I’ll admit that when I saw the preview for ABC’s television series “Desperate Housewives,” I cringed. Would this show degrade women and place them in the role of powerless wives and mothers? But after recommendations from friends and family, I gave “Desperate Housewives” a chance, and now I know exactly what I’m doing every Sunday from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Part comedy, part soap opera and part suspenseful drama, “Desperate Housewives” is anything but shallow, and I’m not the only one who believes so — the series has already won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama Series and the Golden Globe Award for Best Musical or Comedy Television Series.
In the pilot episode, we are introduced to the women of upscale,
suburban Wysteria Lane. Seemingly happy Mary Alice Young decides to end her life, and her motive for suicide becomes the mystery of the show. In the meantime, her widowed husband, Paul, and emotionally troubled son, Zach, are holding back secrets about their past and Young’s death. The plot escalates to a new level when Paul kills middle-aged Martha Huber, who seemed to know too much about Mary Alice. Down Wysteria Lane, the wives, mothers and singles each have their own set of problems, including adultery, difficult children and dating woes.
The women, who sometimes display a little too much irritating desperation, also have deep levels of character development and delightful charm. First, there’s Susan Meyer (Teri Hatcher), who I fondly remember from “Seinfeld” as a large-chested girlfriend of Jerry’s who claimed, “They’re real, and they’re spectacular.” Susan is a single mom who lives with her sensible teenage daughter and jumps back into the dating scene by pursuing the cute plumber, Mike, across the street. She runs into trouble early on by
accidentally burning down the house of the town whore, Edie Britt, while having a candle-filled interlude with a man Susan thought was Mike.
Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria), a beautiful ex-model who is married to wealthy Carlos Solis, finds illegal
satisfaction in the arms of their
17-year-old gardener and struggles to keep the affair a secret. Cute and confused, Gabrielle represents the notion that money certainly can’t buy love. Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross), who has the perfection of a Stepford wife in everything from her looks to her house to her cooking, also runs into marriage troubles when her husband cheats on her. Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), finds that motherhood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as she tries to raise three obnoxious boys and a baby girl, and becomes addicted to ADD medication in the process.
What makes “Desperate Housewives” work is the juxtaposition of comedic timing, drama and suspense. The show is narrated by dead Mary
Alice and the shows end with interest-piquing cliffhangers. New, dramatic plot twists keep arising, such as the
realization that Mike didn’t move to Wysteria Lane to work as a plumber. Humorous scenes are highly entertaining, such as when Carlos threatens to fire the gardener for doing a lazy job on the lawn and Gabrielle frantically mows it herself to make sure her young lover is there to stay.
In the Jan. 16 episode, Bree (whose husband is still in the house) breaks it off with the pharmacist she is seeing and he doesn’t take it well. The town finds Martha Huber’s body, but has no murder suspects. While Edie and Susan go out to sprinkle Martha’s ashes in the river, Susan confesses to burning down Edie’s house and ends up with ashes thrown in her face. The show currently leaves viewers with many unanswered questions. Most importantly, why did Mary Alice kill herself?
If you enjoy drama, comedy,
romance and well-crafted characters, make “Desperate Housewives” a part of your relaxing Sunday evenings and immerse yourself in these women’s lives, which involve much more than cooking, cleaning and child-rearing.

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