Desperate Housewives Season 1
Encyclopedia
The first season of Desperate Housewives
, an American television series created by Marc Cherry
, commenced airing in the United States on October 3, 2004, concluded May 22, 2005, and consisted of 23 episodes. It tells the story of Mary Alice Young
, a seemingly perfect housewife who commits suicide, fearing that a dark secret, involving her, her husband, and their son would be exposed. At her wake
, Mary Alice's four close friends and the main characters, Bree
, Lynette
, Susan and Gabrielle
, are introduced. All of them live in the suburb of Fairview on Wisteria Lane
. Narrating the series from the grave, Mary Alice describes how her friends try to find out the reason for her suicide, while trying to deal with the problems of their personal lives.
Desperate Housewives
first season aired in the United States (U.S.) on Sundays at 9:00 pm ET
on ABC
, a terrestrial
television network
. In addition to the 23 regular episodes, a special, Sorting Out the Dirty Laundry, aired on April 24, 2005. The season garnered an average of 23.7 million viewers in the U.S. per all 23 episodes, ranking as the fourth most-watched television series during the 2004–05 American television season. In the United Kingdom
, the season premiered on January 5, 2005, and subsequently aired Wednesdays at 10 pm on Channel 4
. It aired in Canada
on CTV Television Network
and in Australia
on the Seven Network
.
The season was released on DVD as a six-disc box set under the title of Desperate Housewives – The Complete First Season on September 20, 2005 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in Region 1, in Region 2 on October 10, 2005, and in Region 4 on November 28, 2005. The season is also available for purchase by registered users on the U.S. iTunes Store
.
Marc Cherry wrote the script for the Housewives pilot
and his agent appealed it to six networks, (CBS
, NBC
, Fox
, HBO
, Showtime and Lifetime) only to have all of them turn it down. Later, after his previous agent was arrested for embezzlement
, he hired a team of new agents, who saw the script "as a soap opera with dark comedy in it". After Cherry edited parts of the pilot script and pitched it to ABC
, network executives were impressed, causing ABC to order 13 episodes. Filming for the season started around March 2004 at the Universal Studios Hollywood
backlot Colonial Street
.
This season was produced by Touchstone Television (now ABC Studios) and Cherry Productions and aired on the ABC network. The executive producers were Cherry, Michael Edelstein
, Charles Pratt Jr., and Tom Spezialy
with Pratt Jr., Chris Black
, Oliver Goldstick
, Joey Murphy
, and John Pardee
serving as consulting producers. The staff writers were Cherry, Goldstick, Spezialy, Pardee, Murphy, and Black; producers Alexandra Cunningham
, Tracey Stern
, and Patty Lin
; co-executive producer Kevin Murphy
, Jenna Bans
, David Schulner
, Adam Barr
, Katie Ford
, and Joshua Senter. Regular directors throughout the season included Charles McDougall
, Arlene Sanford
, Larry Shaw
, Jeff Melman
, Fred Gerber
, David Grossman
, and John David Coles
. Its orchestral score
was composed by Steve Bartek
and Steve Jablonsky
, while the series' theme was composed by Danny Elfman
. Cherry also served as the season's show runner
.
. Brenda Strong
narrated the series as the deceased Mary Alice Young
. Teri Hatcher
portrayed Susan Mayer
, the klutzy, lovable divorced mother in search of love. Felicity Huffman
played Lynette Scavo
, a former career woman who is now a full-time mother of four. Marcia Cross
acted as Bree Van de Kamp
, the uptight, perfectionist homemaker and mother of two teenagers who is struggling to save her marriage. Eva Longoria
starred as Gabrielle Solis
, the materialistic ex–fashion model
who cheats on her husband. Nicollette Sheridan
played the neighborhood slut
and Susan's rival, Edie Britt
. Steven Culp
played Rex Van de Kamp, Bree's emasculated, sexually dissatisfied husband. Ricardo Antonio Chavira
starred as Gabrielle's neglectful, high-powered executive husband, Carlos Solis
. Mark Moses
portrayed Mary Alice's mysterious widower, Paul Young
. Andrea Bowen
played Susan's knowledgeable, level-headed daughter, Julie Mayer. Jesse Metcalfe
played the Solis' gardener and Gabrielle's adulterous
lover, John Rowland. Cody Kasch
played Mary Alice's and Paul's troubled and mentally unstable son Zach Young, and James Denton
portrayed the neighborhood plumber and Susan's love interest, Mike Delfino
, who has a secret of his own.
Numerous supporting characters have been given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including Doug Savant
, who played Tom Scavo
and Lynette's husband, who is often away on business. Savant later became a series regular, Shawn Pyfrom
as Bree and Rex's rebellious and headstrong son Andrew Van de Kamp
. Kathryn Joosten
acted as Lynette's neighbor across the street, Mrs. McCluskey
and Christine Estabrook
as the neighborhood Martha Huber.
(ET) (8:00 pm Central Time Zone (Americas) [CT]). It was the most-viewed ABC season premiere since 1996's Spin City
. After airing three episodes of Desperate Housewives, ABC picked the series up for a full season. Overall, the first season averaged 23.7 million viewers for the 23 episodes aired in the U.S., including the season's largest audience of more than 30 million viewers of the season finale. Of the regular primetime programming that aired during the 2004–2005 American television season, Desperate Housewives ranked 4th out of 156 programs, according to the Nielsen Ratings system.
Critical reception was generally favorable. Robert Bianco
of USA Today
gave the pilot a score of four stars out of four, calling it "[r]efreshingly original, bracingly adult and thoroughly delightful", and going on to say that "[Desperate] Housewives is a brightly colored, darkly comic take on suburban life, sort of Knots Landing
meets The Golden Girls
by way of Twin Peaks
." Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
thought that Desperate Housewives was "a brilliantly conceived and relentlessly entertaining new drama". Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe
commented that the series had "marvelous tonal elasticity". Peter Schorn of IGN
felt that season one was "blessed with an attractive cast (sing the praises of older women!), sharp writing and a funky vibe of its own" and that "Desperate Housewives was able to take some of the oldest formulas in the book and infuse them with their own subversive twists to whip up a frothy confection of sly wit and dark motives." Schorn gave the season a score of 9 out of 10.
Some critics were not as enthusiastic, however. On reviewing the DVD release of the season, Entertainment Weekly
s Dalton Ross gave it a B+ grade, selecting the pilot, "Who's That Woman?", "Guilty", "Children Will Listen" and the season finale "One Wonderful Day" as the season's best episodes, and "Suspicious Minds", "Your Fault" and "Love is in the Air" as the season's worst. Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com
felt that after a few episodes, "this dark exploration of the lives of women has not only slid quickly into clichés, but the acting feels forced and overplayed, the stories are wildly unrealistic, the direction is stuck in some awkward nowhereland between campy and leaden, and the voice-over is so grating and so peskily imitative of Sex and the City
that the whole package is almost unwatchable."
s, winning six. They were in the categories of Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
which was awarded Danny Elfman, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series which was awarded to Felicity Huffman for her portrayal of Lynette Scavo, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series which was awarded to Kathryn Joosten for her portrayal of Mrs. McCluskey, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series which was awarded to Charles McDougall and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
. Teri Hatcher picked up a Golden Globe Award
in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for her portrayal of Susan Mayer. The season received four other Golden Globe nominations, winning one for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. The season also won two Screen Actors Guild Awards
; one was awarded to Teri Hatcher in the category Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series and the other was under the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
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#
! style="background: #FF62D0;" |Season
#
! style="background: #FF62D0;" |Title
! style="background: #FF62D0;" |Directed by
! style="background: #FF62D0;" |Written by
! style="background: #FF62D0;" |Original air date
! style="background: #FF62D0;" |U.S. viewers
(millions)
|-
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s, deleted scene
s, audio commentary and behind-the-scenes featurettes. It includes all episodes in HD.
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...
, an American television series created by Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
, commenced airing in the United States on October 3, 2004, concluded May 22, 2005, and consisted of 23 episodes. It tells the story of 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...
, a seemingly perfect housewife who commits suicide, fearing that a dark secret, involving her, her husband, and their son would be exposed. At her wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
, Mary Alice's four close friends and the main characters, Bree
Bree Van De Kamp
Bree Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by Marcia Cross. Actress Marcia Cross was nominated from 2005 to 2007 for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy...
, Lynette
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...
, Susan and Gabrielle
Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solís is one of four main characters on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She is portrayed by Eva Longoria...
, are introduced. All of them live in the suburb of Fairview on Wisteria Lane
Wisteria 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...
. Narrating the series from the grave, Mary Alice describes how her friends try to find out the reason for her suicide, while trying to deal with the problems of their personal lives.
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...
first season aired in the United States (U.S.) on Sundays at 9:00 pm ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
on ABC
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...
, a terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. In addition to the 23 regular episodes, a special, Sorting Out the Dirty Laundry, aired on April 24, 2005. The season garnered an average of 23.7 million viewers in the U.S. per all 23 episodes, ranking as the fourth most-watched television series during the 2004–05 American television season. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the season premiered on January 5, 2005, and subsequently aired Wednesdays at 10 pm on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. It aired in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on CTV Television Network
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
and in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
.
The season was released on DVD as a six-disc box set under the title of Desperate Housewives – The Complete First Season on September 20, 2005 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in Region 1, in Region 2 on October 10, 2005, and in Region 4 on November 28, 2005. The season is also available for purchase by registered users on the U.S. iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
Production
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
and his agent appealed it to six networks, (CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, HBO
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
, Showtime and Lifetime) only to have all of them turn it down. Later, after his previous agent was arrested for embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
, he hired a team of new agents, who saw the script "as a soap opera with dark comedy in it". After Cherry edited parts of the pilot script and pitched it to ABC
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...
, network executives were impressed, causing ABC to order 13 episodes. Filming for the season started around March 2004 at the Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
backlot Colonial Street
Colonial Street
Colonial Street is one of the backlot street sets at Universal Studios Hollywood. The street set has a long history, spanning over 60 years of movies and television...
.
This season was produced by Touchstone Television (now ABC Studios) and Cherry Productions and aired on the ABC network. The executive producers were Cherry, Michael Edelstein
Michael Edelstein
Michael Edelstein, born February 20, 1968 in Los Angeles, California, is an American television producer.Together with Marc Cherry and Tom Spezialy, Edelstein was one of the original executive producers for Desperate Housewives, for which he was awarded an Emmy nomination...
, Charles Pratt Jr., and Tom Spezialy
Tom Spezialy
Tom Spezialy is an American television producer, director and screen writer. In 2007, began serving as executive producer of Reaper.-Career:Spezialy began his career in 1989 writing for the CBS television series Doctor Doctor...
with Pratt Jr., Chris Black
Chris Black (screenwriter)
Chris Black is a screenwriter and television producer, from Toledo, Ohio, notable for writing and producing mainly science fiction and action series, although he also was a part of the production team of the dramedy Desperate Housewives during its first two seasons.Black has produced and wrote...
, Oliver Goldstick
Oliver Goldstick
Oliver Goldstick is an American television screenwriter and producer.Most notably, Goldstick was the creator and executive producer of Inconceivable, a short-lived medical drama...
, Joey Murphy
Joey Murphy
Joey Murphy is screenwriter and television producer, currently working as executive producer for Desperate Housewives.Murphy has written episodes of the cartoon, Doug, The Crew, and Cybill Shepherd's sitcom, Cybill, the last two for which he also served as producer...
, and John Pardee
John Pardee
John Pardee is an American screenwriter and television producer, currently working as executive producer for Desperate Housewives.During the 1990s, Pardee wrote episodes of several television series, including the cartoon Doug, the short lived sitcoms Charlie Hoover, Thunder Alley and The Crew and...
serving as consulting producers. The staff writers were Cherry, Goldstick, Spezialy, Pardee, Murphy, and Black; producers Alexandra Cunningham
Alexandra Cunningham
Alexandra Cunningham is an American screenwriter and television producer, most known as a writer and producer for ABC Studios' dramedy Desperate Housewives, having written more episodes of the show than any other writer besides showrunner Marc Cherry....
, Tracey Stern
Tracey Stern
Tracey Stern is an American television writer and producer.Stern made her television debut writing for the first two season of ER. She has also worked as a writer on Pacific Blue, Sports Night, Angel, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Leap Years, Touching Evil, Desperate Housewives, The Book of...
, and Patty Lin
Patty Lin
Patty Lin is an American television screenwriter and producer. She is a graduate of Cornell UniversityShe has written episodes for the television series Friends, Freaks and Geeks, Martial Law, Citizen Baines , Desperate Housewives, Leap of Faith and Breaking Bad.She has served as producer for a...
; co-executive producer Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy (screenwriter)
Kevin Murphy is an American screenwriter, television producer, lyricist and composer. He wrote the book and lyrics of the musical Reefer Madness, as well as its television adaptation...
, Jenna Bans
Jenna Bans
Jenna Bans is an American Writers Guild of America Award nominated screenwriter.Originally intended as a staff writer for Jerry Bruckheimer's cancelled action series Fearless, Bans became a part of the crew of Desperate Housewives in 2004...
, David Schulner
David Schulner
David Schulner is an American television writer and producer. He is the creator of the upcoming FOX drama The Oaks.- Writer :* The Event * Kings* The Oaks * Tell Me You Love Me...
, Adam Barr
Adam Barr
Adam Barr is a television screenwriter and producer best known for his comedy credits, including the hit NBC series Will and Grace.In the early nineties he teamed up with Peter Ocko, with whom he wrote 12 episodes of Parker Lewis Can't Lose...
, Katie Ford
Katie Ford (screenwriter)
Katie Ford is a Canadian-American film and television writer. She was born in New York City, but spent much of her childhood living in Toronto....
, and Joshua Senter. Regular directors throughout the season included Charles McDougall
Charles McDougall
Charles McDougall is a British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning director.-Biography:McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives . McDougall has also directed episodes of Queer as Folk on Channel 4 and Sex and the City on HBO...
, Arlene Sanford
Arlene Sanford
Arlene Sanford is an American film and television director.Sanford has directed for several notable television series and several motion picture and television films which include A Very Brady Sequel , I'll Be Home for Christmas and Twelve Men of Christmas .Sanford has been nominated for two...
, Larry Shaw
Larry Shaw (director)
Larry Shaw is an American film and television director.He is currently a regular director on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives, where he also serves as a co-executive producer for the show...
, Jeff Melman
Jeff Melman
Jeffrey L. Melman is an American television director and producer. Melman has directed for several present-day network television series. More recently Melman has directed episodes of ABC's Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Desperate Housewives...
, Fred Gerber
Fred Gerber
Fred Gerber is an American film and television director. Gerber has directed several popular television series which include Family Law, Desperate Housewives and House...
, David Grossman
David Grossman
David Grossman is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and have won numerous prizes.He is also a noted activist and critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. The Yellow Wind, his non-fiction study of the life of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied...
, and John David Coles
John David Coles
John David Coles is an American film and television director. Coles is probably most notable for his directing on the HBO sitcom, Sex and the City. In addition to Sex and the City, Coles has directed episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order, The West Wing and Desperate Housewives...
. Its orchestral score
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
was composed by Steve Bartek
Steve Bartek
Steve Bartek, born in Garfield Heights, Ohio on January 30, 1952, is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor and orchestrator.-Early career:...
and Steve Jablonsky
Steve Jablonsky
Steven Jablonsky is an American music composer for film, television and video games. He has been the music director for all the Michael Bay movies produced and directed since The Island...
, while the series' theme was composed by Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman
Daniel Robert "Danny" Elfman is an American composer, best known for scoring music for television and film. Up until 1995, he was the lead singer and songwriter in the rock band Oingo Boingo, a group he formed in 1976...
. Cherry also served as the season's show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
.
Cast
The first season features a cast of thirteen actors who receive star billingBilling (film)
Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works...
. Brenda Strong
Brenda Strong
Brenda Lee Strong is an American actress and yoga instructor, known for her roles as as Capt. Deladier in the 1997 hit movie Starship Troopers and Mary Alice Young on the television show Desperate Housewives....
narrated the series as the deceased 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...
. Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher
Teri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
portrayed Susan Mayer
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...
, the klutzy, lovable divorced mother in search of love. Felicity Huffman
Felicity Huffman
Felicity Kendall Huffman is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is known for her role as executive producer Dana Whitaker on the ABC television show Sports Night , which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination, and as hectic supermom Lynette Scavo on the ABC show Desperate...
played 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...
, a former career woman who is now a full-time mother of four. Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross
Marcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...
acted as Bree Van de Kamp
Bree Van De Kamp
Bree Van de Kamp is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by Marcia Cross. Actress Marcia Cross was nominated from 2005 to 2007 for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy...
, the uptight, perfectionist homemaker and mother of two teenagers who is struggling to save her marriage. Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
starred as Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solís is one of four main characters on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She is portrayed by Eva Longoria...
, the materialistic ex–fashion model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
who cheats on her husband. Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan is an English film and television actress. She is best known for her roles as Edie Britt on Desperate Housewives and as Paige Matheson on Knots Landing.-Early life:...
played the neighborhood slut
Promiscuity
In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...
and Susan's rival, 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...
. Steven Culp
Steven Culp
Steven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
played Rex Van de Kamp, Bree's emasculated, sexually dissatisfied husband. Ricardo Antonio Chavira
Ricardo Antonio Chavira
Ricardo Antonio Chavira is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Carlos Solis on Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...
starred as Gabrielle's neglectful, high-powered executive husband, 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...
. Mark Moses
Mark Moses
Mark W. Moses is an American actor, known for his roles of Paul Young on Desperate Housewives and Herman "Duck" Phillips on the AMC series Mad Men.-Life and career:...
portrayed Mary Alice's mysterious widower, Paul Young
Paul Young (Desperate Housewives)
Paul Young is a fictional character on ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Mark Moses. He is the widower of Mary Alice Young, the show's narrator, as well as the widower of Beth Young....
. Andrea Bowen
Andrea Bowen
Andrea Lauren Bowen is an American actress who is best known for playing Julie Mayer on Desperate Housewives . She has won two SAG Awards.-Biography:...
played Susan's knowledgeable, level-headed daughter, Julie Mayer. Jesse Metcalfe
Jesse Metcalfe
Jesse Eden Metcalfe is an American actor, best known for his role on Desperate Housewives as John Rowland. He is also notable for his portrayal of Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald on the soap opera Passions and his starring role as the title character in the movie John Tucker Must Die.-Early life:Metcalfe...
played the Solis' gardener and Gabrielle's adulterous
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
lover, John Rowland. Cody Kasch
Cody Kasch
-Early life:Kasch was born of Scottish heritage in Santa Monica, California and raised in Ojai, California on a working ranch until he was nearly fourteen, when he moved to Camarillo, California.-Movie career:...
played Mary Alice's and Paul's troubled and mentally unstable son Zach Young, and James Denton
James Denton
James "Jamie" Thomas Denton, Jr. is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Mike Delfino in the television series Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...
portrayed the neighborhood plumber and Susan's love interest, Mike Delfino
Mike Delfino
Michael "Mike" Delfino is the name of a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor James Denton.- Season 1 :...
, who has a secret of his own.
Numerous supporting characters have been given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including Doug Savant
Doug Savant
Douglas Peter "Doug" Savant is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Matt Fielding on Melrose Place and Tom Scavo on the ABC dramedy series Desperate Housewives.-Career:...
, who played Tom Scavo
Tom Scavo
Thomas "Tom" Scavo is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by actor Doug Savant.Tom originally was a recurring throughout the first season but became a regular in season two. Early storylines often revolve around Tom's working habits and that he is alway...
and Lynette's husband, who is often away on business. Savant later became a series regular, Shawn Pyfrom
Shawn Pyfrom
Shawn Caminiti Pyfrom is an American actor who has appeared in several television series and movies, and is best known for his portrayal of Andrew Van de Kamp on ABC's Desperate Housewives-Life and career:...
as Bree and Rex's rebellious and headstrong son Andrew Van de Kamp
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....
. Kathryn Joosten
Kathryn Joosten
Kathryn Joosten is an American television actress best known for her regular role as Karen McCluskey in Desperate Housewives and for her recurring role in The West Wing as Dolores Landingham.-Early life:...
acted as Lynette's neighbor across the street, Mrs. McCluskey
Karen McCluskey
Karen McCluskey Bender is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by Kathryn Joosten, who won the Emmy Award twice for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2008.-Overview:Karen McCluskey was born in 1943, quickly wed and...
and Christine Estabrook
Christine Estabrook
Christine Estabrook is an American television and film actress. She has been featured in several motion pictures mostly in supporting roles...
as the neighborhood Martha Huber.
Viewership and reviews
The pilot episode, which aired on October 3, 2004, garnered 21.6 million viewers, ranking first in its time slot of 9:00 pm Eastern Time ZoneEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
(ET) (8:00 pm Central Time Zone (Americas) [CT]). It was the most-viewed ABC season premiere since 1996's Spin City
Spin City
Spin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
. After airing three episodes of Desperate Housewives, ABC picked the series up for a full season. Overall, the first season averaged 23.7 million viewers for the 23 episodes aired in the U.S., including the season's largest audience of more than 30 million viewers of the season finale. Of the regular primetime programming that aired during the 2004–2005 American television season, Desperate Housewives ranked 4th out of 156 programs, according to the Nielsen Ratings system.
Critical reception was generally favorable. Robert Bianco
Robert Bianco
Robert Bianco is an American television critic. He currently works for USA Today and has an online column. He began his career as a restaurant critic in Pittsburgh and eventually became a television critic at the Pittsburgh Press.-References:...
of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
gave the pilot a score of four stars out of four, calling it "[r]efreshingly original, bracingly adult and thoroughly delightful", and going on to say that "[Desperate] Housewives is a brightly colored, darkly comic take on suburban life, sort of Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
meets The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
by way of Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
." Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
thought that Desperate Housewives was "a brilliantly conceived and relentlessly entertaining new drama". Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
commented that the series had "marvelous tonal elasticity". Peter Schorn of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
felt that season one was "blessed with an attractive cast (sing the praises of older women!), sharp writing and a funky vibe of its own" and that "Desperate Housewives was able to take some of the oldest formulas in the book and infuse them with their own subversive twists to whip up a frothy confection of sly wit and dark motives." Schorn gave the season a score of 9 out of 10.
Some critics were not as enthusiastic, however. On reviewing the DVD release of the season, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Dalton Ross gave it a B+ grade, selecting the pilot, "Who's That Woman?", "Guilty", "Children Will Listen" and the season finale "One Wonderful Day" as the season's best episodes, and "Suspicious Minds", "Your Fault" and "Love is in the Air" as the season's worst. Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
felt that after a few episodes, "this dark exploration of the lives of women has not only slid quickly into clichés, but the acting feels forced and overplayed, the stories are wildly unrealistic, the direction is stuck in some awkward nowhereland between campy and leaden, and the voice-over is so grating and so peskily imitative of Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
that the whole package is almost unwatchable."
Awards
Season one was nominated for fifteen Primetime Emmy AwardPrimetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
s, winning six. They were in the categories of Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
This is a list of the winning and nominated programs of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
which was awarded Danny Elfman, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series which was awarded to Felicity Huffman for her portrayal of Lynette Scavo, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series which was awarded to Kathryn Joosten for her portrayal of Mrs. McCluskey, Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series which was awarded to Charles McDougall and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting – Comedy Series
-2000s:* 2000: Freaks and Geeks** Malcolm in the Middle** Sex and the City** Sports Night** Will & Grace* 2001: Ally McBeal** Ed** Frasier** Sex and the City** Will & Grace* 2002: Sex and the City...
. Teri Hatcher picked up a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for her portrayal of Susan Mayer. The season received four other Golden Globe nominations, winning one for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. The season also won two Screen Actors Guild Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
; one was awarded to Teri Hatcher in the category Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series and the other was under the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Episodes
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! style="background: #FF62D0;" |Written by
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(millions)
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DVD release
The season was released on DVD by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in the US on September 20, 2005, after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including blooperBlooper
A blooper, also known as an outtake or boner is a short sequence of a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words...
s, deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s, audio commentary and behind-the-scenes featurettes. It includes all episodes in HD.
| Desperate Housewives – The Complete First Season | ||||
| Set details | Special features | |||
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|
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| Release dates | ||||
| September 20, 2005 | October 10, 2005 | November 28, 2005 | ||
External links
- Desperate Housewives episode list at ABC.com
- Desperate Housewives episode guide at Channel 4.com