“Desperate Housewives” Season 1 (2004-05, ABC), episodes 1-8 – Marc Cherry’s “Desperate Housewives” (8 p.m. Sundays on ABC) has one central mystery: Why did one of the housewives (Brenda Strong, who provides all-knowing voiceovers) kill herself in the series’ opening scene? “Housewives” is the weakest of these three shows because the characters aren’t as likable as those in this season’s other two hot shows, “Veronica Mars” and “Lost.”
I suppose Gabrielle’s (Eva Longoria) affair with her gardener qualifies “Housewives” as a “guilty pleasure,” a phrase ABC likes to trot out in its ads. The writers have been veering away from the mystery and toward the saga of Lynette (Felicity Huffman) and her ADD-med addiction springboarded by frustration with her rambunctious kids.
While “Housewives” makes valid points about the trials of an often unacknowledged occupation, it doesn’t live up to its “Twin Peaks”-ian tones. It doles out just enough intrigue — who is Dana, and what did the suicidal housewife do to her? — to keep me tuning in.
But the ads are accurate: I do feel a bit guilty about it. B-
– John Hansen, “Back to the water cooler,” Brainerd Dispatch, Dec. 9, 2004