Word is that there will be a fatality on tonight’s “Desperate Housewives.” Last time I tried to figure out who was going to croak on a show, it was the series ender of “Angel” and Wesley was the guy I considered most likely to survive. So with that brilliant track record, let’s see:
EDIE: (One to one odds) The heavy favorite. Last seen having drinks with Richard Roundtree who may or may not have had instructions to kill her. Plus the finger could then be pointed at the long-suffering Susan since her next door neighbor knows about their competition over the plumber.
GABRIELLE: (Five to one odds) First runner up. If her husband finds out about her affair, and puts any of the responsibility for his mother’s accident on Gabrielle, she’s in serious trouble.
As for the rest, frankly, I don’t think any of them at risk because they all have kids and I don’t think the producers want any more motherless children on the show: One’s enough since Mary Alice died in the pilot. Nevertheless…
SUSAN: (Twenty to one) The perpetual hard luck case of the Housewives. I could see her accidentally taking a bullet meant for someone else.
BREE: (Fifty to one) If Carlos discovers her son was responsible for the car accident with his mother, a brawl could ensue in which she accidentally is killed. But I think it’s unlikely.
LYNETTE: (One hundred to one) I don’t know: Can you fatally overdose on that medicine for ADD?
PAD
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If it’s one of the main characters I think you’re nailed it…but have they explicitly said that’s the case? There are a bunch of secondary characters we could easily lose. I guess tonight will be the episode that shows how ballsy the producers are.
Could they kill off Mrs. Kravitz? Or is she one of the supporting characters and not one of the potential targets?
If they killed off Felicity Huffman, I may stop watching the show.
also,
It’s funny that the “Housewives” would kill off someone before they do on “Lost,” where we’ve been expecting it and no one has bought it yet (not counting the Marshall or the pilot).
My money’s on Edie, but she is the most obvious choice.
I sincerely doubt it’ll be one of the four principle characters. On the other hand, they’ve already established one narrator from the dead; could they arrange it so we have two?
My understanding is that the fatality is supposed to be one of the supporting cast members, not one of the primary five housewives.
I think it is going to be Mrs. Hollis (sp?) who found the measuring cup in the rubble of Edie’s house and tryed to blackmail Susan
I hope it’s a secondary character.
I hope they kill ALL of them. And then the producer who whipped up this crappy, depressing, one-joke show.
During the Reagan years, shows like “Dynasty” and “Dallas” showed the rich betraying and killing each other. Well, nowdays, the middle class is “rich” compared to most Americans. Owning a house, or even getting a mortgage, makes you practically an Onassis. This is the same thing, just cheaper in scale.
I never cared who killed J.R., and I don’t care who’ll die in this series. Given current censorship, it won’t be as gory or as sadistic a death as it should be – a “Soldier Blue” kind of death, if you understand the reference.
Geez, Thomas Reed, I don’t watch the show, but you’re pretty harsh.
If you hate it so much, why not support a different program? Arguably the most entertaining “Law and Order” show, “Criminal Intent”, is on at the same time as “Desperate Housewives”. Enjoy that, or any other choices on your dial, or rent a movie, or read a novel.
There’s really no need to be so angry, especially on a thread where so many people seem to think it’s fun.
Jerome, Someone who DID care who shot J.R. years ago, and thought it was Cliff Barnes:)
I’m with Kathleen in believing that if there is a fatality, it will be Mrs. Hollis. The commercial seemed coy in its phrasing of the “loss”. Don’t be surprised if Edie up and moves away.
I think the neighbor’s name is Mrs. Huber, and that’s who I lay good money on. Remember last week, where the note to Mary Alice was written on that odd purple computer paper? Well, Edie is staying with Mrs. Huber at the moment, and while all the indications thus far might suggest Edie sent the note, I think Mrs. Huber sent the note to Mary Alice. (After all, if she’s willing to blackmail Susan to get what she wants, who’s to say she wouldn’t do the same to Mary Alice?)
The Sexiest Republican
Bree Van De Kamp is one tall, cool drink of water. Resplendent in silky red hair, classic Jackie Kennedy dresses and pumps, with a martini in hand in her picture-perfect Colonial, Bree is the glamour girl of Republican America –
Michael….. you’re good. 🙂
Who says it’s one of the wives that die…? My money is on one of the husbands.
Kevin T. Brown:
>Who says it’s one of the wives that die…? My money is on one of the husbands.
The previews and commercials have implied that a wife is going to be gone for good. While a husband’s death could lead to this, it doesn’t seem likely.
Most ADD meds can easily fatally overdose. I got pretty close to a toxic dose of Aderol once. (Not near fatal, unless I had choked on the vomit.) I had gone off meds for an experiment, went back after having lost between 45-50 pounds in about three weeks. I took my regular dose, took my film test, then passed out and vomitted face down in a trash can. The really strange thing is I remember the 3 1/2 hrs between taking the meds and my friend pulling me, blood, chewed Ho-Hos and all out of the trash can as a fog. Id didn’t know where I was or how I got there. I thought I had to go take my test. He told me I got the highest grade in the class and to check my pocket for the grade slip. There it was, that days date, my name and a 96.
Turns out the docs FORGOT to adjust the dosage after the post experiment checkup in order to take the weight loss into account. What had been a normal dose was enough to send my body in partial shock.
Don’t think they can kill off any of the four husbands without fundamentally, and too early, changing a major situation. They’re clearly working towards a coming out of the closet storyline with Bree’s husband, Lynette’s situation really only works when there’s the husband/breadwinner to play off of, Gabrielle’s husband ends the affair plot and frees her to get things right, and Mary Alice’s husband is instrumental to the season suicide arc.
Other than Edie (who’s served her purpose vis a vis Mike and Susan and needs to either get a new one or be gone), the other favorite would seem to be the mother-in-law. Personally, I’m hoping they go for true soap opera cheese and have her wake up with short-term amnesia about catching them in the act.
Peter A. David wrote:
> Can you fatally overdose on that medicine
> for ADD?
Ritalin is the trade name for methylphenidate, a Schedule 2 amphetamine. While I don’t think they showed a label on-screen confirming what it was, I think how it affected her made it obvious enough.
So, yes, you can.
Hey, is this the first mention of DH in the blog? Is it going to be a regular in the TV Round-Up, whenever that comes back regularly (c’mon, Peter, what’re you trying to do, make money?)?
At the girl I’m dating’s family for Thanksgiving, meeting all of them for the first time, I walked in on the middle of a conversation about DH, where they were just saying something along the lines of “So what do you think he’s investigating? Is it the Dana thing or is it something else?” I chuckled, and it got them staring daggers at me until explained I watched the show too, and was running into other people that watched it for the first time since the show began. All I’ve gotten is grief from other people I know about it, so it’s nice to know that Peter is watching it too, so I don’t feel alone watching it. 🙂
PAD said: BREE: (Fifty to one) If Carlos discovers her son was responsible for the car accident with his mother, a brawl could ensue in which she accidentally is killed. But I think it’s unlikely.
I agree it’s unlikely. If Carlos tried to hurt Bree or anyone in her family, Carlos would end up the next entree in Bree’s house.
Michael, A+ for detective work. NICE job.
Well Michael came up with the right name. I came up with the victim first but not the right name.
Peter thinks it is a bit of a cheat since they didn’t flash her picture with the other housewives.
“a “Soldier Blue” kind of death,”
Wow, there’s a memory I’d blocked out. A teacher of mine showed this in high school, not knowing what she was in store for. I’m amazed she didn’t lose her job (and as I write this it occurs to me that it couldn’t have been on video tape…so how did we see it? 16 mm film? That had to cost a bundle…)
If memories are to be trusted, the climax of this movie out Pekinpawed THE WILD BUNCH. We’re talking mutilation, rape, gore…until I saw DAWN OF THE DEAD this was the most violent movie I’d ever seen.
Boy, you REALLY don’t like DH, do you?
I agree with Peter as related by Kathleen that the death was a bit of a cheat, but that’s marketing’s fault and not the fault of the show. And the episode was so well done that I just don’t care. Everything that happens on this show takes a baby step toward answering the existing mysteries while at the same time opening up a treasure trove of new ones. I absolutely love it!
Oh, and no way I thought it was going to be Edie — that would have been too obvious, and this show has been anything but obvious. I feared most for Lynette and Susan, and they really played up both possibilities (Lynette with the meds, Susan with discovering some of her boyfriend’s secrets — and a gun). I thought Gabrielle was a possibility, too. Never really believed Bree was in danger. I’d have been very disappointed if they’d taken the easy route with Edie, especially given all the attention the character brought to the show after the Monday Night Football incident.
Finally, I’d be all for adding DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES to the Cowboy Pete roundup.
And someday, I’ll get all my thoughts into ONE message before hitting “Post.”
Yeah, it was a cheat.
But I’ve been watching television too long to believe that any of the main characters would really perish, and I’ve read too many detective novels to believe that any mystery is ever as simple as it appears.
I almost wish it had been Edie. She’s nice to look at, absolutely, but doesn’t bring a lot to the table that the other ladies can’t also bring.
But yeah, this episode clicked, especially that whole “guilt” theme as it ramped up at the very end with intercutting of scenes of Susan and Mike with the scenes of Paul and Mrs. Huber.
It’s a guilty pleasure for a twentysomething straight male law school student like myself, but what can I say? I like good writing that is staged beautifully, whether its Alias or The West Wing or Gilmore Girls or Desperate Housewives or Lost, etc.
But props to Kathleen for also nailing it. 🙂
Yeah, this was a case of a mismarketed episode. In fact, during the show itself they showed five fast pictures of the lead females and said one of them was doing to be killed off. I wasn’t recording it so I can’t do a frame-by-frame, but I didn’t think Mrs. Huber was in it. If she was, it was literally blink-and-miss-it.
If they hadn’t said anything about someone being killed off, I would have been blown away by the end. Instead I just kind of shrugged over the departure of a blackmailing busybody in whom no one had any emotional investment and no one’s gonna miss. Nothing against the actress; she was perfectly fine. But c’mon, does ANYONE care her character is dead?
Don’t get me wrong. I’d rather see her go than any of the main ones. But what I’d REALLY have preferred was if it had been a surprise that anything life-and-death-related was happening. I mean, heck, remember when Furillo and Davenport got married on “Hill Street?” No advance promo at all. Any such advertising would have ruined it. It was just, boom, “You ready to put your money where your mouth is, Furillo?” and off they went. Now THAT was smart TV.
Man, though, those sequences where Brenda Strong as Mary Alice appeared to Lynette…those were something.
PAD
I
Depends on how you look at it, I suppose. I could only stomach a couple of episodes, but if the rest continued on in the same vein, it seems to me that killing off one of the ‘desperate(1)’ characters would be considered by some as a ‘mercy killing’.
(1) [though I’d be more inclined to say ‘moronic’ as so many of their problems could be solved with a moment’s thought – say, having them visit some third world country to make them realize how well-off they actually are]
Anyone here watching Boston Legal? This show is easily one of the most smartly written and brillantly acted shows on right now. The moment last night when it was subtley implied that Alan Shore had criven several people into therapy had me laughing out loud! Good stuff.
Fred
I totally thought it would be Edie. I figured they were double-thinking it. It was obvious that it would be Edie, so it couldn;t be… but that’s what they wanted us to think…
Was it a cheat? I don’t think so. ‘A Desperate Housewife will die” blared the promos, while “It won;t be one of the main four” revealed spoiler articles.
Mrs. Martha Huber was a widow, therefore a husewife. She was in a tight financial situation, thus deasperate. She tried to extort Susan, a major clue implicating her in the Mary Alice blackmail note writing.
But was she the major character we were promised? While, other than Mary Alice Young, Martha Huber was the first character we saw in the pilot episode. How much more major can you get than first?
—–
“It’s funny that the “Housewives” would kill off someone before they do on “Lost,” where we’ve been expecting
it and no one has bought it yet (not counting the Marshall or the pilot).”
So far the on-the-island death toll is 1. black guy sucked into the jet engine on the beach (It’s allus the brotha go first). 2. The Pilot (ironically killed in “The Pilot” episode). 3. The U.S. Marshal.
4. Joanna, the woman who swam out so far Dr. Jack had to save Boone, who tried to save her. (Does anyone think Joanna was a suicide?)
5 & 6. “Adam and Eve”, the 40-50 year old corpses found in the caves by the spring.
7. Robert, Danielle Rousseau’s husband.
And unseen characters who may not be dead: Alex (Danielle’s child) and Bernard (Rose’s husband who was in the tail of the plane but not found in the debris near the spring.
I was confused by the count at first. We all know they had a head count of 48 at first (it was in the pre-show hype). After drowned Joanna, Jack said “46”. That works if “guy sucked into jet engine” died before the count and the pilot wasn’t included. Then 48 minus US Marshal and Joanna makes 46.
So far 20 characters have been identified, but Danielle Rousseau was not part of the original head count, either. The other 19 are Dr. Jack Shepard, Kate, Charlie, Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid, Shannon, Boone, Michael, Walt, Claire, Rose, “Colonel” John Locke, Sun, Jin, minor named characters Scott, Steve and Ethan, and the grey haired guy with glasses and a rash who likes golf (no name yet but plenty of character specific details. Vincent the dog also has a name.
That leaves 26 plane crash survivors not as yet introduced who may wind up being ‘redshirts’, not counting Bernard and Alex who might be alive.
The Boston Legal team are simply fortunate that the prosecution is so incompetent in many instances. Consider the loon who had himself shot by a storekeeper and then refused treatment because the bullet would prove his culpability.
Why didn’t the prosecution not point out that the hazards to the defendant of NOT taking it out outweighed those of the operation itself? Something the doctor would likely have been quite happy to back up. This would have shot down the defense’s argument as to the risk of the operation to her client.
At the very least the prosecuting attorney should have fought for a competency hearing to see whether the defendant is a risk to himself given that most sane people would not hesitate to have a potentially fatal bullet taken out.
I don’t watch the show, but I would guess whichever character is played by Nicolette Sheridan. And the killer will eventually be revealed to be Michael Powell. 🙂
Anyone here watching Boston Legal? This show is easily one of the most smartly written and brillantly acted shows on right now. The moment last night when it was subtley implied that Alan Shore had criven several people into therapy had me laughing out loud! Good stuff.
If by “smartly written” you mean, “written by a roomfull of brain-damaged monkeys hurling their feces at a typewriter,” then yes.
I hate David Kelley. Is there any TV producer who is more overrated than him?
Answer: No.
Me:
>>Anyone here watching Boston Legal? This show is easily one of the most smartly written and brillantly acted shows on right now. The moment last night when it was subtley implied that Alan Shore had criven several people into therapy had me laughing out loud! Good stuff.
Den:
>If by “smartly written” you mean, “written by a roomfull of brain-damaged monkeys hurling their feces at a typewriter,” then yes.
Not quite what I meant.
>I hate David Kelley. Is there any TV producer who is more overrated than him?
>Answer: No.
Sorry you feel that way. Danny Crane and Alan Shore have the wittiest dialogue on television today and Alan is one of my favorite characters of all time. Brilliantly written. Consistant, yet still surprises the audience. Quite a bit of depth there.
Fred
I don’t watch DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES — at most it’ll be on in the background while I websurf — but the concept of marketing a “fake/unimportant death” has a long history in another genre:
Comic books.
Most comic books feature their main character in deadly peril, as if the companies would really kill off Spider-Man or Batman. I’m sure many of the posters here can also recall comic book stories that promised a “major” character would die, only to discover it was a secondary (thirdy?) character. It’s a cheap way to get people to pay attention; it’s also effective.
As for BOSTON LEGAL, ehh. It’s fun to see James Spader as a subtly degenerate manipulator and to see William Shatner as a parody of himself. That said, the cases are ridiculous, Spader’s character would have been disbarred years ago, and the cases are designed for the characters instead of the other ways around. David Kelly always manages to keep his best shows (PICKET FENCES, ALLY McBEAL, THE PRACTICE) going for so long that they lose their edge; and BOSTON LEGAL isn’t one of his best.
I mean, heck, remember when Furillo and Davenport got married on “Hill Street?” No advance promo at all. Any such advertising would have ruined it. It was just, boom, “You ready to put your money where your mouth is, Furillo?” and off they went. Now THAT was smart TV.
In this day and age of “the Hype” in every network’s desperate grab for eyeballs, there are no “major” events that won’t get promoed to death, 9 times out of 10. It’s sad, for just the reason PAD listed. Most of the very cool bits in shows these days are blown by the promos, and I’m sick of it. But until I run a network, what am I gonna do? 🙁
JamesLynch:
>As for BOSTON LEGAL, ehh. It’s fun to see James Spader as a subtly degenerate manipulator and to see William Shatner as a parody of himself. That said, the cases are ridiculous, Spader’s character would have been disbarred years ago, and the cases are designed for the characters instead of the other ways around. David Kelly always manages to keep his best shows (PICKET FENCES, ALLY McBEAL, THE PRACTICE) going for so long that they lose their edge; and BOSTON LEGAL isn’t one of his best.
Wow, guess I’m in the minority. I wasn’t a fan of the other Keyy shows you listed, but started watching the final season of the Practice due to Spader’s character. While Boston Public hasn’t reached the same level of entertainment for me that the last season of the Practice had, it is finding its feet. You are absolutely right that Spader would have been disbarred. The counselor from therapist from last night’s episode would surely have lost his license to practice as well. I can easily asuspend my disbelief at the silly cases and scenerios I’m watching simply due to the fact that these characters are so much fun to watch and the zingers thrown out always kill me. 🙂
Now you’ve hit on the reason why I can’t stand David Kelley’s shows. Every single one I’ve tried to watch from Pickett Fences all the way up to Boston Legal, I’ve always been astounded at how the various lawyers/doctors on the show manage to keep their licenses week after week.
I can’t suspend my disbelief enough to believe that lawyers can commit disbarrable offenses every week and doctors can break the ethical rules of their profession every week and escape consequences all the time. The Practice was the most egregious example. None of the lawyers on that show should be permitted to practice law.
The other problem is Kelley’s tendency to constantly go over the top with sensationalistic stories that take things to ridiculous extremes.
I remember watching promos for Boston Public on Fox a couple of years ago. I counted three weeks in a row where they used the tagline “This will be the most important episode of Boston Public this year.”
Wow, promos indicate that a character will be killed off, and it turns out NOT to be Teri Hatcher, Nicolettte Sheridan, or Evan Longoria?
Wow, i’m shocked. 🙂
Yeah, this was a case of a mismarketed episode. In fact, during the show itself they showed five fast pictures of the lead females and said one of them was doing to be killed off. I wasn’t recording it so I can’t do a frame-by-frame, but I didn’t think Mrs. Huber was in it. If she was, it was literally blink-and-miss-it.
If they hadn’t said anything about someone being killed off, I would have been blown away by the end. Instead I just kind of shrugged over the departure of a blackmailing busybody in whom no one had any emotional investment and no one’s gonna miss. Nothing against the actress; she was perfectly fine. But c’mon, does ANYONE care her character is dead?
It was a cheat, but I also thing this was, for the most part, an example of using the marketing to good effect. Because we were told to expect a death, when each of the main characters’ possible deaths were foreshadowed (Edie by the hitman, Susan by Mike, Lynette by the drugs, Gabrielle when the priest warned her about dying before her time, and Bree…well, okay, there was never really an instance of her death being suggested), it made the audience wonder, “Well, someone’s gonna buy it; could it be her?” In this instance, the death was secondary to the suspense.
I have seen about 20 minutes of Desperate Housewives. While it is entertaining on one level, the lack of morality wore me out. What I find fascinating is that it is doing so well, particularly in a season when Bush won on “moral values.” I know, I know, many of you hate that term and would say conservatives don’t own the patent on moral values. That is not my point. My question is, it would be interesting to see how many who voted for Bush based on “moral values” also faithfully watch this show.
I am not advocating a boycott, etc. I am not suggesting that those of you who watch endorse the values being shown. I am simply stating a question that can be tossed out to any of you on this site: Is there anyone here who voted for Bush based on a conservative interpretation of “moral values” who finds it a guilty pleasure to watch this show?
(Since I faithfully watched Buffy & Angel, shows that were not necessarily the epitome of “conservative Christian values,” I am not being critical of any of you, just curious.)
Jim in Iowa
A question about BOSTON LEGAL, which I’ve not been watching:
Is Rene Auberjonois, who I’ve seen in commercials for the show twice now, a regular? And if so, is this the first time that two regulars from two different STAR TREK series have gone on to be regulars on the same show? I can’t think of any other instance where this has happened.
I don’t watch the show, but my wife loves it. Neither of us voted for Bush, but I can tell you in no uncertain terms that she has zero tolerance for many of the behaviors portrayed on the show, particularly adultery. My wife has a friend who recently confided with her that she (the friend) has been cheating on her husband. This has upset my wife to no end. She cares a great deal about her friend, but she can’t condone her friend’s choices.
So no, watching a show in which people behave immorally doesn’t mean you approve of their behavior, only that you find their “desperate” efforts to get away with these actions to be an amusing diversion. I know many conservatives will find it hard to believe that not everyone who voted for Kerry believes in “anything goes” morality, but it’s the truth.
As for boycotts, the American Family Association is already organizing one.
what are we dividing desperate housewives by theblue states and the red states now?
its a TV show an entertainment nuff said
Yes, Rene Auberjonois is a regular on “Boston Legal”. He’s the resident stick-up-the-ášš character (or better described as the character that lectures on the ‘right’ way to do things, and is ignored by the rest of the cast).
coming soon. net is citing a TV guide report
quoting christine eastbrook as saying her chracter is like the terminator she will be back
eastbrook also says she is still shooting episodes
so the plot thickens we will see
I know many conservatives will find it hard to believe that not everyone who voted for Kerry believes in “anything goes” morality, but it’s the truth.
Since I do have some close friends who voted for Kerry, I know that does not mean they have no moral values.
I think it is possible to watch a show with values you don’t agree with — I have a seen a few episodes of Will & Grace that are quite funny. Others who may be agnostic or even atheists may have appreciated Touched by an Angel (don’t know any, but wouldn’t be surprised if some existed). But at least for me, after a while, I get tired of the tension and lose interest.
My personal opininon: A show like this usually lasts about one season and then it quickly declines. It is hard to keep up the “desperation” without it becoming so absurd that you lose viewers. There are exceptions, but they are usually found on cable where there is room to “up the stakes” and take it to another level. So anyone who is thinking of “boycotting” this show might want to start now so that they can have the illusion they actually got it off the air in two years.
Jim in Iowa
You’re may right in that this show could run out of steam in a year or two, but then I suspect many felt the same way about NYPD Blue when it first deputed and it had a respectable run.
Speaking as one of the few people who does not love Raymond, I can’t ever tell what is going to be a long lasting hit.