The women of Wisteria have come a long way since their first season. Each has had their share of tragedies, affairs and crimes committed and each has their own stash of secrets they don’t tell the other four matriarchs. The fifth season of Desperate Housewives sees the return of Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) and a new sordid batch of dirty tricks and loathsome dealings in the murky waters America affectionately calls suburbia. The drama matches the series’ par but never has one of those crowning moments that set past seasons apart.
Susan Meyer (Teri Hatcher) has a new and younger man in her life (Gale Harold), but she finds her relationship with him tainted by the ease with which he and Susan’s ex-husband Mike (James Denton) get along. The two men seem to bond right from the start, though some friction remains as Mike vies for the affection of his son who seems equally content with him as with Susan’s new beau. Gabrielle (Eva Longoria Parker) has no such hang-ups with the men in her life, as Carlos (Ricardo Shavira) makes do as a blind masseur only to find his finely skilled hands gaining the attention of the rich widow Virginia Hildebrand (Frances Conroy), who offers them exorbitant sums of money in exchange for a deciding interest in the future of their family. Bree (Marcia Cross) has a booming career with a marriage that just keeps improving thanks to Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) becoming a partner of her company and the two finding the relationship quite rewarding. Lynette (Felicity Huffman) on the other hand finds her personal life spiraling out of control when her son begins having an affair with an older woman and her husband Tom (Doug Savant) goes into full-fledged mid-life crisis mode and starts a band.
All that is secondary to the season’s real plot, though. With Edie’s return a new face arrives in Wisteria: her new husband Dave Williams (Neal McDonough). Dave’s past isn’t what he claims. Dave receives calls from a doctor at a mental institute and enacts intricate plots to drive the couples of Wisteria apart from one another. His actions take increasingly sinister turns until the season’s big reveal – but even then the season never lives up to past seasons’ pay offs. Neal McDonough was an excellent addition to the cast and really proved a new and exciting catalyst for the show’s main players.
With four seasons down the women of Desperate Housewives still manage to keep their characters filled with life, even if the writing at times takes a dive. Of them all Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross seem to stand out. Eva Longoria’s charm has long worn out and Teri Hatcher’s role has become so resigned to a supporting player that her inclusion at all seems unnecessary. Huffman and Cross however seem to inject pure energy into their stories and consequently the show remains 60% decent (the additional 20% coming from the Edie and Dave end of the cast). What hasn’t changed? The narration by long-dead Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) is as annoying as ever. Why they’ve kept this device going for so long boggles my mind. It’s unnecessary and obnoxious each and every time.
DVD Bonus Features
Two of the episodes have audio commentaries, so that’s not much to brag about. However there is a decent blooper reel and four interesting featurettes. “So Very Teri” takes a look at Teri Hatcher’s presence on the show, which is ironic as now the other women are easily more interesting than her, so this particular featurette is a few seasons late. Marc Cherry gives fans a look at his favorite scenes from the show while another takes a behind-the-scenes look at how an episode gets from the typewriter to the television. The last featurette is a Happy Birthday celebration of sorts and looks back at 100 episodes of Desperate Housewives. What is it really saying? Hello cable network syndication for the next 10 years.
"Desperate Housewives: The Complete Fifth Season" is on sale September 1, 2009 and is rated NR. Comedy, Drama, Television. Directed by Larry Shaw, David Grossman, David Warren, Bethany Rooney. Written by Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, Alexandra Cunningham, Dave Flebotte, Matt Berry. Starring Eva Longoria Parker, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Neal McDonough, Teri Hatcher, Nicollette Sheridan, Ricardo Chavira, Brenda Strong, Doug Savant, James Denton.
