514: 'Mama Spent Money When She Had None'
Wr: Jason Ganzel
Dr: David Warren
Synopsis: Bree reaps the success of her new book by treating herself to a new car, while Lynette and Tom resolve to sell his Mustang for some extra cash. Susan is determined to send MJ to the best school, even though she and Mike can't afford it. Meanwhile, Gaby joins Edie's no nonsense boot camp to get herself back into shape, and Lee is conflicted over whether to tell Lynette and Tom some disturbing facts about Dave.
Review: Topical? Desperate Housewives? The show about four achingly perfect women and their quest to keep on the right side of sane in the idyllic suburbs of America? You're having a larff ain't ya? Well, actually, no. Marc Cherry's magnum opus manages to be just about as relevant as page 2 of The Sun this week (you know, the bit with, shock of shocks, the politics) as the production crew take the global recession and run a few blocks with it (despite the show being set five years into future, natch). Or about as far as Gabrielle manages to get with her fitness regime in the first twenty odd minutes, at any rate. So both Lynette and Susan find themselves struck down by the credit crunch monster: business isn't exactly booming for either lady, but poor Mrs. Scavo's case, the recent finger-pointing and damning media coverage of EVIL PORTER is hampering sales of her fabulous pizzas even more.
Mrs. Myer, meanwhile, desperately wants little MJ to go to a private school (I mean, don't all parents? Or at least, all parents in bloody American television shows, the snobs... does no one care for the merits of state education any more? For actually being introduced to that important little thing called life? Apparently not. Rant over) and when she is faced with the phenomenal bill, she does everything in her power to get Mike to cough up the pennies. Thankfully, this somewhat selfish streak is addressed within the narrative and before long, she's pimping herself out to the headmaster, insisting that she'll do anything to get the boy in. I'm quite surprised the guy doesn't turn to camera with a wry grin on his face and exclaim, "aanything?!" but we'll bypass that missed opportunity for now. What is more troubling is the ease with which Susan manages to ingratiate herself within the faculty: why does being an illustrator of children's books qualify you to be a teacher's assistant? Teach being the operative word in the sentence. Don't you need some sort of, oh, I don't know, teaching qualification?! And if Susan has one, it's not exactly evident from her conversation with the man: all she shows him is a copy of her art work, no mention of her educational history is made! Oh, and while we're nitpicking, would he really not offer her the assistant to the Art teacher's role immediately after she suggests working in the department? He held back that nugget of information because she was 'over qualified'? Where? Where were her credentials? Give me a sodding break!
Things are somewhat stronger in Lynette's corner, if only because the narrative has the added bonus of highlighting the distinct changes in Bree's character. The marriage of the two housewives in business is a novel idea and the staging of the downturn in their friendship at the restaurant works really well. Largely, the credit goes to Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman as the two are on the ball yet again, perfectly encapsulating the gulf that can develop as a result of financial oscillation. And then, of course, there's Dave, whose story manages to take an additional step forward through this as finally, someone gets to see through the guy's bullshit. I imagine everyone with a working conscience was delighted at Tom's right-royal punch-out: I know I was egging him on to giving the psychopathic git a good seeing to. I am not a violent person. Honest.
An encouragingly well thought out episode overall, then, with an engaging set of narrative strands and even some relevance to the current socio-economic climate. There are elements that leave a slightly bitter taste and once again, Gabrielle's story proves difficult to reconcile, even if it is occasionally amusing, but generally, this is an enjoyable forty five minutes. Fairly standard Desperate Housewives fare but that's certainly nothing to complain about. 8.0
515: 'In a World Where the Kings are Employers'
Wr: Lori Kirkland Baker
Dr: David Grossman
Synopsis: Susan starts a new job in order to give son MJ the best, but when Mike leaves their son in Katherine's care, anger and jealousy pervade. As Scavo Pizzeria continues to take a hit in the current economy, Lynette tells Tom they have to sell. Carlos receives a generous bonus when Gaby discovers his boss' dirty little secret. Orson confronts Bree when he learns she's given Andrew a raise. Meanwhile, Dave comes closer to performing his vengeance scheme.
Review: Desperate Housewives is about to make another brief departure from our screens for three short weeks (bloody networks!) but before it does, it takes something of a bold leap and centres an entire episode on exploring the less-than-desirable characteristics of a number of its key characters. It's risky business this, tampering with the viewer's perceptions of the 'people' they enjoy watching week in, week out and while, when done successfully, it can add many welcome layers to the cast and humanise them to a greater extent, which in turn allows for an increased level of empathy because, let's face it, we certainly aren't perfect, all too often, the attempt is botched and what we're left with is a considerably bitter taste and the feeling that, honestly, we've been cheated out of our previously established allegiances. Here, we are subjected to plots that demonstrate the distinctly unlikeable sides of three of the main players: Tom Scavo, Susan Myer and Orson Hodge (I don't count Gabrielle because, well, what we get here is nothing new). Let's start with Orson, as his is perhaps the best executed.
So this week, Bree's husband discovers that PLUSH LIVING GAY Andrew (her son) is making more money than he is, working as Mrs. Van Der Kamp's PA. Which, quite frankly, he should be. He runs around after Bree, picks up all her messes, organises everything for her, makes sure everything goes according to plan and even waits on her hand and foot. Basically, he's the mechanics of the entire operation, turning the cogs and letting Bree be the pretty front. The only thing he doesn't do is cook. Orson cooks. And that's about it. So how would it not be fair for Andrew to earn more than he does... even if it is double? Frankly, that's none of his business and his qualifications as a dentist don't make an ounce of difference. At the end of the day, it's Bree's business, Bree's pay scheme and she actually let him have the job in the first place. With no relevant qualifications or experience, I might add! Thus, as soon as Bree opens her mouth to defend her position, she's unquestionable in every aspect. It's good to see her standing up for her decisions and not bowing to the pressure placed on her by her husband; she puts him in his place, which is exactly as it should be. Effectively, this a competent vehicle for Marcia Cross' character, allowing her to counter some of the questionable compromises she has made for Orson in the earlier hours of the season. So this one works: while we certainly don't empathise with Orson, his position is understood, resolved and quietly put to bed without much damage to his character (frankly, the kleptomaniac thing seems rather fun!)
The same cannot be said for Susan Myer and Tom Scavo, however. Susan in particular is just unforgivable here. While it does seem to chime with her character that she would be jealous of Katherine, it's just plain irritating, especially given the double standard it seems to be inherently predicated upon. Just a few weeks ago, she expected Mike to be fine with the idea of Jackson spending time with MJ which, despite his initial reservation, he simply bluntly accepted. No forced confrontation with the man, accusing him of trying to steal his son away from him. Now the boot's on the other foot and Susan isn't happy... which, frankly, I'm surprised the writers didn't address (missed opportunity, much?) But of course, this is an exercise in plot manoeuvring. The purpose of Susan's unjustified vehemence is so we can get to the point where Mike moving in with Katherine can be revealed. Resultantly, this feels a little contrived, even if Susan's objections are arguably in character. And perhaps more worryingly, it's just frustrating watching her whine about MJ's need to be with Mike, not his girlfriend. Change the bloody record, would ya? Tom Scavo, meanwhile, is just plain insane. While I certainly buy that he would be desperate to save his pizza place, I do not accept that he would get his underage children to work there. Porter and Preston, maybe, okay. But Parker? PENNY?! SHE'S NINE YEARS OLD. NINE. It's bloody illegal and there's no way Tom would flaunt the law so outrageously. He wants to keep his business, not lose it due to legal action. I understand that the writers evidently want to demonstrate just how much he wants to make the place a success and not let go of it, but couldn't they have found a better way of illustrating it than by completely throwing his character out of the window? No, this is not something that Tom would do EVER. And it certainly not something that Lynette would agree to. EVER. In fact, it's something that NO ONE WOULD DO. EVER. And are you telling me that the neighbourhood would let them get away with it? That they wouldn't object to having a NINE year old behind the cash register, desperately trying to remember last week's Maths lesson in which they learned how to subtract big numbers from one another? Hello, it's a small community, someone would notice! Hell, Edie's there in one of the scenes! *rips hair out* It's just sloppy writing: finding the easiest method of getting to a desired point rather than the most organic.
This episode's overall feel is tainted somewhat by these two frustrating exercises in futility (oh and Gabrielle's story is just a damn retread of EVERY OTHER NARRATIVE SHE HAS EVER HAD). While the writing staff prove that they can explore more human, less desirable character traits successfully with Orson's story, they completely botch it with Susan and especially Lynette/Tom's stories by either making completely out-of-character, thoroughly unbelievable decisions that even a six year old would pick holes in or simply making the emphasis too great on that which is irritatingly unlikeable. It's a brave attempt, I'll give it that, but 'In a World Where the Kings are Employers' can only be described as partially successful. 6.8
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