Desperate Housewives: Difference between revisions
| Line 86: | Line 86: | ||
==Recurring cast== |
==Recurring cast== |
||
*[[Steven Culp]] - Rex Van De Kamp - '''Previously Main Character''' |
|||
*[[Ricardo Chavira]] - Carlos Solis - '''Previously Main Character''' |
|||
*[[Mark Moses]] - Paul Young - '''Previously Main Character''' |
|||
*[[Jesse Metcalfe]] - John Rowland - '''Previously Main Character''' |
|||
*[[Zane Huett]] - Parker Scavo (24 Episodes) |
*[[Zane Huett]] - Parker Scavo (24 Episodes) |
||
*[[Shane Kinsman]] - Porter Scavo (24 Episodes) |
*[[Shane Kinsman]] - Porter Scavo (24 Episodes) |
||
Revision as of 04:59, 28 August 2005
| Desperate Housewives | |
|---|---|
| File:Desperate Housewives Ladies.jpg The main cast (left to right): Nicolette Sheridan, Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman. | |
| Created by | Marc Cherry |
| Starring | Teri Hatcher Felicity Huffman Marcia Cross Eva Longoria Nicolette Sheridan |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of episodes | 23 (plus one special) |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 0:45 (per episode) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | October 3, 2004 – present |
Desperate Housewives is an American television series, created by Marc Cherry, that began airing on ABC in 2004. Set on Wisteria Lane in the fictional town of Fairview, the series tracks the lives of five housewives, following their domestic struggles while several mysteries unfold in the background. The tone and style of the series combine elements of drama, comedy, mystery, satire, and soap opera.
Cherry initially pitched the series to HBO, CBS, NBC, Fox, Showtime, and Lifetime; but all turned it down for one reason or another. The series was unique in that it rocketed to the top of the ratings from the premiere episode, and immediately the term "desperate housewives" became a cultural phenomenon, warranting "the real desperate housewives" features in magazines and such TV shows as Dr. Phil and Oprah. The show has been credited with almost single-handedly (along with Lost) reviving the long-dormant fortunes of ABC, whose last major ratings hit had been Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
The show has come under critical fire by religious and conservative groups due to what some consider the seeming lack of morality amongst the characters. Though it is not uncommon for soap opera characters to make melodramatically questionable decisions, in the first season of "Housewives" almost every character (including children) has arguably committed a major crime.
Tagline: Everyone has a little dirty laundry.
Plot and characters
Template:Spoiler The show begins with the suicide of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), who narrates the episodes from beyond the grave. Mary Alice's suicide left behind a puzzle involving her husband Paul, son Zach, and a mysterious toy chest. The story is unraveled through her four friends and neighbors. The show also follows the mystery of why Mary Alice took her own life and precisely who Mike Delfino really is. At least once every episode, the 'surviving' housewives (Mary Alice was one of the group before her suicide) meet and discuss over either coffee or poker the events in the current storyline.
Characters which categorize the families section not only include members of the actual family but also those who have an important relationship with them.
Main characters
- Susan Mayer: an attractive and self-righteous, sanctimonious single mother.
- Lynette Lindquist Scavo: an ex-career woman, now mother to three boys (two of whom are twins) and a baby girl.
- Gabrielle Solis: a former model who married her husband Carlos for money.
- Bree Mason Van De Kamp: described as "Martha Stewart on steroids," Bree is a deeply religious WASP, ultra-conservative ex-young Republican control freak who was trapped in a sterile marriage with Rex, her fed-up husband, and her rebellious children.
- Edie Britt: a serial divorcee, man-hungry real estate agent who tried to steal Mike away when not having sex with someone else.
- Julie Mayer: Susan's 14 year old daughter.
- Tom Scavo: Lynette's husband, who is frequently out of town.
- Rex Van De Kamp: the doctor husband of Bree.Dies at end of season 1 of heart attack.
- Andrew Van De Kamp: the highly troubled, bisexual and possibly sociopathic 16-year-old son of Bree Van De Kamp.
- Danielle Van De Kamp: 15-year-old daughter of Rex and Bree.
- Carlos Solis: the husband of Gabrielle who has some trouble with the law and a very meddling mother.
- John Rowland: Gabrielle and Carlos's (former) 18 year old gardener, he was having an affair with Gabrielle until Carlos' mother discovered their secret.
- Paul Young: The widower of Mary Alice, who tried to find out exactly what caused her death and who sent the note to her.
- Mary Alice Young / Angela Forrest: The deceased wife of Paul Young, who one day decided to end her life by committing suicide, narrates the show from beyond the grave.
- Zach Young / Dana: The mentally unstable son of Paul, he found love in the form of Julie Mayer who befriended him.
- Mike Delfino: a man who posed as the friendly neighborhood plumber, but who was actually working to find his former girlfriend (Dierdre Taylor) who had been missing for years.
Main cast
- Teri Hatcher - Susan Mayer
- Felicity Huffman - Lynette Scavo
- Marcia Cross - Bree Van De Kamp
- Eva Longoria - Gabrielle Solis
- Nicolette Sheridan - Edie Britt
- James Denton - Mike Delfino
- Cody Kasch - Zach Young / Dana
- Andrea Bowen - Julie Mayer
- Brenda Strong - Mary Alice Young / Angela Forrest
- Doug Savant - Tom Scavo (Season 2 - ) recurring Season 1
- Richard Burgi - Karl Mayer (Season 2 - ) recurring Season 1
- Roger Bart - George Williams (Season 2 - ) recurring Season 1
- Alfre Woodard - Betty Applewhite (Season 2 - ) recurring Season 1
- Mehcad Brooks - Matthew Applewhite (Season 2 - ) recurring Season 1
- Steven Culp - Rex Van De Kamp (Season 1) recurring Season 2
- Ricardo Chavira - Carlos Solis (Season 1) recurring Season 2
- Mark Moses - Paul Young (Season 1) recurring Season 2
- Jesse Metcalfe - John Rowland (Season 1) recurring Season 2
Recurring cast
- Steven Culp - Rex Van De Kamp - Previously Main Character
- Ricardo Chavira - Carlos Solis - Previously Main Character
- Mark Moses - Paul Young - Previously Main Character
- Jesse Metcalfe - John Rowland - Previously Main Character
- Zane Huett - Parker Scavo (24 Episodes)
- Shane Kinsman - Porter Scavo (24 Episodes)
- Brent Kinsman - Preston Scavo (24 Episodes)
- Shawn Pyfrom - Andrew Van De Kamp (12 Episodes)
- Harriet Sansom Harris - Felicia Tilman (10 Episodes)
- Joy Lauren - Danielle Van De Kamp (9 Episodes)
- Christine Estabrook - Martha Huber (9 Episodes)
- Richard Roundtree - Jerry Shaw (7 Episodes)
- Lucille Soong - Yao Lin (7 Episodes)
- Lupe Ontiveros - Juanita Solis (6 Episodes)
- Ryan Carnes - Justin (5 Episodes)
- Bob Gunton - Noah Taylor (5 Episodes)
- Lesley Ann Warren - Sophie Bremmer (4 Episodes)
- Melinda McGraw - Annabel Foster (4 Episodes)
- Sam Lloyd - Dr. Albert Goldfine (4 Episodes)
- Emily Christine - Ashley Bukowski (3 Episodes)
- Marla Sokoloff - Claire (3 Episodes)
- Sharon Lawrence - Maisy Gibbons (3 Episodes)
- Jolie Jenkins - Dierdre Taylor (3 Episodes)
- Heather Stephens - Kendra Taylor (2 Episodes)
- Bob Newhart - Morty (2 Episodes)
- Kathryn Joosten - Karen McCluskey (2 Episodes)
- Richard Burgi - Karl Mayer (2 Episodes)
- Marlee Matlin - Alisha Stevens (1 Episode)
- Rick Ravanello - Bill Cunningham (1 Episode)
- Ryan O'Neal - Rodney Scavo (1 Episode)
Awards and nominations
In its first season out, Desperate Housewives was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy. On January 16, 2005, it won that top honor, and star Teri Hatcher won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy (Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross were nominated as well). Nicolette Sheridan was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
On July 14, 2005, the show was nominated for 15 Emmys including Outstanding Comedy Series and three nominations in the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series category for Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, and Felicity Huffman. Nicolette Sheridan nor Eva Longoria were nominated in any Emmy acting category.
At the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards or SAG Awards Desperate Housewives picked up two awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (for Teri Hatcher) and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.
Trivia
- In the original pilot, Mary Alice Young was played by Sheryl Lee; Gardener John Rowland by Kyle Searles; and Rex Van De Kamp by Michael Reilly Burke. Lee was replaced, of course, by Brenda Strong for the series; both had played regular roles as dead people before, Strong on Everwood and Lee on Twin Peaks.
- Opening credits contain references to famous pieces of art, including Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, American Gothic by Grant Wood, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can. Also alluded to are the lesser known Couple Arguing and Romantic Couple by Robert Dale (drawn in a comic book style similar to that of Roy Liechtenstein) and a 1940s "Am I Proud!" poster by Dick Williams (showing a woman holding cans).
- Every episode title in the first season references a song title, many of them by Stephen Sondheim: they include Every Day a Little Death and The Ladies Who Lunch.
- Various sources on the Internet and in the press have stated that the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, Oprah Winfrey and Miranda Richardson (Richardson, in fact was considered, but declined the role of an English nanny) have expressed interest in guest starring on the show, however, it is unlikely they will ever get the opportunity as the producers do not want big names to distract the viewer from the plot.
- Note: Oprah Winfrey did appear in one episode of Desperate Housewives but it has only appeared in a special episode of Oprah.
- On April 13, 2005, Touchstone Television announced Alfre Woodard would join the Desperate Housewives cast starting from the second season as the first African-American 'wife' on the street. On April 22, Touchstone announced Mehcad Brooks would also join as Woodard's son.
- The show's set is on the Universal Studios backlot and has been used for decades in many TV and movie productions to represent a typical American suburban neighborhood. It includes the houses used in The Munsters and the 1989 film The Burbs. An aerial photograph of the set is available from Microsoft TerraServer. [1]
- Steven Culp confirmed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, he would not return at all next year and that his character really is dead. He also said that the cast is expendable and at any time a character can die without the actor knowing.
- Charles Pratt Jr., head writer of ABC's successful daytime soap General Hospital, is a consultant on the series.
Production details
- Producer: Touchstone Television
- Theme music composer: Danny Elfman
International first broadcasts by order of date
- United States and Canada: October 3, 2004 on ABC (US) and CTV (Canada) Was also presented in French on Radio-Canada during the summer of 2005 (Canada)
- Germany: October 14, 2004 on Premiere (German pay TV, undubbed original version).
- Brazil: November 4, 2004 on Sony Entertainment Television
- Ireland: January 4, 2005 on RTÉ Two.
- United Kingdom: January 5, 2005 on Channel 4 (each episode followed by a première of the next on E4 - which therefore did not initially screen episode 1, but re-ran episodes 1 and 2 later in the first week).
- Norway: January 11, 2005 on TV 2 as Frustrerte fruer (season 1 was concluded on July 5)
- Belgium: January 21, 2005 on één.
- Australia: January 31, 2005 on the Seven Network. This registered 2.5 million viewers, one of the highest for a premiere in Australian history.
- Singapore: January 31, 2005 on MediaCorp TV Channel 5.
- Croatia: February 17, 2005 on Nova TV as Kućanice
- Italy: February 22, 2005 on FOX Life (pay TV); September 12, 2005 on Rai Due.
- Turkey: February 28, 2005 on CNBC-e.
- Netherlands: March 1, 2005 on Net 5.
- Denmark: March 2, 2005 on TV 2
- Spain: March 3, 2005 on FOX as "Mujeres desesperadas".
- Sweden: March 29, 2005 on Kanal 5.
- Switzerland: April 11, 2005 on SF DRS
- Germany: April 12, 2005 on Pro 7 (free-to-air, dubbed in German).
- Mexico: May 3, 2005 on Canal 7 (VHF). However, it was initially broadcasted on Sony Entertainment Television in November 2004.
- Israel: May 8, 2005 Version with hebrew subtitles.The hebrew name of the show is עקרות בית נואשות (Akarot Ba'it Noashot).The show in israel is now on channel YES+.
- Hong Kong: May 12, 2005 on TVB Pearl.
- Portugal: May 22, 2005 on SIC, as Donas de Casa Desesperadas. However, it was also broadcasted on FOX, two weeks before the show was broadcasted on SIC.
- Philippines: May 26, 2005 on ABS-CBN Studio23.
- India: July, 2005 on Star World.
- Malaysia: July 5, 2005 on 8tv and Star World.
- Indonesia: July 8, 2005 on Indosiar.
- New Zealand: July 18, 2005 on TV2.
- Poland: September 2005 on Polsat as Gotowe na wszystko