Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives or desperate Beauties (with the Quebec) ( Desperates Housewives ) Feuilleton televised American is a created by Charles Pratt Jr. and Marc Cherry and diffused since October 3rd, 2004 on television on the network ABC. In Europe, the serial is diffused since September 8th, 2005 on television on Canal+ (France), the May 19th on TSR1 (Suisse) and on May 23rd, 2006 on television on M6. In Belgium, the first season was diffused as from November 2005 on RTL-TVI then BeTV took again the series by proposing the new episodes in preview (and with a few months in advance on RTL-TVI season 2, first episode the November 12th 2006). With the Canada, this serial is diffused on Radio-Canada since the April 5th 2005.

Synopsis

This serial puts in scene the animated daily newspaper of four women (sometimes gained by the Bovarysme ): Susan Mayer, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van De Kamp and Gabrielle Solis, alive in the same street ( Wisteria Lane , in the fictitious city of Fairview ), perfectly recognizable stereotype of the vain suburbs of the American big cities (those of the residential districts of the Wasp or the Middle class ). Friend of four heroins, Mary-Alice Young, which committed suicide, comments of in addition to-fall their mishaps and is used as narrator. The spectator discovers through his eyes a multitude of intrigues, all reported with Humor and full with Mystère S, to which to share these four women and their vicinity take.

Through their stories of couples, children, and sometimes of job with their batch of hypocrisy, banal ill will and of combine poor which draw the small theater of the human comedy, the scenario also exposes, at each season, an intrigue police with the outcome Tragique but coated with a taste pronounced for the Caricature, the black Humor, the social Satire, the joke and the Burlesque.

First season

See also: Season 1 of Desperate Housewives

The series starts with the suicide of a mother, Mary-Alice Young, in the residential district of Wisteria Lane. With the eyes of his/her friends, the suicide of Mary-Alice is an unexplainable mystery, insofar as this woman incarnated for them the love of life and kindness even. From in addition to-fall, Mary-Alice observes the inhabitants of her district and comments on in particular the daily newspaper of her neighbors and friends: Gabrielle Solis, Lynette Scavo, Bree Van De Kamp and Susan Mayer. The first misleads its rich person husband with their gardener, 17 years old; second its brilliant career of publicity agent gave up to deal with his children, of true terrors, and does not find any blooming under its condition of housewife; the third is a mother with the hearth passing through a marital serious attack; and the fourth is a divorced mother seeking the love at first sight hopelessly. With the account of their daily mishaps mixes a police intrigue (to which heroins take share), leading the televiewer to include/understand why Mary Alice committed suicide.

Gabrielle falls finally pregnant, which she did not want especially, and is unaware of which, of her Carlos husband or his John lover, is the father of his child. Carlos is condemned to a custodial sentence to be themselves enriched thanks to work by children and to have attacked two homosexual, that he thought of being the lovers of his wife. The day of the lawsuit, John reveals to him that he is the lover of Gabrielle.

Lynette makes operations into soft so that her Tom husband, who works in publicity, does not have promotion. Indeed, she thinks that if it went up in the hierarchy, it would move away from her and their children. But the operations of Lynette do nothing but involve the resignation of Tom who, depity, decides to become house-husband, obliging his wife to resume her work.

Leading in a state of intoxication, Andrew, the son of Bree, Juanita, the mother-in-law of Gabrielle reverses accidentally, who falls into the coma. Bree and her Rex husband decide not to denounce the teenager with the police force. But Bree enters in conflict with Andrew, whose it finds the attitude immoral: she deplores the fact that it does not test a remorse after having reversed Juanita, and discovers thereafter that it smokes of the marijuana and has homosexual leanings, which she has of the evil to admit.

Rex makes an heart attack and is put in sick leave while waiting for that its health condition improves. The situation of its couple, which beat already wing, disaggregates more, because Bree learns that it misled it with a prostitute and that it is sadomasochistic. George, their pharmacist, fall insane in love with Bree. Wanting to kill Rex in order to take its place in its heart, it replaces by inappropriate drugs those which Rex takes to fight against its cardiac problems; Rex ends thus up dying of an heart attack.

Susan is anxious about the relation (initially platonic, then in love) between his/her daughter Julie and Zach Young, the son of feue Mary-Alice. Indeed, Zach, very disturbed by the death of his/her mother, made a stay in psychiatric hospital and can prove to be violent. Susan thus will try to move away the two teenagers one from the other.

Moreover, Susan falls in love with a tempting plumber, Mike Delfino, installed recently in Wisteria Lane. Mike being also coveted by Edie Britt, one of the neighbors of Susan, a competition is born between the two women. This competition leads awkward Susan to set fire to the house of Edie accidentally whereas it espionnait it. Fearing that the police force does not discover that it is it responsible for the fire, Susan decides to take the initiative and all to acknowledge in Edie; this one then will make him a blackmail.

Mike fall under the charm from Susan and becomes finally his/her companion; but this man, who hides heavy last, came in Wisteria Lane to find the assassin of the woman whom he loved, Deirdre, and to kill it. He comes from there to suspect Paul, the husband of Mary-Alice Young.

In the last episode, Mike, convinced that Paul assassinated Deirdre, removes it and takes it along in the desert to kill it. At this point in time Paul acknowledges a heavy secrecy to him: fifteen years earlier, it and Mary-Alice had bought in Deirdre (then héroïnomane) his/her son, fore-mentioned Dana, which they renamed Zach. Fearing that the baby is not removed to them, the husbands changed name (Paul Young and Mary-Alice Young is only names of loan) and settled in Wisteria Lane. In spite of that, Deirdre found their trace three years later and tried to take again his/her son to them. Mary-Alice refused to return Zach to him and went until killing it to keep it. Paul and Mary-Alice then got rid of the corpse of Deirdre. Later, one their neighbors, Martha Huber, learned their secrecy. Martha decided to make sing Mary-Alice; rather than to yield with the blackmail, the latter committed suicide. Paul will avenge thereafter death for Mary-Alice by killing Martha.

Thanks to the account of Paul, Mike understands that Zach is his/her natural son. It decides to save Paul, of which it knows now that he is not the murderer of Deirdre, and leaves it in the desert. The season is completed on a cliffhanger: Susan is retained as an hostage by Zach, which believes that his/her adoptive father, Paul, were assassinated by Mike (of which it is far from imagining that he is his biological father). This last enters the house of Susan and is unaware of that Zach waits there, with a weapon with the hand, to kill it…

Second season

See also: Season 2 of Desperate Housewives

The second season concentrates more particularly on the vexations of Bree, the return of Lynette in publicity, the verbal tournaments between Susan and its Edie neighbor, the pregnancy of Gabrielle and the arrival of the new neighbors: Applewhite.

The first part of the season is centered mainly on George Williams, the assassin of Rex Van de Kamp, which will make very to conquer the heart of Bree, that it proposal. Bree discovers that it killed Rex and leaves it knowingly ingurgiter a large quantity of pills with alcohol, which leads it to death.

The relations between Bree and his/her Andrew son are tended more and more. Bree becomes alcoholic and is shown of violence on this last. Indeed, the desire of revenge on Andrew, which reproaches his/her mother for not accepting it such as it is, will carry out it to simulate a physical ill-treatment, with the complicity of his/her Justin boyfriend. Bree is registered then with the Alcoholics anonymouses and becomes acquainted with Peter, a disturbed man whom she first of all wishes to help, but with which she falls finally in love. This time still, Andrew will be avenged while sleeping with him to break the heart of his/her mother. Bree decides to separate from Andrew by giving up it at the edge of a road. The teenager from now on is delivered to itself.

Gabrielle, enclosure, lose its baby during a fall in a staircase. It which, hitherto, did not want a child, decides to have one of them. Gabrielle and her husband Carlos (this last just left prison) turn to the adoption, but there still the things do not occur as envisaged. The couple ends up testing artificial insemination thanks to their new cleaning lady, Xiao-Mei. All is spoiled when Gaby discovers that Carlos the horn with the latter. He will thus be driven out of his residence.

Lynette becomes again " the shark of the world of publicity " but has evil to manage this new life. She discovers that her Tom husband carries out a double life: he indeed has a hidden girl. But Lynette understands then that Tom does not maintain any extra-marital relation; his/her daughter is resulting from an love affair that this one had before their marriage.

The love affair between Susan and Mike knows tops and bottoms. Mike seeks her natural son, Zach (alias Dana), in mare since he threatened it with a weapon, and hopes to build a true relation father-wire between them. But Susan is afraid of this psychologically disturbed teenager (because it was interested of too close with his daughter, Julie) and does what is necessary so that it does not return in Wisteria Lane immediately. Later, Mike is informed of the treason of Susan and decides to leave it.

Karl, the ex-husband of Susan, lives from now on with its rival, Edie Britt. Besides he asks it in marriage but turns over towards Susan, with which he is always in love. Karl and Susan approach and spend one night together, which Edie discovers. Insane of rage, the latter puts fire at the house of Susan. This misfortune however makes it possible Susan to be reconciled with Mike and to take again their love affair where they had left it. In the last episode, Mike is on the point of asking Susan in marriage, but it finishes under the wheels of a car. A dentist of the name of Orson ran up against it full whip…

Four heroins are also posed many questions about their new neighbors, Applewhite. This single-parent family hiding place a heavy secrecy: Caleb, one of wire of Betty Applewhite, mentally disturbed, killed an young woman. The police force seeks it actively, from where their sudden removal. The end of the season, darker, reveals the share of responsibility for Matthew Applewhite, the model son of the family, in the murder whose his/her Caleb brother is marked. After having threatened Bree with a revolver, Matthew is killed out of a ball in full heart by the police force. Betty and Caleb Applewhite redéménagent in all haste…

Third season

See also: Season 3 of Desperate Housewives

For the third season, the scenario writers reconcentrés themselves on the original distribution while in particular giving Mike Delfino to the center of the adventures of Wisteria Lane. This third shutter offers a character more dramatic and less comic than the two preceding seasons. Marc Cherry also heard the " plaintes" of its fans, which hoped for less characters and more dramas for the third season, in contrast with the second, appeared too light and rocambolesque with the eyes of the American televiewers.
Six months will have been passed between the end of season 2 and the resumption of this season. Mike Delfino is in the coma following the car accident caused by Orson Hodge. Orson is put in couple with Bree, this couple occupies most of the intrigue of this season. Andrew, the son of Bree, is of return in the first episodes, after his/her mother saw it with information, in a report on the SDF.
Lynette is always paid, but must face the lack of ambition of her husband, Tom, and with the double life which it has carried out for a few months.
Gabrielle and Carlos is in full marital crisis whereas Xiao-Mei is pregnant of eight month and half of their baby, but who also proves to be the mistress of Carlos…
Enfin, Austin, the nephew of Edie moves in his aunt with Wisteria Lane and rather quickly starts a relation with Julie, the girl of Susan…
Zach Young makes his return in a very unexpected way, indeed it is enthusiast of a secret love for Gabrielle Solis. He wants to marry it and does not hesitate to propose its very young fortune to impress the young woman. Their " relation" will turn short and Zach will end up leaving the city, rejected by Gabrielle.
Tom decides to set up an old dream of childhood: to open a pizzeria. Lynette, initially perplexed, accepts the market. She resigns some time later of her company of publicity to become the manager of the new establishment of Tom. Very quickly will settle between them a kind of competition. The forgotten personal troubles, Tom blocks the back, and it is in Lynette alone to deal with the restaurant. It cannot however only arrive there, it thus decides to call upon a clerk of kitchen. Certain Rick, tested and tempting, will be the choice of Lynette. With its delicious dishes which transform the reputation of the restaurant, its romanticism and its proximity with Lynette, this one will approach him. This intimacy will jump to the eyes of Kayla, adopted girl of Lynette and Tom. Suspicieux, Tom will put the pressure on Rick and will force it to resign. But Rick refuses to be let make. However, it will make an error by acknowledging its feelings for Lynette, which, frightened by the possible reciprocity of this love, decides to lay off it. This rupture will cause a cold between Tom and Lynette, which does not manage to forgive with her husband his lunch with Rick. After a physical brawl on this subject, Lynette and Tom go to the hospital.
Susan becomes acquainted with Ian, a man whom it met at the hospital, at the moment when it dealt with Mike. Because Ian has to him also his own wife, Jane, plunged in a long coma… She ends up dying and Susan by falling under the charm from beautiful English and the two lovers decide to become engaged. During this Mike time, which left its coma, started a therapy and starts to find the memory… It goes until remembering its proposal… It thus tries by all the means of reconquering Susan. Taken between its two loves, it ends up choosing Ian. Unfortunately, their relation turns short. Ian being returned account that Susan always gripped some for the beautiful plumber, it decides to leave the city. Susan is found then only, on the one hand because Ian set out again in England and on the other hand because Mike left the city… disappointed choice of Susan.
Bree is subjected to the return completely surprising of the former woman of Orson, which sows the discord in their marriage, grace partly using his/her mother-in-law. The two gossips end up dying, and Bree decides to make the honeymoon of which she had dreamed so much. Carrying with it, his/her daughter Danielle, enclosure of the nephew of Edie.
Gabrielle meets one of the candidates to the municipal election of Fairview, Victor. It falls rather quickly under the charm from this man, then becomes engaged to him, with surprised of Carlos, who maintains a torrid connection with Edie Britt.
Carlos ends up realizing that it is always in love with his ex-wife, which does not make the task easy in Edie which does not cease brawling with Gabrielle.
Susan realizes, once left Ian, that the man of its life was Mike. She learns that it had left Wisteria Lane to go to make an excursion in mountain. She leaves there. After grinds efforts, it finds Mike and they turn over together to Fairview, where the plumber will ask for his love in marriage. Susan accepts and decides to marry the day when it had envisaged to do it with Ian. Alas, Gabrielle and Victor, them also coldly promised in marriage, decide to point the crucial date the day of the marriage of Susan and Mike. An argument, followed by a reconciliation seizes the two women.
Lynette discovers that it has a lymphoma and receives the visit of her mother, with which it is in cold. It counts, in spite of cleavages, to help it to overcome the disease and chemotherapy that Lynette must undergo.
Edie, in love with Carlos, wants that it feels the same thing for it. Knowing its terrible desire for having a child, she proposes in Carlos to have one with her of them, even if it does not feel anything… Nevertheless, Edie continues to take the pill.
At the end of the season, Gabrielle Marie with Victor Lang, but discovers the day-even of its marriage that, for Victor, this marriage is only one political operation intended to save to him popularity, in particular near the population latino. Resigned, Gabrielle is thrown in the arms of Carlos, his ex-husband…
Mike and Susan marries finally, but in romantic an in an original manner way…
Bree and Orson is of return of their long honeymoon. Bree has the round belly and announces with all his/her friends that it is pregnant several months. But this bent belly is not a baby, but a simple cotton hull placed on its perfectly flat belly… The operation will make it possible to make pass the future baby of Danielle for that of Bree and Orson.
Lastly, Carlos discovers by chance the contraceptive pills in the handbag of Edie, which is at this time with the ceremony of marriage of Gabrielle and Victor. Carlos joined it, furious, and leaves it, indifferent to the tears and the distress of Edie. On its return, it tries to commit suicide by hanging.

Fourth season

See also: Season 4 of Desperate Housewives

Whereas Edie recovers from alleged sound commits suicide, Carlos decides to remain near it at the hospital. Gabrielle, coldly married with the new mayor of the city, realizes that her husband does not like it as far as she imagined it, and then prepares a plan of escape with Carlos. It is learned quickly that Bree made pretense be pregnant, whereas his/her Danielle daughter, locked up in a convent, awaits really a baby. Lynette is reached cancer, and does not know how to explain it to his/her children. Susan, from now on married to Mike, sees one of her former friends, Katherine, to return in Wisteria Lane, with his/her Dylan daughter and her Adam husband. But the four housewives do not suspect only this so charming family hiding place a terrible secrecy…

Carlos and Edie start again with living normally. Carlos, trying to avoid speaking about marriage with his partner, sees in Gabrielle secrecy. Each one on its side, they are promised that they will leave their lover. Bree and Orson are come up against the difficulties of the false pregnancy, while Susan, whose marriage seems disturbed, learns that it is pregnant. Lynette sees its disease chamboulée by the arrival of his/her mother, who promises to help it by doping it secretly. The girl of Katherine lost report of Wisteria Lane, district in which she lived during her first years. But it is learned that its loss of memory is due to somebody and something which occurred in the attic from their house, ten years before…

Distribution

Main characters

Teri Hatcher (VF: Claire Guyot) : Susan Mayer (born Bremer) (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Felicity Huffman (VF: Caroline Beaune) : Lynette Scavo (born Lindsquit) (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Marcia Cross (VF: White Ravalec) : Bree Van De Kamp (born Mason) (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Eva Longoria Parker (VF: Odile Schmitt) : Gabrielle Solis (born Mark) (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Brenda Strong (VF: Francoise Cadol) : Mary Alice Young (seasons 1,2, 3)
Nicollette Sheridan (VF: Marie-Martine Bison) : Edie Britt (season 1,2,3,4)
Roger Bart: (VF: Vincent Ropion) : George Williams (seasons 1 & 2)
Ricardo Antonio Chavira (VF: Bernard Gabay) : Carlos Solis (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Andrea Bowen (VF: Karine Foviau) : Julie Mayer (seasons 1,2,3,4)
James Denton (VF: Arnaud Arbessier) : Mike Delfino (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Mark Moses (VF: Luc Bernard) : Paul Young (seasons 1,2,3)
Cody Kasch (VF: Alexis Tomassian) : Zachary " Zach" Young (seasons 1,2,3)
Steven Culp (VF: Georges Caudron) : Rex Van De Kamp (seasons 1,2,3)
Shawn Pyfrom (VF: Yoann Sover) : Andrew Van De Kamp (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Joy Lauren (VF: Manon Azem) : Danielle Van De Kamp (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Jesse Metcalfe (VF: Emmanuel Garijo) : John Rowland (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Erudite Doug (VF: Emmanuel Curtil) : Tom Scavo (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Richard Burgi (VF: Bernard Lanneau) : Karl Mayer (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Alfre Woodard (VF Saison 1: Marie-Christine Darah) (VF Saison 2: Francoise Small valley) : Betty Applewhite (seasons 1,2)
Kyle MacLachlan (VF: Patrick Poivey) : Orson Hodge (seasons 2,3,4)
Rachel Fox: Kayla Huntington (Season 3,4)
Dana Delany: Katherine Mayfair (Season 4)
Nathan Fillion: Adam Mayfair (Season 4)
Lyndsy Fonseca: Dylan Mayfair (Season 4)
Tuc Watkins: Bob.
Kevin Rahm : Lee.

Supporting characters

Kathryn Joosten (VF: Paule Emmanuèle) : Karen McCluskey (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Zane Huett: Parker Scavo (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Brent Kinsman: Preston Scavo (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Shane Kinsman: To carry Scavo (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Stalemate Crawford Brown: Ida Greenberg (seasons 1,2,3,4)
Christine Estabrook (VF: Marie-Martine) : Martha Huber (born Tilman) (season 1)
Lupe Ontiveros (VF: Thamila Mesbah) : Juanita Solis (season 1)
Lucille Soong (VF: Claude Chantal) : Yao Flax (season 1)
Sharon Lawrence (VF: Celine Monsarrat) : Maisy Gibbons (season 1)
Pretty Jenkins: Deirdre Taylor (season 1)
Harriet Sansom Harris (VF: Elisabeth Wiener) : Felicia Tilman (seasons 1,2)
Ryan Edges (VF: Pascal Novak) : Justin (seasons 1,2)
Bob Gunton: Noah Taylor (seasons 1,2)
Roger Bart (VF: Vincent Ropion) : George Williams (seasons 1,2)
Sam Lloyd: Doctor Albert Goldfine (seasons 1,2)
Lesley Ass Warren (VF: Anne Jolivet) : Sophie Bremer (seasons 1,2)
Mehcad Brooks (VF: Adrien Antoine) : Matthew Applewhite (seasons 1,2)
Page Kennedy/NaShawn Kearse: Caleb Applewhite (season 2)
Shirley Knight: Phyllis Van De Kamp (season 2,4)
Joely Fisher (VF: Marie Vincent) : Nina Fletcher (season 2)
Jay Harrington (VF: Xavier Fagnon) : Ron McCreadle (season 2)
Lee Tergesen (VF: Thierry Draper) : Peter MacMillian (season 2)
Currie Graham (VF: Guy Hatter) : ED Ferrara (season 2, an appearance in season 3)
Gwendoline Yeo: Xiao-Mei (seasons 2,3)
Kiersten Warren (VF: Natacha Muller) : Nora (seasons 2,3)
Rachel Fox: Kayla Hunnigton (seasons 2,3,4)
Dougray Scott: Ian Hainsworth (season 3)
Josh Henderson: Austin McCann (season 3)
Valerie Mahaffey: Alma Hodge (season 3)
Jake Cherry: Through McLain (season 3)
Polly Bergen: Stella Lindquist (seasons 3,4)
Laurie Metcalf (VF: Isabelle Ganz) : Caroline Bigsby (season 3)

Data sheet

Music: Steve Jablonsky (additional: Danny Elfman (main theme), Steve Bartek (episodes 1 and 2), LeAnn Rhymes (original soundtrack We' Re running out off time )
Realizers: Larry Shaw, Arlene Sanford, Fred To stack, Jeffrey Melman, David Grossman…
Executive producers: Marc Cherry, Michael Edelstein, Tom Spezialy, Charles Pratt Jr.

Rewards

2005 : Award Golden Globe: Better musical or comic television serial
2005: Award Golden Globe: Better actress in a musical or comic television serial for Teri Hatcher
2005: Emmy Award of the best actress in a comic serial for Felicity Huffman
2006: Award Golden Globe: Better musical or comic television serial

Episodes

See also: List of the episodes of Desperate Housewives

Characters

See also: List of the characters of Desperate Housewives

Credits

The credits of Desperate Housewives were put in music by the very known Danny Elfman. It is a diversion of some more or less famous iconographic documents putting in scene women and their evolution during time. These credits preceded watch various types of women, of

Description

One first of all sees Eve, which crunches the Pomme. It is in fact a mixture of several works of Lucas Cranach Old the. Then the decoration changes: the basic decoration, which represents an Egyptian typical decoration, is a work of David Roberts to which one added the portrait of the queen of Egypt Néfertari. Like Lynette, this queen “is literally overflowed” by her children. This scene leaves to room to table the Husbands Arnolfini of Jan Van Eyck. The woman starts to sweep the part whereas her husband throws his refuse everywhere. One retouve then with an adaptation of table American Gothic of Grant Wood (1891 - 1942). The woman is renfrognée there than on the original, because her husband, supposed being an austere farmer, lets himself allure by a Pin-up, painted by Gil Elvgren in the the Fifties. One sees then a poster of American propaganda of Dick Williams dating from the second world war: “Am I Proud! ”. In the credits of the series, the housewife releases her races, and one sees the box of Campbell' S Tomato Soup of Andy Warhol. This box retouve in the hands of a woman drawn by Robert Paves, extracted from its work Romantic Couple and Couples Arguing . These credits preceded watch the various types of women, the wife submitted to the rebellious woman while passing through the wife surpuissante, and draw up a portrait of the housewife through the ages.

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