Sunday, April 13, 2008

Welcome Back

The Desperate Housewives spring premiere is finally here! So much goodwill has been engendered form me to this season throughout the fall section of the season that, for the first time since the second season premiere, I really, truly have been waiting with bated breath to find out what happens next on Wisteria Lane.

But first, I really enjoyed tonight's The Simpsons episode, featuring the return of Lurlene Lumpkin. The only episodes that seem to have much continuity in The Simpsons are the Sideshow Bob ones and ones dealing with Homer's mother (thanks to "That 90s Show", I can no longer say the same about Homer and Marge's courtship... sigh... even if it did poke fun at the fact that it's long been accepted that Homer impregnated Marge and she had Bart basically right out of high school, but there are a missing 10 years of their lives together...) Anyway, it was nice to have Lurlene back (as well as Colonel Homer, Marge's grating teeth, etc etc etc). And some entertaining Britney Spears parallels (IMHO).

Back to Wisteria Lane...

So, Katherine (apparently) killer his first husband. Not a huge shock, but huzzah to Dana Delany for playing this potentially arch character so human, so controlled, so subtle. Can't wait to find out the whole truth about this.

And bravo to the show for having all the ladies (minus Edie, see later) in the opening moments in an easy, breezy scene that really reminds us who each lady is.

Susan's accountant cousin is ick... but the show very, very much needs those "slightly forbidden love" and "hot male actor" elements, so I say keep him for a little while (and for the love of god, don't bring back Jesse Metcalfe... we're done with him!) Since he knew Katherine Mayfair as Katherine Davis, I suspect he'll be around for a bit and will help us get to the bottom or the mystery... in one way or another (see ick, add sleeping with Dylan Mayfair... although they've been keeping the person he's sleeping with off screen, so I'm actually suspecting it's not Dylan so much as it's Katherine).

How much do I love Lynette for getting her family to go to church, going to Bree's church, and ASKING QUESTIONS after the sermon after introducing herself as Bree's friend. Price. Less.

Edie needs to go. I'm sorry, but she no longer has a plot, and though she's playing that "Wicked Witch of Wisteria Lane" role so campily, it just serves to take time away from the other characters who, shock!, have interesting plotlines. And make room for more Dana Delany.

Also, Carlos, now blind, needs to go. I suspect that the "OMG SPOILER" TVGuide information about the closing moments of this season will address the removal of both he and Edie, as well as letting Felicity Huffan work without the post-chemo head covering (and wigs). At least, if they do what has been reported, these are issues that can be taken care of (though I suspect anything permanently fatal happening to Edie or Carlos would happen onscreen over these seven hours). The only way to free Gaby from her on-off relationship with Carlos is to, well, off him. It can also get rid of Julie.

Actually, now that I'm 2/3 through the episode, can Gaby leave? I mean... pulling physical comedy pranks on the blind (even if it's to get him to admit that he's permanently, not temporarily, blind)? That's low. Hahah, she just said "do you really think I'm that shallow?" Yes, Gaby. Yes. We do. Aw, that scene turned out so touching. Now I'm actually feeling bad about the above, predicting Carlos' imminent death so that Gaby could move on. Layers, people. She's growing layers.

OMG IT WAS KATHERINE. I'm not so sure this lowers the "ick" on Cousin Timmy, but... hey, whatevs! "By the way, your boob is out." That whole scene was genius. GENIUS.

The Bree/Lynette church/faith plot has been both touching and comic, but I really don't need to hear phrases like "faith shouldn't be blind" when a different character's plotline actually is about blindness.

More on Katherine/Timmy... so their Gabrielle Solis / John Rowland esque affair (seriously, the 16 year olds on Wisteria Lane are just naturally inclined to be hot for the housewives... must in the water) happened 12 years ago. Just around the time Katherine left Wisteria Lane before. Hm. And, lo and behold, it seems Tim Tim (I'm going to keep trying these on for size to see if any stick better than the others) witnessed her killing (or not) her first husband.

Wow. I LOLed more during this episode than I did through Thursday's The Office (which, upon second viewing, was better once I got over the gross misfire that was returning to the airwaves with an episode not set at the Dunder Mifflin office... but I still didn't see it at anything resembling a series best).

Bravo, Desperate Housewives, and welcome back.

I'm recording Eli Stone (which I stopped watching after three episodes) because, what the hell, but I won't post about it unless I manage to make it through the whole thing... I'm curious how the show has changed and if it has improved.

... okay, so I made it through the episode. The show is not nearly as whimsically fanciful as it was (at least in this episode). A marked improvement. It was easy to follow the continuing plots I didn't see since I stopped watching. I'm intrigued if/how they continue with this earthquake cliffhanger, mostly because it is an interesting way to turn the show's premise on its head. In as much as it is an event that could make other people start really believing Eli (which it would seem they do not do) just as he is headed into surgery to get the aneurysm that may/may not cause his visions. It would be interesting for this Thursday's episode's cliffhanger to leave Eli on the operating table, his survival in question... especially if it turns out to be a series finale instead of a season finale, as it would put the question of faith to each viewer for how it turns out. Probably not how it'll go down, but whatever.

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