The Chase (Desperate Housewives)
Encyclopedia
"The Chase" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season
of the American comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives
, and the 127th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on ABC
in the United States on February 28, 2010. In the episode, Gabrielle
(Eva Longoria
) gets a break from the children when one of them catches chickenpox
, Lynette
(Felicity Huffman
) forgets her daughter's birthday, and Katherine
(Dana Delany
) continues to explore her feelings of lesbian
ism.
The episode was written by John Pardee
and Joey Murphy
, and directed by Larry Shaw
. It included the third in a string of guest appearances by Julie Benz
, a former stripper who serves as a romantic interest for Katherine. The pairing marked the first lesbian relationship in Desperate Housewives. "The Chase" also marked the first appearance of Samuel Page
, who plays a mysterious man named Sam Allen who takes an unusually strong interest in Bree
(Marcia Cross
).
"The Chase" received generally mixed to negative reviews. According to Nielsen Media Research
, the episode was seen by 10.89 million viewers, making it the second lowest rated Desperate Housewives episode at the time. Viewership for "The Chase" suffered due to competition from the 2010 Winter Olympics
closing ceremony.
focuses on the lives of several residents on the suburban neighborhood of Wisteria Lane
. In recent episodes, Susan Mayer
(Teri Hatcher
) has encouraged a stripper Robin Gallagher (Julie Benz
) to quit her job and turn her life around. Robin briefly lived with Susan, but moved out after Susan became jealous of Robin living in the same house as her husband, Mike Delfino
(James Denton
). Robin moved in with Katherine Mayfair
(Dana Delany
) and revealed she was a lesbian, prompting the heterosexual Katherine to start developing romantic feelings for Robin. Lynette
(Felicity Huffman
) is pregnant, despite being a middle-aged career woman and already having four children. This has caused strain for Lynette and her husband, Tom Scavo
(Doug Savant
). Bree
(Marcia Cross
) is the ambitious owner of a catering company, and her son Andrew
(Shawn Pyfrom
) works as her personal assistant. Angie
(Drea de Matteo
) and Nick Bolen (Jeffrey Nordling
) recently moved onto Wisteria Lane to escape circumstances in their old home of New York City that are yet to be fully explained. Gabrielle and her husband Carlos Solis
(Ricardo Antonio Chavira
) overheard the Bolens arguing about their circumstances, and have grown concerned about their niece Ana (Maiara Walsh
) dating the Bolens' son, Danny (Beau Mirchoff
). As a result, they convinced Ana to leave Danny and pursue her modeling career in New York City, but Danny has secretly gone into the city to find her.
Celia Solis (Daniella Baltodano), one of the Solis' daughters, comes down with chickenpox
. Since Gabrielle (Eva Longoria
) has never had the illness, she is forced to leave the house. She stays with neighbors Bob (Tuc Watkins
) and Lee (Kevin Rahm
), where she enjoys partying and drinking with them so much she tries to prolong her visit. During a party, Gabrielle accidentally stumbles into a nursery, and learns Bob and Lee have been trying to adopt a baby. With a new appreciation for her children, Gabrielle returns home.
Distracted by her pregnancy, Lynette and Tom are horrified to realize they have forgotten their daughter Penny's (Kendall Applegate) birthday. Lynette tries to organize a last-minute party, but mistakenly has the wrong name written on her cake. Penny runs away and checks into a hotel room, where Lynette tracks her and apologizes. Penny said she is jealous of her unborn sister, but Lynette jokes the women will outnumber the men in the family when the baby is born.
One of Bree's employees, Tad (Eric Ian Colton), keeps making major mistakes, but Andrew defends him. Later, a mysterious man named Sam Allen (Samuel Page
) visits Bree, insisting he understands her values and wants to work for her. Although initially hesitant, Bree is impressed and hires him. Later, Andrew gets upset when Bree plans to fire Tad, and Sam correctly assesses that Andrew is having an affair with him. Later, Sam hints to Bree that Andrew should be let go, then secretly drinks coffee from Andrew's "World's Greatest Son" mug.
Susan encourages her elderly neighbor Roy (Orson Bean
) to propose to his girlfriend Karen
(Kathryn Joosten
), and he does so after Karen indicates she wants to get married. Later, however, Roy laments to Susan about being put in the situation, and fears he will start lusting after other women now that he is engaged. Later, Karen learns she may have lung cancer
. Roy tells Susan he is marrying Karen because he now realizes he does not want to lose Karen, and is sure she will beat the cancer.
Danny Bolen leaves a note claiming to be camping with his friend Eddie (Josh Zuckerman
), but Angie runs into Eddie at a grocery store and realizes Danny has actually run off to New York City seeking Ana. Fearing a man from their past named Patrick will find Danny, Angie and Nick head to New York to find him.
and Joey Murphy
, and directed by Larry Shaw
. It originally aired on ABC
in the United States on February 28, 2010, and was broadcast on CTV
in Canada the same day. The episode introduced the character Sam Allen, a mysterious man who starts working for Bree and takes what appears to be an unusually strong interest in her. The character, who is set to appear in several episodes, is played by Samuel Page
, an actor best known as the husband of Christina Hendricks
' character Joan Holloway
in the AMC drama series Mad Men
. "The Chase" marked the third in a string of at least four guest appearances by actress Julie Benz as Robin Gallagher, a former stripper seeking a new life. Benz joined the show soon after her departure as a regular cast member from the Showtime drama series Dexter
, where her character Rita Morgan was killed in the fourth season finale, "The Getaway
". Benz said of filming the episode, "'The girls are all so fun to work with and have welcomed me with open arms. I'm so thrilled that there is such a buzz about my character's relationship with Dana's."
"The Chase" continued an ongoing storyline of Katherine Mayfair exploring her sexuality. The pairing of Katherine and Robin marks the first lesbian relationship in Desperate Housewives. Actress Dana Delany praised the subplot. She said she did not know if the character would become a lesbian permanently, because the story lines change so often in Desperate Housewives, but that series creator Marc Cherry
"is interested in playing the complexity of that". Delany compared Katherine's new realizations to that of actress Meredith Baxter
, who realized she was a lesbian late in her life after entering into a relationship with a woman. Delany said she believed her character would be taken by surprise by the new feelings she is experiencing: "I think that she’s still so emotionally vulnerable from getting out of the loony bin, and I think she and Robin connect on a kind of wounded, emotional level. And I think if anything, she’s feeling this kind of emotional solace with her, and that draws her to Robin in a physical way, and that’s confusing to her."
. Among viewers between ages 18 and 49, it received a 3.6 rating/9 share, which at the time was the lowest rating for an individual episode of Desperate Housewives in series history. This continued a downward trend in the ratings for the show: each of the previous three episodes had been the lowest rated in series history until the airing of the next episode in the subsequent week. "The Chase" dropped in viewership three percent from the previous episode, "Lovely
". Like that episode, "The Chase" suffered in the ratings partially due to competition from the NBC
broadcast of the 2010 Winter Olympics
, which drew an estimated 21.3 million viewers. Desperate Housewives was also outperformed by the CBS
reality series Undercover Boss
which, in its fourth episode, drew 15.15 million viewers.
The episode received generally mixed to negative reviews. Entertainment Weekly
writer Tanner Stransky
was highly critical of the episode, describing the Gabrielle story as predictable, the Susan subplot as boring and the overall Bolen story arc as too slow in developing. Stransky also felt the Katherine and Robin pairing was unbelievable, and questioned whether the show's audiences of families and midwesterners would respond well to a lesbian pairing. Gael Fashingbauer Cooper of MSNBC
praised Longoria for turning what he said could have been a gloomy story into "a gleeful fantasy". Cooper said the character was fun and funny but ultimately heartfelt and caring. Conversely, Cooper said the subplots involving the other housewives were "all pretty standard, and dreary, stuff".
Los Angeles Times
writer Gerrick Kennedy said he liked the Robin character's charm and chemistry with Katherine, and said their story arc "has already grown infinitely more interesting than the Angie Bolen mystery". He said the relationship made more sense for Katherine than her previous subplots involving her romance with Mike and her mental breakdown following their break-up. Isabelle Carreau of TV Squad said she was glad the episode was centered around the supporting cast, particularly praising the attention to Bob and Lee, but she said that did not like the direction the Andrew character had taken, and felt the relationship between Katherine and Robin had evolved too fast.
Desperate Housewives (season 6)
The sixth season of Desperate Housewives, a television series created by Marc Cherry, began airing on September 27, 2009 and concluded on May 16, 2010.The season consisted of 23 episodes. The deceased Mary Alice Young continues to narrate the events in the lives of her friends and Wisteria Lane...
of the American comedy-drama 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...
, and the 127th overall episode of the series. It originally aired 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...
in the United States on February 28, 2010. In the episode, Gabrielle
Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solís is one of four main characters on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She is portrayed by Eva Longoria...
(Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
) gets a break from the children when one of them catches chickenpox
Chickenpox
Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring...
, 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...
(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...
) forgets her daughter's birthday, and Katherine
Katherine Mayfair
Katherine Mayfair is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
(Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
) continues to explore her feelings of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
ism.
The episode was written by 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...
and 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 directed by 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...
. It included the third in a string of guest appearances by Julie Benz
Julie Benz
Julie M. Benz is an American actress, best known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and as Rita Bennett on Dexter, for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television...
, a former stripper who serves as a romantic interest for Katherine. The pairing marked the first lesbian relationship in Desperate Housewives. "The Chase" also marked the first appearance of Samuel Page
Samuel Page
Samuel Page is an American actor. He is credited under the name Sam Page.-Early life:...
, who plays a mysterious man named Sam Allen who takes an unusually strong interest in 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...
(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...
).
"The Chase" received generally mixed to negative reviews. According to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, the episode was seen by 10.89 million viewers, making it the second lowest rated Desperate Housewives episode at the time. Viewership for "The Chase" suffered due to competition from the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
closing ceremony.
Back story
Desperate HousewivesDesperate 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...
focuses on the lives of several residents on the suburban neighborhood of 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...
. In recent episodes, 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...
(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...
) has encouraged a stripper Robin Gallagher (Julie Benz
Julie Benz
Julie M. Benz is an American actress, best known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and as Rita Bennett on Dexter, for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television...
) to quit her job and turn her life around. Robin briefly lived with Susan, but moved out after Susan became jealous of Robin living in the same house as her husband, 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 :...
(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:...
). Robin moved in with 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...
(Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
) and revealed she was a lesbian, prompting the heterosexual Katherine to start developing romantic feelings for Robin. 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...
(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...
) is pregnant, despite being a middle-aged career woman and already having four children. This has caused strain for Lynette and her husband, 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...
(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:...
). 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...
(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...
) is the ambitious owner of a catering company, and 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....
(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:...
) works as her personal assistant. Angie
Angie Bolen
Angela De Luca is a fictional character played by Drea de Matteo on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and appeared throughout the series' sixth season from September 27, 2009 to May 16, 2010...
(Drea de Matteo
Drea de Matteo
Drea de Matteo is an American television actress, perhaps best known for her roles Joey Tribbiani's sister Gina on the NBC sitcom Joey, as Angie Bolen on ABC's Desperate Housewives, and as Adriana La Cerva on the acclaimed HBO TV series The Sopranos, a role for which she won the Primetime Emmy...
) and Nick Bolen (Jeffrey Nordling
Jeffrey Nordling
Jeffrey Richard Nordling is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jake Manning in Once and Again, Larry Moss in 24, and Nick Bolen in Desperate Housewives; and in the following films: And the Band Played On, Flight 93, Pirates of Silicon Valley, and the film D3: The Mighty Ducks.-Early...
) recently moved onto Wisteria Lane to escape circumstances in their old home of New York City that are yet to be fully explained. Gabrielle and her 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...
(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:...
) overheard the Bolens arguing about their circumstances, and have grown concerned about their niece Ana (Maiara Walsh
Maiara Walsh
Maiara Walsh is a Brazilian American actress and singer known for playing Ana Solis on the sixth season of the hit ABC show, Desperate Housewives, and as Meena Paroom on the Disney Channel sitcom Cory in the House...
) dating the Bolens' son, Danny (Beau Mirchoff
Beau Mirchoff
William Beau Mirchoff is an American actor, best known for starring as Danny Bolen on the sixth season of ABC's Desperate Housewives . He also appeared in films such as Scary Movie 4 and The Grudge 3...
). As a result, they convinced Ana to leave Danny and pursue her modeling career in New York City, but Danny has secretly gone into the city to find her.
Episode
Still struggling with her growing feelings of lesbianism, Katherine has a dream in which she seduces Robin. Katherine's therapist suggests she stop living with Robin because she is interfering with her recovery. Later, while celebrating Robin's new job, she accidentally spills champagne on her top and takes it off, causing Katherine to blurt out that she wants her to leave because she has feelings for her. Robin agrees to leave, but Katherine follows her upstairs, and they end up in bed together.Celia Solis (Daniella Baltodano), one of the Solis' daughters, comes down with chickenpox
Chickenpox
Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring...
. Since Gabrielle (Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
) has never had the illness, she is forced to leave the house. She stays with neighbors Bob (Tuc Watkins
Tuc Watkins
Tuc 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...
) and Lee (Kevin Rahm
Kevin Rahm
Kevin 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...
), where she enjoys partying and drinking with them so much she tries to prolong her visit. During a party, Gabrielle accidentally stumbles into a nursery, and learns Bob and Lee have been trying to adopt a baby. With a new appreciation for her children, Gabrielle returns home.
Distracted by her pregnancy, Lynette and Tom are horrified to realize they have forgotten their daughter Penny's (Kendall Applegate) birthday. Lynette tries to organize a last-minute party, but mistakenly has the wrong name written on her cake. Penny runs away and checks into a hotel room, where Lynette tracks her and apologizes. Penny said she is jealous of her unborn sister, but Lynette jokes the women will outnumber the men in the family when the baby is born.
One of Bree's employees, Tad (Eric Ian Colton), keeps making major mistakes, but Andrew defends him. Later, a mysterious man named Sam Allen (Samuel Page
Samuel Page
Samuel Page is an American actor. He is credited under the name Sam Page.-Early life:...
) visits Bree, insisting he understands her values and wants to work for her. Although initially hesitant, Bree is impressed and hires him. Later, Andrew gets upset when Bree plans to fire Tad, and Sam correctly assesses that Andrew is having an affair with him. Later, Sam hints to Bree that Andrew should be let go, then secretly drinks coffee from Andrew's "World's Greatest Son" mug.
Susan encourages her elderly neighbor Roy (Orson Bean
Orson Bean
Orson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
) to propose to his girlfriend Karen
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...
(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:...
), and he does so after Karen indicates she wants to get married. Later, however, Roy laments to Susan about being put in the situation, and fears he will start lusting after other women now that he is engaged. Later, Karen learns she may have lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. Roy tells Susan he is marrying Karen because he now realizes he does not want to lose Karen, and is sure she will beat the cancer.
Danny Bolen leaves a note claiming to be camping with his friend Eddie (Josh Zuckerman
Josh Zuckerman (actor)
Joshua Ryan "Josh" Zuckerman is an American actor. Perhaps he is known for playing Mark Hughgrant in the science fiction TV series Kyle XY, Eddie Orlofsky for Desperate Housewives both aired into ABC and currently Max Miller in the spin-off of 1990's TV adaption 90210 aired on The CW.-Life and...
), but Angie runs into Eddie at a grocery store and realizes Danny has actually run off to New York City seeking Ana. Fearing a man from their past named Patrick will find Danny, Angie and Nick head to New York to find him.
Production
"The Chase" was written by John PardeeJohn 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...
and 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 directed by 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...
. It originally aired 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...
in the United States on February 28, 2010, and was broadcast on CTV
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...
in Canada the same day. The episode introduced the character Sam Allen, a mysterious man who starts working for Bree and takes what appears to be an unusually strong interest in her. The character, who is set to appear in several episodes, is played by Samuel Page
Samuel Page
Samuel Page is an American actor. He is credited under the name Sam Page.-Early life:...
, an actor best known as the husband of Christina Hendricks
Christina Hendricks
Christina Rene Hendricks is an actress known for her role as Joan Holloway in the AMC cable television series Mad Men, and as Saffron in Fox's short-lived series Firefly. Hendricks was named "the sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine.-Personal...
' character Joan Holloway
Joan Holloway
Joan P. Harris is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men. She is portrayed by Christina Hendricks.-Fictional character biography:Joan was born on February 24, 1931....
in the AMC drama series Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
. "The Chase" marked the third in a string of at least four guest appearances by actress Julie Benz as Robin Gallagher, a former stripper seeking a new life. Benz joined the show soon after her departure as a regular cast member from the Showtime drama series Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
, where her character Rita Morgan was killed in the fourth season finale, "The Getaway
The Getaway (Dexter)
The Getaway is the fourth season finale of the American television drama series Dexter, and the 48th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Showtime on December 13, 2009. In the episode, Dexter goes to great lengths to stop Arthur, who now knows Dexter's true identity...
". Benz said of filming the episode, "'The girls are all so fun to work with and have welcomed me with open arms. I'm so thrilled that there is such a buzz about my character's relationship with Dana's."
"The Chase" continued an ongoing storyline of Katherine Mayfair exploring her sexuality. The pairing of Katherine and Robin marks the first lesbian relationship in Desperate Housewives. Actress Dana Delany praised the subplot. She said she did not know if the character would become a lesbian permanently, because the story lines change so often in Desperate Housewives, but that series creator Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry
Marc Cherry is an American writer and producer, best known for creating the show Desperate Housewives.-Early life and career:...
"is interested in playing the complexity of that". Delany compared Katherine's new realizations to that of actress Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter , also known for some years as Meredith Baxter-Birney, is an American actress and producer. She is known for her acting roles including three television series: Family , an ABC television-network drama, Family Ties , an NBC television-network situation comedy, and Dan Vs. , a...
, who realized she was a lesbian late in her life after entering into a relationship with a woman. Delany said she believed her character would be taken by surprise by the new feelings she is experiencing: "I think that she’s still so emotionally vulnerable from getting out of the loony bin, and I think she and Robin connect on a kind of wounded, emotional level. And I think if anything, she’s feeling this kind of emotional solace with her, and that draws her to Robin in a physical way, and that’s confusing to her."
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "The Chase" was seen by 10.89 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. Among viewers between ages 18 and 49, it received a 3.6 rating/9 share, which at the time was the lowest rating for an individual episode of Desperate Housewives in series history. This continued a downward trend in the ratings for the show: each of the previous three episodes had been the lowest rated in series history until the airing of the next episode in the subsequent week. "The Chase" dropped in viewership three percent from the previous episode, "Lovely
Lovely (Desperate Housewives)
"Lovely" is the fifteenth episode of the sixth season of the American comedy-drama series, Desperate Housewives, and the 126th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on ABC in the United States on February 21, 2010. In the episode, former stripper Robin Gallagher interacts with each of...
". Like that episode, "The Chase" suffered in the ratings partially due to competition from the 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...
broadcast of the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, which drew an estimated 21.3 million viewers. Desperate Housewives was also outperformed by the 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...
reality series Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss
Undercover Boss is a television franchise series that has been released in multiple countries, originating in 2009 on the British Channel 4...
which, in its fourth episode, drew 15.15 million viewers.
The episode received generally mixed to negative reviews. 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...
writer Tanner Stransky
Tanner Stransky
Tanner Stransky is a journalist and television critic for Entertainment Weekly. In 2005, he moved to New York City and took a job as an editorial assistant at Direct TV. He later received an offer from the New York Post to write about weddings and relationships...
was highly critical of the episode, describing the Gabrielle story as predictable, the Susan subplot as boring and the overall Bolen story arc as too slow in developing. Stransky also felt the Katherine and Robin pairing was unbelievable, and questioned whether the show's audiences of families and midwesterners would respond well to a lesbian pairing. Gael Fashingbauer Cooper of MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
praised Longoria for turning what he said could have been a gloomy story into "a gleeful fantasy". Cooper said the character was fun and funny but ultimately heartfelt and caring. Conversely, Cooper said the subplots involving the other housewives were "all pretty standard, and dreary, stuff".
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Gerrick Kennedy said he liked the Robin character's charm and chemistry with Katherine, and said their story arc "has already grown infinitely more interesting than the Angie Bolen mystery". He said the relationship made more sense for Katherine than her previous subplots involving her romance with Mike and her mental breakdown following their break-up. Isabelle Carreau of TV Squad said she was glad the episode was centered around the supporting cast, particularly praising the attention to Bob and Lee, but she said that did not like the direction the Andrew character had taken, and felt the relationship between Katherine and Robin had evolved too fast.
External links
- "The Chase" at ABC.comAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe 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...