Desperate Housewives (2004–2012)

Secrets and truths unfold through the lives of female friends in one suburban neighborhood, after the mysterious suicide of a neighbor.

Creator:

Marc Cherry

Stars:

Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 49 wins & 127 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Teri Hatcher	...	Susan Mayer (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Felicity Huffman	...	Lynette Scavo (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Marcia Cross	...	Bree Van De Kamp (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Eva Longoria	...	Gabrielle Solis (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Ricardo Chavira	...	Carlos Solis (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Brenda Strong	...	Mary Alice Young (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
James Denton	...	Mike Delfino (180 episodes, 2004-2012)
Doug Savant	...	Tom Scavo (175 episodes, 2004-2012)
Shawn Pyfrom	...	Andrew Van De Kamp (112 episodes, 2004-2012)
Nicollette Sheridan	...	Edie Britt (111 episodes, 2004-2009)
Andrea Bowen	...	Julie Mayer (105 episodes, 2004-2012)
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Orson Hodge (96 episodes, 2006-2012)
Brent Kinsman	...	Preston Scavo (88 episodes, 2004-2011)
Shane Kinsman	...	Porter Scavo (88 episodes, 2004-2011)
Kathryn Joosten	...	Karen McCluskey (87 episodes, 2005-2012)
Zane Huett	...	Parker Scavo (81 episodes, 2004-2010)
Mark Moses	...	Paul Young (74 episodes, 2004-2011)

Storyline

The "normal" suburban life for a group of close-knit housewives takes a dark turn when one of their closest friends mysteriously commits suicide. Now while trying to deal with their own hectic problems and romantic lives, each year brings on a new mystery and more dark and twisted events to come. Life behind closed doors is about to be revealed as suburban life takes a funny and dark turn.

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Plot Keywords:

secret | blackmail | suicide | friend | neighborhood | 

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Taglines:

Secrets. Romance. Murder. All On One Street.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

ABC [us] Canal+ [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beautés déséspérées

Filming Locations:

Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cherry Alley Productions, Cherry Productions, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Season 3 episodes that have Stephen Sondheim song titles or lyric references as their show titles (Except where denoted):

• 3.1: Listen to the Rain on the Roof (Song title from Follies)
• 3.2: It Takes Two (Song title from Into the Woods)
• 3.3: A Weekend in the Country (A Little Night Music)
• 3.4: Like It Was (Song title from Merrily We Roll Along)
• 3.5: Nice She Ain't (Song title from Gypsy Cut song. Music by Jule Styne)
• 3.6: Sweetheart, I Have to Confess (Lyric line from Could I Leave You? from Follies)
• 3.8: Children and Art (Song title from Sunday In the Park With George)
• 3.9 Beautiful Girls (Song title from Follies)
• 3.10 The Miracle Song (Song title from Anyone Can Whistle)
• 3.11 No Fits, No Fights, No Egos (Lyric line from Together Wherever We Go from Gypsy)
• 3.12 Not While I'm Around (Song title from Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street)
• 3.13 Come Play Wiz Me (Anyone Can Whistle)
• 3.14 I Remember That (Could be lyric quote from I Remember from Evening Primrose)
• 3.15 Little Things You Do Together (Song title from Company)
• 3.16 My Husband The Pig (Song title cut and later reinstated into some productions to A Little Night Music and also used in Putting It Together)
• 3.17 Dress Big (Song title from The Frogs)
• 3.18 Liaisons (Song title from A Little Night Music)
• 3.19 God That's Good (Sweeney Todd)
• 3.20 Gossip (Song title from Sunday In The Park With George)
• 3.21 Into the Woods (Song title from Into the Woods)
• 3.22 What Would We Do Without You? (Company)
• 3.23 Getting Married Today (Song title from Company)

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Goofs

Susan's last name is at first pronounced "Meyer" occasionally by all characters, before it eventually changes to "Mayer" for the second season onward.

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Quotes

[Rex has just told Bree about his masochism]
Rex: For God's sake, you promised to be supportive.
Bree: What do you want me to say? My husband likes to wear metal clamps around his nipples. Hooray?

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Crazy Credits

The credits contain references to famous pieces of art, including Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, American Gothic by Grant Wood, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can. Also alluded to are the lesser known Couple Arguing and Romantic Couple by Robert Dale (drawn in a comic book style similar to that of Roy Liechtenstein) and a 1940s "Am I Proud!" poster by Dick Williams (showing a woman holding cans).

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational Quarterfinal 6 (2010)

User Reviews

Not just a cult show, but the best show on television.

Think of it as Twin Peaks without the midgets and hunchbacks --and Kyle MacLachlan eating dessert.

This show is just bizarre and enigmatic enough to hook the broad and deep audience that deserted network series television so long ago that they find themselves doubting now whether TV was ever worth the trouble.

I have a hard time selling this series to the guys I know because they assume it's another night time soap ala Melrose Place. But I do try. Really dangerously funny stuff. I predict a popular backlash against this show, and have in fact seen some evidence of it already, simply because so many people are crazy about this show and cannot say enough good things about it. People are tiring of hearing that. But have patience, and don't try to read between the lines of fan praise. It is worth a watch. If only once. Three episodes in, there hasn't been a dud yet. These people will make a mint on First Season DVDs, and deserve to. The sharpest, wittiest, most wildly unpredictable writing now being done. --Makes other "well written" shows, like the CSIs, look as drab as Dragnet.

The bar has just been raised for those making series television. Most TV writers and producers will have to ignore the influence, though, because they won't be able to touch it.

Ten stars, times ten. -------------------

The above review was written close to the beginning of the series. As we get as deep into the second season as we were in the first season where I wrote the above review, a revisit of the series is needed.

Brie is decidedly less funny over time. Maybe more satisfying in a mean way, but less ha ha funny. They have stopped writing those screamingly funny scenes for her, that hinged on what was essentially a neat freak, prim and retentive personality disorder. Remember the burrito sliding off the nightstand at a strategic moment? The tossing of the specimen on Rex at the golf course? The comment on Rex's crying at a dinner party? These scenes, built around Brie, comprised the best moments of the first season, and gone they are, apparently for good, from the second season. This is part of the shows overall shift toward making the luckless, loveless, hard-scrabbling housewives (who overall have a blend of great luck and foul luck, just like real life) "empowered" and impervious. It's inevitable that, with that agenda, the writers are not going to have as much funny stuff for any of the characters to do.

Perhaps as writing chores are handed around-- or more retentively screened by the cast or the powers that be at ABC-- the writers are beginning to write some of the cast "out of character." For example, Gabrielle cracks snide at some rough looking characters at a prison marriage counseling session, when 1) last season her character would have pulled a funny face, maybe insulted their wardrobe, like the essentially clueless and rapacious Barbie doll she is, and gone on or 2) in real life, they'd have mopped the floor with her. She is too prissy, and anorexic-looking for that matter, to deliver some of the tough-girl lines they are handing her. Sorry, but this much is obvious. They are writing Gabrielle and Brie out of character this season.

Other than these flaws -- which are major, in my opinion -- the series still has its moments. But the humor is starting to take precedence behind the conflict and mysteries. We draw closer to the non ironic melodrama world of Dynasty and Melrose Place than we were in the first season. Once, you could have said there was no show with quite the attitude and ambiance of Desperate Housewives first season. Now, you can say that again. The show we knew is slipping away into mundane sameness, and its unpredictability is becoming too patented and predictable. And I find that really too bad.

The show has fallen from 10 of 10 to more like 6 of 10.