What I’m Watching: Desperate Housewives (Season Premiere)

Desperate Housewives: Season 6, Episode 1 “Nice is Different Than Good” (C)

It’s crazy to think that we’re now entering year six on Wisteria Lane. Most shows that last this long have undergone major transformations, both story-wise and cast-wise, by the time they pass the five-year mark. On this show, the fifth and far less important housewife has been replaced, and much time has passed thanks to a five-year time leap taken by the show at the beginning of last year. But otherwise, not much is different, and that’s part of what makes this premiere problematic. Just like at the beginning of the show, Lynette is struggling with the idea of overbearing children ruining her life and Susan is awkwardly warring with an extremely cutthroat woman over the same man. By contrast, Gaby is a completely different character, determined to stop her adopted daughter from living her life freely, which is especially odd since, as the teenage girl points out, Gaby grew up just that way. It makes sense that a normal parent would want to be appropriately strict in raising their children, but the first five seasons of the show have been all about Gaby being immature, and her sudden change in the way she does things doesn’t make much sense. Lynette’s fourth pregnancy was a repetitive, bad idea from the start, and it will likely hinder this season and continue to set Lynette’s dramatic storyline far apart from the rest of the show, and not in a good way. Katherine’s very possessive need to seek revenge on Susan feels forced and out of character for her, especially considering that Katherine was the one who went after Susan’s ex in the first place. Can’t Mike and Susan be happy for once? Bree’s Karl-infused storyline is a breath of fresh air, though the presence of the Most Ruined Character, Orson, continues to drag it down. Julie’s return, complete with radiant red hair, is a welcome one since she was a fabulous character in the first season, and now that the actress has grown up (and provided she didn’t die thanks to that unfortunate strangulation at the end of the episode), she should be a positive force in this coming season. As for the new family on the block, I think they could be pretty interesting. What’s very annoying, though, is that this device has already been used several times, and a mysterious family with a dark secret and temperamental teenager has already been seen, more than once, on Wisteria Lane. Bringing Drea de Matteo into the fold of housewives is probably a smart decision, and Jeffrey Nordling, fresh off of his role as Larry Moss on “24,” should be a good fit here. The kid seems a bit intense, and after Zach and those Applegate boys, I’ve had it with these troubled teens. This show has sort of gone too far in terms of its chances for salvation. It’s not as unbearably awful as, say, “Heroes,” but if it keeps going in these circles like this, it may soon be.