Desperate Housewives (1/9/05)
For the first time, I took an hour out of my week and decided to watch the ABC hit series “Desperate Housewives”. I’ve heard good things about this show, and much of the press has been fairly positive. It seems as if ABC is getting its act together. Housewives is the cream of what had been a very mediocre ABC primetime lineup.
Without having done much prior research, some of my comments may be ignorant. Hopefully I’ll learn more about the character dynamics after viewing subsequent episodes. So, without further adieu, my comments on the episode titled “Move On”.
Mrs. Martha Huber, a neighbor on Wisteria Lane, went missing. The strong implication was that most of the block hated her besides Edie. Even her own sister didn’t like her and thought the world was a better place with her gone. Huber seemed like a bitch and had harsh words for even her closest female friend, Edie. I imagine her as a more malevolent version of Marie Barone. I didn’t catch the whole drift, but it looks like Mike is being framed for Huber’s murder. The episode ended with a man and his dog finding human remains, most likely belonging to Huber.
Then we have the character of Gabrielle. I don’t know, but she came off as a real bitch. Apparently her husband was involved in some sort of fraud that led to his incarceration. Gabrielle’s love of money ended up trumping her desire to punish her criminal husband. Funny scenes ensued as Gabrielle, hard up for money, had to model for a car company at the local mall. She was ashamed to be seen by her neighbors doing such menial work. It was referenced that Gabrielle was used to doing red carpet modeling, not shilling for some second rate agency. Maybe there’s some more depth to this character, but in this episode she came off as conceited.
I had to like Tom, the husband of Lynette. His wife hassled him to go down and make some coffee downstairs. When he arrived in the kitchen, he had the fortune (or misfortune, as it might be) of seeing his attractive, young nanny in the nude. Apparently aroused by the pleasant scene he walked in on, he went upstairs and vigorously made love to his wife. Eventually, the wife found out and asked some tough questions. Even after the one embarrassing incident, Lynette caught Tom staring at her bosom in her presence. That led to the couple deciding to seek a new nanny, preferably unattractive (as Lynette put it). I recognized the actress who plays Lynette, Felicity Huffman, for her guest appearances on “Frasier”.
Then there is the situation between Bree and Rex. Recently hospitalized for a heart attack, Bree is upset at Rex for having an extramarital affair. In an effort to appease her distraught children, she decides to take Rex home and nurse him back to health. Trying to make Rex jealous, Bree asks out the local pharmacist on a date. Rex immediately realizes that Bree wants to cause him as much agony as possible. Andrew, the son, walks in and witnesses Bree and the pharmacist as they are prepared to kiss. Andrew is angry and, in a moment of spontaneity, Bree blurts out that his father had cheated on her. Initially, Andrew disbelieved that his father was an adulterer. But Andrew goes to his son and has the awful news confirmed. When Andrew comes to his mother and expresses contempt for his father, she tells him to respect his father for the 18 years of marriage that they had. Rex overhears Bree talking about him in a rather kind manner. Will the two still get divorced? Will Bree hook up with the pharmacist? From the information provided in this episode, it’s hard to tell. I think that Bree has more feelings left for Rex than she lets on.
Finally, we have the character of Susan. Her marriage of 13 years recently collapsed because of Karl’s cheating ways. Karl comes back and is upset over the dissolution of his most recent romantic relationship. He came off as very pathetic, causing Susan to invite him to a forthcoming party. Susan is now with her new boyfriend, a plumber named Mike. The contrasts between the two men are evident. Mike is more of a safe choice, with life with Karl was a thrill a minute. Sometimes those thrills, such as his affair(s), were anything but pleasant. When Mike professes his love for Susan in a moment of passion, Susan doesn’t know how to respond. At the party, Susan is enraged by news that Karl had groped Edie at a New Year’s Eve party many years ago. In the middle of her singing “New York, New York”, she angrily yells at Karl and demands answers. Back at the house a few days later, Karl wishes for things to go back to the way they were. When Susan feels nothing by his proposition, she is enthused and runs to her current boyfriend, realizing that she loves him.
That’s it for Installment I of my Desperate Housewives commentary. I found the show to be quality and worthy of continued viewing. Fortunately, tonight’s Sunday episode was a one-time installment, leaving Desperate Housewives supreme in the Sunday 9:00 time slot.
Without having done much prior research, some of my comments may be ignorant. Hopefully I’ll learn more about the character dynamics after viewing subsequent episodes. So, without further adieu, my comments on the episode titled “Move On”.
Mrs. Martha Huber, a neighbor on Wisteria Lane, went missing. The strong implication was that most of the block hated her besides Edie. Even her own sister didn’t like her and thought the world was a better place with her gone. Huber seemed like a bitch and had harsh words for even her closest female friend, Edie. I imagine her as a more malevolent version of Marie Barone. I didn’t catch the whole drift, but it looks like Mike is being framed for Huber’s murder. The episode ended with a man and his dog finding human remains, most likely belonging to Huber.
Then we have the character of Gabrielle. I don’t know, but she came off as a real bitch. Apparently her husband was involved in some sort of fraud that led to his incarceration. Gabrielle’s love of money ended up trumping her desire to punish her criminal husband. Funny scenes ensued as Gabrielle, hard up for money, had to model for a car company at the local mall. She was ashamed to be seen by her neighbors doing such menial work. It was referenced that Gabrielle was used to doing red carpet modeling, not shilling for some second rate agency. Maybe there’s some more depth to this character, but in this episode she came off as conceited.
I had to like Tom, the husband of Lynette. His wife hassled him to go down and make some coffee downstairs. When he arrived in the kitchen, he had the fortune (or misfortune, as it might be) of seeing his attractive, young nanny in the nude. Apparently aroused by the pleasant scene he walked in on, he went upstairs and vigorously made love to his wife. Eventually, the wife found out and asked some tough questions. Even after the one embarrassing incident, Lynette caught Tom staring at her bosom in her presence. That led to the couple deciding to seek a new nanny, preferably unattractive (as Lynette put it). I recognized the actress who plays Lynette, Felicity Huffman, for her guest appearances on “Frasier”.
Then there is the situation between Bree and Rex. Recently hospitalized for a heart attack, Bree is upset at Rex for having an extramarital affair. In an effort to appease her distraught children, she decides to take Rex home and nurse him back to health. Trying to make Rex jealous, Bree asks out the local pharmacist on a date. Rex immediately realizes that Bree wants to cause him as much agony as possible. Andrew, the son, walks in and witnesses Bree and the pharmacist as they are prepared to kiss. Andrew is angry and, in a moment of spontaneity, Bree blurts out that his father had cheated on her. Initially, Andrew disbelieved that his father was an adulterer. But Andrew goes to his son and has the awful news confirmed. When Andrew comes to his mother and expresses contempt for his father, she tells him to respect his father for the 18 years of marriage that they had. Rex overhears Bree talking about him in a rather kind manner. Will the two still get divorced? Will Bree hook up with the pharmacist? From the information provided in this episode, it’s hard to tell. I think that Bree has more feelings left for Rex than she lets on.
Finally, we have the character of Susan. Her marriage of 13 years recently collapsed because of Karl’s cheating ways. Karl comes back and is upset over the dissolution of his most recent romantic relationship. He came off as very pathetic, causing Susan to invite him to a forthcoming party. Susan is now with her new boyfriend, a plumber named Mike. The contrasts between the two men are evident. Mike is more of a safe choice, with life with Karl was a thrill a minute. Sometimes those thrills, such as his affair(s), were anything but pleasant. When Mike professes his love for Susan in a moment of passion, Susan doesn’t know how to respond. At the party, Susan is enraged by news that Karl had groped Edie at a New Year’s Eve party many years ago. In the middle of her singing “New York, New York”, she angrily yells at Karl and demands answers. Back at the house a few days later, Karl wishes for things to go back to the way they were. When Susan feels nothing by his proposition, she is enthused and runs to her current boyfriend, realizing that she loves him.
That’s it for Installment I of my Desperate Housewives commentary. I found the show to be quality and worthy of continued viewing. Fortunately, tonight’s Sunday episode was a one-time installment, leaving Desperate Housewives supreme in the Sunday 9:00 time slot.
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