Creators:
Marc CherryCast:
Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, Nicollette Sheridan, Steven Culp, Mark Moses, Andrea Bowen, Doug Savant, Jesse Metcalfe (more)VOD (3)
Seasons(8) / Episodes(180)
Plots(1)
A primetime soap with a truly contemporary take on the happily ever after, Desperate Housewives takes a darkly comedic look at suburbia where the secret lives of housewives aren't always what they seem. (official distributor synopsis)
Videos (17)
Reviews (4)
My favourite series ever, where my fascination grows with the number of seasons filmed, something really unusual for me in a series. I can't even remember the first time I saw the most amazing bunch of suburban desperate wives, but if I knew the date, it would be one of the most important dates in my life as a series viewer. I just fell in love with that gang of unhappy ladies right away. The perpetual underdog Susan, who often acts first and thinks later. The always poised and elegant grace of Bree, who has really come into her own in recent episodes. Lynette, the baby factory, who lives in a whirlwind of family problems. The beautiful and often selfish Gabrielle. And the sultry, always sensual bitch Eddie, whose heart is not as corrupt as it might seem. I'd like to give a big shout out to the costume designers who dress the "desperate" women, because they are always a joy to behold. I really like the kind of episodic framework that always has Mary Alice talking about a problem at the beginning and then coming back to it at the end, all accompanied by an incredible musical score whose beauty I cannot express in mere words. Of all the eight seasons, my favourite episodes were: Bang (03x07), Something's Coming (04x09), The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened (05x13), Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know (05x19), Boom Crunch (06x10), If... (06x11), I Guess This Is Goodbye (06x23), Remember Paul? (07x01), Down the Block There's a Riot (07x10), Searching (07x16), Come on Over for Dinner (07x23), and Finishing the Hat (08x23). Eight years went by like water, but I'm glad the creators decided to call it quits, because I started to find some of the characters incredibly annoying in the last season. In short, an absolute icon of all series for me, which will be true forever(!) and as Susan said about Eddie, I say the same about Desperate Housewives: "ONE OF THE KIND". P.S. The ending with the ghosts of Wisteria Lane was fabulous!
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Season 1 – 90% – Quite an unexpected blockbuster in an avalanche of TV series, an unbelievable main quartet that I fell in love with at first sight, amazingly written supporting characters, Mary Alice's ironic commentary, and touching and surprisingly natural closing montages. It's impossible not to be enthusiastic about everything that can be packed into a single TV series in such a small space; it's just a pity that the irony was a bit too strong in the final episodes. With hindsight of however many years and series later (and the varying quality of other relationship series), you start to appreciate the first season even more, even though it certainly wasn't the peak of the series. But it is undoubtedly a triumphant start to the phenomenon. Season 2 – 70% – Disappointment from the first episodes. Everything is more ironic, more intertwined, and unfortunately weaker. The writers sometimes seem to be just waving the characters around, with Susan in particular starting to dangerously repeat herself and Bree becoming just a formulaic figure at times. A better way to say it, with a touch of exaggeration, is that in the second season, the four heroines divided among themselves the four moods that the series evokes. Lynette is there for the family atmosphere, Bree for drama, Susan for romance, and Gabrielle for ironic humor. But just when I thought the series would slowly but surely decline, it caught its second wind halfway through the season and captivated me again with new motifs. The tension and intensity of the romance increased and the central mystery suddenly looked much more interesting than it had in the beginning. The season eventually reached a surprising finale in all plotlines, surprisingly well-played for the third season. The pattern of family secrets still works, as does the charm of the main actresses. Season 3 – 90% – A total shock, in the most positive sense of the word. Although I wouldn't have believed it after a noticeably weaker previous season, the first fifteen episodes are the best that Desperate Housewives has ever offered. Every relationship interests me, every character has gotten under my skin over time, new ones have their firm place, some old ones unexpectedly return, and above all, the mysterious detective story reaches a new level. And when the performances mature like wine, just like the charms of the main actresses, I can only be extremely satisfied. I criticized the second season for each of the main quartet overtly evoking a certain mood. In the last third of the third season, not all the housewives are present and suddenly they lose that rare complexity and timelessness. Due to the premature resolution of the mysterious plot, it loses its charge easily and has to rely only on relationships. Even there, however, they do well and better over time, so with the cards now dealt, I am eagerly awaiting the continuation. Season 4 – 80% – Definitive confirmation of the stable quality and the realization that this group of beauties will be a reliable certainty for a long time. They have been through a lot, but they still have so much enthusiasm that it's enviable. Everyone who has something to say in the story comes back, and I again think that even though I may not have completely believed in them (again and again, incorrectly), I got back everything and more. And yet it seemed surprisingly long that Wisteria Lane residents were running out of steam and the new stories were becoming pure calculations and relying on things we have already seen. After all, the first half of the season is simply derived from what happened in the final episodes of the previous one. But then, one unexpected natural disaster and the storyline takes such a turn that I have to start forgiving the previous missteps and let the perfect scripts carry me to the powerful epilogue, exactly where Marc Cherry wanted me to be. Even so, I realize that Desperate Housewives, at this stage, is only very well-crafted work, and even though I will gladly return to the next season, it does not seem like it will ever be my pure favorite. To love it as an indivisible whole, it would have to stop playing with the line between drama and irony so painfully. Season 5 – 90% – Drama up first. That's right, Desperate Housewives has tipped the scales towards more serious storylines for the first time. It's not that it is no longer enjoying the wit and light self-deprecation anymore, because we still enjoy plenty of that too; but when the going gets tough, the script relies on honesty and emotion. Thus the biggest criticism of recent years fades into the distance. The rocketing buy-in to the series is also a surprise, with each episode showing how much the creators trust themselves and aren't afraid to reach for the downright special. But that absoluteness (very much like in the equally packed third series) doesn't last until the end, and so the few quieter episodes don't quite fit into the whole. Still, the fifth series is one of the best – it has the best villain, a healthy insight into relationships, and leaves us feeling like we could easily spend five more seasons with the main characters. Season 6 – 90% – The female cast remains at the top of their game, so no need to change the rating. Everything remains brisk, brilliantly punctuated, and still wonderfully funny or poignant. Thanks to the impeccable guest stars (Drea de Matteo and John Barrowman), this may well be the best season, one which has only narrowly escaped the top rating. But after the season's perfectly dosed twists and adequately pitched mystery, the situation where almost every desperate housewife fought her own villain was a bit overdone. But if only for the show's ability to keep its own face while developing familiar characters through new motives to new ends in a way that makes me believe in them without hesitation, I don't have the slightest desire to fault it at all. Season 7 – 85% – Probably already a desperate stereotype for some, but guaranteed viewing quality for me. Thanks to the acting talents of everyone involved, I feel like I could have lasted many more years in Fairview, but even the thought of the inevitable approaching end has something to it. It fell short of being the best series this year because of one thing, but sadly the most crucial. Waiting for a mystery line this time around would have been pointless, because the Paul-Beth-Felicia merry-go-round has its roots in the very beginning of the series, and while it's slightly surprising at times, it's just not quite right. On the other hand, the family issues are pushed to the max, and this time they work at their most dramatic level, wringing the performances of a lifetime out of Eva Longoria and Felicity Huffman. Season 8 – 85% – The reliable line-up isn't just heading towards the end of the series, but also into the middle of a seasonal mystery. As a result, question marks pop up this time especially around the main foursome, making the relationship plots all the more poignant. Some characters benefit from the new situation (Bree has never been this amazing), while others suffer greatly (Susan has perhaps not made the right decision all season, and her constant stubbornness grows tiresome after a while). What has worked, though, is the distinct impression that the end is really here. The last few episodes teeter on the edge of heavy tension and devoted viewer cheering, and the final ride down beloved Wisteria Lane brings a sense of forgiveness for the occasional plot misstep in addition to a final wave to familiar faces. But Marc Cherry hasn't taken too big a bite once in eight years, and while no series has earned a net hundred, a fifth star remains in place. If only for how qualitatively balanced our Desperate Housewives remained and the grace with which it managed to get through all the crap.
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Since 2004, men are more likely to voluntarily marry. The reason? An excuse to watch Desperate Housewives. That may not be the case (at least I hope it isn't), but the truth is that if all women's shows were like this, men would do nothing but watch them; football or not.
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I came across season one of Desperate Housewives in a strange manner, and I think the “strangeness" was really worth it (even though staying on the sofa when somebody else changes channels isn’t really so strange, but so what?). Such a strange mixture of mystery, comedy and drama is new to the TV screen. Twists in places where you would have thought it was impossible to... um, twist ;-) and the crazy secrets hiding within the walls of those nice houses. Who would have thought? The casting of the “wives" is outstanding (Eva Longoria is ravishing and Teri Hatcher is a real fox) and the same applies to the other household members (I have to mention the excellent Rex and Solis’s perfect, irritating mom). A shame about some weaker episodes, but what happened in the last episode of season one ensured that I intend to continue watching the Housewives. Season two is just as good as season one, in my opinion. Maybe even better in places. Things are taken to the extreme (especially with my favorite, Bree), and the bodies are piling up. What more can you want from a series about an expensive neighborhood? :-) Season three continues in the same fine tradition of quality entertainment, but I was surprised that the main twist (revolving around Bree :-) ends a little unusually in the middle of the season. At the beginning I missed Mike quite a bit (I didn’t like mister moneybags much), but luckily he was replaced by the great Carlos. The finale was quite surprising and the last scene (the second body after Mary Alice) will certainly leave lots of fans in shock. Darn, even I was shocked. Although, who knows? Maybe I just took it wrong. Never mind. What surprises lie in store in... season four? Season four brings a new “housewife" Dana Delany onto the scene and her dark secret which turned out in the end to be really very complicated and also the TORNADO which clearly dominated this season. That double episode is so heavy-duty that I was shocked that the creators dared to do this to poor old Wisteria Lane. And I also found what happened to Carlos (at the end of this episode) pretty surprising. And the finale? Wow, finishing it like that takes courage and it’s hard to say what will happen next. And why all of this even happened. We’ll see where season five picks up in the end.
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