I’d been avoiding “Desperate Housewives.” When I first heard of the show in late October, it had already become a hit. Now, the surest way to keep me from watching a show is to tell me that all of America loves it. I watch too much TV as it is (it didn’t used to be that way, but when you have a TV-addicted boyfriend, it’s easy to slide into sloth – although my lack of protest might be telling), and I’m not about to let the great unwashed masses determine how I use the remainder of my valuable time. A couple of years ago I finally watched 10 minutes of “CSI.” I was at my parents’ house and they had it on. I can’t remember what I thought of the show; I was too busy feeling smug.
Snobbiness wasn’t the only reason I avoided “Desperate Housewives.” I’m hesitant to begin watching a show with complicated plotlines if I’ve missed several episodes. I hate jumping in mid-stream. I’m pop-culturally tone-deaf as it is, and not understanding the plot just makes things worse. That’s why it took me so long to start watching “Buffy.”
Then the whole Nicolette Sheridan/NFL thing happened, which shot “Desperate Housewives” into the pop-cultural stratosphere. My resentment at the show (and at myself) only increased. There was no way I’d begin watching now.
But a couple of weeks ago I was at my parents’ house and they were watching it. So I sat on the couch and, for the first time, I saw it. And I liked it. It was smartly-written, well-acted, and funny, and there are hot guys. How stupid I’d been!
Since then I’ve seen a couple of episodes. And now (sigh) I’m going to have to watch the rest of the season, including repeats. By May, I should be caught up enough to appreciate the season finale.
And then I can engage in conversation around the proverbial water cooler at work.
I guess just because America likes something doesn’t mean it sucks.
At least, not always.
I started watching the show maybe a month ago, and caught up via bittorrenting past episodes. And, i couldn’t even tell you what the whole “Nicolette Sheridan/NFL” thing is.
There are certainly hot guys (landscape boy). But, the writing is even better. Funny wise, it’s second only to Arrested Development, imo.
rob@egoz.org
I caught the premiere purely by accident (I was home, it came on, I needed background noise) and have been hooked ever since. In fact, I was moved to write about it the next day. It’s not perfect, but it’s just so much fun. Why not watch?
The writing is really good for Desperate Housewives. I like Lost for the same reason, as well as Matthew Fox, my future ex-husband.
I’m almost over DH by now. I’m intrigued by a couple of the mysteries — what did happen to Dana, and who was Mike’s dead old girlfriend? — but the individual storylines mostly feel pretty stale. I’m rooting for Lynnette to drown the kids in the bathtub, I don’t exactly get Gabrielle’s conflict (leave the fucking suburbs, you stupid bitch, and go back to being a top model who makes her own money and sleeps with whatever young studs she wants), Susan’s doesn’t seem to have much to do for a stretch now that she’s with Mike, and I stopped liking Bree so much when they started reveling in how Republican she is.
I’m all about the Veronica Mars.
Kristen Bell
Desperate Housewives is great trashy fun.
Desperate Housewives is the only show that I schedule my life around. However, it walks a very fine line, and one wrong turn and I’ll be the first one bailing out.
Since the show’s creator is a big gay Republican, when the plots go south I’ll blame it all on that.