Dpt Chief Brenda starts her job putting career LA cops in their places at a crime scene. Her initial relationships with one of the LT is highlighted alone with Sgt Gabriel. If the old boys club thought they didn't like her, she gives them reasons to really dislike her. Taylor resentment to backstab and doubletalk is shown. She isn't nice but she is a Closer and walks into LAPD outranking veterans with decades on the job. I was hooked on the shown from this episode and it improved from here. Will's true colors are shown too.
6 Reviews
Glad They Toned Brenda Down Afterwards
ShelbyTMItchell10 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
She came on in, kicked butt, and really took down names. And really the old boys club as year it was the fault on both sides. But they learned to respect and later liked her. As she gave them reasons to not like her
As she was a woman. But she had experience on decades over on the job. While she was with the CIA. But at least both of the sides mellowed out and starting working with each other. That made the show a hit. Great writing and acting
Kyra Sedgwick got out of being under husband Kevin Bacon's shadows and finally made her own name.
As she was a woman. But she had experience on decades over on the job. While she was with the CIA. But at least both of the sides mellowed out and starting working with each other. That made the show a hit. Great writing and acting
Kyra Sedgwick got out of being under husband Kevin Bacon's shadows and finally made her own name.
Looks Like Love
biorngm26 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I have watched all episodes of The Closer many times quite recently and since its inception in 2005. The Closer is by far one of my favorite TV dramas. I will get to the initial episode summary-review, but first a few sentences regarding the entire production. The premise centers around a flawed professional, named Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson and she is supported by a staff of no-so-perfect officers. The woman conducts her business primarily in the confines of an interview room, with her officer-staff watching from a control room. She successfully gets the suspect(s) to confess to the crime when she has them dead-to-right. The series never wastes time with excess video, run times were forty plus minutes on average. Using her police-officer-staff-members to add support to the evidence, she puts together a case against the suspect which is air-tight. Her method of operating is questionable by peers, superiors and outside agencies, but she gets the job done. The main cast characters are as follows:
LAPD Detective Lieutenants Provenza, Tao, Flynn; LAPD Detectives Gabriel, Sanchez, Daniels; LAPD Surveillance Coordinator Buzz Watson LAPD Captain, later Commander Taylor LAPD Assistant Chief of Operations Will Pope, later Chief
Right out of the chute, Brenda faces off with the officers from Robbery/Homicide. This constant conflict will continue throughout season one and on into the next, with Brenda showing how strong-willed she can be, while proving to the LAPD she is professional and right for the job. Brenda proves she is relentless in her pursuit of finding the perpetrator, despite getting pushback from many, not accepting her from the outside, not the rank-and-file of the LAPD.
Taylor will continue to fight against Brenda outranking him, coming in from the outside and taking full control of a new division, something he used to run as a part of Robbery/Homicide. Taylor never gets completely in Brenda's way, because she proves she's too good to let that happen, but he sure tries to stifle her progress for several episodes. The viewer will learn quickly who is on Brenda's side and who is not. You wonder sometimes in this episode and forthcoming instances, if all members are working for the LAPD! How long would Flynn and/or Waters take to crack this case, i.e. find the murderer and the background behind the case? If Taylor's Robbery/Homicide Division were to follow this case instead of turning over Brenda's Division, how long would it take to solve?
The initial episode deals with a body found in a home, reported by the maid of the missing lessee with the only other person around when the police show up is the secretary to the man renting the house. The facts known are the fingerprints throughout the home are only those of the victim. The body was found naked, hair shorn, lying face down in the bedroom. Cause of death was given by a doctor called in to the scene as blows to the head. The victim was also shot in the face after her was dead. The Secretary had the keys and claims her boss was in Hawaii on vacation enjoying an extended stay. The Secretary cannot identify the body, her boss in Hawaii is named Dr. Elliot Collier.
Brenda is looking for a missing man, i.e. Dr. Collier, and an unidentified woman victim. The secretary is Ellen Parks, Collier's boss is Dr. Brown, and Det. Tao learns Collier is a pseudonym, Elliot Collier was nineteen when he died in 1989. Now Dr. Collier's identity is unknown along with the victim, dead at his house. Brenda secures a legal doc signature to search Dr. Collier's office files including his computer. Something was peculiar about Collier. from the crime scene when Waters found diver's licenses and passports, all fake with the picture cut out of all of them. Collier transferred all his money into accounts of his victim's aliases, according to Det. Garth, also, Collier rented his house and car. Brenda asks why would he transfer money to her if he planned on disappearing. Tao speaks, he didn't get rid of everything. Tao says there is one identity he missed, no one enters his office secured area without an iris scan. Tao shows Brenda security pictures of Collier's scanned eye, stating in the land of no evidence, the left eye is king. Tao shares e-mail-mash-notes from Collier to his secretary Ellen. The victim had a record, found through a Federal search via Brenda's contact Agent Fritz Howard. The FBI fingerprint search revealed the victim, Alana Devin, was wanted for murder, details Brenda uses to establish how Collier and her are connected. In 1991, she shot a security guard outside a pharmaceutical company during an ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) protest. Alana Devin was a lesbian. Like Collier, she was a computer scientist and she changed her identity. The gun that fired the bullet into her face is the same gun used in the original crime, as Brenda holds up the evidence bag containing the bullet. Detective Garth informs Brenda the day Collier leaves, Ellen closed her checking account, the day he went missing, she reopens it.
The family has been waiting fifteen years for Alana to come home, they can wait three more days. Taylor asks why the body is important to conclude the case. She tells Taylor she doesn't report to him so your question is irrelevent. Lie by your dish Captain. Brenda has a hunch the iris scan will match the deceased, establishing Collier and the victim are one in the same.
This exchange between Sgt. Gabriel and Chief Brenda foretells how the two will interact and conflict in the future; he is her favorite as she states in a later episode when he loses his temper at a suspect, nonetheless, the poignancy is there. Gabriel asks her, have you been able to figure out how Dr. Collier was able to get rid of his fingerprints everywhere? Brenda replies with a yes. Gabriel continues with that bit about bringing the body back, was that true or are you bluffing? Brenda answers, I never bluff, I just express my optimism forcefully. You had Ellen Parks picked up and held overnight. We don't have the gun, and no witnesses. Ellen will be very helpful with that, I promise. Is this more of your forceful optimism? Brenda comes back quickly with oh no, it's my experience. Because as any good interrogator will tell you, as hard as a secret is to uncover, it is even harder to keep. Goodnight Sergeant. Goodnight Ma'am.
Brenda's initial HQ interview with Ellen has her admitting Collier would give me the keys when he would go on vacation, but the relationship was not romantic. Ellen says she has never dated anyone, ever. Brenda asks Ellen, did you know Dr. Collier was living with the victim? Did he ever mention that? You never met her or saw her? Dr. Collier had a relationship of some kind; we found her fingerprints all over the house and at work. Ellen responds with that is really surprising, because there are very strict rules about that. Brenda adds, it very surprising when someone we really care about does something like this. I know Dr. Collier was your friend. If Dr. Collier gets in touch with you again, you must let us know. Brenda concludes the interview.
Brenda discloses Alana was Dr. Collier. Brenda shows Ellen the pictures of Alana before and after the surgeries. The iris scan of Alana's left eye matched the scan of Dr. Collier's left eye; a confirmation they were the same person. Let's go back to the night you were leaving. That is when you met Alana Devon, right? These things have to said. She had plastic surgery that changed her jaw line and her nose and reduced her breasts. She proceeded to live her life in permanent disguise. Brenda shows Ellen the pictures of Alana before and after the surgeries. She always turtlenecks because she had no Adam's Apple. She also claimed to be a Christian Scientist, so she would not have to take the company physical. That's why we only found Alana's fingerprints at Dr. Collier's house, and in his office and in his car, not because Alana was living with Dr. Collier, but because she was Dr. Collier. Do you know how I can prove this Ellen? The shot that was fired in Alana's face missed her left eye, and when I took her body back to the morgue, I found the iris scan of the left eye matched exactly the iris scan of Elliot Collier's left eye. The man you were having an affair wasn't a man at all, he was a woman. That night you were leaving, he told you the truth, he showed you who he was. I have it right don't I Ellen, or are you a lesbian?
Ellen slams her hand on the table declaring I am not a lesbian, while she points her forefinger to the ceiling. Ellen is offended by Brenda's remark about being a lesbian, stating how could you say that? Brenda comes back with the statement, but you didn't mean to kill him, did you? Hadn't planned on that, but just for the record, just so it is clear, could you please say that out loud. Ellen states, I didn't mean to kill him. I was kissing him and she pulled my hand down against her and I picked the paperweight up, off the desk and I hit him over the head with it. I just beat her head in.
Sgt. Gabriel tells Brenda while she is packing to leave for night, you know you were right from the beginning, looks like love. Elena Parks might have been a lesbian, no reason to believe she was, but she was a murderer
LAPD Detective Lieutenants Provenza, Tao, Flynn; LAPD Detectives Gabriel, Sanchez, Daniels; LAPD Surveillance Coordinator Buzz Watson LAPD Captain, later Commander Taylor LAPD Assistant Chief of Operations Will Pope, later Chief
Right out of the chute, Brenda faces off with the officers from Robbery/Homicide. This constant conflict will continue throughout season one and on into the next, with Brenda showing how strong-willed she can be, while proving to the LAPD she is professional and right for the job. Brenda proves she is relentless in her pursuit of finding the perpetrator, despite getting pushback from many, not accepting her from the outside, not the rank-and-file of the LAPD.
Taylor will continue to fight against Brenda outranking him, coming in from the outside and taking full control of a new division, something he used to run as a part of Robbery/Homicide. Taylor never gets completely in Brenda's way, because she proves she's too good to let that happen, but he sure tries to stifle her progress for several episodes. The viewer will learn quickly who is on Brenda's side and who is not. You wonder sometimes in this episode and forthcoming instances, if all members are working for the LAPD! How long would Flynn and/or Waters take to crack this case, i.e. find the murderer and the background behind the case? If Taylor's Robbery/Homicide Division were to follow this case instead of turning over Brenda's Division, how long would it take to solve?
The initial episode deals with a body found in a home, reported by the maid of the missing lessee with the only other person around when the police show up is the secretary to the man renting the house. The facts known are the fingerprints throughout the home are only those of the victim. The body was found naked, hair shorn, lying face down in the bedroom. Cause of death was given by a doctor called in to the scene as blows to the head. The victim was also shot in the face after her was dead. The Secretary had the keys and claims her boss was in Hawaii on vacation enjoying an extended stay. The Secretary cannot identify the body, her boss in Hawaii is named Dr. Elliot Collier.
Brenda is looking for a missing man, i.e. Dr. Collier, and an unidentified woman victim. The secretary is Ellen Parks, Collier's boss is Dr. Brown, and Det. Tao learns Collier is a pseudonym, Elliot Collier was nineteen when he died in 1989. Now Dr. Collier's identity is unknown along with the victim, dead at his house. Brenda secures a legal doc signature to search Dr. Collier's office files including his computer. Something was peculiar about Collier. from the crime scene when Waters found diver's licenses and passports, all fake with the picture cut out of all of them. Collier transferred all his money into accounts of his victim's aliases, according to Det. Garth, also, Collier rented his house and car. Brenda asks why would he transfer money to her if he planned on disappearing. Tao speaks, he didn't get rid of everything. Tao says there is one identity he missed, no one enters his office secured area without an iris scan. Tao shows Brenda security pictures of Collier's scanned eye, stating in the land of no evidence, the left eye is king. Tao shares e-mail-mash-notes from Collier to his secretary Ellen. The victim had a record, found through a Federal search via Brenda's contact Agent Fritz Howard. The FBI fingerprint search revealed the victim, Alana Devin, was wanted for murder, details Brenda uses to establish how Collier and her are connected. In 1991, she shot a security guard outside a pharmaceutical company during an ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) protest. Alana Devin was a lesbian. Like Collier, she was a computer scientist and she changed her identity. The gun that fired the bullet into her face is the same gun used in the original crime, as Brenda holds up the evidence bag containing the bullet. Detective Garth informs Brenda the day Collier leaves, Ellen closed her checking account, the day he went missing, she reopens it.
The family has been waiting fifteen years for Alana to come home, they can wait three more days. Taylor asks why the body is important to conclude the case. She tells Taylor she doesn't report to him so your question is irrelevent. Lie by your dish Captain. Brenda has a hunch the iris scan will match the deceased, establishing Collier and the victim are one in the same.
This exchange between Sgt. Gabriel and Chief Brenda foretells how the two will interact and conflict in the future; he is her favorite as she states in a later episode when he loses his temper at a suspect, nonetheless, the poignancy is there. Gabriel asks her, have you been able to figure out how Dr. Collier was able to get rid of his fingerprints everywhere? Brenda replies with a yes. Gabriel continues with that bit about bringing the body back, was that true or are you bluffing? Brenda answers, I never bluff, I just express my optimism forcefully. You had Ellen Parks picked up and held overnight. We don't have the gun, and no witnesses. Ellen will be very helpful with that, I promise. Is this more of your forceful optimism? Brenda comes back quickly with oh no, it's my experience. Because as any good interrogator will tell you, as hard as a secret is to uncover, it is even harder to keep. Goodnight Sergeant. Goodnight Ma'am.
Brenda's initial HQ interview with Ellen has her admitting Collier would give me the keys when he would go on vacation, but the relationship was not romantic. Ellen says she has never dated anyone, ever. Brenda asks Ellen, did you know Dr. Collier was living with the victim? Did he ever mention that? You never met her or saw her? Dr. Collier had a relationship of some kind; we found her fingerprints all over the house and at work. Ellen responds with that is really surprising, because there are very strict rules about that. Brenda adds, it very surprising when someone we really care about does something like this. I know Dr. Collier was your friend. If Dr. Collier gets in touch with you again, you must let us know. Brenda concludes the interview.
Brenda discloses Alana was Dr. Collier. Brenda shows Ellen the pictures of Alana before and after the surgeries. The iris scan of Alana's left eye matched the scan of Dr. Collier's left eye; a confirmation they were the same person. Let's go back to the night you were leaving. That is when you met Alana Devon, right? These things have to said. She had plastic surgery that changed her jaw line and her nose and reduced her breasts. She proceeded to live her life in permanent disguise. Brenda shows Ellen the pictures of Alana before and after the surgeries. She always turtlenecks because she had no Adam's Apple. She also claimed to be a Christian Scientist, so she would not have to take the company physical. That's why we only found Alana's fingerprints at Dr. Collier's house, and in his office and in his car, not because Alana was living with Dr. Collier, but because she was Dr. Collier. Do you know how I can prove this Ellen? The shot that was fired in Alana's face missed her left eye, and when I took her body back to the morgue, I found the iris scan of the left eye matched exactly the iris scan of Elliot Collier's left eye. The man you were having an affair wasn't a man at all, he was a woman. That night you were leaving, he told you the truth, he showed you who he was. I have it right don't I Ellen, or are you a lesbian?
Ellen slams her hand on the table declaring I am not a lesbian, while she points her forefinger to the ceiling. Ellen is offended by Brenda's remark about being a lesbian, stating how could you say that? Brenda comes back with the statement, but you didn't mean to kill him, did you? Hadn't planned on that, but just for the record, just so it is clear, could you please say that out loud. Ellen states, I didn't mean to kill him. I was kissing him and she pulled my hand down against her and I picked the paperweight up, off the desk and I hit him over the head with it. I just beat her head in.
Sgt. Gabriel tells Brenda while she is packing to leave for night, you know you were right from the beginning, looks like love. Elena Parks might have been a lesbian, no reason to believe she was, but she was a murderer
A Perfect Blending of Emotions
Hitchcoc10 February 2019
I am seeing this for the first time. At first i was turned off, thinking that she was coming on way to strong. Was this going to be one of those formula things where she is a shallow, unfeeling person, so you'd better take notice. First of all, Kyra Sedgwick grew on me in one episode. But in the second half of the pilot, I got to hear some wonderful writing and clever plotting. The interview with the young woman at the end is masterful. There are lots of bumps to smooth out in the department, but the cast is very good and I look forward to getting hooked.
We never miss an episode of the Closer
cstevens-2011 February 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Our favorite TV series! Quirky with a great team of characters in supporting roles. This series is intelligent, unusual, clean, fast moving, always interesting. Every once in awhile they treat us to a "Dramedy", which is drama/comedy combined. The episode where Flynn and Provenza have skybox tickets for the baseball game... if you've seen it, you're probably laughing already. Brenda herself is complicated but lovable. Her staff respect her and love her, in spite of her many shortcomings. And when she needs to apologize or be transparent about her feelings, she has the character and integrity to do the right thing. I could go on and on about this show but then maybe I'd spoil the surprises. We give it a ten because that's the most we can give. Thank you to Kyra Sedgwick and the entire crew for giving us a really great detective series to enjoy.
Interesting episode.
wkozak2212 July 2020
This was a good episode. It was fairly well written. The action moves along. The problem I have is this. Chief Pope tells everyone that Brenda is a Deputy Chief in name only. So that would mean she is a figurehead with no powers at all. If that is the case she couldn't do any of the things she does here and for the rest of the series.
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