Amidst all the writers’ strike hubub this week, ABC announced its renewals for the 2008/2009 season.

Besides the obvious Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Ugly Betty and Brothers and Sisters, the Alphabet gave the greenlight to freshman series’ Dirty Sexy Money, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies and Samantha Who?.

I’d say that this is representative of the very strong season that ABC has put up this year. They’ve offered up some quality programming, and I’m excited to see that these (sometimes) underappreciated programs will be making a return next year.

Unbelievablly, no word on whether Cavemen will return. (Dear Lord, no.)

Season 4, Episode 10 - Welcome to Kanagawa

Tonight saw the final “canned” episode of Desperate Housewives, due to the (everyone say it together now) writers strike. I wrote the review of the last episode, “Something’s Coming”, thinking it was the final episode to air, but my math must have been a bit off.

“Welcome to Kanagawa” deals with the aftermath of the tornado that struck Wysteria Lane. Not entirely surprisingly, Carlos survived the night, though Victor and Ida Greenberg fell victim to the twister. Was anyone really expecting Tom or one of the kids to die?

I was pretty harsh about the last episode, mainly because it seemed too hasty to wrap up loose end storylines that had just appeared in the past couple of episodes. This episode was absolutely an improvement. I actually found myself laughing out loud at parts, a reaction that I haven’t had to the show in quite a while.

I do have a couple of complaints, though. This really seemed like one of those return episodes, where they are back from the Christmas break, and ready to open up some fresh plots. Carlos’ blindness, his newfound “poverty” with Gabby, and the Susan/Bree roomate situation all played as the first chapter in an arc that would end in May. But I think we all realize that’s not going to happen now. That wouldn’t really be a concern if the show was continuing.

My other, oft-repeated complaint deals with the Adam and Katherine “secret”. As has been par for the course all season long, they’ve managed to string us along without so much as a little morsel to nibble on. Tonight, Adam (it’s nice to see Nathan Fillion finally step out of his perpetually morose state that he’s been in on the show) and Dylan finally discover the truth about what Katherine did…but of course we still don’t have any real indication of what that was. In Marc Cherry’s shoes, wouldn’t you want to leave with a substantial cliffhanger if you knew that you would likely not be back for eight months? This subplot has been horrendous, and possibly the worst thing I’ve seen on Desperate Housewives.

But I’ve ranted on long enough about that mess. There was a lot that I liked about the episode. The bonding between Lynette and Ms. McKluskey was really quite beautiful. Gabrielle’s attempt to track down Carlos’ money, though maybe a bit overdone, was pretty entertaining…ditto for Bree trying to pimp out her son. All in all, despite a few flaws, I genuinely felt like it was one of the best episodes of the season.

So long Wysteria Lane. See ya in September (hopefully).

A-

Desperate Housewives apparently has one more episode in the can, and ABC has announced when that episode will air.

“Welcome to Kanagawa” will air on January 6, and we’ll find out who else was killed in the tornado that hit Wysteria Lane in the December 2 episode, “Something’s Coming”. It’ll come as no surprise that Victor is not among the living, as he has a white picket fence buried in his chest, and the wasted opportunity of Adam’s stalker, Sylvia, will also be killed off. Carlos’ fate is still up in the air, but I don’t really think anyone expects him to be anything but unconscious. There is, however, one more death that we didn’t see, that presumably took place in the home where Tom Scavo and Ida were hiding.

A source told TVGuide that “It’s even better than the last [episode]”. Good, because the last episode sucked.

That’s a horrible title isn’t it? Well, it’s true. According to BuddyTV Felicity Huffman, when asked who she would like to see not make it out of the tornado cliffhanger that ended the current run of episodes of the series, she said:

“I wanted some of Lynette’s kids to die; is that terrible to say?…They’re all lovely little actors, but there’s such anticipation that all of Lynette’s family won’t make it back.”

That’s a good job trying to smooth it over there at the end Felicity.

The only known casualties of the Tornado Victor and Sylvia. There is no word yet on when Desperate Housewives will return to tell us just who survived.

Season 4, Episode 9 - Something’s Coming

My apprehensions about Lost’s abbreviated season was realized in tonight’s episode of Desperate Housewives. It was painfully obvious that there were many storylines that simply did not have enough time to get started before this blasted strike stepped in.

First of all, what I call the “big” mystery got some “resolution” tonight. We now know why Katherine and Adam were forced to leave his Chicago job…he had an affair with a woman who kinda went off the deep end. That’s it? With the subplots we’ve seen in the past, that just came across a bit lame. And then the mistress, who was just introduced last week was killed off this week. To say it was rushed would be an understatement.

Anyway, Bree and Katherine came to some kind of nutty mutual understanding through the course of things, and it looks like they’re going to be buddy-buddy. Hopefully there’s more in the future…we still don’t know what happened to cause Katherine to leave in the first place. And Nathan Fillion has been grossly underused this season.

On the Mike and Susan front, they get in a fight and she takes a tumble down the stairs, resulting in a quick trip to the hospital. They get all mushy and Susan threatens to take the baby and leave if he doesn’t clean up, which he of course does. I wasn’t a fan of all of this, because it was something that should have been resolved last week.

Edie finds out about Carlos’ money and that he and Gabby are planning to run away to escape Victor’s wrath. Subsequently, because of her, the only instructions on how to access the funds are swept away in the tornado. Now, I’ve spent some time in banking, though I never dealt with Cayman accounts, but surely those papers are not the only way to access the money. Regardless, Edie and Gabby take shelter together, and end up quickly getting back in each others’ good graces. Meanwhile, elsewhere on Wysteria Lane, Victor show up to confront Carlos and Gabby, but only finds Carlos. They struggle, and Victor is randomly killed by flying debris.

Finally, the Lynette storyline. Lynette lays the guilt trip on Ms. McLusky and convinces her to let her family join up with her in her basement, and…blah blah blah…cat…blah blah blah…Tom’s allergic…blah blah blah…Lynette sneaks the cat outside and then goes after it with Ms McLusky. They end up taking refuge from the storm in the Scavo home. When they come out, Lynette sees the McKlusky house, where Tom and the kids were hiding, is leveled, resulting in the gut-wrenching scream we’ve all seen in the previews.

So, I’ll admit, the cliffhanger was great, but it didn’t do anything to make up for the horrendous fifty-eight minutes that preceded it. I’m not exaggerating when I say this was possibly the worst episode of Housewives I’ve ever seen. This is exactly what happens when they rush to complete these hanging subplots. Take The Office, they didn’t go out of their way to set up some elaborate cliffhanger…not that they really had a choice, but still, I’d rather have a season wrap up the way The Office did than how DH was handled. This is exactly what happens when you try to force am ending, and if Lost follows suit, then I am incredibly nervous.

Episode grade: D
Season grade: C-

Season 4, Episode 8 - Distant Past

‘ll start with something a little off-topic. Because of the way the Thanksgiving holiday fell, I wasn’t able to watch Private Practice until the weekend. Did anyone else find it a bit off-putting that they used Joy Lauren, who plays Danielle on DH, in the part of the girl who has just had a baby and is wanting to give it up? I mean, of all the potential girls to play that part on Private Practice, they pick the one girl who plays almost the exact same role on another ABC series. I’m sure that confused more than a few viewers…it sure threw me for a minute.

Anyway, on to the review. The show seems to have been in a bit of a slump over the past few installments, but this week was a definite improvement.

Bree and Orson are still trying to become accustomed to life with a new baby. I guess I can really relate to this story…we have a child that just turned two, and I remember the “family bed”. Orson was a bit more uptight than I was, though. The stress seems to manifest itself the most in Andrew, who decides to move out so that Bree doesn’t have to be reminded of her “flawed” first attempt at motherhood with him. All this led up to a very heart-warming scene between him and her dealing with their mutual forgiveness.

Meanwhile, Mike’s drug addiction is coming to a head. When his young and attractive dealer comes to his house to collect, Susan decides to try to hook him up with Julie. I was actually pretty excited about this storyline, especially after Mike confronted him. The concept of the dealer (whose name escapes me) moving in on Mike’s family while Mike watches powerlessly is really intriguing, but, like all of my favorite stories, it was over too soon. While Mike’s confrontation and confession was exactly what I would have expected, I would have liked it to continue a bit.

Katherine was absent tonight, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t any story progression on that front. Adam had a stalker. That’s it. It’s starting to feel like they know that we don’t care about this plot and are just tacking bits on out of obligation.

The Carlos/Gabrielle/Victor plot remains my favorite. While I do get tired of the “We can’t go to the cops” mindset (come on, they always find out), the drama is getting thicker and thicker. And Victor’s chilling threat at the end was enough to get me really pumped about where the show is heading.

Alas, there is only one more episode before Desperate Housewives falls victim to that pesky strike, so the momentum that is being built could quickly come to a stop. Tonight, though, was good.

B+

Season 4, Episode 7 - “You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover”

Have you ever found yourself so spread out that you feel like you’re not doing a few things well, but rather doing a lot of things passably? That’s the impression that I get from DH this season. There are a lot of storylines that they’re trying to tell, and in doing so, they can’t devote enough attention to any one in particular.

Tonight, Bree and Orson have a bit of a squabble about the circumcision of “their” new baby. Though it wasn’t my favorite episode for the couple, the final scene between them was beautiful enough to warrant all that came before.

The “big” mystery with the newcomers still just doesn’t grab my interest. In my opinion, this should be one of the main thrusts of the show, not just a couple of throwaway scenes every week. And tonight, there wasn’t any real progress made. Dylan decided she wanted to meet her dad, and then changed her mind. That was it. Any storyteller will tell you that the central purpose is to move the story along, and anything that doesn’t do that is, simply, unnecessary. There may have been some kind of progression tonight, but I’d there was, I missed it.

Susan found out that Mike was popping pills behind her back, and, when ahe confronted him, he did the stereotypical thing…he didnt give it up. Why can theae two not just work everything out?

I think I really liked the plot with Lynette and her mom and sisters, but seeing Sarah Paulson just reminded me that I’m still pissed about Studio 60 being gone.

Finally, it may surprise you, but I actually really got into the Gabby/Victor/Carlos story tonight. Sure, it may have been a bit cliche, but I’m a sucker for film noir, and this had it in spades. And does anyone really think Victor is gone for good?

I may sound overly critical, but I’m just passionate. I remember how phenomenal the show was back in the first season, and I believe the show can get there again. But it has to be better than tonight was.

C+

Desperate Housewives will be the first primetime soap/drama to cease production because of the writer’s strike according to BuddyTV.

The writer’s of the show have joined the picket lines, and they only had 9 scripts complete before the strike. Production will stop this week, and the holiday hiatus cliffhanger may end up being the end of the show’s current season.

Actress Eva Longoria has joined the writer’s by handing out pizzas on the picket lines. “We are done, and we’ll be on the lines supporting you,” she told them.

Season 4 Episode 5

Desperate Housewives usually does a good job of having enough storylines out there to find one you care about. Typically, there are so many threads woven together throughout any given episode that you can find one to latch on to. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case with “Art Isn’t Easy”. In this episode, there were three quite uninteresting subplots in the air.

First, the predominant story was the Homeowners’ Association election, which is basically a vessel to reestablish that newcomer Katherine is still a witch, newcomer Lee is one as well, and Susan and Lynette’s friendship triumphs over all. Honestly, there wasn’t much in the way of any story progression here, just a lot of politicking.

Next up is the affair between Gabby and Carlos. In this episode, during one of their getaways, they run into John, who was the cause of their original breakup, in the first place (who says this isn’t a soap opera). Finally, the couple agrees to end their respective “legit” relationships and get back together. Unbeknownst to them, their fling has been caught on camera.

Finally, the story that I found the most compelling was Bree and Orson playing Danielle against her grandmother for the right to raise her child. I usually find Bree to be my favorite character on the show, despite the fact (or maybe because of the fact) that she has a pretty large gray moral area. The bit with her and Rex’s mother at the end was quite touching, and sereved as one of those moments that reminds you why you care about a show.. Next week things should gear up on this front, as the placenta hits the fan (too much?).

The central mystery this season is twofold: what caused Katherine to leave in such a hurry, and why were she and Adam forced to return? I believe that the “big mysteries” have been becoming less and less compelling as the seasons move on, and this season is no exception. Is it just me, or is anyone else quickly losing interest?

Episode grade: C

The musical episode of ‘Scrubs’ this season was probably the best episode of the whole series.  I’ve even got the “Guy Love” video on my iPhone right now…wait, that doesn’t sound right.  I’ve got the music video of the song “Guy Love” that they sang in the episode.

Yeah, that’s better.

Anywho…apparently Marc Cherry is contemplating doing the same thing with his creation, ‘Desperate Housewives’.  Teri Hatcher has already taken on musicals with a Chicago run of “Cabaret”, as well as a performance in a Hollywood nightspot, where showgoers said she was “sultry and sexy”.  And Nicolette Sheridan performed a duet with boyfriend Michael “Why should I change?  He’s the one that sucks” Bolton on his latest CD. 

I really can’t imagine this working for DH.  While the show is far from realistic, it lacks that absurd humor that ‘Scrubs’ has that allows a musical episode to work.  But, hey, it worked for ‘Buffy’ back in the day.

(Source: Variety)