{{'}}s Tom Shales to describe it as a "smutcom". Alan Frutkin of The Advocate compared the show to the sitcoms Friends and Married... with Children.{{cite journal|last=Frutkin|first=Alan|date=September 16, 1997|title=The Best Fall Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmMEAAAAMBAJ|issue=742|pages=55|access-date=June 22, 2018|journal=The Advocate}} The pilot episode features Warren having sex with a client in his office despite the agency's dating policy, and a bikini fashion show. Storylines in other episodes include Jack using Cap'n Crunch as an alias in chat rooms to seduce women and Valentina saying she would open the mail topless for $1,000 a week.

File:Connie Stevens Washington D.C.jpg was removed from the show due to a "creative change".|alt=A black-and-white image of a woman with long hair and a low-cut dress. She is smiling toward the camera.]]

Montrose Productions produced Head over Heels in association with Jeff Franklin Productions and Columbia TriStar Television. Jeff Franklin was the show's creator and executive producer. Referring to Franklin's work on the sitcom Full House, Dusty Saunders of the Rocky Mountain News wrote: "I still wonder if Franklin isn't ridding himself of a lot of sexual TV frustration, after all those years with fictional giddy family members."{{cite web|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67748910.html|title=UPN stumbles with 'Head Over Heels'|last=Saunders|first=Dusty|date=August 25, 1997|website=Rocky Mountain News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725213544/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-67748910.html|archive-date=July 25, 2018|url-status=dead}} Andrew Gottlieb co-produced the series, and Vince Cheung and Ben Montanio were consulting producers. Despite being set in Miami Beach, Head over Heels was filmed in Los Angeles. Matthew Diamond directed three episodes, and Amanda Bearse and Asaad Kelada did one episode apiece. Jonathan Wolf and Paul Buckley composed the series's music.

During production, Connie Stevens was set to play the Baldwins' mother in a recurring role. A writer for Turner Classic Movies described the show as "resurrect[ing] [Stevens's] acting career".{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/186790%7C0/Michael-Sullivan/|title=Biography|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023222150/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/186790%7C0/Michael-Sullivan/|archive-date=October 23, 2017|url-status=live}} Although United Paramount Network{{nbsp}}(UPN) had ordered Head over Heels due to Stevens, the network removed her from the project following what it described as "a creative change". In the series's original pilot episode, the mother is the dating agency's original owner who passes it on to her sons. A "cavorting bimbo of a mother",{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-aug-25-ca-25696-story.html|title=A Wobbly Start, That's for Sure|last=Rosenberg|first=Howard|date=August 25, 1997|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520043042/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/aug/25/entertainment/ca-25696|archive-date=May 20, 2011|url-status=live}} she has a relationship with a Hispanic personal trainer and frequently talks about having sex with him. References to the dating company's history and the Baldwins' involvement were removed from the series. For the second version of the pilot, LaRue was added to the show after her character (Maria Santos) was removed from the soap opera All My Children.{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/new-star-sun-roseanne-appearing-3rd-rock-opener-article-1.772968|title=New Star for 'Sun': Roseanne Appearing in '3rd Rock' Opener|date=August 12, 1997|website=New York Daily News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723032848/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/new-star-sun-roseanne-appearing-3rd-rock-opener-article-1.772968|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-talking-with-vol-48-no-10/|title=Picks and Pans Review: Talking With...|date=September 8, 1997|website=People|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726010543/https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-talking-with-vol-48-no-10/|archive-date=July 26, 2018|url-status=live}}

{{Episode table

|background = #4A96FF

|overall = 5

|title = 25

|director = 25

|writer = 25

|airdate = 10

|country = US

|Viewers = 10

|episodes =

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 1

|Title = One Down

|DirectedBy = Matthew Diamond

|WrittenBy = Jeff Franklin

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|8|26}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/head-over-heels/episodes/201910/|title=Episodes|website=TV Guide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725215039/https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/head-over-heels/episodes/201910/|archive-date=July 25, 2018|url-status=dead}}

|Viewers = 2.99{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41386194/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership|date=September 4, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|department=Calendar Weekend|page=44|via=Newspapers.com}}

|ShortSummary = Although Warren Baldwin institutes a policy banning Head over Heels employees from dating clients, he is unable to adhere to it himself.

|LineColor = 4A96FF

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 2

|Title = Gigolo Guy

|DirectedBy = Matthew Diamond

|WrittenBy = Jon Ross

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|9|2}}

|Viewers = 3.13{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41294315/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership|date=September 10, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|department=Calendar Weekend|edition=Valley|page=60|via=Newspapers.com}}

|ShortSummary = Jack Baldwin is targeted by a photo-studio owner, and Ian's macho brother visits the agency.

|LineColor = 4A96FF

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 3

|Title = Game Show Guy

|DirectedBy = Amanda Bearse

|WrittenBy = Mark LaVine & Eddie Ring

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|9|9}}

|Viewers = 2.71{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41313990/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership|date=September 17, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|edition=Orange County|page=F11|via=Newspapers.com}}

|ShortSummary = Warren hosts a game show based on the dating service.

|LineColor = 4A96FF

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 4

|Title = Vice Guy

|DirectedBy = Paul Kreppel

|WrittenBy = Fran Kaufer

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|9|16}}

|Viewers = 2.56{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41385768/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership|date=September 24, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|edition=Orange County|page=F11|via=Newspapers.com}}

|ShortSummary = Jack encourages his employees to give up their vices for a week.

|LineColor = 4A96FF

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 5

|Title = Witness Guy

|DirectedBy = Matthew Diamond

|WrittenBy = Andrew Gottlieb

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|9|23}}

|Viewers = 2.92{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41307958/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership|date=October 1, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|edition=Orange County|page=F13|via=Newspapers.com}}

|ShortSummary = The agency works with a client who is in the witness protection program.

|LineColor = 4A96FF

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 6

|Title = Hot Guy

|DirectedBy = Paul Kreppel

|WrittenBy = Dean Young

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|9|30}}

|Viewers = 3.22{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41301856/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership|date=October 8, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|edition=Orange County|page=F13|via=Newspapers.com}}

|ShortSummary = Valentina and Carmen fight over an attractive client.

|LineColor = 4A96FF

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 7

|Title = Spider Guy

|DirectedBy = Asaad Kelada

|WrittenBy = Chris Brown

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|10|14}}

|Viewers = 2.77{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41309132/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership|date=October 22, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=F10|via=Newspapers.com}}

|ShortSummary = When Warren is hospitalized, Jack is in charge of the agency. His employees are concerned about his unorthodox business practices, including recruiting clients from a retirement home.

|LineColor = 4A96FF

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 8

|Title = Reunion Guy

|DirectedBy = Mark K. Samuels

|WrittenBy = Bob Perlow & Mike Borassi

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1997|10|28}}

|Viewers = 2.89{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/41295054/the-los-angeles-times/|title=National Nielsen Viewership|date=November 5, 1997|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=F11|edition=Orange County|via=Newspapers.com}}

|ShortSummary = At their high-school reunion, Warren and Jack try to impress their former classmates by proving that they are successful and desirable.

|LineColor = 4A96FF

}}

}}

File:Actor Patrick Bristow.jpg plays a bisexual man on Head over Heels, one of 30 U.S. shows in the 1997–1998 television season with an LBGT character.|alt=A black-and-white image of a man with short dark hair and a sweater with a white shirt underneath. He is looking toward the camera.]]

UPN ordered three new sitcoms for the 1997–1998 television season: Head over Heels, Hitz, and Good News.{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-05-21/lifestyle/9705200218_1_upn-claude-brooks-wb|title=UPN: Three New Shows, 'Clueless'|last=Jicha|first=Tom|date=May 21, 1997|website=Sun-Sentinel|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723033935/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1997-05-21/lifestyle/9705200218_1_upn-claude-brooks-wb|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=dead}} They were part of the network's decision to expand its prime-time schedule to four nights a week.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/05/21/upn-expanding-prime-time-offerings/|title=UPN Expanding Prime-time Offerings|date=May 21, 1997|website=Chicago Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019171302/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-05-21/news/9705210122_1_three-new-comedy-series-hitz-united-paramount-network|archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live}} Although UPN targeted its programming at African-American audiences, Head over Heels does not feature a black actor.{{cite news|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-736467.html|title=UPN Trots Out Three New Sitcoms; 'Clueless' Joins Next Month|last=Hill|first=Michael E.|date=August 24, 1997|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725213544/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-736467.html|archive-date=July 25, 2018|url-status=dead}} Network president Dean Valentine denied accusations from "industry observers" that he was "abandoning the black audience or turning down projects featuring black stars and producers".{{cite web|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4411189.html|title=UPN denies giving up on its black viewers|last=Braxton|first=Greg|date=December 20, 1997|website=Chicago Sun-Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313055006/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4411189.html|archive-date=March 13, 2016|url-status=dead}}

Head over Heels was one of 30 U.S. programs that season to feature a gay, lesbian or bisexual character through its inclusion of Ian.{{cite web|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19684419.html|title=TV finds more room for gays; GLAAD says record 30 gay characters will be featured in new and returning shows. (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, 1997–98 season)|date=August 18, 1997|website=Broadcasting & Cable|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725213544/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19684419.html|archive-date=July 25, 2018|url-status=dead}} About the character's sexuality, Patrick Bristow said he has "a rich, rich and spotted past". Sociologist Suzanna Danuta Walters wrote that Ian and Josh Nicolé Blair (in the sitcom Veronica's Closet) represented a trend in which "homosexuality is a running gag", and characters were in denial about their sexuality.Walters (2003): p. 117

Airing after Hitz, Head over Heels was broadcast on Tuesdays at 9:30{{nbsp}}pm{{nbsp}}EST; it was originally scheduled for 8:30{{nbsp}}pm. The series had a TV-PG{{nbsp}}parental rating{{cite web|url=http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/19970826/News/308269933|title='Hitz': New UPN sitcom has feet of (Andrew Dice) Clay|date=August 26, 1997|website=The Standard-Times|access-date=July 22, 2018}} for suggestive language and sexual situations; the Deseret News{{'}}s Scott Pierce felt that it should have received a TV-14 rating for its sexual content.{{cite web|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/579171/UPN-premieres-3-new-sitcoms.com|title=UPN premieres 3 new sitcoms|last=Pierce|first=Scott|date=August 25, 1997|website=Deseret News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723033935/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/579171/UPN-premieres-3-new-sitcoms.com|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=dead}} The series attracted a weekly average of 2.3{{nbsp}}million viewers. It tied with Alright Already as the lowest-performing show (tracked by Nielsen Holdings) of the season. The overall viewing figures for both shows was 2.7{{nbsp}}million viewers.{{cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/article/1998/05/29/what-ranked-and-what-tanked/|title=What ranked and what tanked|date=May 29, 1998|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712024225/http://ew.com/article/1998/05/29/what-ranked-and-what-tanked/|archive-date=July 12, 2018|url-status=live}}

Head over Heels was the first casualty of the 1997–1998 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/35274/upn-clubs-head-gumbel-s-got-droopy-eye|title=UPN Clubs "Head"; Gumbel's Got Droopy "Eye"|last=Ryan|first=Joal|date=October 3, 1997|website=E! News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614180248/https://www.eonline.com/news/35274/upn-clubs-head-gumbel-s-got-droopy-eye|archive-date=June 14, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/worst-of-tube-vol-48-no-26/|title=Worst of Tube|date=December 29, 1997|website=People|access-date=July 22, 2018}} Although 13 episodes were ordered, only eight were broadcast. Despite reports that the series would air through November, its final episode was shown on October 28, 1997. Dobson and Whitfield appeared in all eight episodes, Bristow appeared in seven, and Ambuehl and LaRue appeared in four.{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/head-over-heels/cast/201910/|title=Cast|website=TV Guide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725215039/https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/head-over-heels/cast/201910/|archive-date=July 25, 2018|url-status=live}}

The series received negative reviews from television critics; according to E! News{{'}}s Joal Ryan, it was known as the "Worst New Show of the Season" during its debut. Criticism was primarily directed at its sexual humor, such as a Deseret News writer criticizing its "tasteless, vulgar jokes about sexual performance, orgasms and bodily functions".{{cite web|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/580396/UPN-is-making-changes-but-not-enough.html|title=UPN is making changes but not enough|date=September 1, 1997|website=Deseret News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726010542/https://www.deseretnews.com/article/580396/UPN-is-making-changes-but-not-enough.html|archive-date=July 26, 2018|url-status=dead}} Citing it as one of the season's worst half-hour shows, the Rocky Mountain News{{'}}s Dusty Saunders described Head over Heels as an unsuccessful attempt to emulate Friends. Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times dismissed the show as "the mother of all asinine sitcoms [and] a show with as much weight as a G-string". Head over Heels did receive some positive remarks. Despite calling the show a miss for UPN, Tom Shales wrote that its humor was not as "ugly and vicious" as the sitcom Hitz; he also praised Patrick Bristow's scene stealer and Valentina's technological aptitude as "a cute touch". The opening titles received praise from Adam Sandler of Variety, who described it as "stylish and provocative" and comparable to those for the crime drama Silk Stalkings.

Critics disliked the show's characters and called the female characterizations sexist. David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun singled out Valentina and the Baldwins' mother as examples of the series's poor representation of women. He was critical of the sexualization of Valentina, and the fact that the Baldwins' mother is defined through her relationship to her boyfriend. Sandler and the Los Angeles Daily News{{'}}s Keith Marder felt that the show's characters relied on clichés.{{cite web|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83878851.html|title=Season's Best, Worst Shows|last=Marder|first=Keith|date=September 14, 1997|website=Los Angeles Daily News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725213544/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-83878851.html|archive-date=July 25, 2018|url-status=dead}} Marder summed up the series as "a mess of ridiculous caricatures and poor taste".

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|last1=Terrace|first1=Vincent|title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 Through 2007: F–L|year=2009|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson|isbn=978-0-7864-3305-6|ref=Terrace2009}}
• {{cite book|last1=Walters|first1=Suzanna Danuta|title=All the Rage: The Story of Gay Visibility in America|year=2003|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-226-87232-2|ref=Walters2003}}

{{refend}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0118335|title=Head over Heels}}

{{UPN}}

Category:1990s American multi-camera sitcoms

Category:1997 American television series debuts

Category:1997 American television series endings

Category:1990s American sex comedy television series

Category:1990s American LGBTQ-related comedy television series

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Television series by Sony Pictures Television

Category:Television shows set in Miami

Category:UPN sitcoms