Sep 30 2008, 10:25 AM, updated 18y ago
They are back, but given a reboot.... fast forward 5 years. USA viewers love it, but do you?
QUOTE(http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-housewives-watcher-0929sep29 @ 0,2146931.story)
'Housewives' desperate no more
September 29, 2008
A radical do-over can be a daunting challenge but, when it's done right, hitting the reset button can prove to be an exciting step forward. And the verdict is in regarding the women of Wisteria Lane: The "Desperate Housewives" reboot is a success.
Creator Marc Cherry said he got his idea from "Lost": As Season 4 of "Housewives" ended, Cherry jumped his show five years into the future. That move may not have been as ambitious as "Lost's" time manipulations, but the last thing Wisteria Lane needs is a polar bear. Things among these friends and frenemies were complicated enough.
Cherry has said that he wanted to shed all the baggage that the "Housewives" had accumulated over the past four seasons, and jettisoning the show's more convoluted elements was wise. An evil stepchild, an ex or two and a cranky drug dealer were all left behind at the tail end of Season 4. Nobody will miss them.
But here's the funny thing about the "Desperate Housewives" makeover—it actually got under way earlier, and in the final analysis, the time jump doesn't change the formula much.
Well before the Season 4 finale—and after much experimenting—"Desperate Housewives" had finally landed on the right mixture of soapy silliness, melodrama, humor and emotion. During Season 2, I'd called it the worst show on TV. By the middle of Season 4, however, I found myself enjoying the show
One thing has always been true of this glossy serial: Some story lines are predictable, bland and easily fast-forwarded through.
Still, casting Dana Delany as Katherine Mayfair in Season 4 is one of the smartest things Cherry has ever done. Not many actors can deftly deliver both comedy and drama, but Delany makes it look easy. Katherine's scenes with the equally persnickety Bree (Marcia Cross) are a constant delight.
Even if the other story lines sometimes drag, Bree vs. Katherine is always worth the price of admission.
As we saw Sunday night, Bree's now the busy head of a growing cookbook empire, and Katherine is her none-too-pleased underling. Is it just me, or was that pastry cook-off delicious in more ways than one?
Edie's (Nicolette Sheridan) creepy husband, Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), is this season's Big Bad.
McDonough was a good choice: His too-bright blue eyes and white-blond hair make him look like a sinister Hummel figurine.
Next week, we get a bigger glimpse of Dave's dark side, though we still don't know exactly why he moved to Wisteria Lane.
Will his saga prove to be a delightfully perverse romp or a dud, a la Season 2's "man locked in the basement" debacle?
If it's the latter, perhaps Cherry can sic a polar bear on him.
September 29, 2008
A radical do-over can be a daunting challenge but, when it's done right, hitting the reset button can prove to be an exciting step forward. And the verdict is in regarding the women of Wisteria Lane: The "Desperate Housewives" reboot is a success.
Creator Marc Cherry said he got his idea from "Lost": As Season 4 of "Housewives" ended, Cherry jumped his show five years into the future. That move may not have been as ambitious as "Lost's" time manipulations, but the last thing Wisteria Lane needs is a polar bear. Things among these friends and frenemies were complicated enough.
Cherry has said that he wanted to shed all the baggage that the "Housewives" had accumulated over the past four seasons, and jettisoning the show's more convoluted elements was wise. An evil stepchild, an ex or two and a cranky drug dealer were all left behind at the tail end of Season 4. Nobody will miss them.
But here's the funny thing about the "Desperate Housewives" makeover—it actually got under way earlier, and in the final analysis, the time jump doesn't change the formula much.
Well before the Season 4 finale—and after much experimenting—"Desperate Housewives" had finally landed on the right mixture of soapy silliness, melodrama, humor and emotion. During Season 2, I'd called it the worst show on TV. By the middle of Season 4, however, I found myself enjoying the show
One thing has always been true of this glossy serial: Some story lines are predictable, bland and easily fast-forwarded through.
Still, casting Dana Delany as Katherine Mayfair in Season 4 is one of the smartest things Cherry has ever done. Not many actors can deftly deliver both comedy and drama, but Delany makes it look easy. Katherine's scenes with the equally persnickety Bree (Marcia Cross) are a constant delight.
Even if the other story lines sometimes drag, Bree vs. Katherine is always worth the price of admission.
As we saw Sunday night, Bree's now the busy head of a growing cookbook empire, and Katherine is her none-too-pleased underling. Is it just me, or was that pastry cook-off delicious in more ways than one?
Edie's (Nicolette Sheridan) creepy husband, Dave Williams (Neal McDonough), is this season's Big Bad.
McDonough was a good choice: His too-bright blue eyes and white-blond hair make him look like a sinister Hummel figurine.
Next week, we get a bigger glimpse of Dave's dark side, though we still don't know exactly why he moved to Wisteria Lane.
Will his saga prove to be a delightfully perverse romp or a dud, a la Season 2's "man locked in the basement" debacle?
If it's the latter, perhaps Cherry can sic a polar bear on him.
QUOTE
Ratings: 'Desperate Housewives' returns to win Sunday night
Sep 29, 2008, 04:24 PM | by Mandi Bierly
Categories: Television, TV Ratings
That five-year jump on Desperate Housewives may not have been kind to Gabby (Eva Longoria Parker, pictured), but it didn't hurt the show's ratings one bit. Sunday's fifth season premiere averaged 18.4 million viewers in overnight ratings, giving the ABC drama the win in the 9 p.m. hour and for the night (beating out NBC Sunday Night Football, which averaged 15.4 million viewers from 8 to 11 p.m.). More importantly, Housewives had its largest audience and best adults 18-49 rating since Jan. 6, 2008. While that 18.4 million is actually down 4.5 percent from the season 4 opener, this year's premiere could end up in the black once you factor in the rising number of DVR viewings.
Look at GABY !!!!Sep 29, 2008, 04:24 PM | by Mandi Bierly
Categories: Television, TV Ratings
That five-year jump on Desperate Housewives may not have been kind to Gabby (Eva Longoria Parker, pictured), but it didn't hurt the show's ratings one bit. Sunday's fifth season premiere averaged 18.4 million viewers in overnight ratings, giving the ABC drama the win in the 9 p.m. hour and for the night (beating out NBC Sunday Night Football, which averaged 15.4 million viewers from 8 to 11 p.m.). More importantly, Housewives had its largest audience and best adults 18-49 rating since Jan. 6, 2008. While that 18.4 million is actually down 4.5 percent from the season 4 opener, this year's premiere could end up in the black once you factor in the rising number of DVR viewings.
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