Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Farewell Desperate Housewives


It is no secret that I absolutely adore American TV shows. It would also be fair to say that I watch too many (see: Gossip Girl, 90210, New Girl, Glee, 2 Broke Girls and Pretty Little Liars.) However the one I’ve been watching for the longest is ABC’s Desperate Housewives, which also has and always will be my ultimate favourite.  So imagine my absolute distress when in August last year I heard that Season 8 would be its last. I was beyond devastated. I contemplated finding a replacement but then realised that no other show would compare and I’d be wasting my time trying to do so, alas I would have to start to prepare myself for a life without Wisteria Lane. I had several months to do so, but failed miserably.

The final installment from Fairview was in America on the evening of 13th May. I watched it after I finished work at 2pm on the 14th. I wasn’t prepared and subsequently was an emotional wreck. Fairview has become somewhat of a second home for me. I feel as if I know the Lane like the back of my hand, I know the neighbours, the local stores and the surrounding woodland (!) so to have to say goodbye was a painful yet enjoyable experience at the same time. As ever I laughed, gasped and sobbed my way through the final double episode, like I do any normal episode! However it was hands down easily the most emotional 83 minutes of television I’ve ever watched. The whole episode was unsurprisingly full of twists and turns (although some were sadly kind of predictable), there were plenty of hysterical one-liners from Gaby, tender heart-warming moments shared between Karen and Roy, a massive bitch-fit thrown by Renee, dramatic scenes in the court room courtesy of Bree and Ben and throughout it all the importance of loyal friendships was displayed. It also thankfully tied up a few loose ends that I desperately needed answers to before they left me for good. Ironically considering the name the show concluded it’s rocky, racy and grisly eight-season run with a neat and tidy, affectionate and anything but “desperate” send-off.

I won’t ruin it for those who haven’t yet seen it yet but I am going to briefly mention the very very end in which they look to the future and say that the four ladies don’t keep in contact. WTF? Are you serious? That’s single handidly the most ridiclous storyline I’ve ever seen (totally beats fake tanning the baby on Footballers Wives.) Those four ladies went through everything together; they even said so in the final episode. From marriages to divorces, births to deaths, careers to unemployment, alcoholism to cancer: they helped and shared everything with each other so to end it with them growing apart angered me to say the least! Another point that annoyed me was the fact that they showed glimpses into the future of Bree, Gaby and Lynette’s lives in which they no longer seemed “desperate” having all found personal and professional success, however we didn’t get to see what happened to Susan. The last we saw of Mrs Delfino was her having just finished packing up her home and waving goodbye to the famous Street, as the ghosts of Wisteria Lane’s past looked on. As she handed over the keys to the new house owner Susan tells her a secret that we the viewers have known since the very first episode “This Street is a lot of things, boring is not one of them.”  Indeed Susan: boring it never has been, hence why I never missed an episode.

All that’s left to say is thanks for the laughs, the tears, the mysteries, the drama, the poker nights and all of the lessons you’ve taught me over the last 8 years. Marc Cherry I salute you and Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Felicity Hoffman I adore you. (Oh, how I wish you were actually friends in real life!)

In keeping with the show I’m going to leave the last words to Mary-Alice…. 
"Even the most desperate life is oh… so wonderful."

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