Desperate Housewives

Joe Keenan is a new writer this season for “Desperate Housewives.” You may have heard of him before, he wrote for a lot of successful half-hour comedies such as “Frasier” before joining the ABC powerhouse comedy. And while a full hour comedy/drama is a bit different from a half-hour sitcom, Keenan found it wasn’t very hard to adapt.

“I was interested in trying the show’s mix of satire and creepiness,” he said. This year he has focused on writing for Bree and Orson, and wrote the supermarket hostage episode “Bang” earlier in the season. “Having concentrated purely on comedy, it was nice to write an episode so dark like ‘Bang’. You don’t get to kill people in multi-camera comedy. It’s great to explore other kinds of scenes that you’ve never written before.”

I think we’ve certainly seen the difference he’s brought to the show this year as “Desperate Housewives” has seen a wonderful resurgence after a lack-luster second season. Let’s hope he stays with the show and keeps bringing us the good episodes. Bree and Orson have been a lot of fun to watch this season, and now we know who to thank for that!

Desperate Housewives, Joe Keenan

I’m sure this will come as no surprise whatsoever to anyone who either a) given birth b) been pregnant with twins and/or c) been on bedrest: Marcia Cross was very anxious to deliver her twins. After a month on doctor-enforced bedrest, Marcia was through with the whole “being pregnant” thing and wanted to have her babies in her arms. A source close to the family told People Magazine, “By the end she was definitely tired of being in bed!” Also? Marcia is nothing like Bree Van de Kamp. She’s far more laid back than her TV personna. “The family is home, and it’s all mellow and happy there.” Co-star Brenda Strong backed up that assessment, saying “She’ll be an easy-going mom. I don’t see her stressing at all.”

Marcia Cross, twins, labor and delivery, Desperate Housewives

You know, I wondered about this at the time. Do you recall last month when Eva Longoria was a guest on “The View”? She flashed her wedding ring and weighed in on Dixie Chicks winning big at the Grammy’s. In talking about “Desperate Housewives”, she mentioned that Gaby and Carlos will get back together but not until sometime next season. I thought at the time that it was surprising she’d be allowed to reveal such a big plot point. I will admit it made me wonder if it was a legitimate spoiler because otherwise she wouldn’t have been allowed to talk about it, right? Well, apparently she wasn’t.

Word is that “Desperate Housewives” executives are “furious” with Eva over her spilling the beans on the storyline. What she did was in fact a big no-no. And writers, producers, directors, etc have all been instructed not to reveal plot points to Eva ahead of time, just in case she wants to spill the beans again. Whoops!

Eva Longoria, Desperate Housewives, The View, ABC, spoilers

Last night we were treated to a change of pace. Instead of Mary Alice doing the episode’s voice over talents, we got to listen to Rex Van de Kamp instead. And while it was a cute shift, I did have to wonder a couple times if Rex would really care whether or not Austin cheated on Julie. Something tells me he wouldn’t have. But, whatever, it was nice to hear from him again. I always thought he got the raw shaft on that show.

We have Gaby, who stirred the interest of an older, rich and rather powerful man (he’s running for mayor). So much so that he had his driver run into her car. She was resistant to going out with him, however, but finally gave in to dinner. Even then she didn’t seem very impressed. I put forward that she wasn’t interested because he was so much older. I bet if he was a teenager, she would have thought twice. At any rate, the guy isn’t discouraged but is rather encouraged. And he wants to marry her. Good luck with that, buddy.

It’s Tom and Lynette’s anniversary and all she wants to do is taking a hot bath and go to bed early. But Tom, that romantic devil, has other plans. The intricate plan involves (among other things) a limo driver picking Lynette up and dropping her off in the middle of nowhere where Tom will step out of the shadows in a horse drawn carriage… yadda yadda yadda. Lynette catches wind of this plan and voices her displeasure. Tom’s feelings are inevitably hurt, causing Lynette to realize she’s being a little bit of a tool. So the limo driver shows up (guess he didn’t get the cancellation?), she goes along for the ride. Tom, meanwhile, holds a poker night at the pizzeria for the guys on the street. It was during this poker game that Tom discovered that the limo driver didn’t get canceled. He rushes out to rescue Lynette, who’s been sitting in the cold and dark by herself for two hours. But instead of being madder than mad, she’s apologetic. She never should have rained on his parade and they do need to embrace the romance in their marriage. And then? Tom got lucky.

He was the only one, however. Carlos had big plans with a new fling. He was pretty excited about it too. But then he spotted Edie’s 8 year old son (who is in town staying with her while his father is in Africa) playing in the street (at night) alone. He put on the breaks with his date to go see what the deal was. Edie left to go out, leaving Travers (what kind of name is that??) behind by himself. Carlos won’t have any of that (because he’s a decent sort of person, unlike Edie) so he brings the boy home. His date huffs off, but Carlos gets bonus points in my book. He gets even more points when Edie stumbles home drunk three hours later and he reads her the riot act and calls her a bad mother.

Austin, the cheating dog, wants to get back together with Julie. He gives her a long love-note, explaining his love that apparently gives her pause and makes her consider taking him back for another chance. However, at exactly the same time Danielle Van de Tramp finds out she’s pregnant (presumably by Austin) and tells him. What to do? Papa Orson takes over, and decrees that Danielle is going to join him and Bree on their honeymoon (fun!) and then “go away” to have the baby. And Austin? He’s gonna skip town. Austin is resistant to leaving Julie until Andrew reminds Austin that he is a cheating dog and sooner or later, he’ll break Julie’s heart again. So after a pretty perplexing goodbye, he hops on his motorcycle and speeds away from Wisteria Lane. Huh. I have a feeling that little storyline isn’t quite over yet, don’t you?

Mike finally gets his belongings that he had on him the night of the accident and finds the engagement ring, complete with romantic inscription. He takes it back to the jeweler to see about getting a refund where he bumps into (gasp!) Susan, who is getting the new (bigger, natch) ring Ian gave her resized. She assumes the ring was for someone else (Edie?). In a completely implausible turn, the jeweler doesn’t have her sizing rings so has Susan try on Mike’s ring as a comparison. And guess what? It fits perfectly. Of course! Ian then let’s Mike know that he knew about the ring (or whatever, this is where I started getting confused) and they have a pissing match of sorts. This continues at Tom’s poker game, where the boys ultimately bet Susan herself. Well, not so much. They bet whether or not Mike can tell Susan the ring was for her. And Ian wins. Oh, and Ian wants to get married like NEXT MONTH. So not only is he vaguely creepy (I’ve always thought so, haven’t you?), but he’s also insecure too. Very sexy.

Next week? Another repeat. Sorry, guys!

Desperate Housewives, episode recap, My Husband the Pig, Episode 316

The month of May is Skin Cancer Awareness month and each year Oil of Olay picks a spokeswoman that will help spread the word of the dangers of skin cancer, as well as educate about protection and prevention. This year, that spokeswoman is Marcia Cross. She will be at the forefront of a nationwide cancer screening initiative and help educate Americans on how to detect skin cancer and prevent it.

“I’m proud to be part of a cause that is near and dear to my heart,” explains actress Marcia Cross. “Having had two family members suffer from melanoma, I’ve come to understand the importance of skin cancer detection and prevention. Knowing what I know about the dangers of sun exposure, I take extra care to protect myself with a large hat, sunglasses, daily UV protection, and of course, an annual screening.”

Another benefit of this initiative, if you take a friend with you to a participating dermatologist to get screened during the months of May, June or July, the screening will be free for both of you. Log into skincancertakesfriends.org after April 1st to find a participating dermatologist in your area. This is such a great offer, you literally can’t afford to pass it up!

Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives, Oil of Olay, Skin Cancer Takes Friends, skin cancer, Skin Cancer Awareness Month, dermatology, cancer screening

Teri Hatcher is getting older. Though, I don’t think she has much to worry about, because she looks fantastic. I can only hope that when I’m 42 that I’ll look as youthful and hip as she does. That said, Teri is still aware of what happens in Hollywood when actresses reach a “certain age”. And instead of moaning about it, she’s decided to do something proactive. The actress has recently developed her own television show.

She says, “I’ve just sold my first TV show to a network. It’s a comedy and it may never make it to air but it’s exciting to be behind the camera. I’m trying to build a business that will allow me not to be in front of the camera because, you know, I’m old!”

Good for her. While I think she undervalues her attraction in front of the camera, it’s nice to see her branching out and trying new things. I wish her the best of luck.