Aug 25, 2005 05:17 PM
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(Updated Aug 25, 2005 05:58 PM)
I remember a friend’s advice during a difficult phase in my life. It was simple “Don’t get desperate. Once you get desperate you will accept bullshit and you don’t deserve bullshit.” I will always remember those words and to me it made a lot of sense. All he was saying was ‘don’t lose hope’. I am not an optimist. Had he, at that time said something like “see the glass as half full”, I would have knocked his head off with a half-full glass. Thankfully he knew me well enough to not say such a thing. I am somewhere on the thin line that separates a cynic from a realist. And reality is that life is not fair. Reality is that failure and disappointments are all part of life. Reality is that hope will get one through anything. Maybe that’s why I like this show. It is real with just the right amount of reality. Not too much to put you in a serious state of depression nor too less to take you to the world of fantasy. Enough to make you wonder, enough to make you laugh enough to let you sit back and enjoy. It has all the elements of a good TV serial –plot (it actually has a story!!!), good characters, humor, mystery, crime and suspense.
Desperate housewives is about five women, all having different battles to fight, all clinging on to some hope and all sharing a strong bond of friendship between them. The first episode began with the funeral of Mary Young. She took her life, but in essence is not really gone. She is the narrator and the one who takes us into the lives of the other four women.
Meet the ladies.
1) Susan Mayer - Divorcee and Single mom. Her teenage daughter often plays mom to this confused woman. Her love life and men are the major concerns in her life.
2) Lynette Scavo- Gave up a successful career to take care of her four kids. Her twin 4-year-old sons are little devils and most of her energy and time is spent in trying to get them stop, what ever they are doing.
3) Bree Van De Kamp- Wants everything to be perfect so much that it is driving her husband crazy and their marriage is on the rocks.
4) Gabrielle Solis- Ex model married to rich husband.
Currently having an affair with her gardner (who is probably half her age) Her husband is suspicious and gets his mother to keep an eye on her. Its funny how she deals with her mother in law who is one cunning lady.
And there are the men too. Had the serial been shown from their perspective, it would have been called ‘Desperate Husbands’. But its not. So I wont talk about them.
Plot/Story
Apart from dealing with their problems, the women want to find out why Mary killed herself. They find a suspicious note among her things and are convinced that something is not right. Her husband, the widower is acting strange and her troubled son knows something. Why did she kill herself? What does her husband know? To find out, tune into Star World every Friday at 9pm.
My expert opinion
This isn’t about people who crib and cry over their miseries, it is more about how they deal with it. It is not emotionally draining and you won’t need a box of tissues while watching it. I don’t identify with any one but some people might.
I watch it for the mystery/humor element. All in all good entertainment that comes with good packaging.
At the correspondents’ dinner in April, Laura Bush sent everyone into hysterics by saying “I am married to the President of the United States and here is our typical evening. Nine o'clock, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep, and I am watching Desperate Housewives. With Lynne Cheney. Ladies and gentleman, I am a desperate housewife. I mean if those women on that show think they're desperate, they ought to be with George.”
Its not just me, Laura Bush is watching it too!
