Starring: Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, Nicollette Sheridan
Director: John David Coles, Fred Gerber
Studio: Buena Vista
Rating: 18+
Genre: Drama (TV)
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About This DVD
Audiences were captivated by the women of Wisteria Lane in the first season of
Desperate Housewives, the breakout hit from ABC that almost single-handedly
lifted the network from its ratings doldrums and brought back the classic TV
soap, remixed now with satire, comedy, and mystery. An affectionate yet darkly
tinged send-up of suburbia that skirted Twin Peaks territory as much as that of
Knots Landing, Desperate Housewives opened with a bang--literally--as
perfect-seeming housewife Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) went through her
picture-perfect day before putting a handgun to her temple and pulling the
trigger. Mary Alice's sudden suicide leaves her four closest friends, all
housewives of a sort, with a surfeit of grief, a re-examination of their own
lives, and a mystery to solve. It also proves to be a catalyst for a seamy study
of what goes on inside the finely appointed homes of Wisteria Lane--the tales of
which Mary Alice narrates from beyond the grave with a sardonic tone dipped in
both honey and arsenic.
There's Martha Stewart-perfect Bree (Marcia Cross), who rules her household with
an iron fist in a tailor-made garden glove and seems to have it all, until she
finds out her husband (Steven Culp) is cheating on her--and had a serious fetish
habit to boot. Sultry Gaby (Eva Longoria), the youngest of the set, is a bored
trophy wife whose predilection for shopping and clothes are the perfect decoy
for her affair with the hunky teenage gardener (Jesse Metcalfe). Former career
woman Lynette (Felicity Huffman) is the most stereotypical housewife, raising
four (or was it five?) kids and frustrated at using her cutthroat business
skills for suburban politics. And daffy Susan (Teri Hatcher), the divorcee
looking for love, sees her prospects brighten with the arrival of hunky plumber
Mike (James Denton), who has some desperate secrets of his own. And did we
mention the neighborhood hussy (Nicollette Sheridan), the snotty busybody
(Christine Estabrook), and Mary Alice's increasingly agitated son (Cody Kasch)?
It was a fast and wild mix of plot and characters that gave Desperate Housewives
the zing that made it a number one hit, as it never got too bogged down in any
dilemma before moving on to the next. And though it was neither as hard-hitting
nor salacious as it was trumpeted to be, the show nevertheless breathed fresh,
funny air into comedy television, for even though it hewed to the hour-long soap
format, the content was far more dark comedy than sudsy drama. There were fun
bright spots to be had, but the story behind Mary Alice's death--which included
drugs, murder, blackmail, secret identities, and vengeance in equal
amounts--hovered over all the characters, tingeing the farce with the specter of
danger. The show's other source of strength is in its peerless ensemble cast,
headed by four perfect leading ladies, all Emmy-worthy. Hatcher received the
(deserved) lion's share of praise (and a Golden Globe), but her
co-stars--especially the underrated Longoria--matched her scene for scene. And
though the mystery of Mary Alice's death was ultimately solved (no Twin Peaks
teasing here), it was just the beginning of the troubles on Wisteria Lane, where
no life went unexamined for too long. --Mark Englehart
DVD Features
On the Desperate Housewives DVD set, the 23 episodes are presented in
widescreen format, and six of the episodes can also be viewed in "unrated,
extended" versions. The additions--usually one scene, and no racier than the
regular broadcast versions--are seamlessly integrated into the episodes, but
series creator Marc Cherry's introductions help the viewer figure out what they
are, and he explain how he thinks each addition affects the episode. The new
scenes--which were cut for time--are consistently good, and there's really no
reason not to watch the extended episodes instead of the originally broadcast
ones. It's a little curious, though, that seven other episodes have a deleted
scene (no episode is both extended and has a deleted scene). It's a credit to
the series that the deleted scenes are also excellent, but then the question
becomes why the deleted scenes weren't simply added back in to make more
extended episodes. Judging by Cherry's introductions, the scenes that were added
back in had a notable effect on the characterization. Apparently, such tidbits
as Nicollette Sheridan in skimpy lingerie or another amusing interchange between
Bree and George the pharmacist didn't measure up.
Cherry also recorded commentary tracks for five episodes, either alone or with
director Larry Shaw. He tends a little too much toward self-congratulation and
talking about his mother, but he also has ample praise for his actors' ability
to improvise and lends insight into the writer's perspective. More fun is the
five leading ladies' separate commentaries for a few of their favorite scenes
(about half an hour total). Scattered among the discs are a blooper reel and
five featurettes (about 67 minutes total) discussing the characters' clothes and
homes, the show's international appeal, casting decisions, the show's much-hyped
secrets, and how naked Teri Hatcher had to be for her "locked out" scene. Last,
and least, is an eight-minute segment in which Oprah moves to Wisteria Lane.
--David Horiuchi
Audio Format: | DD 5.1 Surround |
Video Format: | 1.78:1(Anamorphic Widescreen) |
Languages: | English |
Subtitles: | Korean / English / Portuguese / Spanish/ Chinese / Thai |
Country Made: | Korea |
Region Code: | 3 |
Year Made: | 2004 |
Running Time: | 996 |
Special Features: | 23 episodes on six discs Unrated, extended versions of Who's That Woman, Anything You Can Do, Every Day a Little Death, Impossible, Sunday in the Park with George, and Goodbye for Now Commentary by series creator Marc Cherry on Pilot and Guilty Commentary by Marc Cherry and director Larry Shaw on Anything You Can Do, Impossible, and One Wonderful Day Commentary by Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Nicollette Sheridan, and Teri Hatcher on their favorite scenes Seven deleted scenes with optional commentary by Marc Cherry A Stroll Down Wisteria Lane Desperate Housewives Around the World Multi-language sequence: Bree's dinner party Dressing Wisteria Lane: A look at the costume and set design Behind the Scenes with The View's Meredith Viera Secrets of Wisteria Lane Bloopers from the Set Oprah Winfrey Is The New Neighbor |
Availability: | Usually ships in 5-10 days |
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