The dark comedy Desperate Housewives (ABC) is an envelope-pushing sign of the times. Like L.A. Law, Dynasty, Melrose Place and other shows before it, this one’s murder/blackmail/affair/you-name-it-they’ve-done-it content is as high as its ratings, which, at an average of 20 million viewers each week, have singularly resurrected ABC as a network power.
Set on pristinely suburban Wisteria Lane, Desperate Housewives preaches a predictable message: Looks are deceiving. On the outside, the four leading ladies’ lives seem as perfect as their immaculately manicured lawns. The shocking suicide of their neighbor and close friend (which opens the series) dispels that assumption as viewers get a front-row seat for America’s most dysfunctional “neighborhood watch.”
Susan (Teri Hatcher) accidentally burns down a neighbor’s house, then convinces her daughter to hide evidence. Mother of four Lynette (Felicity Huffman) loses her rambunctious boys while trying to teach them a lesson. Bree (Marcia Cross), a Martha Stewart wannabe determined to keep up appearances, “accidentally” jeopardizes her husband’s life after he asks for a divorce. And former model Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) regularly beds her 17-year-old gardener because her hubby gives her everything but love.
While the show’s plot lines are multi-layered, its lewdness rises to the top. From partial nudity to explicit dialogue, Desperate Housewives takes such an in-your-face approach to sex that sponsors including Lowe’s, Tyson Foods and Kellogg’s have chosen to spend their ad dollars elsewhere. Slate magazine’s Dana Stevens called the show ABC’s attempt to “claw its way up from the position of fourth-place network with a ‘modern,’ HBO-style drama that borrows from the dark comedy of Six Feet Under and the gynocentric plotlines of Sex and the City.”
The show isn’t just raunchy. Lynette’s unfulfilling, chaotic role as a stay-at-home mom misrepresents and will likely offend full-time homemakers. Meanwhile, the neighborhood’s conniving gossip calls herself a Christian, and teens get portrayed as the rational presence amid grown-up chaos.
At times, Desperate Housewives invokes chuckles from its characters’ sheer absurdity. Once in a blue moon, it takes a surprisingly positive stance on marriage or family. But those moments simply aren’t worth waiting for amidst the sexual content, foul language and shoddy morals in the new season’s biggest hit.
