reviewed by: Charity Bishop
           

Writer/creator Marc Cherry defines his hit television show as a metaphor for society, in which everything looks beautiful on the surface but conceals a dark underbelly. Maybe it is that which has made Desperate Housewives a phenomenon all over the world: its cynical take on married life, and the evil goings-on of your friendly neighborhood women.

The peaceful existence of Wisteria Lane is interrupted by the suicide of Mary Alice, who for no reason at all, simply put a pistol to her head one afternoon and pulled the trigger. Her death creates a ripple among her friends, who must not only juggle their personal problems but attempt to discern why one of them would do such a thing. Former big business tycoon Lynette (Felicity Huffman) is juggling the difficult job of raising four extremely hard-to-handle children, while her workaholic husband (Doug Savant) attempts to make a success in corporate advertising. All Lynette really wants is to return to work -- or have one afternoon of peace and quiet. Her neighbor Bree (Marcia Cross) is having marital problems with her husband Rex (Steven Culp), but too ashamed to admit to it, she convinces him to keep putting on a good face for the children. Recently divorced Susan (Teri Hatcher) has her eye on the gorgeous new bachelor on the block, Mike (James Denton), little realizing that he hides a dark secret. And beautiful Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) is secretly conducting an affair with her gardener, beneath the notice of her wealthy husband Carlos (Ricardo Chavira).

Their lives are further complicated by the discovery of a mysterious note among Mary Alice's things. It is unsigned and threatening, indicating that someone knows of a terrible thing Mary Alice once did. The women debate over whether or not to show it to Mary Alice's husband Paul (Mark Moses), and decide to try and get to the bottom of it themselves. In the meantime, Lynette has run out of options where her hyper children are concerned, and is about to reach the end of her rope; Bree can no longer keep family secrets; Gabrielle's husband sends for his mother in the belief that she can unearth his wife's indiscretions; Susan discovers a pile of cash and a gun concealed in Mike's pantry; and the local snoop decides to put a little blackmail into play after Edie Brit's (Nicollette Sheridan) house burns down under highly suspicious circumstances. Throw in a murder, a locked trunk with bones inside, and the mystery surrounding the suicide, and you have a batch of very Desperate Housewives.

It doesn't take much to involve the audience with this batch of characters, as flawed and sinister as they may be. There's a certain amount of sarcastic irony in watching this group of friends deal with the problems that life throws into their path, most of them caused by their self-serving behavior. And self-serving it is. Susan accidentally burns down Edie's house, then takes extreme measures to cover it up. A guilt-ridden Bree similarly conceals a crime her son has committed. Gabrielle is only concerned with the notion of her husband finding out about her affair, not sorry for the affair itself. Characters are never shown actually having sex, but they talk about it a lot, it's implied Susan and Mike are intimate (one episode features them passionately making out), and Rex goes to a prostitute for his S&M needs. Bree is horrified to learn what his preferences are. Susan manages to get locked out of her house stark naked, and strategically placed plants prevent the audience from seeing too much. The gardener escapes out the window and is seen in only a long shirt. Susan catches two boys kissing in a swimming pool, and it's revealed that the son of a main character is gay.

The morals involved are all askew. Susan's husband cheated on her with his secretary, which makes her particularly sensitive when it comes to adultery. She warns her daughter against premarital sex, but continues a sexual relationship with Mike. Lynette throws her father in law out of the house when she finds him making out with a woman other than his wife. Gabrielle, by contrast, conducts a love affair with a teenager behind her husband's back. Bree condemns Rex's adultery and proclaims she would never do such a thing, but sees nothing wrong with "dating" another man during their separation to make him jealous. Most of them conceal dark things (murder, arson, blackmail) from the police.

For the most part, the friends love and support one another, offering comfort when it is needed, and assurances that none of them have to be "perfect" in order to be loved. That's really the only up-side the show has to offer, because the rest of the time they are your typical back-stabbing, scheming females, only these ladies have a few more things to hide than you might think. There's a menacing force at work beneath the innocent facade of Wisteria Lane. The morals of almost everyone are extremely bad, there are no ethics to keep them in line, and before the end almost everyone has conspired to cover up some indiscretion or crime. So why do audiences like them so much? Who knows. It's just another mystery of Wisteria Lane.