What I’m Watching: Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives: Season 6, Episode 5 “Everybody Ought to Have A Maid” (C+)

Having a welcome home party for Julie complete with the enthusiasm of the whole neighborhood, all of who should be suspects, and a cake seems like something that only Wisteria Lane would do. It’s that perpetual excuse to gather everyone together that the show keeps trying to find, done multiple times in this episode with Juanita’s birthday party and the neighborhood watch meeting. It’s alright if the characters have individual, interpersonal storylines rather than group meetings that seek to embarrass or weed out one particular person. The second attempt to incorporate Mrs. McCluskey’s senior lover is about as much as a disruptive failure as the first one, and only reinforces once again that Doug Savant is possibly the strongest actor on this show. Gabrielle trying to be a good mother despite never supervising her children closely is played for broad laughs, as her storylines seem t be lately, and the only truly amusing part of it was the calm, defeated reaction of Carlos to her hysteria. Bree’s interaction was a positive use of Aisha Hinds, whose recurring appearances on shows like “The Shield” and “Invasion” never quite gave her the right vehicle, and allowed her to really get to Bree, even though Orson’s relative sanity is sure to be short-lived. Katherine’s craziness continues to fall flat, and any Susan-related stories should really pertain to Julie’s love life rather than her own. The outdoors interaction between the two Bolen men shed some light on their relationship and the fallibility of Angie. The most startling scene was Angie’s decision to encourage Katherine’s fantasy life in order to get that very dangerous bullet out of her shoulder. It’s about time someone besides the audience dug a little deeper into the history of their new neighbors.