BELINDA GAVIN

Written by D.B. Brooks, Anthony L. Greene and Karen O’Hara and directed by Julie Jordan, this episode guest-stars Mark Weiler as Andy, Black Tie Nights’ newest prospective client. Andy has an unusual request, as unlike their regular clients, he already knows who he wants them to set him up with. He’s seen this unnamed model in an ad in a magazine (on page 19, of course), and he’s become infatuated with her. He’s convinced that she’s his soulmate, despite Olivia’s (Amy Lindsay) and Cooper’s (Tiffany Hendra) arguments that he doesn’t even know her or anything about her beyond what he sees in that one photograph. Plus, they set up clients with their other clients, which this model is not. But Andy offers them double their fee if they can find her and set her up with them, which they accept.

Ryan (Glen Meadows) films Andy’s introduction video and interviews him. Andy reveals that he was previously dating a woman named Harmony, whom he was madly in love with, and who had an identical twin sister named Lizzie (both played by Selina Lori). One weekend, the three of them planned to go camping together, but Harmony had to cancel at the last minute because she got sick and insisted that the other two still go on the trip without her.

Well, he and Lizzie went camping. But they ended up drinking too much (as Andy points out that he brought along enough beer for 3 people, but just the 2 of them drank it all), got totally wasted, and had sex in the tent, while all the time Andy kept calling her Harmony, because that’s who he thought she was in his drunken stake. When he sobered up, he realized what he had done and felt tremendous guilt, as he’d never cheated on Harmony or anyone before, and he vowed to confess to her when he got home. But Lizzie also felt guilty, and she called Harmony and confessed first, which he believed hurt Harmony more because it looked like he was going to hide it. So she dumped him, and he was heartbroken. It’s been 4 years, and he hadn’t even looked at or thought of another girl until he saw the model in the magazine.

Thanks to Olivia and Cooper’s connections in L.A., they found out the model’s name and what agency she works for. She’s Shiela, played by Belinda Gavin. They meet with her and tell them her plan.

It’s arranged for Andy to meet Belinda at a campsite. When he gets there, they talk, and he admits that although Shiela is just as pretty in person as she was in the ad, for some reason, he’s not feeling the spark that he expected. Shiela asks him about his ex, Harmony, and gets him to admit that he’s still not over her, and if he had the choice, he’d rather be with her right then. And, SURPRISE! Harmoney comes out of the tent, having heard everything Andy said. Shiela leaves them alone, and they reconcile and have sex in the tent.

The episode ends with Cooper offering to take Ryan out for a drink to celebrate their latest matchmaking success. When Ryan says he doesn’t drink, she says she has something he’ll like drinking as they walk out arm-in-arm. Olivia watches with a knowing smirk (throughout the whole episode, Olivia had been teasing the two of them about her suspicions that something happened between them in Las Vegas last episode).

That’s the main plot of the episode, and it’s good on its own. I was impressed with Selena Lori, it’s a shame she didn’t do any other softcore after this.

My only complaint is that they cast an accomplished softcore actress like Belinda Gavin but then didn’t give her a sex scene—not even a solo nude scene, like a shower or a modeling photoshoot or something. That just seemed like a wasted opportunity to me.

The B-plot of this episode involved Olivia’s love life, or lack thereof. Cooper finally convinces her to let her set her up on a date, fulfilling their bet in episode one that Cooper will be able to find a successful match for their first client, Frank. They found out in episode 5 that Frank and his match Amber have gotten married, so Cooper won the bet. The episode opens with a hot sex scene between Olivia and her late husband, Vince (Hoyt Richards). This is a dream sequence where Olivia wakes up after the sex is over, and Vince tells her that it’s time for her to move on.

So Cooper sets Olivia up with Grant (Doug Jeffery), a successful winemaker. They meet for lunch, and although he’s charming, Olivia just doesn’t feel a connection. However, when Grant emails her for a second date, Cooper convinces her to give him another chance, pointing out that Grant is a widower whose wife died 3 years earlier, so he and Olivia have that in common. That night, Olivia has a dream where she’s having sex with Grant, but halfway through it he turns into Vince, which causes her to wake up.

So, realizing that she’s still not ready to date again, she meets Grant for lunch again but has arranged for a friend of hers, a woman named Sonia (Ria Solova), to drop by and join them. She and Grant end up hitting it off (just like Olivia planned).

It’s a cute ending for that story, and the sex scenes with Amy Lindsay are always a plus.

Chacebook rating: FOUR STARS

Jason Majercik is selling this UNRATED 3-disc DVD set of Black Tie Nights season 1 for $29.99. Email him at quinn_nash@hotmail.com for his softcore inventory list.