"Desperate Housewives" Anything You Can Do (2004)

Director:

Larry Shaw

Writers:

Marc Cherry (creator)
John Pardee (written by) ...

TV Series:

"Desperate Housewives" (2004)

Original Air Date:

21 November 2004 (Season 1, Episode 7)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Susan is miffed when Mike gets an unexpected (and very sexy) house guest, named Kendra, which forces...

Plot Keywords:

Secret | Suicide | Blackmail | Friend | Plumber

Cast

Teri Hatcher	...	Susan Mayer
Felicity Huffman	...	Lynette Scavo
Marcia Cross	...	Bree Van De Kamp
Eva Longoria Parker	...	Gabrielle Solis (as Eva Longoria)
Nicollette Sheridan	...	Edie Britt
Steven Culp	...	Rex Van De Kamp
Ricardo Chavira	...	Carlos Solis (as Ricardo Antonio Chavira)
Mark Moses	...	Paul Young
Andrea Bowen	...	Julie Mayer
Jesse Metcalfe	...	John Rowland
Cody Kasch	...	Zach Young
Brenda Strong	...	Mary Alice Young (voice)
James Denton	...	Mike Delfino
Doug Savant	...	Tom Scavo
Christine Estabrook	...	Martha Huber

Runtime:

43 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | Venezuela:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Colonial Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Trivia:

Lynette's husband is pitching a sale on how to advertise a product to his clients and they are not very interested in his idea. Lynette suggests advertising on dry-cleaning bags because "they sit in your closet for months and are constant advertising". The clients loved her idea. To promote this show, ABC did just this, putting the slogan "Everyone has a little dirty laundry" on thousands of bags.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mary Alice: Competition. It means different things to different people. In suburbia, it means keeping up with the Joneses. On Wisteria Lane, that means keeping up with Bree Van De Kamp. Everyone knew Bree had the nicest lawn in the neighborhood, and no one begrudged her this. No one, that is, except Martha Hoover, whose own lawn paled in comparison. No matter how carefully she trimmed, or how lovingly she watered, or how generously she fertilized, the grass was always greener on the other side of the fence.

What I watch Desperate Housewives for!

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Compelling from start to finish, the 'theme' of this episode is competition and boy does Desperate Housewives show everyone how to do an adult soap drama. Lacing slapstick humour with the more devious, Machiavellian sort, succinct with plot twists and for the first time so far in season 1, real emotional depth, Anything You Can Do, isn't quite Bree Van Der Kamp's lawn but is damn close to that perfection.

Lynette becomes addicted to her children's ADD medicine, the consequences superficially sparkling, however the effects on her mental state are clearly portrayed by Huffman as anything but beneficial. She struggles to keep up with the Jones's (or the Van De Kamps in this case), and goes to great extremes to keep the right profile. Susan picks up the slack of having the funny storyline, and it's measured very well, with Mike's character pushed further into the shadows, and Susan still knocking herself out on a bucking bronco, without even getting on it! Bree and Rex look set for a divorce and Rex tries to bribe the kids, which they're a little too enthusiastic about for Bree's liking. Gabrielle and Hunky Gardner (his name - probably) also look ripe to part ways, when Gabrielle suggests a 'closing goodbye'. Unfortunately, Mama Solis intercepts them during this 'farewell' and takes a picture that's probably not going up on the family's wall too soon, especially since Gabrielle manages to take the camera and any evidence against her (thanks to Bree's drunk son running her mother-in-law over). As well as all this the main storyline gets a tad darker with Edie brought in the frame - could she really be so ruthless?

Truly a fantastic episode that laid to rest any lingering doubts in my mind about the ability of the writer's to effectively spin a plot twist, and captivate me for forty minutes.