DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON
(not rated)
MOVIE: *1/2 (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
When “Desperate Housewives” first premiered, I kinda liked the show. I wasn’t a huge fan, but I did enjoy the scandalous underworld of idyllic suburban life. However, over the years, the show has crumbled. It strapped on a pair of water skis a few years back when it rocketed five years ahead of its own time frame (bringing the full in-future setting to six and a half years, once you factor in a previous 18 month leap). By this seventh season, the show is in mid-air with a “Happy Days” shark underneath. I was okay with Vanessa Williams showing up as the new hot tottie on the block, but her storyline is wasted in the morass of the Scavo marriage. Though its the storylines of the other women that crush this series.
Bree’s love affair with Brian Austin Green was the best one out there, though her treatment of her ex was simply deplorable. Susan’s storyline of a woman who needs a kidney not only made no sense in the context of the show, but it completely ignores that the father she found several years ago lives only a town or two away. Gabby’s storyline is all over the map, trying to make her a self-centered bitch and simultaneously a good mother. But it’s Lynette’s storyline as a control-freak pariah who thinks she can do no wrong but is really the worst mother on the planet and a caustic person that makes me want to choke. The only sadness I feel about the series getting canceled is that ABC is letting it play out its hand with a season eight first.
The DVDs include 12 deleted scenes, a blooper reel and some outtakes. There are two featurettes that are actually more entertaining than the season itself: “Desperate for Trivia” posts questions to the cast, who often struggle to answer; and “Growing Up on Wisteria Lane” takes a look at the actors who have portrayed the desperate children over the years.