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Revisiting Desperate Housewives

Stray observations:

1. Season one is perfect. The writing is exceptional for a TV show in every way, from plotting to dialogue. It was so smart and innovative.

2. Old network series seasons were LONG! 23-24 episodes feels epic compared with 8-10 episode Netflix/Amazon/Hulu shows.

3. All of the actresses were VERY good. I don’t know if it was unusually good directing or what, but their performances were great—even the destested Teri H. She was really good in her role.

4. Nicollette Sheridan was a magic ingredient who stole every scene even though her character was the least well written.

5. I know it was ambiguous on purpose that Wisteria Lane was in “Fairview, USA,” in the “Eagle State,” but I am really bugged by not knowing where it is. Throughout seasons one and two, there are lots of references to Utah as a neighboring state, as if it’s a half hour or so away. Other references seem southern-ish, but it seems distinctly midwestern. There’s a mention in season two or three by Mary Alice that it never snows in Fairview, and while Wisteria Lane looks like a temperate Anywhere, USA, with deciduous trees, there’s a scene in which drunk Bree is pulled over in season two and palm trees are visible on the side of the road.

6. Season one was A+ but then it fell off a cliff. Susan’s and Mike’s romance in particular just became irredeemably annoying.

7. As of season five, I LOVE the arc with Andrew! He went from being a sociopathic closeted gay kid with Mommy issues who was resented by Mommy for being gay, to being thrown out onto the street and turning tricks to ultimately becoming business partners with Bree and seemingly stabilizing her. It was so well done for its time.

8. Everyone on the show ranges from very conservative to moderately conservative, and there are *some* mentions (mainly by Bree or her husbands) of church but religion is not depicted at all, except for the dramatic convenience of Gabby in confessional booths. Are we supposed to associate the conservative people with Mormons, who were never mentioned except indirectly as “Utah” to avoid a backlash?

That’s all for now. I am rewatching to avoid Trump news!

by Anonymousreply 339September 5, 2020 10:55 AM

Loved and still miss DH

by Anonymousreply 1August 7, 2020 12:43 PM

R1 I’m watching it on Hulu. It’s such a great rediscovery. I had generally fond memories of it but I really did not remember it as being as smart as it was (in its first season, anyway).

by Anonymousreply 2August 7, 2020 12:54 PM

The one thing that really bugged me about DH even in the first season was the narration. She always sounded like she was trying to sell me fabric softener.

by Anonymousreply 3August 7, 2020 12:59 PM

Felicity Huffman was awful playing an awful character.

by Anonymousreply 4August 7, 2020 2:11 PM

I think Felicity was great in the role. Really, really good. And I think her character was my favorite as a person. Her husband and her kids were horrible though.

Funnily enough, there’s a plotline early in the series about Felicity having to bribe a private school to admit her twins.

by Anonymousreply 5August 7, 2020 4:56 PM

R3 Part of what made season one especially distinctive was the tone. It was a murder mystery, a dark comedy, and an almost cartoonish farce, and Mary Alice’s voiceovers were part of that tongue-in-cheek artificial presentation of perfection. I don’t remember noticing it so much when the show was new, but Wisteria Lane looks ridiculous, intentionally styled to look almost like a real street but just a little bit too quaint in such a way that it’s alienating and silly—just like Mary Alice’s voiceovers.

by Anonymousreply 6August 7, 2020 5:03 PM

You mean the husband she emasculated at every turn? The husband who's job she sabotaged so that she could escape her hellhole of a house?

by Anonymousreply 7August 7, 2020 6:33 PM

You are being very, very kind Op. It was a nice show but far from perfect. I liked Bree and the Felicity character (sometimes). The other two acted like in another, more comedic,show. I could never suspend disbelief that all these women were friends. But it was enjoyable.

by Anonymousreply 8August 7, 2020 6:40 PM

R8 Another thing that makes season one better than the ones that followed: the women were not really presented as friends, but as neighbors. A lot of the writing described how they maintain close-enough but not-too-close relationships with one another, and because they were not friends, it made sense that they all only knew one another superficially and so they were full of secrets.

Later on, they became friends and the show suffered for it.

by Anonymousreply 9August 7, 2020 6:52 PM

They were all terrible people.

by Anonymousreply 10August 7, 2020 7:01 PM

[quote]2. Old network series seasons were LONG! 23-24 episodes feels epic compared with 8-10 episode Netflix/Amazon/Hulu shows.

I guess it depends on your perspective, but I certainly don't consider DH an "old" network series. And really older series ('50s and '60s) often had up to 39 episodes per season.

by Anonymousreply 11August 7, 2020 9:23 PM

BANG! was it’s best episode and it wasn’t even is S1.

by Anonymousreply 12August 7, 2020 9:33 PM

First four seasons were pretty good.

by Anonymousreply 13August 7, 2020 9:37 PM

DH premiered 16 years ago, R11. That's kind of old. Not "Your Show of Shows" old, but...old.

by Anonymousreply 14August 7, 2020 9:37 PM

R11 Old is relative. I meant it in the sense of pre-streaming networks, when broadcast TV networks were still the primary attractions, aside from HBO.

But tech has made relatively recent things seem older than they should, too. I’m halfway through the fifth season of Desperate Housewives (2008-2009), and Orson still reads a paper newspaper at the breakfast table, and Bree rented a gay porn DVD from a video store. A VIDEO STORE. Practically paleolithic even though it was only a decade ago.

by Anonymousreply 15August 7, 2020 11:53 PM

It's 15 years old, that's pretty old.

by Anonymousreply 16August 8, 2020 3:11 AM

Terri Hatcher was awful. Never got why it got billed as “her show” at first. Susan was the worst character, but she had some hot boyfriends. Loved Doctor Ron and the English guy. Season 1 was easily the best. It was like a novel come to life. Perfection.

by Anonymousreply 17August 8, 2020 3:19 AM

I miss it, too, even though the last three seasons were mostly crap. Kathleen Joosten (Mrs. McClusky) said in the eight years she was on the show that none of the leads invited her to their trailers, which apparently hurt her. She also said the leads rarely interacted between takes, that they played on their phones the whole time.

Some of the things Mary Alice said were insightful.

by Anonymousreply 18August 8, 2020 3:22 AM

It was based in California - more specifically an Americana version of Orange County where the creator of the show was from. Marc Cherry.

And that's where the Real Housewives of Orange County came from.

by Anonymousreply 19August 8, 2020 3:26 AM

It doesn't fit any real location, that's the point. Wisteria Lane is supposed to be a symbol of the average suburban neighborhood, not a real place. There's a reason it looks like a set, with the freshly paved road, the always mowed lawns with the grass that is far too green, and the white picket fences surrounding literally every house on the street. It can't be tied to a real location because that shatters what it represents.

by Anonymousreply 20August 8, 2020 3:59 AM

Is the series worth watching beyond Season One? I've just started watching for the first time and I'm curious if I should stick around or quit while i'm ahead.

by Anonymousreply 21August 8, 2020 4:40 AM

R31 There are individual episodes and story arcs that are worth watching, but there was never again an entire season that had all the elements clicking as well as season one.

by Anonymousreply 22August 8, 2020 7:58 AM

I am on season five now and it’s really good.

I think the show was consistently (mostly) very good, with a notable dip on quality around season two, particularly with the season’s ‘big mystery’—but that’s only to compare it to the first season. As far as entertaining television shows go, it sustained very high-level quality.

So, later seasons compared to its own first season are a little disappointing. But that’s only because the first season just pulled off an extraordinary feat in its storytelling, direction and acting. It really was like a spirited novel come to live on TV as someone above said. The seasons that followed were pretty good TV.

by Anonymousreply 23August 8, 2020 11:37 AM

This is one of my very favorite DH scenes. Felicity Huffman was fantastic.

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by Anonymousreply 24August 8, 2020 12:18 PM

Lynette had the least showy of all the characters/roles, and Felicity Huffman made her such a distinct, believable personality. People can hate her in retrospect because of her personal character, but after the razzle-dazzle of Bree wore off critics and viewers, Felicity became the standout actress of the show. By the time the series was done, I think she was the one regarded as an incredibly talented performer, due mainly to this role but of course reinforced strongly by her Transamerica role. None of the other actresses has been regarded at the same level except a few who had guest-starring roles (Laurie Metcalfe, Alfre Woodard).

by Anonymousreply 25August 8, 2020 12:24 PM

[quote] First four seasons were pretty good.

For the most part, although S2 lost the plot a bit.

It was solid up until around S5 and then really started repeating itself.

by Anonymousreply 26August 8, 2020 12:27 PM

R25, Felicity first came to my attention in Sports Night. I loved her in that show. She also had a Boogie Shoes moment then too!

I rewatched Reversal of Fortune recently and hadn’t realized that Felicity played one of the law students.

by Anonymousreply 27August 8, 2020 12:27 PM

Huffman is a really talented performer. There’s a scene in season five in which she is unhinged in a car with her teen son. She scares him. And Felicity is convincing in being scarily unhinged, and at the same time you can tell that Lynette is actually at her breaking point but is *probably* scaring her son intentionally as a way to manipulate him and force him to do something he has refused to do. She wins. The scene is a combination of strong writing and a very strong performance, and it elevates the show from soap opera plotting to primetime drama. It could easily have been a one-note melodrama moment, but instead Huffman communicates a ton of nuance as a desperate human being who could actually kill someone and a bluffer who desperately wants her bluff to work so that her son will do what she needs him to do lest she actually have to kill someone. It’s in the writing but it’s convincingly felt from her performance and that’s just not the level of acting that we often get from broadcast or streaming TV shows. She could have played Carmela Soprano as well as Edie Falco did, and not many could.

by Anonymousreply 28August 8, 2020 12:32 PM

I watched all of the seasons when they originally aired.

I always categorized the four leads like the following.

I both liked and was entertained by Bree and Gaby.

I didn’t like but was entertained by Lynette.

I neither liked nor was entertained by Susan.

by Anonymousreply 29August 8, 2020 12:38 PM

Felicity truly showed how much of a dictator you have to be in order to make these unruly Scavo children fall in line. I mean, those kids ... yikes. No wonder she had to resort to drastic measures to save those kids mostly from themselves. I mean, even her husband (played wonderfully by Doug Savant) was a total idiot who had a midlife crisis and opened a family pizza place of all things.

by Anonymousreply 30August 8, 2020 12:38 PM

I found it amusing that they had two different characters (Tom Scavo and Paul Young's son whose name escapes me right now) described as being very well hung.

by Anonymousreply 31August 8, 2020 12:40 PM

R30 Since I am bingeing on the seasons right now, I am also really surprised that people above blame Lynnette for her treatment of Tom, claiming that she emasculated him and ruined his life.

Now, I think the writers present Lynette to us from her perspective, with Tom seen through her lens and so he isn’t really depicted objectively...but that said, she handled him as she had to, just like her kids. He wasn’t a total loser, but he was kind of a loser. And she balanced keeping him grounded as a father and trying to make him feel appreciated.

1. He wanted all those damned kids. She didn’t. She indulged him and regretted it, and he was obliviously happy with the brood but didn’t have to bear any of the brunt of caring for them.

2. He struggled at his advertising job and she was naturally better than he was. HE ultimately ended up jobless and that’s when she said, fine, be a stay at home dad and I will go back to work and make money because 1) it’s your turn to do this; and 2) I am better at the job and will make more money.

3. He got a job in her office under false pretenses because he didn’t like being the stay-at-home dad and then he expected his wife-boss to give him special treatment when his performance and his effort were subpar. That’s fucked up.

4. He got himself fired. And then he decided to invest their money in a pizza parlor and she supported him and even quit her job to help, choosing to see it as an opportunity. It was his ‘dream’ and she did encroach on it—but she did it most of the time because he was making poor business decisions and their family’s income was on the line.

5. He found out he had a kid from a one-night stand before they were married, and he flew across the country without telling Lynette and when she found out, she accepted that it was from before they were together and she embraced the kid as part of the family and dealt with her insane mother and almost got killed because of her.

Like, what was Lynnette supposed to do to be a better wife? Her husband had a nice-guy personality but he was kind of a total asshole insofar as doing things against the interests of his family.

by Anonymousreply 32August 8, 2020 12:50 PM

R31 Tom Scavo was Italian! And Lynnette was Swedish. Despite looking a little bit too Cro Magnon-ish, you know those Scavo twins have the goods to have made some memorable gay porn together...

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by Anonymousreply 33August 8, 2020 12:53 PM

Bree had a ginger bush, it was the talk of the neighborhood!

by Anonymousreply 34August 8, 2020 12:59 PM

I remember how the press made the show look so incredibly smart and witty by pointing out that Ms. Huber was bludgeoned to death with the very same kitchen tool she stole / kept from Mary Alice's kitchen in season one.

by Anonymousreply 35August 8, 2020 1:03 PM

R33 I was waiting for a TW reference 😄

by Anonymousreply 36August 8, 2020 1:04 PM

Didn't one of those Scavo twins come out as a homosexualist a while ago?

by Anonymousreply 37August 8, 2020 1:09 PM

r37, Yes. Charlie Carver.

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by Anonymousreply 38August 8, 2020 1:12 PM

R35 I don’t remember that detail being hailed, but the first season of the show WAS brilliant in the way that major and relatively insignificant plot points and details were interconnected.

The one you mention seems relatively minor in the scope of Desperate Housewives, but if I imagine the show as done by Netflix, I can imagine a hyper-focus on that one detail, with a lingering close up of the tool, a flashback to the tool to show viewers what it is, endless discussion about it. DW seems to have spent an inordinate amount of time planning and plotting and interlacing and they packed in so much that they just kept things moving along and assumed viewers would catch all the details without having to be gratuitous or dumbing things down.

by Anonymousreply 39August 8, 2020 1:14 PM

I eagerly await Charlie’s ass in the Boys in the Band movie.

by Anonymousreply 40August 8, 2020 1:14 PM

[quote] She always sounded like she was trying to sell me fabric softener.

She was.

by Anonymousreply 41August 8, 2020 1:15 PM

The Carver twins could be the new Brewer twins if they wanted. All they need to do is go blond and get a little friendlier with one another.

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by Anonymousreply 42August 8, 2020 1:16 PM

LOL. If the show was done by Netflix it only had maximal13 episodes each season and there'd be only three, maximal four, seasons.

by Anonymousreply 43August 8, 2020 1:16 PM

But weren't all network series 22- 24 episodes to begin with? Then they start cutting them back once the stars command too much money and they need to save.

by Anonymousreply 44August 8, 2020 1:19 PM

One of the best supporting roles ever was Harriet Sansom Harris appearing as Martha Huber's sister Felicia after Martha was murdered.

One of my favorite scenes of DH ever was when Felicia, who did not like Martha, is on the porch feigning sadness as she speaks to assembled neighbors....and then she announces an estate sale for the next day. "And...no personal checks!"

I almost pissed myself laughing.

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by Anonymousreply 45August 8, 2020 1:20 PM

R44 Yes, they were. The cutting back on broadcast networks began, I think, when mid-season replacements became more common. A long time ago, a network would order a full season (24 episodes was common when I was young in the 80s-90s), and they’d stick it out with a show and continue to promote it to earn viewers over time.

During the 90s and especially the 00s, they stopped investing in quality writing so much and instead would order a short season and if the production was not an immediate hit, they’d give up on it, yank it, and replace it mid-season with a new series. Seinfeld is one of the last TV series that a network (NBC) gets credit for supporting despite not-great ratings. It took 2-3 years before Seinfeld became a sleeper hit, and after that of course it became regarded as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. Networks stopped nurturing quality, though, and went instead for immediate hits.

But Netflix really is the reason seasons are now 8-10 episodes. They shocked the world by dumping a full season of House of Cards episodes at once, and thus created “binge watching.” It’s easy to binge 8-10 episodes in a weekend. And so it’s sort of its own thing now, a hybrid old-fashioned TV series and miniseries.

The big difference to me, being ancient at 42, is quality. Netflix is about producing high quantitIes of entertainment to replace broadcast and cable shows with one single streaming network. So they produce, produce, produce. They don’t promote most series at all; they just upload them. Most in my opinion are not very good. But there are a lot of them.

by Anonymousreply 46August 8, 2020 1:27 PM

R45 She was wonderfully creepy. While I was watching her in that role, I paused my TV for a minute and tried to emulate her line delivery and expressions because I just found her to be such a deeply icky character and wondered how she did it.

by Anonymousreply 47August 8, 2020 1:31 PM

Season 5 with Edie's creepy nee husband Dave was the worst. He was a moustache-twirling villain and none of the characters catching on made everyone seem stupid.

Cherry's Devious Maids is very underrated - it strikes a similar tone, though is a bit more ridiculous. It got into its stride in season 2.

by Anonymousreply 48August 8, 2020 1:36 PM

[quote] voiceovers were part of that tongue-in-cheek artificial presentation of perfection.

GOSSIP GIRL used narration to similar effect.

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by Anonymousreply 49August 8, 2020 1:40 PM

I agree about Devious Maids, R49! Since only Lifetime would buy it, I thought it would be abysmal, but it was a great campy, over-the-top soap opera and a definite heir apparent to Desperate Housewives.

by Anonymousreply 50August 8, 2020 1:41 PM

R49 Yes, after Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City...

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by Anonymousreply 51August 8, 2020 1:43 PM

I enjoyed the whole series. I absolutely Loved Felicity Huffman, a terrific actress. The one episode that remains stuck in my mind is when Lynette is held hostage with the other customers in the supermarket by psycho Laurie Metcalf. That was amazing. Bree was my 2nd favorite character and I Loved all the men.

by Anonymousreply 52August 8, 2020 1:48 PM

R52 that episode is Season 3 "Bang" mentioned upthread. I thought she should have win the Emmy for it.

by Anonymousreply 53August 8, 2020 1:53 PM

Yes, when I rewatched “Bang,” I expected to be blown away by Laurie Metcalfe’s performance in it because DLers here raved about that episode’s performance in threads about Ladybird and The Conners/Roseanne...but Huffman was the episode standout for me. She has a really broad emotional range.

Metcalfe was very good, but I guess I have only really ever seen her play hyper-anxious, marginally unhinged characters, including that one, Jackie from Roseanne and the overbearing mom in Ladybird.

by Anonymousreply 54August 8, 2020 1:58 PM

Don't forget Gary's sister in Desperately Seeking Susan, R54!

by Anonymousreply 55August 8, 2020 2:03 PM

[quote] But Netflix really is the reason seasons are now 8-10 episodes. They shocked the world by dumping a full season of House of Cards episodes at once, and thus created “binge watching.” It’s easy to binge 8-10 episodes in a weekend. And so it’s sort of its own thing now, a hybrid old-fashioned TV series and miniseries.

What it killed for good were filler episodes. Like LOST had episodes that were basically recaps of what happened in previous episodes.

The Netflix model encourages to actually tell a story with a start, middle, and an end without having to resort to gimmicks and extra twists to extend the show's run and turn it into a cash cow that gets milked until it's dry and even the most hardcore fans beg for it to finally end.

by Anonymousreply 56August 8, 2020 2:03 PM

Well said R32! Tom Scavo was the classic overgrown whiny manboy who wants all the perks of adulthood without any of the responsibility. Lynette was the only grownup in that house.

by Anonymousreply 57August 8, 2020 2:07 PM

[Quote] The Netflix model encourages to actually tell a story with a start, middle, and an end without having to resort to gimmicks and extra twists to extend the show's run and turn it into a cash cow that gets milked until it's dry and even the most hardcore fans beg for it to finally end.

Every CW show.

by Anonymousreply 58August 8, 2020 2:07 PM

He's a pic of a cut scene where Bree tries to seduce Rex

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by Anonymousreply 59August 8, 2020 2:09 PM

Devious Maids was amazing, but Lifetime nickel and dime'd Cherry to the point he threw the towel and ended the show with a cliffhanger.

by Anonymousreply 60August 8, 2020 2:10 PM

Sorry, he threw in the towel.

by Anonymousreply 61August 8, 2020 2:11 PM

[quote] LOVE the arc with Andrew! He went from being a sociopathic closeted gay kid with Mommy issues who was resented by Mommy for being gay, to being thrown out onto the street and turning tricks to ultimately becoming business partners with Bree and seemingly stabilizing her. It was so well done for its time.

I only kept watching the show for the Andrew character, he was the enjoyable stand-out element.

My favourite scenes in the series are between Bree & Andrew; I’m thinking particularly of the ones on the stairs where he comforts her after the whole George debacle, and the one where Bree abandons him. The actors had fantastic push-pull chemistry, of the kind I’ve not seen since.

And his sweet good-natured boyfriend Justin who mowed the lawns made a lovely foil, plus he was cute as a button. WHET to that actor?

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by Anonymousreply 62August 8, 2020 2:31 PM

R62 “Justin” is Ryan Carnes, and he was relegated to soaps (General Hospital) and the hotly anticipated forthcoming movie “Psycho Sister-in-Law.”

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by Anonymousreply 63August 8, 2020 2:53 PM

Ryan had a really pretty dick which he showed in Eating Out.

by Anonymousreply 64August 8, 2020 2:54 PM

I've never seen the show but have heard of it and I always assumed Wisteria Lane was a satire of Rye, NY, a well-to-do commuter suburb that has a very beautiful and very posh early 20th century "Utopian" development with streets named Thistle Lane, Barberry Lane, Mistletoe Lane, etc. It looks like the kind of place where an upscale murder might happen.

by Anonymousreply 65August 8, 2020 3:05 PM

Some of the "Bang" episode.

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by Anonymousreply 66August 8, 2020 3:09 PM

Completely agree, r56, DH being a good example. Even good seasons had to havea lot of filler to cover so many Episodes, making it overbloated. And should have ended much sooner.

Few stories warrant more than 3/4 seasons, except for procedurals, lawyers, etc, where you can get a new story every Episode and maintaining some well loved characters.

by Anonymousreply 67August 8, 2020 4:37 PM

Ryan Carnes had a lovely cock and nice ass.

by Anonymousreply 68August 8, 2020 4:55 PM

Andrew became a drinker in later seasons

by Anonymousreply 69August 8, 2020 5:03 PM

Here are a few candid snaps I was using to erm, convince Bree Van De Kamp to help make things easier for me, financially.

I snapped them after she spent a day on the sauce in her back garden. I know my gays would appreciate seeing what a lowlife she really was.

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by Anonymousreply 70August 8, 2020 5:12 PM

Here's some more of that dunked, flame haired hypocrite. You would not want to live next door to this one!

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by Anonymousreply 71August 8, 2020 5:25 PM

I had no idea that Andrew's boyfriend was actually gay in real life. He didn't ping at all on the show. He might be one of the only gay men I've seen in my life who actually, truly passes.

by Anonymousreply 72August 8, 2020 5:54 PM

[quote]It's 15 years old, that's pretty old.

It's a very helpful show. In a few years, I plan to announce that it's my son.

by Anonymousreply 73August 8, 2020 5:59 PM

Teri Hatcher was a massive clown

by Anonymousreply 74August 8, 2020 6:07 PM

[quote] Tom Scavo was the classic overgrown whiny manboy who wants all the perks of adulthood without any of the responsibility.

But he had a big cock!

by Anonymousreply 75August 8, 2020 6:07 PM

There was a time with this, Ugly Betty and the beginnings of Grey's Anatomy when it had a much more fun, sarcastic/comic tone where I watched ABC religiously. Much better than crime scene, death, murder, death death and death over on CBS.

UB's run was way too short, DH overstayed its welcome and Grey's lost its charm, but those were the good ole days, for sure.

by Anonymousreply 76August 8, 2020 6:09 PM

(and of course I cannot forget The Sally Field Programme, which was usually on after DH)

by Anonymousreply 77August 8, 2020 6:09 PM

I liked it through season 4. After that it was hate watching. The last few years were blech.

by Anonymousreply 78August 8, 2020 6:14 PM

It set too high a bar for itself by being so innovative and masterful with its first season. It was funny, politically incorrect, shocking, satirical, tragic all at once, and it had love stories, illicit affairs, family interests, small mysteries that were resolved over 6-8 episodes and one overarching grand mystery resolved over the season.

The next season had to fill the template and they had the terrible idea about the Alfre Woodard family as the big mystery and I think that that was supposed to be the big payoff was just a big fat fail even though everything else was pretty well done.

by Anonymousreply 79August 8, 2020 6:28 PM

The wives were too disconnected during the second season and it became too dark. Plus the mystery was not at all interesting.

Season 3 was a big improvement but due to Marcia's pregnancy they had to rush the big mystery and finish it too early. Plus Bree couldn't be that involved due to them needing to hide how heavily pregnant she was.

by Anonymousreply 80August 8, 2020 6:32 PM

Meh. Felicity is a little overrated. She can be very good, but she can also chew the scenery and can have annoying acting tics.

I thought Marcia Cross and Kathryn Joosten (the times when she was given the material) were better, less showy actresses.

Nicollette Sheridan wasn't the best actress, but she was perfect for Edie. She made the show fun and the show suffered without her. Mark Cherry always didn't value her that much, but after the incident with her and the lawsuit, it was raw deal for poor Nicollette.

The best actor on the show by far was Mark Moses. It's too bad they couldn't keep him around more consistently.

Shawn Pyfrom had his moments, but the best young actor on the show was the actor (Josh Zuckerman) that played Eddie Orlofsky in one of the later seasons. He made you really feel for his damaged character and his whole situation. It's really too bad that didn't lead to a better acting career for him. It probably didn't help that he has unconventional looks.

by Anonymousreply 81August 8, 2020 6:52 PM

I liked Rex, weird to think he really wasn't on for as long as I was remembering

by Anonymousreply 82August 8, 2020 6:54 PM

Rex grates the nerves. In fact, I'll never really understand why everyone here loves Bree and Rex. They're awful people, aside from the fact that they're conservatives. They're selfish and cruel. They damaged their children and they silently chip away at their friends' self esteem due to their own insecurities.

by Anonymousreply 83August 8, 2020 6:56 PM

Bree was a very flawed character and I think it was testament to Marcia Cross performance that Bree was so well liked (and just not on here, by a long shot). The writing for Bree was not flattering at all. In the later seasons, I couldn't believe what they were doing with the character, like making her a drunk, fucking every willing guy in town.

I thought Marcia did two of the more heartbreaking scenes on the show, where Bree left Andrew at the side of the road and later in series when she was about to kill herself only to be discovered by Vanessa Williams' character at the last minute.

Bree was based on Cherry's mother, which he had a complicated relationship with. He wanted Dana Delaney to play Bree, but things fell through and Marcia got the part. I have a feeling if Dana got the part, the writing would've been less harsh for Bree. Marcia was not a favorite of Cherry's (like Felicity, Eva and Dana were) or by ABC (like Teri Hatcher was) so she just had the do the best she could with what she was given.

by Anonymousreply 84August 8, 2020 7:20 PM

Marcia's performance was wonderful, even if I hated the character of Bree. It's harder to play an unlikable character than it is to play a character like Lynette or Susan (who I personally didn't like but she was written to be "likable").

by Anonymousreply 85August 8, 2020 7:28 PM

Marcia was terrific. Remember when DL "outed her" and she had to go on TV to deny she was a lesbian? Lol

by Anonymousreply 86August 8, 2020 7:32 PM

The last minute was better than the last season.

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by Anonymousreply 87August 8, 2020 7:55 PM

R72 are you referring to Ryan Carnes? I thought he was straight.

by Anonymousreply 88August 8, 2020 8:01 PM

I stopped watching after the hurricane episode, too stupid.

by Anonymousreply 89August 8, 2020 8:07 PM

Anybody remember the ABC insider here at DL that gave us gossip about Marcia Cross coming out of the closet on prime morning tv?

by Anonymousreply 90August 8, 2020 8:09 PM

R89 It was a tornado. Many seasons had a big stunt disaster: the grocery store shooting, the club fire that killed seven people, etc.

by Anonymousreply 91August 8, 2020 8:19 PM

Richard Burgi was one of the hottest daddies ever.

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by Anonymousreply 92August 8, 2020 8:28 PM

“The writing for Bree was not flattering at all. In the later seasons, I couldn't believe what they were doing with the character, like making her a drunk, fucking every willing guy in town.”

R84 Bree was actually an alcoholic in season two. It came very early on as a response to the stress of Rex’s death, and then she joined AA as a way to deflect Andrew’s charge she was a neglectful drunk mother when he was fighting for emancipation so that he could access his trust fund. There at AA, she met and fell for a sex addict. It was all over the top from very early in the run of the show. And she didn’t fuck every guy in town, but there was Rex (who fucked the s&m hooker neighbor), George the pharmacist, the sex addict (who she wanted to fuck but couldn’t land—but Andrew did, and that’s what made her kick Andrew out, which was FULLY justified), Orson, et al.

I never realized until binge watching now how truly abysmal Bree’s choice of men was.

I did love the emotional arc between Bree and Andrew, but Andrew’s character arc wasn’t done well. He was an actual sociopath in the first couple of seasons. He murdered an old woman and he didn’t care at all. He was vicious to his mother, who was rigid but loving. Of course, the gay reveal made him more sympathetic, but he was still written as the devil incarnate. And then by season five, he was working as Bree’s executive-level employee and in a stable relationship and seemed to be emotionally balanced and possibly the most normal person on the whole show. He was made out to be too much of a monster at first given how much and how quickly he changed. By contrast, Gabrielle and Carlos both seemed almost-but-not-quite sociopathic at first and they had a well written set of character developments that made them both likable with an edge.

I don’t hate Susan but I find her grating, and the Susan-Mike thing was just annoying as fuck. At least when binged, it’s intolerable as a constant tease that they clearly belong together. A big ol lesbian park ranger tells Susan in season five that she sabotages all her relationships because she is addicted to and only cares about the drama, and Susan changed for about two episodes and then was back to longing for Mike and then pushing him away. I really hate that shit.

by Anonymousreply 93August 8, 2020 8:33 PM

R92 I agree. In one scene he stands with an open shirt and tells Susan he wants her back, and gestures to his body and says “you can have all this again. How can you say no?”

I don’t think I could say no.

And neither could she. She got dat dick.

by Anonymousreply 94August 8, 2020 8:35 PM

Was Julie adopted? I don’t understand how Teri Hatcher and Richard Burgi’s genes could combine to make a Julie.

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by Anonymousreply 95August 8, 2020 8:38 PM

R93 I think they meant the season 8 plot where Bree lost her friends, relapsed into alcohol and started going to dive bars and fucking any guy who showed her attention. She started acting out and destroyed her reputation.

by Anonymousreply 96August 8, 2020 8:40 PM

R96 Oh, I haven’t gotten there yet.

I think I stopped watching the original run after five or six seasons. I can never go beyond that. I don’t understand how people have watched The Simpsons and Grey’s Anatomy for 432 years.

by Anonymousreply 97August 8, 2020 8:55 PM

I completely forgot about this show. I watched it awhile ago up until maybe the second to last season (?) The one where, Spoiler Alert:

Whatever season it was when they jumped time.

I remember liking the series but for the life of me can't remember any of the story lines. (someone remind me... was blackmailing Mary Alice and why?)

I do remember an episode where I had the odd thought, oh, I'd fuck Paul.

by Anonymousreply 98August 8, 2020 9:01 PM

R98 With all due respect, I’d request that you look up the Mary Alice storyline instead of asking for it to be explained here. It’s the main mystery of the first season and it would be a huge spoiler in case anyone wants to watch the show again. I had forgotten most of the details and I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the mystery. So please don’t ruin it.

by Anonymousreply 99August 8, 2020 9:05 PM

R97 sorry I didn't realise I was giving spoilers. Here's another: Season 8 is awful!

by Anonymousreply 100August 8, 2020 9:06 PM

R99, I don't really care, I was being facetious to point out I couldn't even remember it. I wasn't asking for it to be ruined, note, in my own post I wrote: Spoiler Alert.

At the same time, the show is over 15 years old... you can't expect people not to talk about it.

by Anonymousreply 101August 8, 2020 9:08 PM

Mary Alice was being blackmailed because she was actually a mtf. I'm surprised people didn't guess as she was over 6ft tall and barren!

by Anonymousreply 102August 8, 2020 9:09 PM

Oh one other thing I remember about this show.. I did not like the Gaby character and was puzzled why they bothered to give her the backstory that she was a Runway model when she was barely 5'2!

by Anonymousreply 103August 8, 2020 9:09 PM

Why do you people keep talking about me? I was never on that tacky show!

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by Anonymousreply 104August 8, 2020 9:13 PM

This show had a lot of inconsistencies or things that didn't make sense.

One thing I remember thinking is that it made no sense for Paul to ask the other women to go through Mary Alice's belongings for him. There is no way someone with that many secrets would have allowed other people to rifle through their stuff.

by Anonymousreply 105August 8, 2020 9:16 PM

Did they ever explain why Bree was the way she was?

by Anonymousreply 106August 8, 2020 9:50 PM

R106 We learn early on that her mother was run over by a car and Bree as a little girl cleaned the blood off the street because it was so unsightly...the implication was that the trauma pathologically affected her. We meet Bree’s step mother—played by Carol Burnett—who is a super-WASP who criticizes everything Bree does as not good enough. She tries to take Andrew away from Bree, telling Bree she is a terrible parent. Andrew wants to go to get away from Bree. But Bree slips a gay porn magazine in front of her father and step mother and tells them it’s Andrew’s and they leave and dissolve his trust fund.

Then more, later in season 8:

“Mrs. Mason is Bree's mother and Henry Mason's wife. She died when she was hit by a drunk driver in her driveway just before Christmas. Bree then proceeds to clean her blood up off the road, she later states that once everything was clean she felt much better. This may explain Bree's need for everything to be clean. Because of her death, Bree became closed off from everyone. After her death, Bree's father married Eleanor.

Bree used to make peanut butter cookies that her mother loved. Also Bree has a cherished family recipe for mincemeat pie from her mother that Katherine Mayfair claimed was from a Betty Crocker cookbook.

She is seen for the first time in a flashback in season 8, where she teaches a young Bree about how to "mask" her emotions. She also reveals that Henry was having an affair with his secretary, whom is presumably Eleanor due to the fact that the two married shortly after.”

by Anonymousreply 107August 8, 2020 10:08 PM

Marc Cherry was the first (and better) Ryan Murphy, giving brilliant actresses over 40 who couldn’t get work roles they could really sink their teeth into.

by Anonymousreply 108August 8, 2020 10:13 PM

That backstory on Bree though doesn't match up with what her husband says in the first episode. He asks what happened to the Bree he fell in love with... the Bree who was fun and drank milk out of the carton and laughed.

So what happened?

by Anonymousreply 109August 8, 2020 10:19 PM

I thought it was clear that as their marriage went on Rex became more distant as Bree tried to make their lives perfect.

by Anonymousreply 110August 8, 2020 10:44 PM

the second season, despite it having the fab Alfre W. in the cast tanked. Folks were figuring out online what the secret of her sons were and it didn't have the 'what happens next' element that season 1 had.

by Anonymousreply 111August 8, 2020 10:45 PM

For those interested in the location, it is "Colonial Lane" on the Paramount back lot. It includes, of all places, the Munsters' house. The set was extensively redressed and made much more luxurious for DH. I must say they did a phenomenal job. It is entirely convincing as an early 20th Century swank suburb developed for rich assholes.

by Anonymousreply 112August 8, 2020 11:33 PM

Early 20th century?

by Anonymousreply 113August 8, 2020 11:35 PM

Yes - the styles suggest late 19th or early 20th century with a few 1950s outliers and one obvious "fake" Victorian.

by Anonymousreply 114August 8, 2020 11:45 PM

Edie: [knocks] Hi, I’m the whore who lives down the street. Can I borrow a cup of condoms?

Susan: A cup? Are you sure that’ll be enough?

by Anonymousreply 115August 8, 2020 11:56 PM

[quote] I do remember an episode where I had the odd thought, oh, I'd fuck Paul.

Mark Moses is hot. His fuckability was a little more obvious on Mad Men.

(well, except for that episode where he tries to shit on the couch.)

by Anonymousreply 116August 9, 2020 12:00 AM

I forget which season it was. But wasn't there a subplot with Lynette and some guy who turns out to be a pedo or child abuser?? And he gets away with it. I thought it was one of their darkest storylines.

by Anonymousreply 117August 9, 2020 3:51 AM

Yes, and the actor who played that was married at the time to Laurie Metcalfe!

He was like the sudden good guy of the neighborhood and she was helping him make new friends.....his sister died or something? And she went into his basement and saw all kinds of weird shit.

by Anonymousreply 118August 9, 2020 4:03 AM

An abuser and a pedo!

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by Anonymousreply 119August 9, 2020 4:08 AM

The Pedo Story started off with that guy saving Lynette's life in the grocery store. Lynette's son then worships him and Lynette becomes friendly with him. She ends up in his basement and sees all these photos of boys and she immediately suspects that he's abusing children, even though the photos are of boys on his swim team. She immediately tells someone what she suspects and a mom swarms his house. I don't remember what happens but nothing comes of it and he moves away. He says something menacing to Lynette but it's supposedly unclear if he's admitting she was right the whole time or he's fucking with her as punishment for what she put him through.

by Anonymousreply 120August 9, 2020 4:18 AM

R120 It’s not unclear. The guy’s invalid sister dies (the implication is that the stress Lynette’s actions brought on contributed to the woman’s death) and he moves.

Lynette approaches him to apologize for ruining his life and he tells her off, but then his tone and his expression change. He tells Lynette that he should really thank her because he always felt responsible for his sister, and his sister always saw the best in him and refused to see the worst in him, even when it was right before her eyes. And since he saw it as his duty to take care of his sister, having her in the house forced him to control his...urges. But now that his sister is gone, thanks to Lynnet, he is free to be himself.

Basically, he told Lynnet that he’s off to rape little boys thanks to her handiwork and that was the end of that storyline. I agree it was as dark as the show went, although it went to a lot of dark places.

by Anonymousreply 121August 9, 2020 6:25 AM

[quote] The Pedo Story started off with that guy saving Lynette's life in the grocery store.

The kicker is the pedo is played by none other than Matt Roth. "Fisher" from Roseanne and Laurie Metcalf's real life husband.

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by Anonymousreply 122August 9, 2020 6:26 AM

Yes, R122. See R119.

by Anonymousreply 123August 9, 2020 6:28 AM

[quote] For those interested in the location, it is "Colonial Lane" on the Paramount back lot.

No, it’s at Universal Studios. You go through it on the tram tour (if they aren’t filming there).

by Anonymousreply 124August 9, 2020 7:37 AM

One surprisingly thoughtless part of the writing is Bree’s wealth and her housing situation. Rex is a doctor, and Wisteria Lane at first is presented as a very wealthy neighborhood (but a plumber rents a house there for perpetuity, the Solises become poor and keep their house there, etc.). Rex dies and Bree is said to have become very well to do in the wake of his death. She stays in her big house, which has at least three bedrooms to accommodate her and her two kids. She gets even richer with her Martha Stewart business—wealthy enough to buy a house on the street for Andrew. It’s a little odd that she doesn’t upgrade her housing, but that’s obviously done for story conventions. She has to live on Wisteria Lane.

But after the kids move out, she lives in her big suburban house with just Orson. And for various reasons, they’re both regularly shown sleeping on the sofa in the living room. They have a fight and he has to sleep on the sofa, giving him back pain. Orson snores and so Bree sleeps on the sofa, giving her back pain. She doesn’t have a guest room? She can’t sleep in one of the kids’ rooms? Bree Mason Van De Kamp Hodge, homemaker extraordinaire, has an uncomfortable sofa??!

by Anonymousreply 125August 9, 2020 9:51 AM

So has it been determined that Shawn Pyfrom is gay IRL? I know he was formally a very active member of Camp Podwall. He also admitted after Philip Seymour Hoffman's overdose death to being an alcoholic & drug addict. Loved his portrayal of Andrew on DH. Super cute, too.

by Anonymousreply 126August 9, 2020 12:23 PM

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

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by Anonymousreply 127August 9, 2020 12:33 PM

With Penn Badgley

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by Anonymousreply 128August 9, 2020 12:35 PM

With Penn with an o-penn shirt.

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by Anonymousreply 129August 9, 2020 12:35 PM

With Colton Haynes.

Shawn gets around!

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by Anonymousreply 130August 9, 2020 12:36 PM

Shawn is hot.

by Anonymousreply 131August 9, 2020 12:38 PM

Adorable at Outfest

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by Anonymousreply 132August 9, 2020 12:40 PM

she's as gay as a picnic basket!

by Anonymousreply 133August 9, 2020 2:50 PM

R132 I'm surprised how itsy bitsy Marcia's boobs are in that pic, I thought she had a decent rack.

R125 remember in like the second episode when Rex was sleeping on the sofa and got up early to get back to bed so the kids wouldn't find out? Bree took pliers to the sofa and broke a spring so he would stop sleeping there.

I don't remember Bree sleeping on the sofa when Orson snores?

Even when she becomes wealthy there's no need for her to move, her house is lovely and she has her test kitchen above her garage. What doesn't make sense is, from the outside her house looks symmetrical but we seldom see any rooms on the left hand side of her house.

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by Anonymousreply 134August 9, 2020 4:25 PM

It's rare that gay men cast straight men to play other gay men, unless it's a Ryan Murphy with Evan Peters or Teddy Sears situation where they're trying to live out some weird fantasy. Most gay showrunners cast either out and proud or on the downlow/closeted gays to play gay characters in their shows.

by Anonymousreply 135August 9, 2020 4:43 PM

I took an ‘acting for the camera’ class when I was young. It was directed by someone who directed a hit primetime TV show for years, and he said that in television, who you are is who you should audition to play as a general rule, regardless of acting potential. He said that because TV is shot on such a tight schedule, unlike feature films that involve a lot of time to study and prepare, the main work of an actor is to memorize lines in time for the show taping. The role of casting agents is to cast actors who in most cases naturally embody the characters. So know thyself, and seek out roles that you could easily ‘pass’ as as written. If you’re gay, go for gay. If you’re a nerd, go for the nerd. Etc.

by Anonymousreply 136August 9, 2020 4:49 PM

R136, some TV actors can actually act.

by Anonymousreply 137August 9, 2020 4:52 PM

R136 Andrew wasn't originally going to be gay though, so there's no way Shawn could have auditioned for him just because both him and the character are gay. Andrew's sexuality was written into the script after they'd already started filming season one. It was a great choice, but it wasn't one that was there from the get-go.

by Anonymousreply 138August 9, 2020 4:54 PM

I thought Andrew and Bree were stand-ins for Mark Cherry and his mother from the beginning. Andrew was always going to be gay if Andrew was Mark.

by Anonymousreply 139August 9, 2020 5:06 PM

In an interview Shawn said that Andrew being gay was a decision Marc had to tell him about. That wording makes me think Andrew wasn't gonna be gay from the get-go.

by Anonymousreply 140August 9, 2020 5:27 PM

R140, or maybe Shawn just isn’t very bright.

by Anonymousreply 141August 9, 2020 5:28 PM

R141..well...Florida

by Anonymousreply 142August 9, 2020 5:29 PM

I used to think the guy that played Mike was hot but I sorta got the inkling he was a deplorable type early on.

by Anonymousreply 143August 9, 2020 5:30 PM

but why did Zach Young have Ellen's hairdo

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by Anonymousreply 144August 9, 2020 5:33 PM

"why did Zach Young have Ellen's hairdo"

Because Zach Young and Ellen have never been seen together, that's why. Doubt they're the same person? It was well-known to be a toxic set, thanks to Zach, and no one--NO ONE!--was to EVER look Zach Young in the eye. And when Zach was unhappy with a line, there was Hell to pay in the writers room. Hell, I tell you! Unabke to get work as an active, he became a lesbian talk show hostess!

by Anonymousreply 145August 9, 2020 5:44 PM

Verifcatia of sizemeat

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by Anonymousreply 146August 9, 2020 7:28 PM

[quote] And for various reasons, they’re both regularly shown sleeping on the sofa in the living room. They have a fight and he has to sleep on the sofa, giving him back pain. Orson snores and so Bree sleeps on the sofa, giving her back pain. She doesn’t have a guest room?

Because “sleeping on the couch” is a TV cliche for when couples fight.

by Anonymousreply 147August 9, 2020 7:30 PM

Why was Carlos looking?

by Anonymousreply 148August 9, 2020 7:35 PM

Susan's ex was way hotter than Mike.

by Anonymousreply 149August 9, 2020 7:35 PM

[quote] Why was Carlos looking?

He wasn't deliberately looking. He was trying to be buddy buddy with Zach to find out whether Zach and Gabrielle had slept together when Gabi was drunk. The implication is that Zach was SO big, Carlos saw it and it just stunned him - made him stop talking, etc.

by Anonymousreply 150August 9, 2020 7:38 PM

R149 yes, Karl was HOT

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by Anonymousreply 151August 9, 2020 7:39 PM

Nah, you don't look down unless you want to!

by Anonymousreply 152August 9, 2020 7:40 PM

Carlos was Big Papi....I doubt he was small peanuts

by Anonymousreply 153August 9, 2020 7:41 PM

Zach told Gabby that the two of them had sex and she was upset she had made the mistake when she was drunk. She told Carlos and he questioned whether she was sure and she said she didn’t remember but Zach had said so. So Carlos ‘checked out the competition,’ and then reassured Gabby she had not had Zach inside her because she would know it the next day, drunk or not, and he gestured to a giant hanging sausage to indicate Zach’s presence would have been felt.

by Anonymousreply 154August 9, 2020 7:45 PM

R154 Yes, as the clip at R146 shows us

by Anonymousreply 155August 9, 2020 7:46 PM

I can't find the clip where it's confirmed Tom Scavo has a huge cock, but I think it had something to do with Vanessa Williams' character Renee, and the fact that Renee and Tom had slept together at some point in the past.

by Anonymousreply 156August 9, 2020 7:47 PM

So are we to assume that Mike also had a huge cock? Or did Zach get it from his druggie mother's side?

by Anonymousreply 157August 9, 2020 7:53 PM

Cody was a cutie 4 years ago.

Now that the hair&beard are longer, not so much.

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by Anonymousreply 158August 9, 2020 8:08 PM

Season 1 was just about as perfect as a nighttime soap can get. Great characters, performances, writing, twists, etc. Season 2 was a bit of a decline, but still watchable and that's how the series seemed to go until whenever they killed Edie. That whole season was a huge step down in quality and I tried watching pieces of the next season and could never get into it again.

by Anonymousreply 159August 9, 2020 8:16 PM

Season 4 had a great mystery. After that...meh

by Anonymousreply 160August 9, 2020 8:44 PM

The actor that played Tom was smoking hot. There was a bedroom scene with he and Lynette where he was in bikini briefs. Damn he’s hot.

by Anonymousreply 161August 9, 2020 8:50 PM

For R161.

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by Anonymousreply 162August 9, 2020 8:54 PM
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by Anonymousreply 163August 9, 2020 8:55 PM

Lynette had the smallest boobs yet she had 5 kids. Susan only had 2 and her pokers were delightful. Gabi's stayed small but that's understandably since she had these two little fatties to feed. And Carlos too probably.

by Anonymousreply 164August 9, 2020 8:56 PM

I forgot that Marcia Cross tortured Doug Savant on Melrose Place.

by Anonymousreply 165August 9, 2020 8:56 PM

R165 Laura Leighton from Melrose is married to Doig Savant. Quite an intimate cast.

by Anonymousreply 166August 9, 2020 8:59 PM

Yes, R166, I randomly knew that.

by Anonymousreply 167August 9, 2020 9:01 PM

Tom Scavo really was every hot DILF I ever knew (or ever blew).

Dumb as a box of rocks, like a overgrown golden retriever of friendliness, and always hungry for any praise or flattery.

by Anonymousreply 168August 9, 2020 9:10 PM

Bree Van De Kamp was the sexiest housewife

by Anonymousreply 169August 9, 2020 10:03 PM

I appreciate you all thinking of me....considering what you bitches stirred up a few years back!

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by Anonymousreply 170August 9, 2020 10:15 PM

R164, tits deflate in women who have breastfed. If she had to breast feed five kids, she’s have nothing left.

by Anonymousreply 171August 9, 2020 10:30 PM

[Quote] Susan only had 2 and her pokers were delightful.

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by Anonymousreply 172August 9, 2020 10:44 PM

This show started my deep infatuation with Beau Mirchoff. Such a stud.

by Anonymousreply 173August 9, 2020 10:51 PM

I can’t believe y’all were watching that show for the women on it. I was around for the man candy. Of course my favorite was Jesse as he violated his abstinence post as part of his high school club. That boy got laid all the time and he looked good.

by Anonymousreply 174August 9, 2020 11:14 PM

Yeah, r174, Jess had bigger and better boobs than any of the women.

by Anonymousreply 175August 9, 2020 11:17 PM

R173 It's a shame that season sucked. Bless his leaked nudes though

by Anonymousreply 176August 9, 2020 11:17 PM

Doing the work that R176 couldn't.

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by Anonymousreply 177August 9, 2020 11:21 PM

I liked the Edie vs. Susan scenes best. They had good chemistry.

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by Anonymousreply 178August 9, 2020 11:25 PM

I too enjoyed Shawn Pyfrom's troubled Andrew. As already mentioned, his character lost a lot of dimension once they did the fast forward in time to him being a dutiful son. Shawn was adorable for the duration for show.

I also agree that Felicity Huffman was the heart of this show. Cant believe all these years later she is living out DH storyline in her real life.

by Anonymousreply 179August 10, 2020 12:49 AM

R174 Why are you shocked that we're watching this show for the women? This show IS the women. Anybody watching for eye candy is just shooting themselves in the foot, as the guys are never on screen for more than 15 minutes per-episode and are never anything more than shirtless.

If you wanna watch a show for the men go watch Spartacus on Starz, don't watch a drama about house fraus.

by Anonymousreply 180August 10, 2020 12:52 AM

Per the OP, we watched the show because it was so well done, such great storytelling.

What kind of eternal adolescent exclusively watches entertainment to look at men who turn them on?

by Anonymousreply 181August 10, 2020 1:03 AM

R180 Spartacus was also a great show. Rocky start, then awesome to the end.

by Anonymousreply 182August 10, 2020 1:11 AM

Mmm, Beau has a nice fat knob.

by Anonymousreply 183August 10, 2020 1:23 AM

[quote] can't find the clip where it's confirmed Tom Scavo has a huge cock, but I think it had something to do with Vanessa Williams' character Renee, and the fact that Renee and Tom had slept together at some point in the past.

It was Susan walking in by accident on Tom and Lynette fucking

by Anonymousreply 184August 10, 2020 2:06 AM

Beau looked great in Now Apocalypse.

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by Anonymousreply 185August 10, 2020 6:09 AM

The show takes place in Colorado. Fairview is a suburb of Boulder. This is why Utah is always referenced and why in the finale of season one Mike takes Paul up into the mountains to kill him. The eagle state is Colorado.

by Anonymousreply 186August 10, 2020 6:12 AM

R185 too bad the show sucked.

by Anonymousreply 187August 10, 2020 6:14 AM

The only reason it couldn't be Colorado is the fact that it "never snows in Wisteria Lane" and the constant fair weather, but that's just to add to the ominously perfect suburban picture vibe. I think it's Colorado.

by Anonymousreply 188August 10, 2020 6:16 AM

Hated the Elfman-ish score. Took me out of it.

Eva Longoria as a fashion model? Yeah right.

When they brought in the colored folk (Alfre Woodard and Vanessa Williams) show was already going downhill.

I'm surprised Desperate Househags lasted this long

by Anonymousreply 189August 10, 2020 6:22 AM

Started watching Season 1 on Hulu. Might skip to Season 4 and stop there. Remember 2 and 3 being meh. Any thoughts?

by Anonymousreply 190August 10, 2020 6:25 AM

Season 3 was pretty decent and enjoyable, no reason to skip it. Season 2 wasn't at all terrible, just not as captivating as season 1 and wasn't as clever or funny.

I too want to add my praises to beautiful Beau Mitchoff's lovely thick cock :)

by Anonymousreply 191August 10, 2020 6:37 AM

Enjoy R191!

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by Anonymousreply 192August 10, 2020 6:42 AM

Have we ever seen Cody's real life cock? Or are we left to imagine Zach Young's forever?

by Anonymousreply 193August 10, 2020 4:29 PM

They never specifically say Colorado, though it sure seems like it would fit for several reasons.

by Anonymousreply 194August 10, 2020 4:37 PM

Beau's balls are beautiful!

by Anonymousreply 195August 10, 2020 4:37 PM

[quote]The eagle state is Colorado.

BZZT! Wrong! Colorado is the Centennial State. It became a state in 1876, which was 100 years after 1776.

by Anonymousreply 196August 10, 2020 6:31 PM

R196 "There is a seal behind the judge's chair in the courtroom in season 8 that has the date 1876 so it is believed that The Eagle State was founded in 1876, 100 years after the founding of the United States. Colorado was founded in 1876. The state flag is also seen in the courtroom to the left of the Seal. The flag features a solid dark blue background with the state seal in the center."

by Anonymousreply 197August 10, 2020 6:35 PM

Rewatching Season 1. Gabrielle is pretty damn obvious with her affair.

by Anonymousreply 198August 10, 2020 7:06 PM

You think, R198? I wasn't sure if the numerous times she fucked the Gardener in front of her big, open, front windows, was a tad bit obvious.

by Anonymousreply 199August 10, 2020 7:12 PM

R199 first time I watched it back in the day I was distracted by Jesse's pecs!!

by Anonymousreply 200August 10, 2020 7:15 PM

I'm just joking, R200. I just re-watched the first episode the other day and noticed that they fuck in front of her big window that faces the street and I couldn't help laugh about how ridiculous it was.

Same as the scene where she mows the lawn in her evening gown... like that wouldn't be suspicious to her nosy neighbors who would mention it to Carlos.

by Anonymousreply 201August 10, 2020 7:31 PM

How did Tom ever land Lynette? Sure he's hot, but way too dumb for a serious relationship.

by Anonymousreply 202August 10, 2020 11:09 PM

R202, did you miss the part about the big dick?

by Anonymousreply 203August 10, 2020 11:11 PM

R203 Sure but that's the guy you text at 2 am. I've had plenty of fuckbuddies that I'd never marry.

by Anonymousreply 204August 10, 2020 11:14 PM

Tom got Lynette because she's just as stupid as he is. No smart woman would ever give up a career they were passionate about and successful in just because their idiot underachieving husband said being a stay-at-home-mom would be a great idea. No smart woman would ever let their husband "just risk it" without a condom enough times to get pregnant with four children.

Not to mention how she literally never disciplined her kids and let them basically do whatever they wanted just because she was afraid to spank them.

Lynette was a nice woman, but she was by no stretch of the imagination a smart woman.

by Anonymousreply 205August 10, 2020 11:23 PM

R205, Fair. Watching this as an adult, I'm wondering why she hasn't faked her death and vanished

by Anonymousreply 206August 10, 2020 11:26 PM

I gave up feeling bad for Lynette around that episode where Bree spanks her kid and she freaks out about it and then gets into this big debate with her husband about whether or not hitting their kids when they misbehave is the right thing to do. It was in that moment that it became clear to me that she causes all her own problems, and that they could be easily solved if she gave a shit, but she's the kind of person that enjoys having problems because it's an excuse to martyr herself. We all know those women, the ones who never stop complaining about being a mother and get off on bitching about how hard it is. That's Lynette.

by Anonymousreply 207August 10, 2020 11:33 PM

R207. And I'm 7 episodes deep and I already hate Susan.

by Anonymousreply 208August 10, 2020 11:36 PM

Was Andrew a top or bottom?

by Anonymousreply 209August 10, 2020 11:38 PM

R209, versatile bottom.

by Anonymousreply 210August 10, 2020 11:39 PM

R208 Lynette is likable despite what an idiot she is, but Susan is absolutely undeniably unlikable in every way. Bree and Gabrielle become the two most likable characters on the show because they're both awful people. Gabrielle is my favorite because unlike all the other housewives she's a bad person that actually knows and acknowledges what a bad person she is.

by Anonymousreply 211August 10, 2020 11:40 PM

Andrew is also easily tradeable for a new roof.

by Anonymousreply 212August 10, 2020 11:41 PM

R211 Agreed. How did she ever get hot dick like Karl and Mike? Especially Karl.

by Anonymousreply 213August 10, 2020 11:43 PM

Gabby is also the best character because she never has the "look at how awful my life is, don't you feel sorry for me?" characterization. Bree, Susan, and Lynette were all written with big "woe is me" signs over their heads, and we're expected to pity them despite what terrible people they are. Gabby's characterization never demands pity, her husband's only flaw (at first) is that he's always away on business. She's looked after and has a faithful husband. She's supposed to be the bad guy in the situation, not pitied.

by Anonymousreply 214August 10, 2020 11:46 PM

R209, I assumed he was a bottom after he let Bree's boyfriend fuck him.

by Anonymousreply 215August 10, 2020 11:48 PM

R213 Because she's written weird. Susan is so out of place compared to literally everything and everyone else in the show. It's like plopping the main character from a Kathrine Heigl rom-com in the middle of a Tennessee Williams play. She was written to always have the on-again-of-again with a hot boyfriend, always be clumsy and cute... her stories always took me out of the show.

by Anonymousreply 216August 10, 2020 11:49 PM

R214 I kinda disagree. Carlos is definitely a jerk who thinks all he has to do is wave shiny things in front of his wife. In the famous lawnmowing episode, he has no problem with his business associates feeling up his wife if it gets him a deal. He wants an ornament, not a wife. You can definitely understand why she cheated, although she definitely fucks with John's head (he never gets over her).

by Anonymousreply 217August 10, 2020 11:50 PM

R217 Carlos is an asshole, true, but Gabby's only problem in life is that her husband wants an ornament. Contrast that to everyone else and she easily has it best on Wisteria Lane, aside from maybe Susan, but I never count her because she seems to live in a lost Jennifer Aniston movie.

by Anonymousreply 218August 10, 2020 11:53 PM

R218 true. I'm just saying it's a little more than "he travels a lot". He's a jerk too. It's not the end of the world but you can understand why she's unhappy. And I'd much rather be Gaby than Susan. I'd rather be Bongo the dog than Susan.

by Anonymousreply 219August 10, 2020 11:55 PM

Imagine being Julie and getting knocked up by a Scavo. Your child's grandparents are going to be Susan, Lynette, Tom and Karl. I'm shocked she didn't get an abortion before the pee stick had time to dry.

by Anonymousreply 220August 11, 2020 12:00 AM

“Bree, Susan, and Lynette were all written with big "woe is me" signs over their heads, and we're expected to pity them despite what terrible people they are.“

The show’s title is Desperate Housewives. It’s about housewives who are desperate, sad, unhappy. I don’t think it’s necessarily about pitying them as watching how their desperation causes endless problems for them. I’m not sure why people don’t connect the very clear title of the show to what goes on in the show. These aren’t supposed to be happy, content, wise women.

by Anonymousreply 221August 11, 2020 2:25 AM

R221 The reason we have a problem with their unhappiness is that we're supposed to pity them for it. It would be different if their unhappiness was shown for what it is: the whining of privileged women. But it isn't, we're expected to feel bad for these "desperate" women despite how awful they are and how all of their unhappiness is bullshit.

by Anonymousreply 222August 11, 2020 3:37 AM

That pedophile storyline scared the shit out of me.

by Anonymousreply 223August 11, 2020 8:01 AM

The people that think he just said that to fuck with Lynette are crazy.

by Anonymousreply 224August 11, 2020 8:06 AM

Gabby had her fair share of delusions. Remember the special episode where she decides to catch up with her friends and contacts from the model days? Heidi Klum calls her a bully and her manager tells her that she got lucky she married rich since he was about to drop her for being such a diva.

by Anonymousreply 225August 11, 2020 8:23 AM

There is no way he said all this just to screw with her. This is one of the best scenes in the whole show just because of how fucking terrifying it is. Desperate Housewives never got dark, at least not like this. All of its dark moments were in a teasing, joking way. But they were never like this. This is one of the most disturbing scenes in TV history just because of the unsaid implications.

And that shot of the baby angels at the end. Jesus. That alone shows you that Marc Cherry could make a really dark, creepy show if he wanted to. He'd do it well.

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by Anonymousreply 226August 11, 2020 8:26 AM

Whenever DH got dark it was in a soap opera way. The Art storyline was different. It was the only genuinely disturbing storyline to happen on the show.

by Anonymousreply 227August 11, 2020 8:29 AM

[quote] It was the only genuinely disturbing storyline to happen on the show.

Fuck you!

by Anonymousreply 228August 11, 2020 8:33 AM

R228 Andrew's storyline was still a soap opera storyline. It wasn't a very-special-episode from hell.

by Anonymousreply 229August 11, 2020 8:36 AM

Crazy that 'Bang' is the episode that gets the recognition and not 'The Miracle Song'. That scene with Lynette and the pedophile was better than any scene from Bang, it demonstrates that Felicity is an actor with talent.

by Anonymousreply 230August 11, 2020 8:40 AM

Almost more disturbing than the fact that the child rapist gets way with it at the end of that storyline is the fact that Lynette is perfectly okay with him raping children as long as it isn't on Wisteria Lane. When he admits to her that he's a pedophile, and that thanks to her he's now free to indulge, her very first reaction is "you have to leave" and once he says he's leaving she just goes on with her life like it never happened.

It's slightly more disturbing to me that Lynette doesn't care if he's a child molestor as long as he isn't doing it on her street.

by Anonymousreply 231August 11, 2020 9:59 AM

Totally agree, R231 and that reaction is so Lynette, which is why I never liked that character no matter how much they wanted me to.

by Anonymousreply 232August 11, 2020 12:48 PM

Is it possible they didn't want to continue or revisit that storyline because it was too dark??

by Anonymousreply 233August 11, 2020 12:51 PM

R233, it obviously run its course and the probably intended for the creepy ending they had.

by Anonymousreply 234August 11, 2020 1:23 PM

I'm glad they didn't continue it or revisit it. Anything beyond what they did would have killed it. It's so well paced and neatly folded together. In just four episodes they delivered arguably the best storyline the show had during its run, it was like its own little movie independent of the rest of the show.

by Anonymousreply 235August 11, 2020 1:43 PM

The look of fear in Lynette's eyes as he basically lets her know he's a pedophile who will now rape children whenever he wants thanks to her meddling is jarring. Felicity Huffman's acting ability is proven by that one scene. I don't think I've ever seen someone capture pure fear that well in an on-screen performance. You could see the light behind her eyes die.

by Anonymousreply 236August 11, 2020 1:48 PM

^MARY!!!!^

by Anonymousreply 237August 11, 2020 2:02 PM

R236 And then she simply banished the thought from her mind and let him go off to rape kids. Lovely.

How many people were murdered and dumped in a shallow grave on that show. They couldn't add Art to that roster?

by Anonymousreply 238August 11, 2020 2:19 PM

If people can forgive or at least have compassion for Walter White, et al, yes they're meant to have compassion for the 'desperate housewives'.

This doesn't mean we need to consider any of them to be good people, only to understand when they try to be, and recognize when they succeeded.

This doesn't mean we need to believe everything is out of their hands and they have no agency, in fact far from it, but only that suburban housewife life they're in has particular drawbacks and sexist restrictions to this day.

This doesn't mean we need to insist that they're all best buddies and would really do anything for each other, because at no point are they (at least collectively), only that they have a growing true friendship that comes from a mix of factors, but ultimately is their glimmer of hope to do and be better post-show events.

Part of the appeal of the show is that real life housewives, typically older, (so today older genx or boomers), get to imagine heightened drama if they're bored, but also self-assured that they did right enough things in life (whether they actually did or not) and that when they get that niggling feeling that they did wrong, something other than invisible God or constant familial praise is needed for them to forgive themselves. Its suburban power fantasy. Yes you will have that crazed shooter in your supermarket (as if!) - like in those dangerous cities you know? - but you'll stop them with your words and an outside tackle. Yes you'll struggle with your gay son, who of COURSE makes so many PROBLEMS for himself (that we can insinuate come from his gayness), but you'll be the big mother here and ultimately be exactly what he needs to get on some 'straight' course, whether sexually or (as per the show) in broad success. Yes you'll get into pathetic back and forth sex/mind games with your hot neighbor that you get so frustrated with, but ultimately you'll have your fun along with your lumps and move on from him (hopefully in a way that makes you look better than otherwise for liking him this whole time; like ohohoh he sacrifices himself for you!).

Its very 2000s 'we know you conservatives are very much here, you're very much Bush voters, and we recognize that you struggle with all the things that are definitely here, not leaving, because they're good things so grow up, so here's a primer on how to move on with it while maintaining your beloved homemaking'. Its humanizing people that ehhh, don't deserve all that much of it, but aren't so terrible that they don't deserve to have none of it. Househusbands... more difficult, but housewives? In 2000s? We can get there's a degree of social or otherwise entrapment. Or we could have until white women voted for Trump.

We could have done the same in 2010s with deplorables, and some media does attempt, but overall they're just too sickening to actively, currently (I dread the future) rehabilitate. Trump supporters push their luck way too hard, and that's part of why the election soon is soooo risky for them compared to typical ones after one term. They don't get a Desperate Housewives.

by Anonymousreply 239August 11, 2020 2:35 PM

Rick & Steve had a hilarious DH spoof showing up on occasion.

by Anonymousreply 240August 11, 2020 3:16 PM

I remember watching that episode and how dark it was that he turned out to be a Pedo. But I also do remember that at the time there were several people and outlets that said that the ending was ambiguous. I just read an article that mentioned it briefly (Ill see if I can find it).

I also wondered how Lynette could just not do anything about it. She had no proof though so what could she do?

by Anonymousreply 241August 11, 2020 5:26 PM

Found one of them.

[quote]Instead, last night’s drama peaked when Art, Wisteria Lane’s creepy swim-coach neighbor, confronted Lynette with what was almost definitely a real confession of his child-molesting predilection. Of course, it’s possible Art just wanted to torture Lynette in return for indirectly offing his sister and forcing him to leave, but that’d be a very unwise move on his part. I won’t go so far as to say, ”I love where they went with this pedophile story line” (whoops, too late), but I thought what happened was a reasonable and unexpected wrap-up to a tough subplot. Matt Roth’s delivery was slow and chilling, and his departure will give Lynette some serious emotional baggage to deal with this winter.

To be clear, I totally think he meant it but this was just to point out that at the time, more than a few people questioned if he was just doing it to fuck with her. People still talk about it on various forums. One argument could be made that if he was in fact a Pedo why would he tell Lynette that, it'd be too risky. (Obviously dismissing that this is TV and done for the drama). So either way telling her, true or not, is still to fuck with her.

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by Anonymousreply 242August 11, 2020 5:31 PM

And all this debate all these years later is a real testament to extraordinary writing for television.

No one will be debating Stranger Things or Hollywood or 13 Reasons Why characters’ intentions or choices 15-20 years after they’re off the air.

by Anonymousreply 243August 11, 2020 9:00 PM

R243 slow your roll sister. Like MANY shows, DH started off great but was a rotted cadaver long before the show ended.

by Anonymousreply 244August 11, 2020 9:02 PM

The thing about DH, looking back from a 2020 perspective, is that I think it would have been much more solid had it been a 13-episode show as many cable shows are now, etc.

22-24 episodes is too much to sustain quality, especially in a soapy way. Most of these shows should cap it at 13 to 16 episodes, if that.

by Anonymousreply 245August 11, 2020 10:44 PM

Looking back at the show it would have been much stronger had they eliminated the Susan character or made it so that she was only a neighbor you saw occasionally when it served a story's purpose.

by Anonymousreply 246August 11, 2020 11:08 PM

I just watched the episode, "Bang" and it's funny because at the start of the episode, Lynette has a recurring dream about the last time she saw Mary Alice. She watched as Mary Alice read the note she received in the mail, could sense something was wrong. asked if Mary Alice was okay, and then went back into her house despite knowing Mary Alice clearly needed help.

When talking about it with the other girls, she says:

"She was in pain and I just walked away."

Susan says, "There was nothing you could do."

And Lynette replies, "And that's what I did... nothing."

Seems like that was Lynette's pattern as it was pretty much what she did when Art "maybe" confessed he was a Pedo.

by Anonymousreply 247August 12, 2020 6:03 AM

It's interesting watching Season 1 and considering where things ended up. All the back and forth with Mike and Susan only to kill him at the end. What the actual fuck?

Felicia Tilman is really really great in Season 1, but like most things, she wore out her welcome by the end.

by Anonymousreply 248August 12, 2020 6:12 AM

I'm sure Marc Cherry would've rather killed Susan off (he hated Teri Hatcher), but no way would they have let him. Mike was the next choice, I guess.

They made Felicia very unlikeable in the last season she was on. Very nasty to her sweet, but inept daughter Beth and basically drove her to suicide.

by Anonymousreply 249August 12, 2020 8:30 AM

Why did Marc Cherry cast so many women he hated? Hatcher, Sheridan, and he shaded Cross, too, in an interview. Said she didn't have any sense of humor or comic timing and he had to feed her line readings. (He didn't name her but it was obvious who he was talking about.)

There are tons of actresses out there, why not cast ones you like or at least respect?

by Anonymousreply 250August 12, 2020 1:35 PM

Hatcher was ABC's baby, and he didn't hate Sheridan at first but they slowly began to hate each other and feud after Nicolette humiliated him in front of other people early in the show by making a joke at his expense about him being a gay republican, a joke that got a lot of laughs.

by Anonymousreply 251August 12, 2020 1:56 PM

I loved Andrew. I saw myself in him down to a T, and I saw my parents in his mother and father. I hated when they made him no longer a force to be reckoned with. It made sense from a story point that he'd be changed after being abandoned, but he was super fun as a pseudo villain and became boring once he was no longer cunty.

by Anonymousreply 252August 12, 2020 1:58 PM

"Said she didn't have any sense of humor or comic timing and he had to feed her line readings."

I remember him saying that and wondering, if it was indeed Cross he was referring to, if asking for a line reading was her way of subtly telling him his writing wasn't that funny. It was very low class of him to refer to any of his stars that way, especially given that he's known for giving all his actors the exact line reading he wants. (If I recall correctly he said he had "this one actress who is not a comic actress by any means" and that she didn't know if a line was funny or not so he would give her the line reading.) But on one of these Stars in the House shows or sonething, all the actresses said he would give you line readings and you were not allowed to vary from them.

by Anonymousreply 253August 12, 2020 10:04 PM

Carlos' manipulative lawyer who wanted to sleep with Gabby was so hot. Not even just in looks, but in personality too. Easily the hottest male character on the show.

by Anonymousreply 254August 13, 2020 2:43 AM

Doug Savant was so hot, even when playing as unattractive a character as Tom. He was at his best when Tom got demoted to being a stay-at-home dad. That stubble was an instant boner bringer.

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by Anonymousreply 255August 13, 2020 6:00 AM

They did a good job casting the actor that played Tom's son who wasn't one of the twins. Looked just like him.

by Anonymousreply 256August 13, 2020 6:02 AM

I was shocked that there wasn't a storyline about Bree being racist. She's a conservative living in suburbia who desperately wants her life to be like Pleasantville, there's no way she'd be perfectly cool with having minorities moving on to Wisteria Lane, especially the black mother and son in season two.

by Anonymousreply 257August 13, 2020 6:08 AM

The use of "hausfrau" in the show kind of distracted me. I don't think straight people use that term and it popped up all the time in the script, but it was always straight people saying it. That broke the immersion.

by Anonymousreply 258August 13, 2020 6:16 AM

Did they ever explain why Gabrielle didn't just get an abortion when Carlos tricked her into getting pregnant? I know she's catholic but that didn't stop her from committing adultery so why would it stop her from doing something much more important?

by Anonymousreply 259August 13, 2020 6:18 AM

Almost at the end of my Season 1 Rewatch, Bitches!

Should I continue or quit while it's good?

by Anonymousreply 260August 13, 2020 6:27 AM

R260 I’m up to season six. Nothing measures up to season one’s brilliant construction, but I’ve really enjoyed everything so far *except* the Katherine (Dana Delany) storyline. Especially in season six, hers is just a poorly conceived characterization and storyline and it has dragged the whole thing down a bit in quality. But even that is a minor criticism given how much more there is to the show and how entertaining it is.

by Anonymousreply 261August 13, 2020 11:26 AM

Dana Delany was too old and not hot enough to play Bree

by Anonymousreply 262August 13, 2020 11:28 AM

If this thread had appeared four or five years ago, it would have been at 600 replies already, 70% of which would have been about Gale Harold and his two season mostly shirtless turn on the show.

by Anonymousreply 263August 13, 2020 11:30 AM

R263 Gale Harold was barely on half a season before they had to write him out

by Anonymousreply 264August 13, 2020 11:31 AM

Gale Harold and Jesse Metcalfe really were cast just to be bodies. They may as well never have been shown from the head up.

Interestingly, Richard Burgi initially was Susan’s (fully dressed) nemesis ex, and he was usually seen in normal contexts, but as the seasons rolled along he became more and more unclothed and eventually his whole character was a male slut with an incredible body.

Doug Savant appears to have had a great body the whole time but it was only shown a couple of times; otherwise, he was conspicuously the only person on the entire series, male or female, who was always dressed in oversized clothes. The giant Tom tee shirts and sweatshirts may as well have been maternity wear.

by Anonymousreply 265August 13, 2020 11:46 AM

IIRC, Harold was in a bad motorcycle accident which was why he was written out of the show,

Though had I bothered to read the countless DL threads about him, I'm sure I would have found other reasons.

by Anonymousreply 266August 13, 2020 12:33 PM

His DH character wasn’t very good. It was obvious, as with Dana Delany’s in seasons five and six, that he existed solely as a wedge to keep Susan and Mike apart. The character was poorly developed and Harold came across like a golden retriever, sort of like Tom Scavo’s Labrador retriever temperament, just eager to please Susan and mooning over her while she longed for Mike.

The one aspect of the series across the long haul that I found incredibly tedious, and inexplicably so, was the Susan and Mike thing. The writers NEVER gave up on putting them together and breaking them apart, and after doing that once it just became annoying as hell. You know watching any of their later scenes that if they are together, they’ll soon be apart and if they are with other people, they’ll be together again. Maybe that’s a trope romance lovers love but for me it adds a level of annoyance that verges on mild anger to watch their scenes as the show went on. I can’t fathom why the writers wouldn’t move on from that.

by Anonymousreply 267August 13, 2020 12:50 PM

R258, gay TV writers read Datalounge. I’m sure it was tongue in cheek.

by Anonymousreply 268August 13, 2020 4:40 PM

I felt bad for Dana Delaney. She got one season of good material, and then served as an embarrassing afterthought for the rest of her run. Her Fatal Attraction subplot with Mike was the nadir.

To be fair though, she never really fit in on the show and her energy didn’t gel with the tone. She is better off with serious procedurals.

by Anonymousreply 269August 13, 2020 4:43 PM

R260 here. If I go onward, I'm stopping after season 4. The latter half of the show just wasn't fun for the most part.

by Anonymousreply 270August 13, 2020 5:21 PM

One thing that I don't understand (and to be fair the show has been background noise while I work) is why the FUCK Felicia Tilman wanted custody of Zach. She's a bitch and he's a whiny, kinda crazy teenager.

She's so deliciously bitchy in season 1. Shame the writing for her fell off a cliff by the end.

by Anonymousreply 271August 13, 2020 5:25 PM

R271 I think she thought Zach was Martha Huber's lovechild since she was the one blackmailing Mary Alice Young.

by Anonymousreply 272August 13, 2020 6:32 PM

I don't think Mary Alice's suicide was well enough explained. Why shoot yourself because you got a vague note?

"I know what you've done, it makes me sick, I'm going to tell".

Could have been about her mixing her recycling or shitting in the swimming pool. MA must have already been depressed.

by Anonymousreply 273August 13, 2020 6:35 PM

She was clearly tortured by the guilt of having killed Zach's real mother and had to live with that guilt every single day. We never really see that guilt, but a major theme of the show is that we never really know what our friends are going through behind closed doors, so I suppose that makes sense. It's fitting.

by Anonymousreply 274August 13, 2020 6:46 PM

Was it just a one off or were there previous notes before that one?

by Anonymousreply 275August 13, 2020 6:56 PM

R275 it was the last one in a series of psychological torment. Here's the first:

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by Anonymousreply 276August 13, 2020 7:06 PM

Actually R276 that's the note I sent to Mrs Huber as she wouldn't return my blender x

by Anonymousreply 277August 13, 2020 7:10 PM

She probably really regrets keeping that blender.

by Anonymousreply 278August 13, 2020 7:12 PM

My interpretation of Felicia’s motive re Zach was that Felicia knew and worked with Mary Alice when they were nurses together. They seemed to like one another a lot in the flashbacks, and Felicia knew that Mary Alice longed to have a child and thought Mary Alice would be a better mother than the drug addicted real mother—but she also knew that Paul was a bad father and didn’t approve of such a bad person raising a boy who wasn’t his own child to begin with, and so she wanted to take him away from Paul for Zach’s own good. She seemed to care about Zach’s welfare when she first arrived and she hated and didn’t trust Paul.

by Anonymousreply 279August 13, 2020 7:46 PM

I thought she wanted to get her hands on Zach to manipulate him in to hating Paul as some sort of revenge against Paul killing her sister? It's been years so I don't really remember that story.

by Anonymousreply 280August 13, 2020 7:56 PM

I know she survives but I keep waiting for a plane to fall out of the sky and land on Susan. Was she this awful back then?

by Anonymousreply 281August 13, 2020 7:59 PM

[Quote] She is better off with serious procedurals.

She did Body Of Proof which was cancelled after one season.

[Quote] I know she survives but I keep waiting for a plane to fall out of the sky and land on Susan.

That could have been a fun crossover with Grey's Anatomy.

by Anonymousreply 282August 14, 2020 2:10 AM

I am watching season six and...a plane just fell out of the sky and landed on some people. Killed one, paralyzed one...

by Anonymousreply 283August 14, 2020 2:12 AM

And killed Lybette's baby. At least she saved little fattie Juanita!

by Anonymousreply 284August 14, 2020 6:42 AM

Rewatching this show has made me realize how weirdly insecure in her marriage Lynette was. I always found that weird, of all the couples in the show, she and Tom were the only two that really seemed to love each other. After all, if you're able to have four kids with somebody and still enjoy having sex with them, it's true love. Why was she always so worried that her marriage would fall apart after every little thing?

by Anonymousreply 285August 14, 2020 10:24 PM

R285 same. And as much as she (rightfully) hated her kids, she didn't want anyone else to raise them. She drove off the nanny, etc etc. And poor Tom couldn't handle 6 months as a stay at home dad.

I'm mid-season 2 and it makes little sense that Betty would choose to hide her family in affluent white suburbia. Not the ideal place for a black family to hide. It could've worked a lot better if Alfre Woodard and Dana Delaney switched storylines.

by Anonymousreply 286August 14, 2020 10:42 PM

I don't get all the sympathy for Bree. She deserved every inch of hell Andrew raised and then some. She was a horrible person and a horrible mother. It's weird that a bunch of gay men are defending a conservative homophobe who thought the worst thing her son could ever do was be a homosexual. Andrew explains his side perfectly in this clip. His mother deserved far worse than what she got. I wish they'd never made him nice, Bree didn't deserve his love after all that she did to him.

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by Anonymousreply 287August 14, 2020 10:47 PM

R287, she did have pretty hair.

by Anonymousreply 288August 14, 2020 10:49 PM

Bree was a cunt. She was well written enough to be human, but in my opinion not well written enough for be likable. Unlike with the other Housewives, who all had their faults but were ultimately good people deep down, Bree's faults overshadowed anything good about her.

by Anonymousreply 289August 14, 2020 10:57 PM

R289 One word: Susan.

by Anonymousreply 290August 14, 2020 10:58 PM

Unpopular opinion, but season two's mystery is better than season one's. All of the last good reveal in season one was Martha Huber's sister knowing Mary Alice. Everything else after that was predictable and soap opera-y. I mean Mike being Zach's real father? C'mon!

I much prefer season two's mystery. I'll take the secret murderous retard son chained up in the basement over the stolen drug baby any day.

by Anonymousreply 291August 14, 2020 11:07 PM

The issue with Season 2 is that its so disconnected with the rest of the show. The other housewives don't even start gossiping about the Applewhites until the midpoint. It's like Alfre Woodard is on a different show and they just cut in her scenes to fill time on DH.

But it's certainly better than Season 6 with the "eco-terrorism"

by Anonymousreply 292August 14, 2020 11:11 PM

I honestly can't even remember what the mystery was in Season 2.

by Anonymousreply 293August 14, 2020 11:29 PM

Good mysteries: 1, 3, and 4.

Bad mysteries: everything else.

by Anonymousreply 294August 14, 2020 11:36 PM

Season six — Marcia just made me laugh out loud (loud!) with her awkward stripping to Tchaikovsky.

by Anonymousreply 295August 15, 2020 12:09 AM

I'm so glad I live in a city and don't know my neighbors.

by Anonymousreply 296August 15, 2020 2:14 AM

Season one was like a novel come to life. It was brilliant. Season two with the black chick sucked. Bree was fun as a drunk season 2 but the rest of them sucked.

by Anonymousreply 297August 15, 2020 2:16 AM

I started this thread with so much appreciation for the first season of Desperate Housewives.

I just got to season seven and it’s...bad. The Katharine story + the airplane crash may have been when the show jumped the shark. After that, Susan inherits a strip club that her lawyer husband said in his will was lucrative, she sold her half of it, and then...immediately becomes broke because Mike has piled up debt by doing plumbing work without pay for a year? How long has he been a plumber? How many times have money issues come up? (None.) What happened to the windfall? Now Susan at 50ish is webcamming in skimpy clothes to make money. And then there’s the switched-at-birth storyline. It’s sad that the series started off so masterfully and then turned into a cheesy soap opera that totally abandoned logic. It was so much better than just campiness in the beginning and now it’s just campiness.

by Anonymousreply 298August 16, 2020 10:32 PM

R298 excellent points and each season after 4 it got a little worse. I think the Susan having to move off the lane plot was a ploy as none of the other actresses could tolerate Teri Hatcher anymore.

Let's also not forget that when Edie burnt Susan's house down she was desperate for money for a few episodes (even needing to remarry Karl to get his insurance) then suddenly says she'll just "sell a couple of books" to rebuild the house How much can an illustrator earn?!

by Anonymousreply 299August 16, 2020 11:14 PM

I never understood how Susan even lived on the lane on an illustrator's wage in the first place. Wisteria Lane was an affluent middle class neighborhood, which is cheaper than an upper middle class neighborhood but still more expensive than just a middle class neighborhood. That's how people like the Solis family and people like Mike the plumber were able to live on the same block.

The Scavos work in advertising. They clearly have very well paying jobs and yet they still have to cut corners and are constantly worried about money. Advertising pays well, especially at the positions that Lynette and Tom were at. If those two were just barely coasting by, there's no way an illustrator would be just fine while living in that neighborhood.

by Anonymousreply 300August 16, 2020 11:22 PM

As everyone has said, the first season was perfect. I was excited about season 2 then quickly lost interest. I'd check out the show every so often and it never measured up to the first season. I think the closest it got was the season with Dana Delany. The season with Alma, Dixie Carter, and Laurie Metcalf had promise, too. I don't recall what their storylines were but I remember thinking the show moved through their storylines too quickly and that there of uptapped drama and intrigue there to mine.

by Anonymousreply 301August 16, 2020 11:32 PM

R300 I think they trued to cover some of that. Susan was almost never shown working but she was described as an illustrator and she had a few scenes with her agent for a mini-plot that involved money. But she was also taking alimony from Karl, who was a wealthy divorce lawyer, and it seems she kept the house in the divorce settlement. She lived on a fairly tight budget according to early dialogue. Then she married Mike and they had the two incomes and presumably she didn’t get alimony any longer. Then they divorced and when she was going to marry the Canadian painter she was going to back out because she realized that Mike’s alimony would end.

Susan the art teacher’s assistant + book illustrator and Mike the plumber’s two incomes could believably have tanked suddenly—but the writers introduced a windfall for Susan IMMEDIATELY before they became broke. It made no sense at all. It was so sloppy.

The Scavos family’s income was confusing, too. Tom was doing OK at the beginning and then he lost his job. Then Lynnet worked instead and was said to have made more money than he had. Then they were both working in advertising together at high levels. Then the pizza thing made them bankrupt. And finally, Lynnet went to work for Carlos for a $100,000 salary—which isn’t bad except that they had 50 kids and you’d think some medical bills from the cancer treatment.

by Anonymousreply 302August 16, 2020 11:33 PM

Oh, also, the resolution of season six involved a huge explosion on the street...and then it seemed like everyone just went on about their business and moved on with their lives without any kind of law enforcement swooping in. Plot convenience but utter illogic.

by Anonymousreply 303August 17, 2020 12:49 AM

R301 they had to wrap up the Dixie Carter storyline earlier because of Marcia's maternity leave.

I'm at the point in Season 4 where it's revealed that Orson ran over Mike. But who is the victim in the story? Susan!

God she is the WORST!

by Anonymousreply 304August 18, 2020 10:17 PM

The Kayla plot is basically bipolar. Except for a few mischievous incidents, she's basically Another Scavo Kid, hanging out with the family and calling Lynette Mom.. Then she becomes The Bad Seed. Pick a lane, show!

by Anonymousreply 305August 19, 2020 2:03 AM

R305 Well I think the character logic is that she blames Lynnet for getting her mom killed and decides to punish her. Before her mother died, she didn’t act out against Lynnet.

by Anonymousreply 306August 19, 2020 2:04 AM

"A few mischieviouus incidents?"

Didn't Kayla falsely accuse Lynette of child abuse?

by Anonymousreply 307August 19, 2020 2:07 AM

I get that R306 but there's a season and a half between Nora's death and when The Bad Seed comes out. Most of that time, she's just One of the Kids.

by Anonymousreply 308August 19, 2020 2:07 AM

R307 that's when she becomes the Bad Seed in her final episodes.

by Anonymousreply 309August 19, 2020 2:07 AM

Doesn't Kayla flirt with the Scavo twins??

by Anonymousreply 310August 19, 2020 3:33 AM

I'm stopping at the season 5 premiere but holy shit, whoever choreographed the car wreck...Susan and Mike's car flips several times and is basically destroyed and the other car...not so much. But yet the Delfinos walk away and the mother and daughter die on impact.

by Anonymousreply 311August 19, 2020 3:56 AM

I see so much of my mother in Bree and so much of me in Andrew, except my mother doesn't have any of Bree's good qualities and didn't regret abandoning me. Thank god I'm a gay man and can't have kids, I'm terrified that if I ever did I'd end up like my mother and father.

by Anonymousreply 312August 20, 2020 1:58 AM

Sorry to hear that R312 hope your life has been going okay X

by Anonymousreply 313August 20, 2020 2:53 PM

R313 Haven't seen any of my family members in years and I plan on keeping it that way. I'm not even sure if they know where I live, which is a good thing tbh.

by Anonymousreply 314August 20, 2020 2:54 PM

R314 very brilliant of you to be able to go it alone. Hope you have surrounded yourself by good people who are worthy of you..

by Anonymousreply 315August 20, 2020 3:03 PM

Carlos really is a dream. A big bear of a guy that's filled out in all the right places and is still kind of muscly, he's filled with passion and fire and insatiability. Not to mention he's rich. Gabby was so lucky. I'd give anything to just be bent over a counter by him, let alone married to him.

by Anonymousreply 316August 21, 2020 3:08 AM

Susan had the nicest tits out of the four, you just wanted to reach out and squeeze them. Lynette had the smallest that would never catch a man's eye.

Gabi had the nicest arse, pert but not flabby.

Bree probably had the most well maintained fanny

by Anonymousreply 317August 21, 2020 2:29 PM

R317 Your comment is ironic given that Marcia Cross had anal cancer. :-/

by Anonymousreply 318August 21, 2020 2:48 PM

Sorry R318 I'm British. Fanny means something else here..

by Anonymousreply 319August 21, 2020 2:55 PM

Whats a British fanny? You can't just drop that bomb and leave. Is it a cooch?

by Anonymousreply 320August 21, 2020 5:36 PM

R320 it's a pussy. We all sniggered as kids when Rose told Freida Claxton to kiss her fanny. That's that asking for cunnilingus.

by Anonymousreply 321August 21, 2020 5:43 PM

Nora was so fucking annoying. They should have killed her off sooner.

by Anonymousreply 322August 21, 2020 11:27 PM

Bree's shtick gets old very quickly. She spends all of her time complaining about feeling like a bad mother and begging for forgiveness instead of actually repenting for her mistakes. She clearly doesn't actually feel bad about how she fucked up her children.

by Anonymousreply 323August 22, 2020 4:13 AM

Of all of the unbelivable shit that happened on that show I think Andrew forgiving Bree for dumping him on the side of the road is the most glaring. I know it's just Marc Cherry working through his own bullshit with his mother, but it's so cruel to just make that character automatically forgive his family for putting him through something that traumatic and send him running lovingly back into their arms.

Marc Cherry sabotaged that storyline when he could have used it to teach one of the most underrated lessons of all time: sometimes people don't deserve forgiveness for their mistakes, even if it's a loved one.

by Anonymousreply 324August 22, 2020 4:20 AM

I don't think it was too wild for Andrew to forgive, it showed he'd grown up and realised he'd made mistakes and needed to learn from them.

The Andrew of season 3 was more mature and clear thinking than most of the characters on the show. He and Bree talk about this several times in s3 and s4 (when he decides to move out)

by Anonymousreply 325August 22, 2020 10:13 AM

Andrew coming home with Orson was fine with me. I loved the progression from her homophobia causing his rebellion, causing him to become truly destructive and self-destructive, to her giving up and then regretting it, and then after being homeless and prostituting, Andrew being willing to come home when Orson appealed to him as an intermediary. I thought all that was done very well and it did demonstrate that Bree was caught in a tug of war between the personal values she had been taught and the love she had for her child. And spoiled Andrew recognizing that after he experienced real hardship, plus the influence of a non-psychotic father figure...I can buy it given that it’s a melodrama.

But I think the whole thing fell apart when the show jumped ahead five years and suddenly Andrew is always in a suit like a Trump kid, and he is running all of the business aspects of Bree’s rapidly growing Martha Stewart-esque business, including catering, cookbooks and public appearances. I don’t see how that happened in five years, and Andrew lost all his bite, which always had been his whole character. He became one of the housewives of the street.

I do agree that the Bree character over the course of the series comes across poorly. It’s a really weird double long-term character arc that moves in two directions at the same time.

On one hand, Bree goes through extreme experiences that force her, despite her will, to whittle away at the facade and soften up into a human being who is willing to consciously acknowledge she has flaws. And not only to herself: in season six, she tells Angie how flawed her whole life is. So she does get beyond putting on appearances.

On the other hand, at the beginning when she is all about pretense, she is also shown as respectably strong and strongwilled. She is adept with a gun. She isn’t afraid of people and she doesn’t back down. She is a fiercely protective mother, and although she appears to live in the 50s domestically she is not a pushover to her husband, Rex. And then that character is broken down over the series. She is shown to be something of an idiot with terrible instincts, making all the wrong choices in men. Rex fucked a prostitute neighbor. George killed Rex among others and was overtly creepy. She pursued the sex addict guy even though he begged her not to. Orson became a kleptomaniac *because* of Bree. And she descended into addiction. It’s sad to me that she started off being shown as a strong and smart woman and slowly over time was shown to be weak with astonishingly poor judgment about people.

by Anonymousreply 326August 22, 2020 12:55 PM

One of Desperate Housewives' disturbing undercurrents is the sense that if they were really just good housewives, plus not driven to desperation, plus add in some moderately progressive approaches, it'd all be fine. And that is reflected in Andrew. He isn't just chilled out and seeking success, he has to be, as you put it, a Trump Kid. He's been absorbed by the suburb.

by Anonymousreply 327August 22, 2020 5:54 PM

R327 Danielle seemed like the dumbest kid on the block, but she was the only one smart enough to get out and stay out.

by Anonymousreply 328August 22, 2020 5:57 PM

Danielle got some hot cock.

by Anonymousreply 329August 22, 2020 7:22 PM

I forgot how hilarious the storyline where Mike had amnesia and Susan had to win him back was because it basically showed that he wouldn't love her if he didn't know who she was because everything about her is vomit inducing. I think that was the moment that the show itself realized how unappealing she is.

by Anonymousreply 330August 22, 2020 11:24 PM

The Danny Elfman score is such a weird choice for this show but oddly enough it works.

by Anonymousreply 331August 23, 2020 12:10 AM

The score adds mischievous levity that tells us not to take any of it seriously. That’s important when, for instance, Gabrielle is fucking a high school boy and Lynnet is ordering her assistant to try to lure her children into a car with candy to prove a point. Even 15 years ago, there could have been backlash against these things, but the pluck-pluck-pluck mischief just makes it too undeniable that it’s a satire and not just a dark comedy.

by Anonymousreply 332August 23, 2020 12:38 AM

[quote] And she descended into addiction. It’s sad to me that she started off being shown as a strong and smart woman and slowly over time was shown to be weak with astonishingly poor judgment about people.

Well, duh. The point was that she presented and upheld a fake public image and the viewer is allowed to see how story plot by story plot more and more cracks appear until her fake life is falling apart and Bree has to pick herself up and come up with a new, more honest version of herself.

The main premise of the show was that nothing is as perfect as it seems on the surface and there is something dark and sinister hiding underneath. Or at least something that creates embarrassing and humiliating hilarity ensues moments.

by Anonymousreply 333August 23, 2020 1:19 AM

Bang was such a great episode, but instead of ending with that dumb Lifetime movie ending (Lynette and Mary Alice in that stupid fucking dream) it should have been something with Nora. Something to actually make us feel loss over her death, considering she was an annoying bitch to the bitter end. Maybe then her death would have had some weight to it (despite both the actress who plays Nora and Felicity turning out Emmy deserving performances).

by Anonymousreply 334August 23, 2020 2:42 AM

Tom Scavo should've been the one with the gay storyline, not Andrew. I know Doug Savant never would have done it because of typecasting but from a narrative standpoint Tom is the most likely character to have a sudden gay affair. Bored, friendly househusband trapped in a marriage in which he feels powerless with a woman who insists on emasculating him at every turn? There's no way he wouldn't have gotten curious and experimented with a pool boy or something.

by Anonymousreply 335August 27, 2020 3:03 AM

Better yet, Tom could've had an affair with Andrew and started experimenting around the time Lynette was pushing him away and cozying up to that Rick guy. It would've made sense.

by Anonymousreply 336August 27, 2020 3:04 AM

Tom and Lynette didn't have a pool, they was poor.

by Anonymousreply 337August 27, 2020 4:15 PM

Bump

by Anonymousreply 338September 5, 2020 6:28 AM

Anyone remember the scene where Lynette loses it in the first season and hallucinates shooting herself? I read the original scene was Lynette fantasising driving her car full of screaming brats into Fairview Lake. They cut it because it was too similar to real life killer moms.

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