Art Isn't Easy
Encyclopedia
“Art Isn’t Easy” is the 75th episode of the ABC
television series, Desperate Housewives
. It is the fifth episode of the show’s fourth season and aired on October 28, 2007 in the United States.
, Bob
and Lee, install a sculpture in their front yard and the rest of the neighbors declare it an eyesore except for Susan
, who is still trying to get on their good side. But even she has to object when its true function is revealed early the next morning: It is a water fountain, and a noisy one at that. She asks them to move it to the backyard and they refuse, claiming they need it to cover all the noise coming from her house.
Katherine Mayfair
decides to run for president of the homeowner’s association, which has languished since the death of its former president, Mary Alice Young
. Bob and Lee try to get Lynette Scavo
on their side and she only agrees after they convince her that Katherine will object to her kids’ treehouse. When Katherine will not promise her that the treehouse will be spared, Lynette decides to run against her. Lynette expects Susan to vote for her, but she remains firmly anti-fountain. The vote comes down to a tie (as Susan voted for both Katherine and Lynette), but Edie Britt
points out that Susan voted twice. Susan reluctantly puts in her vote for Katherine. A triumphant Katherine informs Bob and Lee, and Lynette, that she will be in touch regarding their infractions. Her husband Adam though refuses to congratulate Katherine on her victory, reminding her that she has not exactly made any friends since they moved to Wisteria Lane, and that if she remembers what “incident” happened in Chicago, friends can be very handy.
Bree Hodge is furious when she finds out that her husband’s mother Phyllis Van De Kamp has taken Danielle out of the convent. Danielle refuses to go back – she wants to deliver the baby at her grandmother’s retirement village. Bree is certain Phyllis has had a hand in helping Danielle with her decision to raise the baby herself. Bree admits defeat, convinced it is just Danielle’s maternal instinct finally kicking in, until her son Andrew
points out that his grandmother is giving Danielle a cushier life than Bree’s plan of making her attend community college. He tells Bree she is going to have to outbid Phyllis if she wants the baby. Bree and her husband Orson tell Danielle how proud they are that she is raising the baby on her own, instead of going to that “party school” in Florida, the one they no longer have any objections to her attending. Once they mention the convertible they were going to give her, and how Phyllis is not in the best health, Danielle agrees to let Bree raise the baby after all. Bree promises a heartbroken Phyllis that she will ask her to babysit.
Carlos Solis
tells his fiancée Edie, he is going off on a golfing weekend with the guys when he is really sneaking away to meet his ex-wife Gabrielle. Gabrielle is just about to leave her home when she notices that a cable van has been parked across the street for an unusually long time. Guessing that her husband Victor Lang has hired someone to tail her, she sneaks out of her house in disguise.
She arrives at the hotel for her rendezvous with Carlos and runs into her former gardener John Rowland, with whom she had a secret affair during her marriage with Carlos, and his hotel heiress wife, who is pregnant and puts John down at every turn. Carlos is less than pleased when John comes knocking on Gabrielle’s hotel room door that night, but she convinces him to hide, since John’s father-in-law is a friend of Victor’s. John tells her he wants to restart their affair. With Carlos listening to every word, John reminds her of the time she faked an orgasm with Carlos when John was hiding in the closet. She firmly tells John she is not interested and sees him out the door. Carlos is furious but Gabrielle points out that he is the man hiding in the closet now. Carlos tells Gabrielle it is time they ended the affair. He wants them to do this right by breaking up with their respective partners before getting back together. She agrees, and gives him a kiss to last for the next six months. Unfortunately, that is the kiss that is photographed by the man tailing her.
Susan promises Lynette that she will chain herself to the treehouse rather than let Katherine knock it down and Lynette confesses why it means so much: It is the one place her boys can be children and not have to hear about her cancer. Just then Katherine comes over and tells her the treehouse can stay. Lynette is puzzled, but happy. When Katherine tells Bob and Lee the fountain has got to go, they counter by telling they know “all about Chicago”, hinting at the scandal that forced her and Adam to leave town.
Edie is shown admitting to someone offscreen that she had always avoided falling in love, and now that she has, she has been hurt. The screen pulls back to show the agent, revealing the man was not working for Victor, but for Edie.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series, Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
. It is the fifth episode of the show’s fourth season and aired on October 28, 2007 in the United States.
Plot
The new neighbors of Wisteria LaneWisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane is the fictional name of a street which the characters of the American drama television series Desperate Housewives live. Desperate Housewives storylines primarily centre around the residents of the street. Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood, and is actually...
, Bob
Bob Hunter (Desperate Housewives)
Bob Hunter is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. He is portrayed by Tuc Watkins and first appeared in the season four episode "If There's Anything I Can't Stand" on October 21, 2007...
and Lee, install a sculpture in their front yard and the rest of the neighbors declare it an eyesore except for Susan
Susan Mayer
Susan Delfino is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the American Broadcasting Company television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 3, 2004...
, who is still trying to get on their good side. But even she has to object when its true function is revealed early the next morning: It is a water fountain, and a noisy one at that. She asks them to move it to the backyard and they refuse, claiming they need it to cover all the noise coming from her house.
Katherine Mayfair
Katherine Mayfair
Katherine Mayfair is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
decides to run for president of the homeowner’s association, which has languished since the death of its former president, Mary Alice Young
Mary Alice Young
Mary Alice Young is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actress Brenda Strong and narrates the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series...
. Bob and Lee try to get Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo is a fictional character on the series Desperate Housewives. The character is playedby actress Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 2005, and was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series...
on their side and she only agrees after they convince her that Katherine will object to her kids’ treehouse. When Katherine will not promise her that the treehouse will be spared, Lynette decides to run against her. Lynette expects Susan to vote for her, but she remains firmly anti-fountain. The vote comes down to a tie (as Susan voted for both Katherine and Lynette), but Edie Britt
Edie Britt
Edie Britt Williams is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
points out that Susan voted twice. Susan reluctantly puts in her vote for Katherine. A triumphant Katherine informs Bob and Lee, and Lynette, that she will be in touch regarding their infractions. Her husband Adam though refuses to congratulate Katherine on her victory, reminding her that she has not exactly made any friends since they moved to Wisteria Lane, and that if she remembers what “incident” happened in Chicago, friends can be very handy.
Bree Hodge is furious when she finds out that her husband’s mother Phyllis Van De Kamp has taken Danielle out of the convent. Danielle refuses to go back – she wants to deliver the baby at her grandmother’s retirement village. Bree is certain Phyllis has had a hand in helping Danielle with her decision to raise the baby herself. Bree admits defeat, convinced it is just Danielle’s maternal instinct finally kicking in, until her son Andrew
Andrew Van De Kamp
Andrew Van de Kamp is a fictional character in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives played by Shawn Pyfrom, and is the son of Bree Van de Kamp and the late Rex Van de Kamp....
points out that his grandmother is giving Danielle a cushier life than Bree’s plan of making her attend community college. He tells Bree she is going to have to outbid Phyllis if she wants the baby. Bree and her husband Orson tell Danielle how proud they are that she is raising the baby on her own, instead of going to that “party school” in Florida, the one they no longer have any objections to her attending. Once they mention the convertible they were going to give her, and how Phyllis is not in the best health, Danielle agrees to let Bree raise the baby after all. Bree promises a heartbroken Phyllis that she will ask her to babysit.
Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis is a fictional character on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira.-Early life:Carlos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico to Juanita and Diego Solis...
tells his fiancée Edie, he is going off on a golfing weekend with the guys when he is really sneaking away to meet his ex-wife Gabrielle. Gabrielle is just about to leave her home when she notices that a cable van has been parked across the street for an unusually long time. Guessing that her husband Victor Lang has hired someone to tail her, she sneaks out of her house in disguise.
She arrives at the hotel for her rendezvous with Carlos and runs into her former gardener John Rowland, with whom she had a secret affair during her marriage with Carlos, and his hotel heiress wife, who is pregnant and puts John down at every turn. Carlos is less than pleased when John comes knocking on Gabrielle’s hotel room door that night, but she convinces him to hide, since John’s father-in-law is a friend of Victor’s. John tells her he wants to restart their affair. With Carlos listening to every word, John reminds her of the time she faked an orgasm with Carlos when John was hiding in the closet. She firmly tells John she is not interested and sees him out the door. Carlos is furious but Gabrielle points out that he is the man hiding in the closet now. Carlos tells Gabrielle it is time they ended the affair. He wants them to do this right by breaking up with their respective partners before getting back together. She agrees, and gives him a kiss to last for the next six months. Unfortunately, that is the kiss that is photographed by the man tailing her.
Susan promises Lynette that she will chain herself to the treehouse rather than let Katherine knock it down and Lynette confesses why it means so much: It is the one place her boys can be children and not have to hear about her cancer. Just then Katherine comes over and tells her the treehouse can stay. Lynette is puzzled, but happy. When Katherine tells Bob and Lee the fountain has got to go, they counter by telling they know “all about Chicago”, hinting at the scandal that forced her and Adam to leave town.
Edie is shown admitting to someone offscreen that she had always avoided falling in love, and now that she has, she has been hurt. The screen pulls back to show the agent, revealing the man was not working for Victor, but for Edie.
Awards notes
- Kevin RahmKevin RahmKevin Rahm is an American actor known for his role as Kyle McCarty on the CBS series Judging Amy. He portrayed Lee McDermott on Desperate Housewives from 2007 to 2012.-Early life:Rahm was born in Mineral Wells, Texas...
and Tuc WatkinsTuc WatkinsTuc Watkins is an American actor. He is known for his role as David Vickers on One Life to Live and for his role as Bob Hunter on Desperate Housewives .-Personal life:Watkins is of Welsh descent and is the son of Charles Curtis Watkins II, a salesman, and a...
submitted this episode for consideration of their work in the category of "Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy SeriesThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.-1980s:Outstanding Guest Performer In A Comedy Series*1986: Roscoe Lee Browne – The Cosby Show as Dr...
" for the 2008 Emmy Awards60th Primetime Emmy AwardsThe 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards was held on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at the newly opened Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst, and Ryan Seacrest and televised in the United States on ABC.The Creative Arts Awards...
.
Title reference
- The episode title “Art Isn't Easy” is taken from the song "Putting It Together" from Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's musical Sunday in the Park with GeorgeSunday in the Park with GeorgeSunday in the Park with George is a 1984 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical was inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat...
.
International titles
- Czech: S uměním to není lehké (Art isn't Easy)
- French: Ceux qui en savent trop (The ones who know too much)
- French Canadian: Critique d'Art (Critic of Art)
- German: Kunst ist subjektiv (Art is subjective)
- Hebrew: אמנות זה לא דבר פשוט (Omanut Ze Lo Davar Pashut; Art Is Not Easy)
- Hungarian: Mű és ítészek (Work and Critics)
- Italian: L'arte è Soggettiva (Art is subjective)
- Polish: Sztuka jest subiektywna (Art is subjective)
- Spanish: El arte no es fácil (The Art Isn't Easy)