Desperate Housewives - I segreti di Wisteria Lane

I like every single episode and the way of the whole story was that you can see how much I love it.

Some thirty years ago now, a fledgling writer and self-admitted 'desperate housewife' herself, one Susan Harris was sitting watching the gawd-awful writing and acting being perpetrated on some daytime sudser and said, "Well, hell! I can do this, and I can do it better!" And so she sat down and started work on what became one of the most ground-breaking series of its time, SOAP.

Fast-forward to 2004. Miraculously, and not a moment too soon, the can-do spirit and twisted, blackly comic sensibility that Susan Harris blended into her frothy concoction has seeped into the consciousness and the pen of one Mr. Marc Cherry, and television right now is all the better for it.

It was high time, in a slate of shows that range from the ones that take themselves all too seriously (THE WEST WING, ER and about any other medical or cop drama you can name), to the ones that have no shame at all (AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS, FEAR FACTOR and every 'reality show' going), that somebody took the complete, over-the-top ridiculousness of both day-and-night-time soaps and gave them a good, hard shake.

DESPERATE is not a sitcom, but nothing on television right now makes me laugh harder. It isn't a straight drama, but I find myself just as involved as if I were watching LOST or THE SHIELD. It's not some stiff, stodgy or saccharine, treacly morality play, but when it comes to having a sense of those "family values" that certain politicians are so fond of emphasizing, it carries in one episode more commentary about love, compassion and caring for one's fellow man than all the seasons of JOAN OF ARCADIA and "that show with Della Reese" combined.

Not that it's going to receive the Nobel Prize anytime soon. I would just as soon settle for seeing every member of the terrific cast win an Emmy every year this show runs, and sooner or later, I have no doubt that it will happen.

But besides bringing us a terrific show to look forward to on Sunday nights, (something that hasn't happened for me personally since the heyday of THE X-FILES), let us give thanks for something else that TV has been far too slow in acknowledging...the value of beautiful, brainy and talented actresses over 40.

For realizing that Teri Hatcher DESPERATELY needed a role that would prove she could do a helluva lot more than play yet another version of Lois Lane. That Felicity Huffman, one of our most under-appreciated talents, DESPERATELY needed the sustenance of a role like Lynette Scavo to sink her teeth into. That Marcia Cross DESPERATELY needed the kind of showcase for HER talents that the likes of Frances Conroy, CCH Pounder, Sharon Gless and other top notch actresses only get on cable, and that Bree Van De Kamp will prove once and for all what we always knew from MELROSE PLACE--this woman ROCKS!, and for giving Eva Longoria something that all actors as gorgeous as she have DESPERATELY needed forever...the chance to prove that being a treat for the eyes, does not automatically mean that your acting talent is about as deep as a kiddie wading pool.

Thank you, thank you, thank you...and thank you for making us all DESPERATE for more of the shady doings on the sunny side of the streets of Wisteria Lane.

One of the TV reviewers for "Time Out"'s London edition wondered why "Desperate Housewives" has so handily repeated its American success in Britain. Since not every show that's a hit in America exports well to the UK ("Friends" gathered plenty of them over here, and "CSI: Insert Subtitle Here" has consistently been a key player for what used to be called Channel 5; on the other hand, "Murphy Brown" landed on stony soil when it was shown on BBC2, and don't get UK fans started on how "The West Wing" fares here), that's a good question. Fortunately, there is an answer. In fact, several...

1. Germaine Greer, Janet Street-Porter, the editor of "Cosmopolitan" (UK edition) and the TV critics of "The Times" and "The Mirror" have all pooh-poohed it. Since I respect their opinions in the same way I admire Britney Spears purely for her music, this is pretty much a glowing recommendation.

2. Never discount prior experience; just as many critics noted David Chase's work on "The Rockford Files" when "The Sopranos" started here (and never once gave due credit for that beloved '70s show to Stephen J. Cannell and the late Roy Huggins, but that's another story), so creator Marc Cherry's years on "The Golden Girls" (another show that did well here) may have counted. And though I admit I've never liked her, the goodwill Teri Hatcher built up among viewers of both sexes from playing Lois Lane for four years cannot be overlooked.

3. It strikes a major blow on behalf of those of us who don't give a rodent's rump about reality TV.

4. It fills the "Melrose Place"/"Knots Landing"/primetime soap-sized hole that's been gaping for a while now, even down to having former cast members of same, and does it without wildly OTT acting (making it closer to "Knots Landing" in terms of temperament).

5. The series wisely makes at least one of its main characters (Felicity Huffman's Lynette) seem like someone you could actually imagine meeting (key rule of TV: never make everyone too implausible OR too plausible - if everyone really wanted reality no one would have a TV. Or fiction books...).

6. It's both emotional and funny; and it may take a while to wrap up its plot lines, but if the alternative is a whole load of wad-shooting, I'll be patient.

7. The acting. Hatcher may have top-billing and a Golden Globe (and don't bet against her adding an Emmy in September), but five minutes watching Marcia Cross or the aforementioned Miss Huffman will tell you who the real stars are, acting-wise (the ex-Kimberly should have won the GG, not the ex-Mrs. Superman).

8. The eye-candy; never mind "Which desperate housewife are you?" think "Which desperate housewife do you want to sleep with?" Teri still has plenty of devotees and Nicollette Sheridan remains as hot as she was on "Knots Landing" (even if it's not real, it's spectacular) but it's Eva Longoria who really regularly leads viewers into temptation. And please do not deliver us from Eva. (I'll move on before making a "rod and staff" joke.)

9. They had the good sense to get Danny Elfman to do the theme, and unlike "Point Pleasant," I can understand why he said yes.

Welcome to Wisteria Lane. A great place to visit, thus far.

Sometimes, a series or a movie hooks you so much that when it ends, it's like a part of yourself is gone with it. You cry, you shed tears, you cannot stop thinking about it. Like a lost lover who's decided to go and leave you all alone.

That is what Desperate Housewives is for me. 8 seasons of sheer joy and emotions. A rollercoaster of pleasure, bliss, sadness and thrill throughout.

It has quality written all over it. It has one the best script, story, cast and acting in the whole TV industry. Brenda Strong's voice and narrative alone are enough to make you shiver, have goosebumps and dream. She was extraordinary and breathtaking.

I loved Marcia Cross. She was my favourite, ever since I got to know her from Melrose Place. She is one of the most beautiful, talented and wonderful actresses out there. She just shines. She has depth and class painted all over her. Would like to see more of her in series. Marcia please!

7 years have passed since I finished the show, but I still feel it like it was the first day. I'm enthusiastic and excited about it like my first glance on it.

It's my guilty pleasure and one of the most cherished series of my life.

I watched Desperate Housewives for the first time ever out of sheer boredom and I ended up binging the entire series. It got me hooked from the first episode. Something crazy is always happening but at the core, this is a story about friendship and growth. There are some seriously funny moments mixed into all the chaos and many heartfelt ones too. I actually got emotionally during the last episode. It felt like the last episode of Friends. I had grown attached to all of these women and their families and didn't want it to end.