DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

I am a married man and first recorded Desperate Housewives (DH) on VHS to watch later on after our kids were asleep due to its airing in the middle of the prime time format (before their bedtimes) and this was definitely NOT appropriate material for their ages (all below teen) plus it aired here during ESPN NFL Sunday night football. Being married with kids, I thought I might enjoy this and somewhat identify, but unfortunately fell behind after only a few episodes and mixed up all the tapes since I stupidly didn't chronologically label/date each 2-episode tape which I tried in vain to do later. Well, to make a long story short, I decided to wait for the DVD set and rented it at Blockbuster, saving all the tapes for this season. Watching it on DVD, I found it to be far better than on broadcast tv, eliminating all the commercials and weekly cliffhangers. I rented out all the discs sequentially and watched all the bonus features on them, especially the extended episodes. DH has become one of my all-time tv faves... so much so that I have bought this DVD box set. I am now caught up to this season and am religiously watching the show each week, never to fall behind or miss another episode again. DH is comfort food... the characters are rich with hidden secrets, pasts, flaws, weakenesses and admirable qualities. Like the writing and production of the ABC show "Lost" (another of my faves), creator,/writer/director/producer Marc Cherry has totally fleshed out his characters and involved them in amazingly well-written plots full of twists, turns and jaw dropping surprises. The four main housewives of Wisteria Lane in the ficticious city of Fairview are Lynette, Bree, Susan and Gabrielle. Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria), aka Gabbie, is the self-centered, primadonna, former-supermodel Latina diva who is cheating on her rich, chauvinistic, alpha-male husband, Carlos Solis (Ricardo Chavira) with their gardner, John Rowland (Jesse Metcalfe), a high school boy. Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher, an Emmy nominee) is the recently-divorced, cute, clutsy, emotional single mom of a teen-aged daughter, Julie (Amanda Bowen), who falls almost immediately for the new neighbor, a mysterious handsome plumber named Mike Delfino (James Denton) who is also a "scoring" target of her neighbor rival voluptuous, vixen, platinum blonde, realtor, Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), whom with Susan is seemingly always in constant competition. The prim, propper, well-mannered, immaculatelely dressed and groomed Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross, an Emmy nominee) is an ultra-conservative, Baptist, NRA member, Republican socialite wife of a doctor, Rex Van De Kamp (Steven Culp) who on the outside is the homemaker/housewife extraordainaire with two teenagers, Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) and Danielle (Joy Lauren) who seemingly are perfect kids, but this IS Wisteria Lane after all. Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy) is a former ad-executive who gave up her career after marriage to her fellow ad-exec. husband Tom Scavo (Doug Savant), so that she could properly raise her four children... twin 8 year old boy hellions plus their one year younger brother and infant daughter. This over-burdened wife and mom is the epitome of a desperate housewife - Lynette is probably the most identifiable character on the show and therefore clearly earns the most audience empathy. Each episode opens with a nicely narrated recap/intro, wonderful Emmy-nominated title sequence and Emmy-winning theme by Danny Elfman and is wrapped up in poignant, narrative moralistic fashion. The series' plot opens immediately with the apparent suicide of the four main housewives' neighboring wife group-hub and friend, Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) and is narrated (as well as acted) wonderfully throughout the entire series by her. There are several clouds of mystery surrounding her suicide, including a mysterious blackmail-type of note. This is pretty much the glue that holds all the subplots together, spawning several other subplots and introducing new characters as the series develops. Whatever you do, do not watch this season or any of its coming attractions (change channels on commercial promos) until you have seen last season - you will miss way too much character and plot development. DH clearly should have won the Emmy, but due to a major male voting portion of the academy's unfamiliarirty and the "Raymond" hype of closing the book on 9 successful seasons, it lost out to "Everybody Loves Raymond," the sentimental choice. It was far better production-wise (with some amazing camerawork), scripting, editing, directing, costuming, casting as well as acting. I expect DH to win the Emmy for Best Comedy Series this season if it is nearly as good as it was in its debut year- so far, so good. Last season, it won for six of the astonishing fifteen Emmy nominations it received. In summary, DH is a guilty pleasure that really leaves you feeling not too guilty about enjoying it on a regular basis. 10/10 stars - practically perfect, flawless television entertainment

I only started watching this show at episode 18, but DH has quickly beome my favorite series. I absolutely love the storylines and the way each of the characters interacts. For anyone who's never seen it, here's a quick run-down of the show: In the first episode, the narrator of the series, Mary Alice Young, kills herself. It's later discovered by her neighbors that she was being blackmailed, and committed suicide to hide her secrets. The four wives of Wisteria Lane spend the rest of the season searching for clues that might help solve the mystery behind Mary Alice's past. The clues pile up; from a tape stolen from a marriage counselor, to a baby blanket embroidered with the name "Dana". Bree Van De Kamp is the epitome of the Stepford Wife - perky, resourceful, and perfect in almost every way. Except for one thing: her family thinks she's psychotic. Her husband wants a divorce, and is later caught up in a sex scandel when another wife's little black book surfaces. Bree and Rex have an on-again-off-again relationship, and two children, Andrew and Danielle. Andrew is a seemingly-average kid, except that he runs over a helpless older woman, gets caught smoking weed, confesses an affinity for homosexuality to Bree and Rex, and confesses to a local priest of his plans to make his mother's life a living Hell. Danielle, the 4th, seldom-seen Van De Kamp, is probably the most normal of the group. Further complicating their lives is George, a local pharmacist. Attempting to get back at Rex, Bree starts seeing George, but breaks it off when a reconciliation seems possible. However, George hasn't gotten over his feelings for Bree, and has a tricks up his sleeves. Next is Gabrielle Solis. A once-famous runway model, she married Carlos for his money, not realizing that he was marrying her as a trophy wife. Unsatisfied with how things have gone in their marriage, Gabrielle seeks fulfilment in their gardener, 17-year-old John. Their affair is nearly discovered by Juanita, Carlos' mother, but she is run down by Andrew Van De Kamp, and later dies, before passing on her discovery. Carlos, desperate for children, starts tampering with Gabrielle's birth control pills, much to Gabrielle's dismay when she finds out. Then there is Lynnette Scavo. Once a top-notch ad-exec, Lynnette has since traded in her PowerPoint presentations for diapers and parent-teacher conferences. The mother of 4 (a baby girl and 3 boys, two of whom are twins), she spends each day trying not to rip her hair out dealing with the boys. Tom Scavo, Lynnette's husband, is a busy advertiser, and spends most of his time on business trips. Lynnette becomes suspicious of Tom, and also deals with a drug dependency at one point. Finally, there is Susan Mayer. A single mother, she has a funny way of making a mess out of every situation. From burning AND under-cooking macaroni and cheese to burning down her neighbor's house, her clumsyness has no limits. Her 14-year-old daughter, Julie, seems more mature than her, and ends up doing the recon work when Susan gets a crush on new neighbor, the mysterious Mike Delfino. Secrets abound on Wisteria Lane. The only way to see them all is to get this DVD set and watch the series. You're never going to find another series as complex and complicated as Desperate Housewives.

I don't want to include too much in this review about the series as I don't want to spoil it but this series includes death, secrets, lies, betrayal, humour, love and friendship on a dramatic scale. It takes apart the seemingly perfect, stereotypical surburbian families and exposes what really goes on behind close doors. The four main housewives are each incredibly different and clash on certain ideas or opinions however they always main best friends no matter what is going on in their personal lives. While their lives are unravelling they always manage a smile for the neighbours or make sure that their rose bushes are trimmed to perfection which adds to the charm of the series. As sad as it may sound Desperate Housewives has completely overtaken my life. I bought series 1 as I was having some surgery and needed a lot of DVDs to occupy me during my time off work. From the first episode I was hooked. The twists and the turns and the many different characters with their own stories and secrets astounded me. I have never watched a TV series which has so much depth and which can keep the suspense going. I found myself shell shocked at some of the twists that occurred and the secrets that were being kept on that infamous Lane. The characters are obviously the highlight of the show and I can honestly that Marc Cherry is a genius at making his characters seem realistic and getting you to fall in love with them. I am currently watching the final few episodes of series 8 and I am so sad that it is all over. I have never been disappointed with any of the 8 series and have continued to stay as hooked and as surprised as I was when I watched that first episode. I would tell anybody to buy the first series and see whether you enjoy it then buy the rest. The series was a hit when it first aired and there is no question as to why. I wish they would make a new series as nothing compares to this anymore!

Parfait

Desperate Housewives war eine us amerikanische Dramedy Serie die von 2004 - 2012 produziert und gesendet wurde. Verantwortlich für die Serie war Marc Cherry. In der ersten Staffel waren in den Hauptrollen Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross und Nicollette Sheridan zu sehen. Die Wisteria Lane in Fairview im US amerikanische Bundesstaat Eagle State ist eine ruhige und beschauliche Straße mit schönen Einfamilienhäusern und zufriednen und glücklichen Bewohner. Doch wer die Chance hat hinter die Fassaden zu schauen wird sehen das nicht alles so ist wie es zuerst so scheint. Die fünf Nachbarinnen und Freundinnen Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van de Kamp, Gabrielle „Gaby“ Solis und Mary Alice Young leben scheinbar zufrieden ihre Leben. Doch als Mary Alice Young ihrem Leben ein ende setzt und ihren Sohn und ihren Eheman zurück lässt ist das entsetzen groß und die vier verbliebenen Freundinnen beschäftigt die Frage wieso ihre Freundin das getan hat. Desperate Housewives war für viele Jahre meine absolute Lieblingsserie. Ich habe die Serie geliebt seitdem ich die erste Folge gesehen hatte. Und auch heute sehe ich die Folgen der Serie immer noch gerne. Der ersten Staffel gelingt es dabei den Zuschauer zu fangen und deutlich zu machen was ihn auch in den späteren Staffeln erwartet. Nach ihrem Tod kommentiert Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) die Erlebnisse ihrer Freundinnen in der Wisteria Lane aus dem "Jenseits". Und ist dabei auch die Kommentatorin für die Ereignisse rund um ihren eigenen Selbstmord. Eine der stärken der Serie waren die Geschichten. Jede Staffel hat eine eigene Geschichte die von der ersten Folge dieser Staffel bis zur letzten erzählt wurde. Mit der Auflösung dieser Geschichte immer erst ganz am Ende dieser Staffel. Dazu gehört hat auch immer ein Geheimnis. In der ersten Staffel ist diese Geschichte die vom Selbstmord von Mary Alice Young. Sowie der Frage des Wieso. Eine weitere stärke der Serie sind die guten und zahlreichen Darsteller. Hier sind nicht nur die fünf Hauptdarstellerinnen zu nennen sondern auch viele weitere Darsteller die die Ehemänner, Kinder, Bekannte, Verwandte und Liebhaber darstellen. Wenn man sich mal die Liste der Hauptdarsteller von Desperate Housewives mal bei Wikipedia ansieht wird man wissen was ich meine. Diese DVD Veröffentlichung darf man auch als gelungen bezeichnen. Auch wenn ich schon gehofft habe das die Serie mal als Blu-Ray rauskommt. Als ich diese bestellt hatte war ich schon unsicher. Es ist die zweite DVD Veröffentlichung. Die erste hatte wie diese 6 DVDs, allerdings hatte oder hat bei dieser jede DVD eine eigene kleine Hülle. Das ist hier anders. Ich hatte Angst das man die DVDs einfach auf einer Spindel raufzieht und fertig. Doch ist es so zum Glück hier nicht so. Hier bekommt man drei kleine Hüllen (kann man auch auf den Bildern sehen) mit jeweils zwei DVDs. Diese lassen sich hier gut und einfach entnehmen. Auf den Rücken dieser DVD Hüllen sieht man welche Folge sich auf welcher DVD befindet. Wer mit dem Gedanken spielt sich Desperate Housewives auf DVD zu kaufen dem kann ich ohne schlechtes Gewissen zu dieser DVD Box raten. Das einzigste Manko ist vielleicht das man keine Inhaltsangabe zu den einzelnen Folgen bekommt aber Ok. Sonst eine gelungene und preiswerte DVD Box einer tollen Serie.

Los discos son originales, pero son usados cuando las características dice que son nuevos, tampoco tienen subtitulos en español, solo en inglés. Devolución en proceso

Me gustó mucho la serie, espero escucharla con atención en inglés.