I swear to god If I hear one more person bitch about how crappy this seasons desperate housewives is....

Here in the UK, ratings are down, but my household at least rates this season as a big step up from last.
Theres a lot more investment into character development and I like that a lot, and theres a lot more humour tied in.

The whole "secret" behind last season was "good" but never "great", so i'm not entirely sure if its a bad thing that they've moved on. For every episode seems to be getting better and better this year.

I never would have thought that a mediocrely reviewed, mediocre show like Greys Anatomy could rise up and thwart the housewives, if only for a short while.

I'm not even sure of Anatomy is actually better than E.R , and I'm not even an E.R fan.

But just tell me, what are your thoughts on Susan's spleen idea (which is not a 5 episode storyline), Bree's alcoholism (which has been WAY overdone in television, whenever anyone on tv is out of ideas, they make a character an alcoholic), and the Applewhites, who don't seem to be going anywhere really at all? Granted, Huffman/Longoria's stories are going somewhere, but they're taking the real easy route with some of these storylines....its hard to find nice things to say about a "spleen" storyline...

we actually have not got to bree being alcoholic this year here, were about episode 9 actually.

But seriously, this season so far has been so much better than last year.
I've just been more excited about each episode, theres been lots of well done, humorous clangers as well as many emotional/poignant moments.

Desperate Housewives dark humour takes away that sickly American Dream undercurrent that usually turns us Brits off of most American dramas. I guess the fact that its a form of satire makes the pill easier to swallow.

Here is my current dilemma with Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy:

Both shows are great. They're both well-made. But, I am just not into either show. With Anatomy, I have never been a fan of the show, even though the three full episodes I've seen were enjoyable. It's certainly a ton like ER, a show I could watch and enjoy, but I would never sit myself down to watch every week. Plus, they'll never top the 2-part episode for me. I don't like any of the characters, either. "House" is an entirely different story altogether. "House" is a mystery show, moreso than a medical show. And, it's well-written and well-acted. I don't have to watch every episode, but I actually want to. I just don't have the same obligation with Anatomy.

As for Housewives, I rarely watch the show as it airs on TV. If I actually watch TV at the time, I go for Family Guy and American Dad. So, I download the episode or I tape it. This season, I find it a huge hassle to sit down and watch the show. And it's nothing to do with any slump. I think the show redeemed itself later in the season (kinda like "Friends" in their sophomore season). I just don't have a connection with the show anymore. I really don't think I'm alone on that. "Housewives" peaked far too early, and I can picture a time where it gets below 20 million a week on average very, very soon.

With the age of DVD bringing all my favorites to my home again, I only feel obligated to watch these shows: 24, Veronica Mars, Lost, The Office, My Name is Earl, House, and Prison Break. Even Survivor isn't an obligation anymore, it's just on at the right time.

While I think Season 1 was pretty damn great, I think people put it too high on a pedestal.

I think the problem Season 2 has is that it kind of lost that well-strung-together focus. It's become obvious that Cherry has a complete vision for Bree and maybe one for Lynette (since they're both somewhat based on his life and his mother). And thus, they have emerged as the strongest plots in Season 2. Not incorporating the Applewhites in every episode (the last 2 consecutive ones too!) is making it a bit awkward; as if there really isn't much behind that storyline and they're trying to stretch it out as long as possible.

Susan's storyline completely fell apart after that wedding dress scene, which in my opinion was brilliant. She's already had about 5 different things to do this season (Mike/Zach, mom, dad, spleen, mike part XVII). I think she's dragging the show down a bit. And some posters are right, she is getting disgustingly boney.

I'm glad we're seeing more of Edie though and she has proved to be worth it.

Bree and Andrew's story is by far the most grounded and best. I won't deny I'm biased in that regard, but I don't think you'll find many who diagree.

I actually don't think Season 1 was that much better than what Season 2 is now. The backlash and decrease in popularity, I think, continues because the show is so diffferent from Season 1 and for the most part, we don't like change.

After tuning in to abc at 9pm today, I was quite annoyed to find out it was a repeat. But watched anyway. I found I was more stunned the second time around, in how much gay content they actually had in this episode, all of them quite explicit, for tv at least.

Next week's preview with Mike and that doctor doesn't look promising. It's actually making me dread watching it in fear that it's gonna be totally stupid. But, on the whole, I think Season 2 has been pretty darn good and I hope it just keeps getting better.

Hmmm... wasn't the best best episode but it was alright.

Actually nothing really stood out at all. But, any episode with Ryan Carnes is a plus so
But does anyone else think that he's gonna have some bigger part to play in this later on? I was rewatching his Season 1 episode where he tells Gabriellehe may be gay. He says he's been fooling around with a buddy for a while and always told himself it was nothing, except "now I'm starting to care about him." I hadn't remembered that before. And in the ending of the kissing episode, Mary Alice narrates the end with Justin all over Andrew: "a lover's growing passion." And now, in this episode, it just felt like he wanted to say something to Bree. Maybe, I'm looking too much into it.

Something's gonna be brewing with Gabrielle and the stripper girl. I wonder what she's up to.

My favorite part was Bree at the end (as always ) when she was telling the AA guy he'd have liked her back when Rex was alive and then she says she doesn't like herself now.

And I've also been watching more of Season 1 lately. I know in the post just above I said we shouldn't put Season 1 on a pedestal, but I was quickly rminded of how incredibly great it was. I hope Season 2 only gets better from here on out!!

Don't you think that in general the main characters had more dignity in the first season?

Interesting question!
On the whole, maybe yes. I think all their dignities come and go quite frequently in Season 2. I dunno, you could argue both ways I guess.

I think as an audience we've hit a new low if we complain about the physical apperance of our lead actresses in relation to the quality of a television show.

I'm still loving this season. I think its on par with last season. I really don't see what the problem is to be honest. If anything theres more interest with the Lynette-in-the-workplace scenario. I've actually grown to like Susan more than any other housewife this season, Susan/Edie play off each other in a big way and whatever they do I find myself entertained. Her finding her real father has been a really interesting twist.

I think that season one did kind of sterotype to the point of characters being confined to certain actions, wheras season two has been more about the characters breaking those boundaries, doing things not expected of them and showing how that affects them.

Definately I feel Bree is not as well written as she was last season, She did deal with certain scenes fantastically, but other scenes she did things out of character so much taht we cant even accept them as being the logical "out of character" actions for that character.

I think Susan, Gabby and Lynette have all become more interesting.

I am not impressed with the Applewhites at all though. Their story is just not engaging. What frustrates me though is when people always start complaining that a show "dosent have direction" and it's like, how can you know it dosent if you haven't watched the entire season, with shows like Lost, Alias and even Desperate Housewives, they use each episode to build into a bigger picture, sometimes the audience is asked to be patient to see what that picture is and very rarely do they actually remain patient, instead they all claim the show has lost what made it right, afraid that the building will lead to dissapointment.

I agree that the Applewhites is sort of building up to disappointment. I don't now where you are in the season now Michael but we've found out a few weeks ago what exactly Caleb did and there is definitely a clear cut direction with that storyline but I just don't know if it's gonna hold up in the end so well like last season's finale.

As for Bree. I actually think she's the best written character this season and that's because MArc Cherry has the most invested in her storyline and is also the only housewife for which from the very beginning he knew he planned her entire story. I do remember how at the beginning of the new season her one liners and stuff weren't as plentiful and as funny as Season 1 but as far as development goes, she's still my favorite character on tv right now!

Lynette has taken a good turn, yes, but I actually like Tom's development more. They are definitely my second favorite storyline. I don't like how they solved some stuff a couple episodes ago. I think the tension in the household and the resentment should keep growing and see how it affects their marriage.

Gabby is Gabby. She's been a bit uneven this season but has definitely grown and been a bit funnier. If they snub her again for an Emmy, it would be pretty darn stupid.

Susan is so boring this season. After she broke up with Mike, everything went downhill.
It's so obvious she's gonna end up back with Mike and that's what kills her character. We don't know where any of the other are heading.

I think this season has gotten better as it plugs along, but is it me or is the mystery getting a bit obvious as we near the season finale (same thing happened last year)? For a few months now I've been expecting to see Danielle offed on the season finale, there's no other reason why that odd scene with Caleb sitting in her room with jewelry was there tonight, other than to set him up as a red herring for her murder. I'm betting that she's a goner, and Caleb didn't do it, however he might get framed or something like that. I imagine her list of enemies will rapidly increase as we get closer to the finale. All of the Applewhites are obvious suspects, and I think they will set Bree & Andrew (maybe even Andrew's boyfriend) up as possibilities as well, perhaps Danielle will threaten to expose Andrew's hit & run or something along those lines.

As for the different housewives's storylines, I think Gabrielle & Lynette have the best going right now. The first season I didn't really like Lynette's story since it seemed so mundane and uneventful, but the new job has breathed life into the character plus I've grown to enjoy any minute Felicity Huffman appears on screen. Eva Longoria has really grown into the best comedic actress of the bunch, and her quips make a weak episode better. The babyshopping and nunfight have really been inventive and fun, though the beginning of the season with Carlos in jail really dragged.

Bree has the most "serious" plotline so to speak, the problem for me is that I am not at all buying her being an alcoholic, still. The death of Rex really hurt her character, Andrew is best in small doses and doesn't really work as her foil as well as Rex did. It's best not to mention Susan, she's a pratfall away from complete inanity on the show. It would help if the writers realized she's not 25, and this whole revolving door of men thing is getting old, and has been old, for a long long time. The highlight of her story is when Karl or Edie (who is her perfect antagonist) show up, but they're typically underused, especially Edie as of late. Dr. Ron is a snooze, and I was never a fan of the plumber.

Alfre Woodard will not return next season.

Eva Longoria definately is the comedic chops of the cast. Although I think Teri Hatcher gets un-deserving "abuse" if you will as the weakest this and that, she has since the beginning because shes been the percieved front horse of the show, and people dont like that really. I think shes great and actually pretty attractive.

I actually like Teri Hatcher's Susan. She plays her REALLY well. I know all she did was like moan and cry last season and first half of this one, but you know what... I actually think she does it really well! It's just that we know everything we need to abot her character and it's just not as entertianing or interesting as the others.

I'm not sure about Danielle getting offed. 2 deaths in the Van de Camp household is not that realistic (then again... lol)
I think Mathew (is that his name?? the normal applewhite son) might bite the dust.

How many deaths (relatively importat characters) have we had on this show so far?
Mary Alice
Mrs. Huber
Mama Solice
Rex
George

@Christian: I think it was assumed her role was just for the season but is there confirmation on that?

I believe I have read that on Ask Ausiello, TVGuide.com.

I wish they'd kill andrew.
Hes obnoxious, pointless and irritating.

I love Andrew. He's hot. and so is his BF. they need to stay on forever and make out tons.

HALLEFUCKINGLUJAH!!!!!

goddamnit kill that storyline already. i hope it ends with the whole house exploding.

HAHA I wish they'd pull a Fall of the House of Usher... if you know the story, you know what I mean, lol.

so tonight looks like it could be interesting.

**********************************************

Desperate Housewives
ABC Apr 02 09:00pm
Series/Drama, 60 Mins.

Everybody Says Don't

Carlos and Gaby learn the truth about their baby
Paul must face the music
Lynette must give a court deposition about Bree's drinking.

Thank God Alfre Woodard isn't returning. I think they expected her to be popular with fans or something.

I like Andrew more now since I really dislike Bree this season. I hope Marcia Cross doesn't win an Emmy this year. Eva Longoria and Felicity Huffman deserve it more (the former moreso than the latter).

lynette just made me cry

The last 2 episodes have been a downer for me and although there were some highlights last night and Gabrielle's desperation at the end felt sincerely well acted and believable, I thought this was probably the worst of the season. The entire episode was sort of a mess.

Anyway... more when I get off school.

Ha I must be the only one in creation who thought last night's episode was one of the best of the season. Maybe it was because Susan's storyline was actually tolerable and funny, or there was a lot of interaction among the housewives, but whatever it was it worked for me.

I don't think it was a horrible episode but of all the episodes thus far, it seemed to be the least focused and self contained. It came off a little random and rushed and also starting taking the show some places I don't like it going.

Bree's obsession with that other guy is quite annoying. Her character since 3 episodes ago (the "opposite of love i not hate" speech) has been on a downward spiral.
And I agree with another poster who had said before that Andrew is great in small amounts but not as the focus. I love his character and I think they're overusing him now. And I'm still baffled by why Cherry is making him soooooo antagonistic. I completely don't understand that. I mean, how bad a teen was he?

Susan's story was okay since it had actually been building up but what a waste of a character. Her entire Season 2 character was filler and nothing more.

I actually hate the drastic turn Gabrielle'e story took. I'm really interested in what they're going to do now but it felt way too rushed and kind of unfitting in this episode. I will say, though, that in some of the last moments Gabrielle's acting (when taking a turn for desperation) was quite chilling. I love her! I hope they don't ruin this storyline.

Where the hell are the Applewhites? They have appeared in 1 out of the last 4 episodes (and barely in that)!

One thing that was stood out was Edie. They gave her a little more screentime this episode and she continues to prove she's the best at consistently delivering!