'Housewives' takes a big risk, and it works
Posted: Monday, September 29, 2008 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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TV
"Desperate Housewives" took a big risk with Sunday night's season premiere. Instead of picking up where the May finale left off, creator Marc Cherry rebooted the show, setting it five years ahead. And, miracle of miracles, it worked, at least for this viewer.
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In the newly accelerated "Housewives" universe, Gaby and Carlos have two daughters.
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(Warning: If you don't want spoilers for last night's season premiere, stop reading now.)
To me, the "Housewife" who was affected in the most interesting way by the five-year jump is Gaby. Since the show started, she's struggled with her transition from sleek model (and Eva Longoria is lovely, but at 5-foot-2 she'd never have been a couture model) to suburban housewife. She and husband Carlos fought, broke up, got back together, and endlessly seemed to have issues about children. Should they have them? Would they adopt? Use a surrogate mom?
Now, in the new world, they have two daughters. The five skipped years meant we didn't have to go through pregnancy and birth scenes, the inevitable water breaking at the baby shower scene, or the boring days when the writers realize they have no idea how to write an infant into the plot. Their oldest daughter, Juanita, is nearly five, and mom Gaby is worried about her child's weight. Of course, in true Gaby form, her idea of encouraging weight loss isn't to cook healthy and play outside with her children -- it's to make Juanita chase after Gaby's snazzy car, fully dressed in her princess costume. It should be interesting to see how "Housewives" deals with the controversial issue of overweight kids, and how Gaby's parenting foibles are further exposed.
Lynette's storylines should also benefit from the five-year jump. Her kids were kind of indistinguishable little Dennis the Menaces when we left the show in May. Now...well, they're still indistinguishable, being that two of them are twins, but they've graduated to high-school hijinx, such as running an underage bar and casino out of Mom and Dad's restaurant.
Susan, seen with a newborn in May, now has a five-year-old, a wrecked marriage and a new hunky boyfriend. I can't stand Susan, and I'm not on the SUSAN-N-MIKE TRU LUV 4EVAH team, so I don't really care about that. (Hope Julie's OK, though.)
Bree, though, may be my favorite "Housewife." In the new world, she has a catering business with Katherine, and the son Bree raised for daughter Danielle has been taken from her. And husband Orson is living with Bree, but things seem to have changed since we last saw him. He's kind of lurking in the shadows, as if Bree is embarrassed of him or hiding him, probably due to the all-but-forgotten plot where he ran over Mike. Certainly this plot will develop, and I for one am glad Kyle MacLachlan is still around as Orson.
The underrated Edie seems to be at the heart of the street's latest mystery, involving a new husband with a mysterious and violent past. Edie-less episodes are like days without sunshine as far as I'm concerned, so I'm hoping this plot bodes well for more Nicollette Sheridan this season.
When I first heard about the five-year jump, I wasn't sure it would succeed. Imagine "Grey's Anatomy" jumping ahead and making moody Meredith a mom, or "House" leaping into a future where House and Cuddy are married. But Wisteria Lane is just wacky enough, and has enough plot strands that can be twisted in enough directions, that a time warp doesn't seem all that contrived.
Did you see the "Housewives" premiere? Share any thoughts on what you saw -- or hope to see in upcoming episodes -- in the comments.
