DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

I am a married man and first recorded Desperate Housewives (DH) on VHS to watch later on after our kids were asleep due to its airing in the middle of the prime time format (before their bedtimes) and this was definitely NOT appropriate material for their ages (all below teen) plus it aired here during ESPN NFL Sunday night football. Being married with kids, I thought I might enjoy this and somewhat identify, but unfortunately fell behind after only a few episodes and mixed up all the tapes since I stupidly didn't chronologically label/date each 2-episode tape which I tried in vain to do later. Well, to make a long story short, I decided to wait for the DVD set and rented it at Blockbuster, saving all the tapes for this season. Watching it on DVD, I found it to be far better than on broadcast tv, eliminating all the commercials and weekly cliffhangers. I rented out all the discs sequentially and watched all the bonus features on them, especially the extended episodes. DH has become one of my all-time tv faves... so much so that I have bought this DVD box set. I am now caught up to this season and am religiously watching the show each week, never to fall behind or miss another episode again. DH is comfort food... the characters are rich with hidden secrets, pasts, flaws, weakenesses and admirable qualities. Like the writing and production of the ABC show "Lost" (another of my faves), creator,/writer/director/producer Marc Cherry has totally fleshed out his characters and involved them in amazingly well-written plots full of twists, turns and jaw dropping surprises. The four main housewives of Wisteria Lane in the ficticious city of Fairview are Lynette, Bree, Susan and Gabrielle. Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria), aka Gabbie, is the self-centered, primadonna, former-supermodel Latina diva who is cheating on her rich, chauvinistic, alpha-male husband, Carlos Solis (Ricardo Chavira) with their gardner, John Rowland (Jesse Metcalfe), a high school boy. Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher, an Emmy nominee) is the recently-divorced, cute, clutsy, emotional single mom of a teen-aged daughter, Julie (Amanda Bowen), who falls almost immediately for the new neighbor, a mysterious handsome plumber named Mike Delfino (James Denton) who is also a "scoring" target of her neighbor rival voluptuous, vixen, platinum blonde, realtor, Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), whom with Susan is seemingly always in constant competition. The prim, propper, well-mannered, immaculatelely dressed and groomed Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross, an Emmy nominee) is an ultra-conservative, Baptist, NRA member, Republican socialite wife of a doctor, Rex Van De Kamp (Steven Culp) who on the outside is the homemaker/housewife extraordainaire with two teenagers, Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) and Danielle (Joy Lauren) who seemingly are perfect kids, but this IS Wisteria Lane after all. Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy) is a former ad-executive who gave up her career after marriage to her fellow ad-exec. husband Tom Scavo (Doug Savant), so that she could properly raise her four children... twin 8 year old boy hellions plus their one year younger brother and infant daughter. This over-burdened wife and mom is the epitome of a desperate housewife - Lynette is probably the most identifiable character on the show and therefore clearly earns the most audience empathy. Each episode opens with a nicely narrated recap/intro, wonderful Emmy-nominated title sequence and Emmy-winning theme by Danny Elfman and is wrapped up in poignant, narrative moralistic fashion. The series' plot opens immediately with the apparent suicide of the four main housewives' neighboring wife group-hub and friend, Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) and is narrated (as well as acted) wonderfully throughout the entire series by her. There are several clouds of mystery surrounding her suicide, including a mysterious blackmail-type of note. This is pretty much the glue that holds all the subplots together, spawning several other subplots and introducing new characters as the series develops. Whatever you do, do not watch this season or any of its coming attractions (change channels on commercial promos) until you have seen last season - you will miss way too much character and plot development. DH clearly should have won the Emmy, but due to a major male voting portion of the academy's unfamiliarirty and the "Raymond" hype of closing the book on 9 successful seasons, it lost out to "Everybody Loves Raymond," the sentimental choice. It was far better production-wise (with some amazing camerawork), scripting, editing, directing, costuming, casting as well as acting. I expect DH to win the Emmy for Best Comedy Series this season if it is nearly as good as it was in its debut year- so far, so good. Last season, it won for six of the astonishing fifteen Emmy nominations it received. In summary, DH is a guilty pleasure that really leaves you feeling not too guilty about enjoying it on a regular basis. 10/10 stars - practically perfect, flawless television entertainment

I only started watching this show at episode 18, but DH has quickly beome my favorite series. I absolutely love the storylines and the way each of the characters interacts. For anyone who's never seen it, here's a quick run-down of the show: In the first episode, the narrator of the series, Mary Alice Young, kills herself. It's later discovered by her neighbors that she was being blackmailed, and committed suicide to hide her secrets. The four wives of Wisteria Lane spend the rest of the season searching for clues that might help solve the mystery behind Mary Alice's past. The clues pile up; from a tape stolen from a marriage counselor, to a baby blanket embroidered with the name "Dana". Bree Van De Kamp is the epitome of the Stepford Wife - perky, resourceful, and perfect in almost every way. Except for one thing: her family thinks she's psychotic. Her husband wants a divorce, and is later caught up in a sex scandel when another wife's little black book surfaces. Bree and Rex have an on-again-off-again relationship, and two children, Andrew and Danielle. Andrew is a seemingly-average kid, except that he runs over a helpless older woman, gets caught smoking weed, confesses an affinity for homosexuality to Bree and Rex, and confesses to a local priest of his plans to make his mother's life a living Hell. Danielle, the 4th, seldom-seen Van De Kamp, is probably the most normal of the group. Further complicating their lives is George, a local pharmacist. Attempting to get back at Rex, Bree starts seeing George, but breaks it off when a reconciliation seems possible. However, George hasn't gotten over his feelings for Bree, and has a tricks up his sleeves. Next is Gabrielle Solis. A once-famous runway model, she married Carlos for his money, not realizing that he was marrying her as a trophy wife. Unsatisfied with how things have gone in their marriage, Gabrielle seeks fulfilment in their gardener, 17-year-old John. Their affair is nearly discovered by Juanita, Carlos' mother, but she is run down by Andrew Van De Kamp, and later dies, before passing on her discovery. Carlos, desperate for children, starts tampering with Gabrielle's birth control pills, much to Gabrielle's dismay when she finds out. Then there is Lynnette Scavo. Once a top-notch ad-exec, Lynnette has since traded in her PowerPoint presentations for diapers and parent-teacher conferences. The mother of 4 (a baby girl and 3 boys, two of whom are twins), she spends each day trying not to rip her hair out dealing with the boys. Tom Scavo, Lynnette's husband, is a busy advertiser, and spends most of his time on business trips. Lynnette becomes suspicious of Tom, and also deals with a drug dependency at one point. Finally, there is Susan Mayer. A single mother, she has a funny way of making a mess out of every situation. From burning AND under-cooking macaroni and cheese to burning down her neighbor's house, her clumsyness has no limits. Her 14-year-old daughter, Julie, seems more mature than her, and ends up doing the recon work when Susan gets a crush on new neighbor, the mysterious Mike Delfino. Secrets abound on Wisteria Lane. The only way to see them all is to get this DVD set and watch the series. You're never going to find another series as complex and complicated as Desperate Housewives.

Now this is the true definition of intriguing drama, remarkable comedy, stimulating mystery and pure brilliance. With many of the best television show exiting our screens, such as Friends, Sex And The City and Everybody Loves Raymond, the thought of TV started to look dull. Who would have thought that one of the most captivating shows to ever screen on our televisions could have been this amazing? It's stunning and impossible to fault! Everything from the casting to storylines are perfect. Teri Hatcher is at her best in this, displaying not only her abilities as a dramatic actress but a comedian aswell. She plays Susan, the clumsy single mother, desperate for love and attention of the mysterious, new neighbour, Mike. Marcia Cross splendidly plays the perfect Bree, who leads people to believe she lives the perfect life with the perfect family up until the revelation that her troubled husband wants a divorce. Eva Longoria plays the shallow, self obsessed Gabrielle. Searching for meaning in her life, the materialistic Gabrielle finds satisfaction in having an affair with her seventeen year old gardener, John. Felicity Huffman plays Lynette, the hectic mother of four whose husband is constantly busy at work. Endlessly running after her four children under the age of 6, Lynette tries her hardest to keep the spark in her marriage. Finally, Nicollette Sheridan plays the serial divorcee Edit, always on the prowl for men, including Susans love interest, Mike. These five women are incredible together as they unravel the mysterious suicide of the neighbour and best friend, Mary Alice Young (played by Brenda Strong) who narrates from the grave. Marc Cherry has created, what can only be described as one of the most brilliant series to ever grace our screens. The writing is absorbing and constantly keeps you guessing what will happen next from the unusual opening scene to the astonishing final cliff hanger of the first season. Overall, this DVD set is satisfying, engaging and packaged in this exquisite 6 disc box set. No disappiontment here.

I have to admit that this is one of the best shows that I've ever seen in my life. I really felt in love with the girls of "SEX AND THE CITY" and although lots of people compare "DH" with "SATC". I believe that they're very different. "SATC" was fun, crazy and with some touching moments but this one has mistery mixed with drama and comedy. The story from this show, starts with the suicide of Mary Alice a woman who lives in a nice and quiet place called Wisteria Lane. This woman was married and had a teenage boy, from this point on starts the mistery of why she killed herself. Her four best friends; Susan (Teri Hatcher), Lynette (Felicity Huffman), Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) and Bree (Marcia Cross) start to put things togetehr about her suicide but nothing matches. While they start getting information you have the change to know them very well... Susan (Teri Hatcher) is divorced, has a teenage daughter and is the kind of woman that everything happends to her and is always between embarrassing moments. She lives kinda depressed until one day she meets a new neighbor who she happends to like very much. Then there's Lynette (Felicity Huffman), who has 3 little boys and a baby girl. She used to be a successful executive but after her marriage she became a housewive. Her kids drive her crazy and her husband is always travelling. Bree (Marcia Cross) is an obsessed woman who likes to have everything perfect in her life and happeneds to be so cold with her husband sometimes that that got her to the edge of a divorce. Her two teenagers also have a bit acid reltionship with her. Finally there's Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) who seems to have the prefect life. She's married and her husband instead of giving her his full attention, he simply buys her whatever she wants. Diamonds, cars, etc. She feels empty and she has an affair with her gardener. The husbands also happend to have desperated lifes also. Many things happend during this first season. The production is very good, the cast is flawless and the episodes get better and better. This package is loaded with lots of bonus features including deleted scenes, secrets of Wisteria Lane, Oprah Winfrey as a neighbor, behind the scenes and much more. Touchstone is really breaking all the records with this successful series and "LOST" another series that I really recommend, it's different but very good also.

The complete first season of "Desperate Housewives" is in a word.. "Astonishing" with a capital A!! Face it.. weather you like it or not its purpose is meant for entertainment value. The fact that it's won awards is just a bonus. I just got the second season on dvd and before I began watching it I decided I wanted to watch the last episode of season 1 again first.. I've watched the full course of season 1 twice already on dvd and once when it originally aired on ABC. I remember the weeks going by slow while waiting to find out what madness would take place on Wisteria Lane next. The show is full of rich humor that is sometimes dark. It's mystery has you begging for answers no matter how off the wall the situation might be. The force of sexual nature is present in every episode.. the women and men are mostly beautiful but, lets face it, it works that way! I mean who would care to have a visual of say Rosie O'Donnel falling naked in a bush? Right we'd much rather see Teri Hatcher in that situation! And I think we'd all rather see Nicolette Sheridan squeeze a soapy sponge between her cleavage while washing her sports car than say Whoopi Goldberg. As for the female fans ..im sure they didnt mind Jesse Metcalf mowing Eva Longoria's lawn shirtless over someone like Frankie Muniz (God love Malcolm in the Middle). My point is if you are among those that question why the cast is majority attractive. Remember this is a television show thats sole purpose is to entertain its veiwers. Honestly I'd rather watch gorgeous people for an hour over a bunch of plain Jane's and average Joe's. Some veiwers also question why so many bad things can happen in one neighborhood.. the answer again is simple. DH is for entertainment ..which it provides with benefits!! I love this show and, I am desperate for more! The season 1 dvd set includes: All 23 episode for season 1, unrated/extended episodes, behind the scenes featurettes, commentaries with Marc Cherry and cast and, a special mini episode with Oprah. All this plus more!! Buy it today!

I'm 22 and my brother is 18. He told me he loved Desperate Housewives, to which I responded "Gross! You know, it's bad for you to think life is all about sex." Of course I thought the show was basically soft-core porn. Every time I saw a promotion for it on TV, that was the only subject they discussed. My brother finally told me after the first season was over "It's not even mostly about sex! There are all these murders and mysteries and it's also really funny." So I said to him I would watch his DVD set one day when I was bored and had seen everything else. I tried SO hard to still dislike it (because I don't like admitting I am wrong) but I fell in love in the first episode. You couldn't ask for more in a show. It has adventure, drama, comedy, mystery, all kinds of families and marriages, and yes, it does have some sex, but best of all there's always a situation you will identify with! -- basically all the most interesting parts of life, admittedly exaggerated to a degree. It is now in the running for my favorite show, tied with "Lost". So ok, I was wrong. So if you think this show is going to be Sex and the City--it's not!! just rent the first season and I swear you will want to buy it. It happened to me!

Love the show, great humour, light, and you will relate to each of the characters. However, The last season was unnecessarily dark and the ending sucks. It was unnecessary to do that.

I started watching this with misgivings. I thought it was going to be another pointless melodrama, or not unlike dozens of comedy shows that I've seen part of and dismissed as nonsense. There is no laugh track so that dim bulbs will know what's supposed to be funny. It did take a few episodes, I will admit, but I was eventually hooked. The main women have impossible problems in an idyllic appearing neighborhood of a city that is never named. Car license plates bear the name of a state that doesn't exist. The picket fences are perfectly white. The lawns are immaculately trimmed, without a dandelion, but it never rains or even gets cloudy. And into this seemingly perfect world comes a ton of trouble. First a suicide. Then a mysterious handsome stranger who sets at least two female hearts aflutter. A house gets torched around a measuring cup. There are wild brats from hell. A high school boy finds himself wooed and bedded by an unbelievably sexy woman. There's a murder and a remote burial in the night. And all of that is just for starters. It sounds really bad when described that way, but it is all larded with satire and farcical scenes. Much of it revolves around skewed value systems of the characters. They value painfully green lawns. Fancy cars. Perfect dinner parties. And they are constantly flopping on their faces, despite all their efforts. The characters are varied--a much too perfect housewife, a horny divorcee, a blond seductress, a harried mother, and that very sexy statutory rapist. The plot is convoluted, all tied somehow to the woman who commits suicide as the first episode opened. Try as they might, her female friends cannot figure out why. I did laugh a bunch, and I did look forward to the next episode. But this is not for viewers who insist on stark reality and taking this show at face value. Farce is not, after all, reality, just part of reality.