Welcome Back Housewives!

By Turtlemama

PTR Staff Writer

“Bree Hodge?”

“I’m Alma Hodge, I believe we have someone in common.”

*Bree faints*

This, is how you start back a season of ‘Housewives’.

Only problem…the momentum died. We cut to Kayla arriving at Tom and Lynnette’s and she’s solemn and maybe even a bit snarky. Which leads me to a few questions;

Didn’t Kayla stay with Tom and Lynnette all the time? So, what’s up with the apprehension from the boys? Shouldn’t they be used to her already? Kayla doesn’t know the rules of the house? She spent weekends with the Scavos, the girl knows their house rules. The whole storyline is forced and unbelievable. Where did our original ‘Housewives’ go?

Next we see Gabby on a date, a picnic in her front lawn. She gets a call from Carlos who wants to interrupt her date. We’re lead to believe that Carlos wants Gabby back, only to learn later (through no noteworthy storyline) that it’s a secret admirer.

Alma shows up at Bree’s house and Bree has a dinner party to show her friends that Orson’s wife is still alive, so he couldn’t be a murderer. Problem, Susan has already reported that Orson and Monique had an affair. The cops show up at the dinner party to question Orson and Bree finds out that Susan called the detective. Bree orders Susan to leave and Susan lets it slip that she saw Mike. This leads to Ian becoming angry and jealous. Is anyone surprised? I think I called it early on that Susan would screw up her relationship with Ian by obsessing over Mike.

Honestly, this episode was a snore. I really was hoping that the ‘Housewives’ would kick it up a notch and give us some interesting storylines, but I’m sad to report…it’s all going downhill. Who cares anymore? The conflict is forced, the resolutions are too fast and, like the conflict, forced. I just don’t get as giddy as I once did when I see ‘Desperate Housewives’ on the TiVo. Maybe it’ll get better, but I keep saying that and well…I’m still snoring.

'Tis The Season to be Desperate

by Turtlemama
PTR Staff Writer

Last night’s ‘Housewives’ episode was intriguing, at the least, wasn’t it? Wisteria Lane had a huge holiday block party, where the ‘predator’, or new neighbor depending on your point-of-view, showed up as Santa with toys for all the kids. Only he wasn’t met with merriment, he was met with shame and shunning. Lynnette’s plan from last week seemed to be working well, she had shunned the predator of the neighborhood and everyone was aware of who and what he was…problem solved, or so she thought.

Next Gabby met a love interest! One of her pagent student’s father (well that’s confusing…) although the student had other plans for her father, so Gabby had to put her thinking tiara on and come up with a way to thwart the little girl’s plans. So, instead of the little girl’s father marrying her best friend’s mother, Gabby pitted the girls against one another, hopefully getting her way. I have a feeling that this storyline will turn out like the Edie/Carl/Susan one...Carlos will see Gabby with Bill and want her back, like Susan did when she saw Carl with Edie.

On to Bree, desperate, manipulative Bree…Orson moved out and his mother stayed behind, trying to convince Bree to divorce Orson, to no avail. While Orson was moved out and Bree was contemplating her next move she discovers that Mike was arrested for Monique murder. Thinking that the recent arrest clears her husband of any wrong doing, Bree decides to confront Orson and get the whole story. BUT, Susan steals the keys to Orson office, after she and Bree had a fight about Mike being innocent and Orson being guilty. Susan is hiding in Orson’s records closet when Bree comes in and begins her chat with Orson. Meanwhile, Susan begins digging into Orson’s personal files and finds out that Orson was in a mental institution for over a year. This gives Susan enough evidence, in her own mind, to clear Mike and prove that Orson is capable of murder. Orson, on the other hand tells Bree the truth about his mother and the Monique, Alma situation. Bree believes her husband and they return home to clear out Mama Hodge.

Lynnette is off to a meeting with some of the residents of Wisteria Lane when she happens upon the disabled sister of the new neighbor. The sister explains what she and her brother have had to wrought because of Lynnette’s gossping. Lynnette tries to blow the sister off, but then realizes that maybe the sister is right; what if ‘Protector Man’ isn’t really ‘Pedophile Man’? Lynnette then makes her way to the meeting and walks in on what looks like a protest in the making. Picket signs read “Get Our Pedophile!” and “No Child Molesters in our Neighborhood!” Lynnette then realizes that her gossiping has created a monster and she tries to explain that maybe they’ve taken this a little too far. No one hears her cries and she leaves. Finally a few hours later there is a mob on the street in front of the new neighbor’s house and they are telling him to leave. As Lynnette is watching, Tom comes out and proves that maybe he was right, maybe Lynnette should have left well enough alone. Just as he’s done comparing Lynnette’s gossiping to a Mary Shelley novel, an ambulance pulls up onto Wisteria Lane with sirens blaring. Invalid sister is wheeled onto the ambulance and new neighbor dude is trying to lock up the house to go with his sister when a picketer throws a rock at his head. Lynnette tries, in vain, to clear the crowd and then catches neighbor dude and apologizes.

Susan was supposed to be hosting a home-cooked dinner for Ian’s parents when she returns home 40 minutes late to find Ian alone. Ian’s parents were snowed in at O’Hare and wouldn’t be coming to dinner. Susan explains that she out trying to clear Mike’s name. Ian asks why Edie wasn’t doing the legwork for Mike when Susan drops the bomb that Edie dumped Mike (who else asked WTF when Edie dumped Mike AT THE JAILHOUSE!?) Ian then becomes jealous (duh!) and then promises Susan that he’ll pay for the best attorney in town for Mike; providing Susan never sees Mike again. Susan agrees; shows Ian her ‘proof’ and they move on.

Meanwhile back at Casa Hodge; Mama Hodge makes a phone call to a mystery caller and declares that unfortunately Bree is taking Orson back. The two parties agree to meet at the corner in a few minutes.

Lynnette sees neighbor dude packing up his car and walks over to giver her condolences to him for the loss of his sister. The creepy exchange makes you wonder; was he really a predator or did he say those things just to mess with Lynnette? Either way, he’s moving out and this storyline was prematurely ended and honestly, I don’t think many people care whether he was a predator or not.

As the show comes to a close we see Mama Hodge walking towards the corner to meet with her mystery caller. The window goes down on a dark sedan and who do we see; none other than Mrs. Alma Hodge, alive and well and in the flesh.

I’m a little disappointed that they cut the pedophile storyline short, but then again I didn’t think they’d actually have a storyline where one of the child characters were harmed. But I do think they went a little fast with this particular plotline.

The Hodges’ story is quite interesting and my prediction is that Alma and Mama Hodge will kill Bree, trying to get Orson thrown in jail. I believe that Mama Hodge and Alma were the killers of Monique also, only they used Mike’s wrench and tried to implicate Orson in the crime. It’s a good way to get Mike out of jail; have Mama H. and Alma try to kill Bree, Bree thwarts their plan and uncovers the truth; Mike is out of jail; Orson is under a cloud of suspicion no more and we’re on to the next crazy plotline. However any of this turns out will be interesting, it is Wisteria Lane after all!

The Same Old 'Housewives'

By Turtlemama
PTR Staff Writer

With last week’s shocking episode, this week was sure to be interesting, not to mention to start some interesting storylines, seeing as we just ended a very exciting one, with a bang! (sorry, had to do it!)
Lynnette came home from the hospital and tried to hide why she was injured in the first place. That, of course, didn’t last long because of the boys’ classmates. The boys didn’t really seem to care and just thought it was sort of cool that their mom had been shot. Parker however had a different reaction. He didn’t want to leave his mother’s side and stayed with her everywhere she went. I loved how Lynnette handled it, using the neighbor, ‘Protector Man’! It does seem like that little ploy is going to backfire on Lynnette though…

After dropping off the cake Lynnette made for ‘Protector Man’ Parker found the game room in the basement. In the far corner, the swim coach had snapshots of young boys from the rec. center. How do you tell your son “He’s a super hero!” Then turn around and say “Ok, well he isn’t a super hero, he’s a predator, actually…but I’m still safe out in the world without him!” Yeah, that won’t work…He’s a super hero who hurts kids, the world is a terribly nasty place. Not exactly what you want to tell your kids.
Although, with the new neighbor’s secret, and our understanding of Lynnette’s lioness abilities, what will she do about her neighbor? This will be an excellent storyline, I hope!

The humble cookies that Gabby was holding in the photo shoot were priceless! I’m sort of glad that she got called out about her attitude. Without modeling, where is she going to go? I think she’ll go back to Carlos, or try to at least. Next week it looks like she starts a modeling coach job, which is perfect for her, but how long will that last? I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of Carlos…if he can get her to quit modeling, he has a big hold on her, or at least he did. I’m sure it’s still there.

We found out that Orson does have a mother, who he said was mental and at the home because of it. We, well Bree found out that wasn’t exactly true and brought mommy dearest home for dinner. Orson’s mother, (I LOVE Dixie Carter) looks like she’s a force to be reckoned with! Oh I can’t wait to see how this storyline plays out. Bree’s housing two criminals it seems! I’m glad that we’re starting to know who Orson is, and maybe even bond with him a little bit, even if he is evil.


Who didn’t see Julie’s new boyfriend coming from a mile away? And Susan’s response…well, that was to be expected! I’m just waiting for the moment when Julie gets her heart broken, and what Susan does because of it. I also think that this newfound relationship will bring Edie and Susan closer together, which will screw up the whole Mike, Edie, Susan triangle.
Speaking of Susan, why is she still hung up on Mike? She has Ian who is an excellent man, move on, Susan! I realize that you were *thisclose* to getting engaged, but it didn’t work and you have terrible luck with men…so move along! And hurry before this one gets away too!

I’m just so excited that our Housewives are back! Even if the storylines are somewhat boring at predictable at times, that’s what I like about them!

Bang! Then Desperation...

By Turtlemama
PTR Staff Writer

Hi folks! Sorry for my week off, I had finals and well…I watched most TV at 2am three days after the episiodes originally aired, so yeah…didn’t get a chance to write about them until it was old news. But I’m back now so let’s get all caught up on our ‘Housewives’ shall we?

Last week’s episode was EXCELLENT! Lynnette busting down Nora’s door actually had me stopping dead in my tracks and exclaiming “YES!” But I knew that Nora would do something stupid, like try to move away or take the kid from Tom once and for all through the court or something. And this week my suspicions came true, sort of…

First off, Gabby and Carlos, they’re sort of boring me, so let’s get them out of the way quickly, shall we? Carlos got everything in the divorce minus the house…just the house, not the things in it, he got all of those too. So as soon as they get home Gabby begins helping him pack, as she put it, by breaking everything. To which Carlos replies with a sledge hammer and helping Gabby remodel as he put it. It was actually pretty funny when the neighborhood busy body stopped by to tell Gabby and Carlos about the situation at the store and saw the house in shambles and Carlos running by the front door with a sledge hammer. That was pretty funny!

Nora decided to move to Mexico to spite Lynnette and Lynnette brought the subject up to Tom about suing for custody of Kayla. They decided to hire an attorney and while Lynnette was in the store a few days later she runs into Nora who has found out about the custody battle and is mad as hell, as usual!

So now that we have those two sublines set up, let’s get to the meat of the episode, shall we?

We started this week’s episode by Mary Alice narrating what should have happened on that fateful day. Then we see that someone set off Carolyn by telling her about her husband and Monique. That’s when everything went downhill. Carolyn holds everyone in her husband’s supermarket hostage while she waits for him to emerge from his office so that she can shoot him. Tensions run high as everyone starts to realize who all is in the market. Bree, being Bree, has an impromptu party at her house to watch the ‘devastating’ coverage. Deviled egg?

It’s when Bree is told that Lynnette is in the store that she starts to realize what she had done by telling Carolyn that her husband had cheated with the dead woman, Monique.
Julie is caught shoplifting, but she didn’t really do it, Edie’s bad-seed nephew did it to her. And that puts Julie, Edie’s nephew and Susan in the grocery store. As Susan is walking out of the store to go to Paris with Ian, she passes Carolyn, greets her and keeps on walking, leaving Julie behind to stew in her own mess. Susan gets into the limo then tells Ian that she can’t just leave Julie after what just happened, so she puts off going to Paris with Ian and sees Ian on his way. As Susan is walking back to the store she sees people fleeing and realizes that something is wrong. A couple of women running by her exclaim “Crazy woman in the store with a gun holding people hostage!”
We go back and forth showing how everyone is dealing with the current crisis then we go back into the store where Lynnette has gotten herself held hostage with Nora. Nora and Lynnette keep ticking off Carolyn and finally after Carolyn tells Lynnette to keep her and her friend quiet, Lynnette replies “She’s not my friend.” Then it’s spilled that Nora made a move on Tom and BANG! She’s shot. Out of the blue, all of the sudden, just WAM! Blood and a gunshot to the heart. The husband and I both said at the same time “HOLY [censored word that isn’t nice]!” It actually shocked me and made me come to attention, as if I wasn’t already! Carolyn then looks at Lynnette and says “I think the response you’re looking for is ‘Thank You.’” That’s about when Lynnette has it with the crazy woman and after Carolyn tells Lynnette to thank her again Lynnette lays into Carolyn, finally saying “Well maybe you deserved to be cheated on!” Then tries to take it back to which Carolyn replies to by raising her gun. A fellow shopper grabs a can from Lynnette’s basket and throws it at Carolyn, hitting her in the head and the gunshot ends up hitting Lynnette in the arm. Edie’s nephew shows his chivalrous side and wrestles Carolyn to keep her from the gun. Then a parent of a student in Carolyn’s Sunday School class picks up the gun and takes her out. The situation has ended. Nora is dead, Lynnette has been wounded and Carolyn it is assumed, is dead also. Everyone sees their loved ones and hugs are exchanged, happy instrumentals are played and everyone on Wisteria Lane has survived yet another day.

Honestly, this is what I remember ‘Housewives’ being when I first started watching. It was an EXCELLENT episode and last week’s led up to this one perfectly! I think I can safely say that we have our ‘Housewives’ back! YAY!

Housewives Wasn't Very Nice Tonight

By Turtlemama
PTR Staff Writer


Episode 305; Nice She Ain’t

No, I don’t think there was a truly nice female in the most recent episode of ‘Housewives’. Edie is stealing Mike, Nora is trying to steal Tom, Gabby is trying her hardest to hurt Carlos as much as possible. Bree founded a plan to get Danielle’s History teacher to break-up with Danielle (it worked). Susan stole Mike from the hospital to try and get his memory back, ok she wasn’t exactly mean in this episode, but she was the only one! Julie wrote a crappy paper for Edie’s despicable nephew, but made him think she wrote a perfect paper…he got a D-. Even Lynnette said a little too much to Tom about his idea for opening a Pizza place.

I took notes while watching and will just post those, you can understand them, they are in paragraph form…let’s try a new way to discuss ‘Housewives’….next week; Bulleted lists! (KIDDING!)

Orson isn’t psycho, or is he? He’s being very calm and thoughtful and maybe even helpful. I can’t wait until the psycho comes back out…that will be an interesting story!
Danielle is such a DRAMA QUEEN! But hey, “NO rush, she isn’t trying too hard.” Man I laughed so hard!
Only Bree could say “Not in front of the therapist!” ha! That one made me giggle! heee! See, I'm still giggling!
Was Danielle a little ‘80’s’? Wow, that was classic Pat Benetar right there in the therapist’s office.
Bree is AWESOME! Moving her daughter in with the teacher Danielle is sleeping with! If telling him that the student he’s sleeping with is in love with him doesn’t work, THAT certainly will! Oh the ending to THAT story was classic…Teacher breaks up, but Danielle, being Bree’s daughter and all, takes the under-handed way of handling things…Like mother like daughter!

Tom’s Pizza Shack? Now THAT would make for great TV! I can see Lynnette and Tom trying to juggle kids, managing a business and having a life all at the same time now THAT would be interesting.
Ok, by a show of hands, who has been thinking that Nora is trying to break up Tom and Lynnette since episode 2 of this season? I’m telling you, she wants the life of Tom and Lynnette. It was nice to see a conversation between Tom and Nora…Nora mentions conversations, but we haven’t seen one yet without Lynnette in the room.

Carlos and Gabby are just hilarious….I had to think what the chick in the bathtub was thinking when Gabby walked in on her and then Carlos introduced her to his soon-to-be ex-wife. Then Gabby brings in Carlos’ arch enemy! Heee! I love some Gabby and Carlos disagreements. The scene with Gabby and the bed was great! You know, as much as those two are competing with one another, they’ll be back together very soon.

Mike really has a distaste for Susan, Edie is too good, too good at being a nasty, little [censored word that isn’t proper for a lady to publish on a public site]. I’m kind of sick of the whole ‘Susan Can’t Get a Man’ storyline…but I want to see Edie get hers, I hate it when people act like Edie and then good things happen to them….argh! Drives me batty!

Edie’s nephew is a scuzzbucket…and Julie is falling for him….she really doesn’t want to though, not that I can blame her (for not wanting to fall for him, he creeps me out).

Dead woman has Mike’s phone number on her? Ok, someone tell me their theory on that one, ‘cause I’m lost…but it explains Orson being connected to him. If you remember when they found the woman, Orson said in French “You are the first”…so he’s killed at least two women, and I bet Mike knows/knew about it.

Have you seen the new Desperate Housewives GAME!? Wow, they’ll sell anything they can brand won’t they?

'Housewives' has awakened!

By Turtlemama
PTR Staff Writer

Last night’s Desperate Housewives was full of intrigue, astonishment, and some eye-opening revelations…where to begin?

Mike woke up and didn’t remember the last two years of his life. So, Edie, being the good Samaritan that she is, clued him in to a few things. One thing that Edie told Mike was that Susan was a bad girlfriend….ahhh the days of Susan and Edie competing over a man! It’s going to be an interesting story, folks! Who doesn’t love two desperate, single women feuding over a man?
Susan ran back from her weekend retreat with Ian, to find Mike not remembering her or the last two years and then he asked her to leave his room and not to bother coming back. Ouch! But there is that debonair, hunky Ian on the side…but I’m sure his wife will wake up in the next few weeks and Susan will be back competing with Edie, as it should be.

Bree found out that her daughter is sleeping with her History teacher, her son was a male hooker and the local doctor…well he was a client of Andrew’s. Bree told the doctor’s wife, who told Bree that she knew what her husband was doing. Well, well…there is some dirty laundry left to be aired, isn’t there?

Lynnette, being my true hero, bribed a kid on the ball field to give her son a pitch he could hit. Then, after Parker hit the kid in the head, everyone found out that Lynnette had bribed him and both he and Parker were kicked off their respective teams. While trying to get Parker back on the team for the remainder of the season, the coach says “Well, we do need new batting helmets.” To which Lynnette replied “Are you asking for a bribe!?”
“Are you acting as if you’re above it?” replies the coach.
“I’ll get my checkbook!” Lynnette says as she turns towards her car.
That was CLASSIC! I loved it! Best part of the entire episode!

Then at the end, Bree is telling Orson not to eat the pie in the kitchen that it’s for Mike.
“Mike Delfino?” Asks Orson.
“Yeah, he woke up today, isn’t that great!?” answers Bree.
To which Orson gives a menacing, puzzled, worried look and the credits rolled.

So, I ask you, what’s that all about? If you remember he was the one who ran Mike down in the middle of town while Mike was heading off to propose to Susan. So, what’s that story all about? It’s very interesting and I really want to see where Orson fits into Mike’s back story. If you remember, we don’t know much about Mike’s true story, just about his investigative background. I’m very interested in this storyline, indeed.

I really hope that Lynnette’s story gets some more air time, I’m a huge Lynnette fan and I’d like to see more with her and Tom and his lack of finding employment…I think that could be an excellent storyline!

'Housewives' really 'Like It Was'

Last night's episode of 'Housewives', aptly titled 'Like It Was' really was classic 'Housewives'. I was engaged the full 45 minutes (we TiVo, no commercials, so it's really only 45 minutes). I was interested, I wanted to see more and the previews for next week left me wanting more. I'm not sure why we had two episodes of 'filler' but those were pretty bad, well maybe bad is the wrong word...boring is the better word for those episodes.
Orson went and found Bree's estranged son and acted as if he had a heart and really wanted Andrew to return home. But you have to wonder if there is another motive behind that move. Everyone has an agenda, right? We'll just have to watch and wait.

Susan's time at the cabin with her 'friend' Ian. All does not go well, as Ian has only been with one woman in his life, his now-comatose wife. Susan, on the other hand has been with 9 or 11, she wasn't so clear with the number. He freaks out a little and she feels as if he's judging her to be 'loose'. The scenes were hilarious between the two. At one point, Susan runs off to her room and Ian knocks on the door and Susan responds "Sorry I'm with a client." It was laugh outloud funny! Classic 'Housewives', that's what I like about this show, and finally we get to see it again.

Lynnette has to go on a road trip with Nora, which goes all kinds of ways wrong. Lynnette finally tells Nora that she's a nutjob, which sends Nora spinning out of control...finally Lynnette and Nora meet back up (after a trip into on coming traffic and Nora hitching a ride with a truck driver) and they actually talk to one another. It was nice to see the explosion finally happen. Nora reveals info about Tom to Lynnette and we finally get to see 'inside' Tom and Lynnette's marriage, which I always loved about their story.

Gabby hooked up with John again , remember the gardener? He's now successful and well off, financially, and engaged...which Gabby didn't know. The elevator scene...CLASSIC!! I think that was my favorite part of the entire episode.

Oh yeah, Mike, remember Mike...dude in coma? Edie goes to visit him, well she went to get her CD player from his room, where Susan left it for him. Right before she left, she took a peek under the covers, then walks out the room and turns back to see him awake! YAY! I like Mike and hope that Susan ends up with him, I think they could make their relationship pretty interesting.

All in all, I think 'Housewives' is getting back on track, I'm not sure why we had such a bumpy start. I think Bree should have held off her wedding, to find Andrew instead of getting amrried and canceling her honeymoon. I think that would have been a better way to show Orson's true colors (if they're going the way I think they're going with that storyline). All in all, it was class 'Desperate Housewives' last night and next week's episode looks like more of the same! Maybe Marc Cherry has been reading the blogs about how bored we've all become with the 'Housewives'? Either way I'm back to being a 'Housewives' lover!

Disenchanted ‘Housewives’

Well folks, I’ve been stewing about this review all day today (well sort of, between writing code for school and cursing my textbook anyway!). See, when ‘Desperate Housewives’ first aired I was hooked. It was a great show and the characters were awesome (my sister and I have a word for the high-strung ‘Bree’ types…we say “Muffin?”). Last season wasn’t that great, but the ending was pretty awesome! The start of this season however has me re-thinking my love of Wisteria Lane. I’m a little sad with the writers and producers of ‘Housewives’ because it seems that they’ve just become disenchanted with Wisteria Lane and its inhabitants. The story of ‘Housewives’ was interesting, it’s a show about women, created by a man who modeled it after the neighborhood he grew up in as a child. It was a recipe for success! But now it seems that ‘Housewives’ has sort of become ‘That Show You Watch On Sunday’ just because everyone else does.

Last week I had my doubts, this week those doubts are even stronger. I could recap the whole episode in about two sentences… Bree doubted her new husband but married him anyway and during the reception a body was found, but wasn’t the last wife. Gabby and Carlos’ baby came out black due to their embryo and another couple’s embryo being switched, they left the baby at the hospital. That’s it my friends, it was boring. Sure, there were a few funny spots, but just like a lukewarm party at an old friend’s house it was nothing spectacular. To be this early into the season we really should be glued to our TVs and chomping at the bit to see more. But honestly folks, come Tuesday afternoon I’m going to forget what’s going on and will really need that recap of this past episode.

See, last season we had a lot going on, Bree dumped her son on the side of the road, she watched her boyfriend die after a failed attempt to get her back (he poisoned himself and she let him die instead of calling 911) and then she started a relationship with the dentist who ran down Mike in the middle of town. Lynnette was juggling work and home and had just found out that her husband had a 12-year-old daughter from a relationship back in college. The mother of said daughter decided to move closer to The Scavos so that her daughter could see her dad (and I’m sure mom wanted to bum off her former flame’s successes). Gabby had a baby on the way, but her husband cheated on her so they decided to get a divorce. Susan’s soon-to-be fiancée was plowed down, as mentioned above and she was ‘stood up’ or so she though.

That’s a lot of stuff to play off of, and what happened in the first two episodes of this season? Bree jumps the gun and gets married…this just isn’t right for so many reasons. Susan yet again has man troubles and now decides to date a man whose wife is in a coma at the same hospital as Mike. Lynnette is dealing with crazy love-child’s mother, and that’s about all that we’ve seen with her. Gabby was so excited to be having a baby again and she cheated on Carlos earlier, so why break it off that quickly with him AND leave her baby at the hospital, even though the baby wasn’t technically ‘hers’…??? It just seems that they want to get through this season and do it now so that they don’t have to put any work into anything.

Next week they’re bringing back Bree’s son and they show a scene where Bree is telling her new husband “He’s eating out of dumpsters! I have to find him!” HUH? Where was that thought when she dropped him off in the middle of nowhere? I would have taken that storyline and brought the kid back in a little while with a new boyfriend and a job and he’s self-supportive and everyone’s happy….he’s just still pissed at Mom.
It’s just not making sense, it’s loosely tied together, if at all and I’m sorry to say that I’m just not feeling the love for the ladies like I used to.

Desperate Housewives...how desperate is it?

Hello Pass The Remote readers! As you may know, this is my first post here at Pass The Remote (I’ll just say PTR from now on). My name is Turtlemama, I’ll be giving recaps on Desperate Housewives, Gilmore Girls and possibly you’ll see my name in some of the Lost posts. I’m a huge TV addict and have an extensive TiVo lineup. You can read more about my watching habits over at my TV blog; http://tvturtle.wordpress.com/ But for now, let’s get on with the reason you’re reading this blog!

It’s that time of year again; Time to begin our walk down Wisteria Lane. We left off last season with Lynette learning that her husband has another child & learning how to cope with a new child in the picture and the girl’s crazy mother. Gabrielle is expecting again and shocker of shockers, the mysterious dentist, Orson, ran down Mike! This premiere was highly anticipated by this addict, was it all for nothing? Or did the premiere deliver?

Housewives lived up to my anticipation. Bree’s engagement was a little out of left field, but seeing Orson’s torrid past made it all so clear. Yet I kept thinking “Sure he killed his previous wife, but she wasn’t as OCD as he was and Bree, well hey, Bree is in a class by herself when it comes to OCD…They’d be great together!” Yeah, yeah…no one should marry a murderer, but then again this is Wisteria Lane….what more would you expect!?
I’m a little sad that Mike is in a coma and I’m hoping that they don’t kill him off, but I could see it happening if the writers decide to just drop the whole Zach/Mike storyline now that Paul’s in jail. Hopefully Susan can get into a decent relationship, but again…on ‘Housewives’ decent isn’t even in their vocabulary!

Lynnette….Sweet, sweet Lynnette, if I could be half the woman Lynnette is, I’d be a happy, happy girl! Poor Lynnette; dealing with the crazy loon that is her husband’s love child’s momma, I’d have hit the woman, but that’s just me. I’m so glad that Lynnette finally made Tom choose between her or the crazy loon & the girl. But honestly, I’m ready to see her back at work and playing corporate superwoman, she’s my hero!
I am curious what they’re going to do with the Gabby/Carlos/Baby thing. If you remember Gabby didn’t want a baby, then got pregnant, miscarried and now has a surrogate in the form of her Chinese housekeeper…who is taking full advantage of the bed rest she’s been ordered to by having Gabby wait on her hand and foot. Which led to a confrontation and then Gabby ‘lost the baby’ as Carlos put it, when the housekeeper went MIA (in the closet of the Young house, which is now for sale).

We ended with Gabby still waiting on the housekeeper, Bree thinking about the information that Orson’s previous neighbor dropped on her at their engagement party, in front of the whole neighborhood nonetheless! Susan was missing Mike & Lynnette was still adjusting to the new woman in Tom’s life.

All in all it was a good premiere, just enough to keep me coming back for more. I’m sure that season three will be just as good as the past ones, although I’ve started noticing a trend among the storylines, each character has the same storyline over and over….that’s going to get old, but I hold out hope that Marc Cherry will deliver and we’ll be saved from Desperate Housewives getting too desperate.
It’s funny, there were so many changes from seasons past that I kind of just want the old housewives back, where they deal with their kids and try to keep their dirty little secrets hidden. I’m almost sad that they’ve become so honest with one another.

Next week’s episode looks pretty interesting, as usual most seasons don’t really get going until around November sweeps, so I’ll keep watching and writing!

'Housewives' Grow More 'Desperate' as the Season Ends! Plus a Possible Schedule Shuffle at NBC and TV on DVD Monday

It's not that I wasn't expecting thrills, chills and surprises from the 2-hour season finale of Desperate Housewives last night, but that didn't guarantee that I wouldn't end the hour feeling a little dissatisfied. The episode was strong overall, but I was annoyed at the way they ended it without giving us any clue about Mike's condition. Is he dead? Seriously injured? And then there was the fact that the dentist (Kyle MacLachlan) was the one behind the wheel. I suspect that it had something to do with Mike recognizing him, but I wonder what he's trying to keep secret. Is he a real dentist? Did he spend time in jail and then escape ala Prison Break? I know this is meant to carry over into next season, and I'm totally cool with that - just tell us how Mike's doing! I figured that the Applewhite story line would run its course at the end of the season, so no surprises there. Overall, it was a satisfying finale that was better than most of the episodes this season. Here's a breakdown of everyone's story lines last night.

Lynette - I'm still jumping up and down Scavo style over the joyous news that Tom wasn't cheating on Lynette. I was going to be so mad if things turned out that way, but they didn't. The former one-night stand/mother of his daughter character was pretty funny. I can see her creating all sorts of trouble next season. Lynette is so difficult when it comes to other women and her husband. The potential is endless.

Susan - I was mad when she accepted that house from Karl, and so glad when she changed her mind. In the end, Karl was a good guy about the whole thing, and he was willing to let Susan go so she could be happy. He may be a total slime ball when it comes to women, but he did the right thing and I have to give him props. Susan was left thinking that Mike stood her up, but she'll learn soon enough that he was a bit incapacitated. I do think that she and Mike should ultimately end up together.

Bree - So admitting herself to the hospital was simply a ploy to get medicated and take some time off from her crazy life? Too bad things didn't work out like she planned, especially when things took a serious turn with Danielle. As soon as we learned for sure that Matthew was responsible for Melanie's death, I figured Danielle was in serious trouble as well. I thought Bree's display in front of Danielle with a gun to her face was impressive, and I can only hope that it becomes the glue she needs to keep her relationship with Danielle together.

The Applewhites - I've assumed all season that Caleb was innocent and that Matthew was the real monster, so the confirmation was not a shock. I was surprised to see how far he took the whole running away thing. Overall though, I am just glad that this story line has finally wrapped.

Gaby - I really didn't think that Carlos was cheating with Xiao Mei because it just seemed too obvious, but I was very wrong. I'm not a fan of this story line, but I did enjoy the irony of Gaby the cheater getting a dose of her own medicine. I just wish they had left Gaby and Carlos alone because I was really enjoying their relationship this season. I still maintain that their story was the strongest all season, but I'm not thrilled that it ended on such a sour note.

Zach - Is he not his grandfather's grandson or what? He's diabolical enough to pull the plug on his newly found grandfather and then use his inherited fortune for himself instead of helping out the only father he has ever known. E-VIL!

This show was so hot and cold this season, and that was reflected in last night's finale. Overall, I thought it rocked, but there were some of those stories that just didn't sit well with me. The first few episodes of next season will be critical. If I don't enjoy the stories, then I might be eliminating this show from my TiVo Season Passes, especially since my Cold Case will be on up against it starting in the fall. If you missed last night's finale, you can click over to abc.com to view it for free.

To read thoughts on last night's Cold Case finale, including screen caps and videos, click HERE.

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with the season finale of Cold Case, followed by the second hour of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (which had more total viewers) and NBC's Dateline. At 9, ABC took over with the first hour of the Desperate Housewives finale, followed by a CSI: Miami rerun on CBS and the first hour of NBC's movie 10.5 Apocalypse. The final hour of the night went to the last hour of ABC's Desperate Housewives, followed by CBS' CSI: NY rerun and NBC's movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Oprah Winfrey brings to television her personal archival footage from the three-day, once-in-a-lifetime celebration honoring 25 legendary women in the fields of art, entertainment and civil rights on ABC's special Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball. NBC airs another edition of Deal or No Deal.

@9 p.m. - Andy, Ephram and Delia are all shocked by a visit from Andy's estranged father (guest star Charles Durning) on the WB's Everwood.

FEATURED FINALES TONIGHT!!!
Alias (9 p.m. ABC) - The spy thriller wraps up its five season run with a 2-hour episode. In the first hour, Sloane takes Marshall and Rachel hostage in order to discover a crucial clue to Rambaldis ultimate endgame. In the second, Sydney and Jack must find a way to keep Sloane and Irina from putting their deadly plan into action on the series finale.

24 (8 p.m. Fox) - Agent Jack Bauer seeks to avenge the painful loss of innocent lives on the 2-hour 5th season finale.

Medium (10 p.m. NBC) - Allison has visions of her life had she become the high-powered attorney she originally set out to be on the 2nd season finale.

OTHER FINALES TONIGHT!!!
King of Queens (8 p.m. CBS) - 8th season finale
The New Adventures of Old Christine (9:30 p.m. CBS) - 1st season finale
Two and a Half Men (9 p.m. CBS) - 3rd season finale
CSI: Miami (10 p.m. CBS) - 4th season finale

To see what else you can catch on television tonight with customized listings for your area (via Zap2it), visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.


QUICK CUTS

*NBC might be reshuffling its new schedule a week after it announced it. According to TVGuide.com, the network is considering moving the new Aaron Sorkin dramedy Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip from its announced Thursday night slot to Mondays after learning that ABC is moving megahit Grey's Anatomy to the highly contested 9 p.m. Thursday slot against CBS' CSI. The move might also bring back Scrubs sooner than expected.

*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for the first season of Boston Legal to hit shelves tomorrow along with The Closer (season 1), The 4400 (season 2), Deadwood (season 2), M*A*S*H (season 10) and Wings (seasons 1 & 2). To see a complete list of tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.


That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on tonight's Everwood episode and Medium finale (NOTE: I will be doing a Finale Blowout edition on Alias later this week, so stay tuned for that!). Plus, all the latest television news! And I just wanted to end this edition today with a special shout-out to Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. After breaking his leg in three places, undergoing 6 hours of surgery and receiving 23 screws and a plate in his leg, he's beginning his long road to recovery with a 50-50 chance of surviving according to his doctors. Despite the horrific injury, he tried to keep racing and he was practically jogging after surgery yesterday, proving that it's all about attitude. Pass the Remote sends along our best wishes for a speedy and successful recovery Barbaro!

To get more television coverage, including the network's new fall schedules and a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote with a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.

'West Wing' Goes Out with the Respect it Deserves! Plus, 'Housewives,' a 'Heaven'-ly Reprieve and More From the Upfronts

As a rule, I dislike series finales because I spend the entire episode teetering on the brink of balling as the realization that it's really over sets in. The West Wing lost me as a regular viewer around the same time it lost creator Aaron Sorkin, but I did manage to catch episodes from time to time. I found the campaign story line that occupied the last couple of seasons to be thrilling and engaging and it really brought a creative resurgence to a show that was in serious need of one. Then NBC moved the show up against Cold Case this season, and admittedly, I only caught a handful of this season's episodes. But there was no way I was missing the final episode of a series that I used to watch faithfully and always considered to be one of television's finest (of course it didn't hurt that Cold Case wasn't on last night). Even though I haven't been a loyal viewer these last few seasons, I still found myself in that awkward stage of being on the verge of crying. This episode wasn't just the end of the series, but the end of the Bartlet era. It was emotional to see all the staffers that we have known through the years separate to begin new lives elsewhere, but I managed to keep it together the entire episode. I figured I would finally lose it during the last scene, but that scene was filled with so much hope and happiness that I walked away from the hour feeling satisfied.


It's really a shame that NBC didn't give this show a 2-hour send off. I felt like it was moving along perfectly until it sort of ended all of a sudden without giving us a chance to say goodbye to Toby. I was also surprised that we didn't see some of Santos' acceptance speech, especially since he and Bartlet discussed it in the limo before and after he gave it. I was curious to hear some of what he had to say. Bartlet's pardon was expected, and I loved the little smile CJ gave when she found out. I also LOVED her last scene in the street when the man and his son asked her if she worked in the White House. The best scene of the episode, though was on the plane with Jed and Abbey on their way to New Hampshire and back to a normal life (btw - LOVED Abbey's assertion that Jed hadn't driven, used a telephone, wrote a check, etc in eight years). Jed opened his gift from Mallory to find the napkin with the words, "Bartlet for America" framed. Leo had given Jed that very napkin when he asked him to run. It was a nice tribute to Leo (John Spencer) and a fitting tribute to a show that brought us so many incredible episodes, powerful moments, amazing performances and unforgettable characters. So today, I tip my hat to The West Wing for going out with the same respect that it brought to the table 7 years ago. Thanks for the memories!


With the stuff beginning to hit the fan last night on Desperate Housewives, it's no surprise that the big finale airs next week. Last night's episode had plenty of funny moments (Edie spilling to Susan, Edie and the bee stings, Lynette and the car alarm and Gaby having to go low maintenance) and it also threw in an interesting twist with Paul. Here's a character by character breakdown of thoughts on each of their story lines:

Edie/Susan - HILARIOUS! I loved the way Edie flat out told Susan that she burned down her house. It was even funnier when Susan wore the wire and Edie kept eating popcorn while she said what she did. And then there was the bee sting hospital scene, which was an instant DH classic! In fact, this story line gets my vote for best of the night. I'm glad to see Susan trying to do things for herself, hopefully, she'll stick to it. Funny that she'll have Edie to thank for it too.

Lynette/Tom - I've read the theories that Tom is living a double life with Lynette in California (is this where this show takes place?) and another wife in Atlantic City, but I didn't think the solution to his sneaking around was this easy or cliched, so I dismissed it. After last night's antics, I think I may have moved over to Team Two Wives. I'm not completely buying it yet, though. I REALLY hope I'm wrong. Oh and shouldn't Tom have known better? He knows Lynette has major jealousy issues, so it was a no-brainer that she would follow him just to ease her mind.

Gaby/Carlos - Just when I think Gaby can't get any more selfish, she manages to pull it off. I was appalled at the way she was treating the woman who is gracious enough to carry her baby for her! But, things with Gaby are never that simple (which is why in my opinion, Gaby's story line has been the best all season bar none). She may have only admitted that she's starting to feel a little jealous about the baby and Carlos, but I have a feeling that she's also feeling it a bit because of the way Carlos treats Xiao-Mei and puts her ahead of Gaby. It seems like only a matter of time before Carlos gets a little too close to Xiao-Mei.

Bree - Checking herself into the mental hospital was the SANEST thing that Bree has done all season. I knew that throwing Andrew out of the car in the middle of nowhere was too cold, even for Bree and even with everything that has happened between them. She's an absolute mess and the actual breakdown was seriously only a few scenes away. Hopefully, she'll get the help that she needs.

The Applewhites - No comment. No, really, this story line gets more ridiculous by the second. Luckily, there wasn't much going on with them last night, but the "Locked in the Basement" thing is ridiculous enough.

Paul - Felicia set him up good. I'm not a fan of Paul's , but Felicia isn't getting my sympathy either. I get that she wants him to pay for what he did to her sister, but she's taking away the only father Zach has ever known. Won't somebody think of the children??

So, what did you think about last night's Desperate Housewives? How about the final episode of The West Wing? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Also, if you missed last night's episode of Desperate Housewives, you can watch it free at abc.com.

RANDOM THOUGHT OF THE DAY - What the crap happened on Friday's episode of Las Vegas??? I'm not a regular viewer, but I catch an episode from time to time and happened to see Friday's shocker. Ed cannot die!!! I was only half watching the episode, so that gun shot scene shocked me like Ana Lucia and Libby's shootings on Lost. I had chills up and down my spine and everywhere in between. Crazy stuff!

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with the first hour of the Survivor finale, followed by ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and NBC's The West Wing series finale. At 9, ABC took over with Desperate Housewives, followed by the second hour of CBS' Survivor finale and the first hour of NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent finale. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy, followed by the last hour of NBC's L&O: CI and CBS' Survivor reunion show. To see more of last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~ (NOTE: President Bush will address the nation at 8 p.m., so expect about a 20-25 minute delay in some program start times)
@8 p.m. - NBC airs a special 90-minute episode of Deal or No Deal featuring Regis Philbin.

@9 p.m. - Reid asks Amy out on a date after getting released from the hospital on the WB's Everwood. ABC wraps up the final two hours of the Grey's Anatomy finale. Over on Fox, Agent Bauer goes to unrelenting patriotic lengths in pursuit of the incriminating evidence against President Logan on 24.

@10 p.m. - The lives of Horatio's loved ones are put in danger when the brutal Mal Noche gang orders a hit on him on CBS' CSI: Miami.

FEATURED FINALES TONIGHT!!!
Prison Break (8 p.m. Fox) - With the escape in motion, Michael, Lincoln and the inmates take flight outside the prison walls, risking life and limb to evade capture on the 1st season finale.

Grey's Anatomy (9 p.m. ABC) - Izzie and George attend to Denny as the pressure increases to find him a new heart, Cristina suddenly finds herself in charge of an ER, and Derek grapples with the realization that the life of a friend is in his hands. In the second hour, Richard goes into interrogation mode about a patients condition, Callie confronts George about his feelings for her, and Meredith and Derek meet about Doc on the 2-hour 2nd season finale.

OTHER FINALES TONIGHT!!!
One on One (8 p.m. UPN) - 5th season finale
All of Us (8:30 p.m. UPN) - 3rd season finale
How I Met Your Mother (8:30 p.m. CBS) - 1st season finale
Half & Half (9 p.m. UPN) - 1-hour 4th season finale

To see what else you can catch on television tonight with customized listings for your area (via Zap2it), visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.



QUICK CUTS

*UPFRONTS UPDATES: It may be NBC's day for schedule announcements, but that doesn't mean that other networks weren't stealing some thunder. First up, ABC is not renewing Invasion. There had been rumors that the new CW network might be interested in picking up the sci-fi drama if ABC canceled it, but now even those rumors seem to be dead in the water. The network is also saying goodbye to Freddie and Hope & Faith. ABC is, however, giving its new drama What About Brian a second chance. The network renewed the show for a second season. Also getting a reprieve, the long-running 7th Heaven after wrapping up its series finale last week. The CW is officially picking up the show for a 13-episode 11th season. Fox will bring back teen soap The O.C., with or without Mischa Barton, and comedies The Loop and The War at Home. Stay tuned to Pass the Remote for the latest on the network upfronts this week.

*For the third time since its inception, CBS' Without a Trace is credited for helping find another missing person. The series features a different real-life missing person each week and The CBS Early Show does a more in depth piece the following morning. The May 4th broadcast of Trace and the May 5th broadcast of The Early Show featured 26-year old Kristy Ormsby who had been missing for two years. After the broadcasts, a tip came in on her whereabouts and authorities found her safe in North Carolina and apprehended her former boyfriend. The program is also credited with helping find missing siblings in July of 2005 and a missing toddler last month. Without a Trace airs Thursday nights on CBS.

*Fox's 24 is coming to a MySpace.com account near you. The online community, owned by Fox's parent company News Corp, will begin selling episodes from the first and fifth seasons of the hit series for the standard $1.99 an episode. News Corp. hopes the deal will turn the popular site into a business that rivals iTunes and Yahoo!'s episode downloads.

*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for the first season of That Girl to hit shelves tomorrow along with The Big Valley (season 1), Grounded for Life (season 2), Hill Street Blues (season 2) and Supernanny (season 1). To see a list of all of tomorrow's listings, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.


That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Everwood. Plus, breaking scheduling news from ABC (Will Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy stay on Sunday nights? Tune in tomorrow for breaking news on all of ABC's schedule changes) and the latest television news!

To get more television coverage, including a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for detail

Second Time's the Charm for this 'Case!' Plus 'Housewives,' 'Mars' Photos and 'Reba' Out?

So, we had another strong case last night with an interesting resolution, but Lilly was still MIA (despite the picture to the left). Sure, she popped in for a few scenes, but otherwise, she wasn't in it much. Call me crazy, but I like when the show that is billed as "the lone female detective in the Philadelphia homicide squad who finds her niche when she's assigned to 'cold cases'" (from cbs.com) to actually be about said "lone female detective" solving cold cases. Yes I know, we lost the whole "lone female detective" thing when Kat took up permanent residence, but it has been OK so far because we still get the feeling that Lil's playing quarterback. Last night and last week, it felt like she was on the sidelines. There are so many ensemble cop shows on the air that it was always nice to have one that centered on a woman. Oh well, in two weeks this will all be water under the bridge because we'll all be discussing the finale that appears to be centered completely on our favorite female detective and I'll be singing the show's praises for finally giving us some much deserved Lilly stuff and so on and so forth. Since we're not there yet, let's discuss last night's interesting and tragic episode (I'll talk about the finale's preview later - don't worry). First, I felt so relieved for Jeffries when Stillman brokered that deal with the new ADA. I'm also quite excited about the new ADA because ever since Lilly mixed a little too much pleasure with her business with Kite (totally his fault, though), our favorite cold case detectives haven't had any legal guidance. I'm hoping that new ADA fills the void. Anyway, back to Jeffries and his desk detail. The poor man had nothing to do for days on end. While his fellow detectives were out arresting suspects and conducting interrogations, he was stuck inside at his desk making origami. On the plus side, he totally has everyone's Christmas gifts set as long as they all enjoy a nice Japanese Crane (or flying squirrel in Vera's case).


When Jeffries went back on duty, he was in top form too. He even managed to get a good jab in on Vera's excitement over a woman calling him. Poor Vera, he looked so disappointed when Jeffries dissed his woman. I know it doesn't sound like it, but all of the detectives were working on the 1984 murder of a prominent ER doctor. This episode was certainly a raw look at gambling addictions. A man who was on top of the world lost absolutely everything (including his life) to his addiction. There were so many scenes that really allowed that to hit home in this episode. First, we see him lying to his wife about having to stay late at the ER, then his credit cards get denied at a nice restaurant in front of his son's girlfriend and her family, and then we see him trying to steal money from his wife's purse and learn that the check he wrote to Cornell for his son's tuition bounced. Not to mention losing his relationship with his son, making medical mistakes, losing the ability to pay any of his son's tuition and having to send him to community college (and the son worked two jobs just to pay his own tuition) and of course, his actual death. As much as it was his own fault, I couldn't help but to feel very sorry for him at the same time. I just wish someone had gotten him some help before it was too late. The scene where he almost robbed Mrs. Lee was so heartbreaking! Here was the last person on the face of the earth who still thought he was a hero and a good man, and he was this close to taking every dime she had. Did anybody continuously notice the charm that Cy kept putting on his cards? It stuck out to me, and when I saw Mrs. Lee wearing it, I knew that Cy was the killer, but like Lilly, I couldn't figure out why he would do it. I was all proud of myself for my fantastic detective skills. My little proud bubble burst very quickly when Cy told the story about how he "killed" Dr. Bowen. I say "killed" because it was more like friend - assisted suicide than murder. Dr. Bowen saw no other way out of his predicament than to pay the rest of his life insurance and have Cy shoot and kill him so his family could get the $1.5 million policy. In the end, he wanted to take full responsibility for what he did to his family and he wanted to give them a chance at having a better life by taking his own. It killed me that Cy had to pay for what he did because he made the ultimate sacrifice for his friend. Just an all around tragic story. I have to say that seeing Kat telling the son what his father did made things a little better for me. I hated the fact that he was still angry with his father, and I'm so glad he knows the truth.


Scotty pulled a Stabler (from L&O: SVU) last night with that child molester beat down. Can't say I blame him, though. I just wonder if there are going to be repercussions to what he did. I guess the "victim" would have to file charges against Scotty, but then he runs the risk of the truth about himself coming out. How creepy that he was sitting in the park watching the kids, picking his victim. In case you're wondering, that injury that I hinted at with spoilers was sustained during that closing montage beating that we saw. I won't give anything away, but I will say that there's a reference to it in the finale. And speaking of the finale, what about that preview last night? I don't take much stock in previews because they tend to exaggerate and completely mislead, but this one seemed pretty accurate to CBS' release (WARNING link contains spoilers) on the episode. I was a little perturbed that they revealed the big "twist," which I'll refer to as the not - twist now. I won't discuss it in case you missed it, but it annoyed me. Anyway, what has come over our dear Lilly? We all know she works a little too much and gets a little too involved in her cases, which is why we love her, but this "obsession" (if you will) is something else. Did you see her looking at the victim's picture... IN BED??!! This is going to be great! I can't wait!


Even though I never thought for a second that Betty Applewhite would actually euthanize her own son, I still thought the entire storyline was ridiculous. What I wasn't expecting was for Bree and Andrew's story to be ridiculous as well. First of all, Andrew stooped low enough when he had Danielle dress and act provocatively around Peter just to trigger his sex addiction. Things got more out of control, though, when he expected Danielle to sleep with Peter just to make Bree mad until he learned that Peter slept with a lot of "people" during his addiction. Cut to Andrew and Peter together and Bree walking in on them. As mad as Bree must have been, I can completely understand her wanting Andrew out of the house, but dropping him off in the middle of nowhere like a pet's latest litter of babies (HATE people who do that by the way), seemed way too cold even for these two. Bree and Betty really do have a lot in common, don't they? As usual, Gaby's story line was the best. She is so selfish and the ways it manifests itself is very funny. I'm still not thrilled about Tom and Lynette's job situation, and I don't like the idea of messing with their marriage. When I said on Friday that Susan's goose was so cooked, I guess I should have said that her house was so cooked! I can't believe Edie burned it down! So last night I learned never to cross Edie for any reason and while finally coming clean about your feelings, be sure that your house is not being covered in gasoline and then lit on fire! If you missed last night's episode of Desperate Housewives, click over to abc.com to watch it for free.

We have only one more day until the edge-of-your-seat finale of Veronica Mars! To get even more pumped up, I have two exciting things today. First, you can now purchase the first season's DVD set for half price at amazon.com! That's right, you can get season 1 for only $30!! Also, the second season set is slated to hit store shelves August 22nd. For all the details on it, click on over to tvshowsondvd.com. And finally, in honor of the finale airing tomorrow night, here are more photos from the big episode courtesy of Warner Bros./UPN.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the final set of photos! To see more photos from the finale, be sure to check out this past Friday's edition of Friday Fun.

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with Cold Case, followed by ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and NBC's The West Wing. At 9, ABC took the lead with Desperate Housewives, followed by NBC's Law & Order: CI and CBS' CSI rerun. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy, followed by NBC's Crossing Jordan and another CSI rerun on CBS. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - The escape plan hinges on whether or not Sara "forgets" to lock the door on Fox's Prison Break. NBC has another episode of Deal or No Deal. Over on ABC, it's a David Blaine special - David Blaine: Drowned Alive.

@9 p.m. - Reid attempts the unthinkable after learning last week that he was expelled from med school on the WB's Everwood. Stay tuned for a special PSA after the broadcast. Over on Fox, Jack has the recording, but will Logan shoot down the plane on 24?

@10 p.m. - Kelsey Grammer guest stars as Death on NBC's Medium. Over on CBS, Horatio gets married on CSI: Miami.

FINALES TONIGHT!!!
7th Heaven (8 p.m. The WB) - It's the end of an era as this family drama ends its 10-year run with Simon's wedding. Look for special guest stars Barry Watson and yes, Jessica Biel returns.
All of Us (8:30 p.m. UPN) - 3rd season finale
Girlfriends (9 p.m. UPN) - 6th season finale
What About Brian (10 p.m ABC) - 1st season finale

To see what else you can catch on television tonight with customized listings for your area (via Zap2it), visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.


QUICK CUTS

*TVGuide.com is reporting (via Variety) that the new CW network is not extending an invitation to the WB's Reba to join the upstart network this fall. The comedy, starring Reba McEntire as a Texas mother struggling to keep her family together, just wrapped up its fifth season on the WB Friday night. No official word yet from the show or the CW on the news.

*Just can't part with That 70s Show or Malcolm in the Middle when they end their runs this month? You could own a piece of each show! Fox is auctioning off props from both shows on eBay. Items such as the Formans' living room couch and Malcolm's kitchen table are available for bidding. All of the proceeds go to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Young Storytellers Foundation. Malcolm will wrap up May 14th and That 70s Show will end its run May 18th on Fox. To see all of the items up for bid, click on over to eBay.

*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for third season of Scrubs (get all the DVD details HERE) to hit store shelves tomorrow along with Everybody Loves Raymond (season 6), Rescue Me (season 2), Life Goes On (season 1) and The West Wing (season 6). For a complete list of tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.


That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Everwood and Medium. Plus, all the latest news and more pictures from the Veronica Mars finale!

To get more television coverage, including a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details

Lilly and Co. Bring a War Criminal to Justice! Plus, 'Housewives' and News on 'Mars' and 'Surface'

Cold Case went all out last night. We got an interesting, compelling story as our case, a very believable motive, fascinating characters, incredible flashbacks and continuity with the Jeffries storyline all packed into one episode. The only thing missing was Lilly. She seemed a little MIA last night, although I thoroughly enjoyed her trip to New York and her airport parking deck interrogation, but other than that, she wasn't in it much. You know I love my Lil, but I was actually OK with her lack of scenes this once because the story was too damn good to worry about anything trivial. Besides, from the sound of things, she's getting a lot (Yay!) in the season finale at the end of the month. Moving along, though, because there's plenty to say about this wonderful episode and little room to say it in. The older cases are always iffy for me. They either don't interest me or they fascinate me. I know, it's weird, but it has to do with how well they tie the case into the history and the culture of the year and how relatable they make the victim. Loretta (Lo) was absolutely fascinating and the story of what she uncovered had me glued to my television. I thought something was "off" about Noah, but I wasn't sure what it was. I kept thinking that it was weird that they hadn't shown us his tatoo, but I dismissed it. I didn't figure out that he was actually a Nazi guard at the camp that the real Noah had died until Lilly met with Johanna in New York. How horrible that this man worked at the same camp and then assimilated into the real Noah's family without them ever being the wiser. I can't even imagine how betrayed that family must feel now that they know the truth.


One of the interesting things about Cold Case is that we get to see what has happened to the killer since the day he killed the victim. It's even more interesting in these older cases because the person has lived an entire life since that horrible day. There are some killers who are remorseful and others who are not. The weird thing about "Noah" was that he was neither. He was indirectly responsible for millions of deaths during the Holocaust and directly responsible for Lo's death at the train station, and yet, he went on and lived his life as if he had done nothing wrong. When Lilly confronted him in the parking deck, he said that he is so much better than the things that he had done. It was almost as if he justified what he did and made peace with it. He probably reasoned that he was just following orders during the Holocaust and he didn't kill anyone directly, and then he reasoned that Lo didn't love him and she was a threat to his new found life, so she had to be killed. It was all so cold. I thought it was interesting that this man who fled the first time he saw it was time to pay the piper, did the same when the truth about Lo and her murder came to the surface. This man managed to live 61 years without spending a single day in jail for his involvement in the Holocaust and Lo's death, something that Lo and those killed in his prison camp didn't get to do. Yes, I found myself having no sympathy for "Noah." The real Noah, yes, but not the imposter. Who would have thought that when Lilly and co. opened this case that they would be uncovering a war criminal? That just fascinated me! And don't you love the way Lil always seems to have that extra sparkle in her eye when she works these types of cases? You know the ones where the victim is a strong woman living in man's world and tries to evoke some sort of change. I think she sees herself in these victims more than any others. She always seems to have a sense of deeper peace at the end.


Is it just me, or is Stillman the best boss ever? Not only did he stand up for Will during that whole ADA/death penalty debacle, but he also tried to involve him in this case as much as possible. And when the desk duty detail was getting him down, Stillman was there to cheer him up. He reminded him that despite the people that make the job difficult, both he and Will love what they do because they are the job. Both admitted that they would go stir crazy if they weren't at work solving cases. And then Stillman went a little further and slipped a little splash of alcohol in both of their mugs of coffee just for good measure. He completely understood what Will did and why he did it. He's always there guiding his detectives through their cases and their personal problems without being too pushy or invasive. Love that about him and the way they write his character! How amazing were those flashbacks last night? I felt like I was honestly watching an old movie. Everything from the sets to the clothing to the dialog to the harsh black and white tones made this episode look truly authentic. From the moment it started, I was completely transformed into 1945 and the excitement of the people on the street over the end of the war. Major kudos to everyone on the show who worked very hard on making this episode look so amazing. I was blown away by the flashbacks.


Lynette had to know that helping out her boss was going to come back to get her. Beside the icky factor of having to spice up your boss' love life (and in the way that she had to do it), there was also the fact that she was agreeing that Ed would things without knowing what she was agreeing to! I find the whole "I have to fire someone to save my marriage" story line a bit ridiculous anyway. Of course, he chooses Tom, which sets up more marital trouble for Lynette. I guess this was what they were going for with this story. I don't know, I'm not into this one at all. Meanwhile, my heart broke a lot for Gaby when the police came and took Lily. It was a completely different side to her, and I really felt bad for her and Carlos. I knew this birth mother was going to spell trouble for them. I LOVED her speech at the Catholic school, though. Classic Gaby! I know Bree likes Peter and I'm totally rooting for their relationship to succeed, but I just can't imagine her dealing well with the situation if Peter has a real relapse. This is Bree we're talking about. The same Bree who wasn't into experimenting with her husband. Edie cracked me up last night, and things are about to boil over now that she hired the P.I. Susan needed to come clean and explain what happened, but now it's too late. More ho-hum development on the Applewhite story line. I think what makes this story so boring is its complete ridiculousness, even for this show. And just when I think it can't get more ridiculous, Betty gets her hands on Phenobarbital so she can euthanize her mentally handicap son. I wish someone would euthanize this story line!

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with Cold Case, followed by ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and NBC's The West Wing. At 9, ABC's Desperate Housewives took the lead, followed by CBS' movie Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise and NBC's Law & Order: CI. The final hour of the night went to ABC's Grey's Anatomy, followed by CBS' movie and NBC's Crossing Jordan. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Westmoreland uses Bellick to plug a hole in the escape plan, which forces Michael to move up the breakout timetable on Fox's Prison Break. NBC airs another episode of Deal or No Deal.

@9 p.m. - Bright confesses to Hannah on the WB's Everwood. Over on Fox, Homeland Security honchos Karen Hayes and Miles Papazian react to new developments on 24.

@10 p.m. - Molly Ringwald guest stars on NBC's Medium. Over on CBS, the team investigates a double murder on a docked cruise ship (scenes were actually filmed aboard The Queen Mary ship in Long Beach, CA) on CSI: Miami. On ABC, it’s Saturday and everyone wants something from Brian, but no one can find him on What About Brian.

To see what else you can catch on television tonight and to get customized listings (via Zap2it) for your area, visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.


QUICK CUTS

*Actress Kristen Bell says that she's not worried about Veronica Mars getting another season and a new life on the CW network according to what she told TVGuide.com. "We've gotten phone calls and optimism from the people that we need to get it from. [CW president of entertainment] Dawn Ostroff and [CBS chairman] Les Moonves have been very involved, saying, 'Don’t worry.' They have never hidden their support," she tells the magazine's online site, which caught up with the busy actress at last week's Tribeca Film Festival where her film Fifty Pills debuted. Bell is quick to point out that anything can happen when it comes down to the wire, but she feels good about the show getting another season. We'll find out for sure during the CW's schedule announcement May 18th. Look for a more in depth interview with Bell in tomorrow's Insider column at TVGuide.com (and of course, I'll bring you the highlights and the link in tomorrow's edition). Keep those postcards going so Dawn Ostroff will know how much support is rallied around the show. Click on over to MarsInvestigations.net to find out how.

*NBC's Surface is heading to DVD according to tvshowsondvd.com. The complete first season (and possibly the complete series) will be available to own this August. All 14 episodes will be included and the set is expected to run around $50. Look for the title to hit store shelves August 15th.

*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for the sixth season of I Love Lucy to hit shelves tomorrow along with 3rd Rock from the Sun (season 4), Dinosaurs (seasons 1 & 2), Kate & Allie (season 1), King of the Hill (season 6), Leave it to Beaver (season 2) and The Nanny (season 2). To see a list of all of tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.


That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Everwood (Things aren't looking good for one of our favorite couples) and Medium. Plus all the latest television news!

To get more television coverage, including a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details

Jeffries Gets the 'Cold' Truth! Plus 'Housewives,' TV Pilot Process and TV on DVD Monday!

Last night's episode of Cold Case was just shy of excellent. It had everything going for it, and yet, it stumbled into a huge plot hole that kept it from really shining like it deserved. I mean, they actually executed an innocent man! I was shocked, disturbed, moved and a million other emotions, but the gaping plot hole that engulfed the episode took away from all of that moving material. How could the three letters D-N-A never have come up last night?? This girl was RAPED and murdered in 1994. A quick search at wikipedia.com, finds that the first person to be convicted based on DNA evidence was back in 1988. Even worse, DNA evidence became widely known in 1994, the same year of this case, because of the O.J. Simpson trial. So, there would have been DNA testing to convict/exonerate Tibbs back in 1994 for sure, and even if that hadn't been the case, there is certainly DNA testing in present day. Why even bother with the whole rape angle of the story if they weren't going to use DNA evidence? I get that maybe there wasn't any, or the dirty cop got rid of it or something, but for the love of Lilly, could they not have written a quick line in there to let us know? This both puzzled and bugged me the entire hour. Anyway, enough with the negative aspect of the episode and on with the positives, and there were many. First of all, I'm very thankful for that humorous air conditioning side story last night. The entire hour was so heavy that it was nice to have some humor infused into it. I loved Vera's idea to hit the thermostat, and then swear he could feel a little bit of cool air coming in. Lilly using Jeffries' messages to fan herself was great as well. I could feel their pain, and it's so miserable to be uncomfortable temperature-wise at work. Did anyone else notice that the opening song was missing from the episode last night? This is the first time in the show's history. I'm guessing it was a time issue, as both Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy have been known to skip the opening song for the sake of more time.


I really enjoyed getting a Jeffries- heavy episode. We got to see an angrier side to him that was a departure from his usual calm, even demeanor. When he thought, as we all did, that Tibbs raped and murdered Kate in 1994, he despised everything about Tibbs, and he never doubted that he was guilty. Then when he looked him in his eyes at his execution, he knew that the wrong man was dying for the crime, and his anger toward Tibbs changed into anger toward the DA's office and the system that failed him. Whoever that Kite-look alike A.D.A was, I'm glad he got fired, but I was even happier when Jeffries decked him! Can you believe he did that? It was awesome because that guy had it coming. I also loved Stillman's comment to the A.D.A that he needed to leave his office before he drop kicked him. It was such a "how you like them apples" moment. It seemed that both Stillman and Jeffries got reprimanded at the end, though, so I hope they're not in too much trouble. That execution scene was really painful, especially after we found out what really happened the night of Kate's death. I still wasn't 100% certain if Tibbs was guilty or not, but I was on the edge of my seat as the minutes ticked away. I thought for sure that Lilly or Stillman would call in at the last second with a stay of execution, and I never really thought that they would execute him. It was so sad when he asked Jeffries to prove him innocent. And it was somewhat vindicating that Jeffries was able to do just that, even if it was after his death. Since the only other suspects were Kate's father and Wayne, Tibbs' boss at the moving company, I figured it had to be Wayne, but I didn't know why. This guy was really sick! Tibbs' short relationship with Kate couldn't have been sweeter. They bonded over her mother's battle with alcohol and Tibbs' personal struggle and his recovery from it. Wayne's, on the other hand, was sick. He saw Kate as his daughter Faith and he raped her the way he always raped Faith before she ran away. It's sad to think that Tibbs' innocent relationship with her took the fall for Wayne's sinister one. We've had several episodes in a row lately with Lilly's special brand of interrogation, and I'll reiterate that, to borrow from the popular song, nobody does it better. She treated Wayne like the scum that he is, and yet, she was still able to get under his skin by bringing up his daughter and the ruined relationship he has with her. I loved when he said that he didn't like what she was implying about his relationship with his daughter and she said that she didn't like it either, "In fact, it makes me sick." Lilly really got angry in that interrogation! It was classic Lilly, and it reminded me of her interrogation back in season one with that creepy child welfare worker who was molesting the little girls that he was suppose to be protecting. She got really mad in that interrogation as well. Overall, a very moving episode that would have been near the top of my list for the season if that DNA plot hole hadn't plagued me the entire hour.


Desperate Housewives returned last night after a week off, and it seems that Gaby and Carlos get to keep baby Lilly - for now. I knew going into this that Gaby would pawn that baby off on anyone who would take her, but I didn't expect her to come around as quickly as she did. I guess realizing that you left a newborn home alone while you went out to lunch with a friend will do that to even the least maternal person. Meanwhile, Lynette was getting a huge lesson in what to do when your 7-year old does something inappropriate. I loved how she tried explaining the birds and the bees in an age appropriate manner, but wound up buying Parker a puppy in order to refocus his obsession. And then there was Bree and her struggle with Andrew. It seems that she has won this round, but I'm not so sure the competition is over yet. Her plan to use Andrew's sexuality against him with his grandparents fit perfectly with his plan early on to use it against her. Did anyone other than Susan think that Karl had changed? I mean, a leopard can't change his spots, especially overnight. Now, Susan is once again playing the fool and she'll have to face the wrath of Edie. If she had only listened to Kyle MacLachian! I will reiterate that Susan and Mike need to sit down, put their pride aside, and have a serious discussion. They're both pining away for each other, but pretending like they're not. I swear, Susan has the most complicated love-life ever!

About Last Night...CBS won the first hour of the night with Cold Case, followed by ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and NBC's The West Wing. At 9, ABC landed the top spot with Desperate Housewives, followed by NBC's Law & Order: CI and the CBS movie. The final hour of the night went to ABC's premiere of What About Brian, followed by NBC's Crossing Jordan and the CBS movie. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - Transferred to the psych ward, Michael tries to clear Haywire's head and jog his memory of the missing piece of the blueprint tattoo on Fox's Prison Break. NBC airs another edition of Deal or No Deal.

@9 p.m. - Andy and Jake witness a car crash and save the life of the intoxicated driver, then disagree over whether they should report him to the police and Amy and Hannah drive a deeper wedge in their friendship on the WB's Everwood. Over on Fox, Jack, Audrey and Secretary of Defense reunite for a pivotal meeting on 24. NBC begins its 5-night run of Celebrity Cooking Showdown.

@10 p.m. - NBC's Medium returns, and tonight Allison's dreams about several young women prior to their murder puts her hot on the trail of a serial killer, and in a race against time to save his future victims. ABC's What About Brian moves to its usual night.



QUICK CUTS

*Ever wonder how a TV series goes from an idea to a pilot to a full series? And just how do those network executives decide which pilots they want to order for their fall schedules and which shows should be scheduled when? You can click on over to Yahoo! TV News to get some interesting insight into the pilot season. With network schedule setting just a month away and many fans waiting on pins and needles to find out if their favorites will make the cut, the article offers tremendous insight into the painful process. This season alone, there are almost 100 new comedies and dramas vying for spots on the ever-shrinking network schedules. According to the article, CBS is seeking comedies, ABC may split up its successful Sunday night one-two punch of Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy (one of the two may move to another night to spread the wealth), Fox has a challenge ahead when it comes to filling soon-to-be vacant slots on Thursday and Friday nights and NBC is the most in need of new shows, but will more than likely pick up the fewest. For more interesting insight and details, click on over to Yahoo! TV News.

*And finally, it's TV on DVD Monday! Look for the fourth season of Doogie Howser, M.D. to hit shelves tomorrow along with Remington Steele (season 3) and The Sentinel (season 1). For a full list of tomorrow's releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

You may have noticed that things are looking a little different around here today. That's because Pass the Remote has new digs to go along with its new companion site. That's right, PassTheRemote.net is now up and running! The most exciting part is, you now have an easier, shorter web address that takes you to PassTheRemote.net and gives you instant access to Pass the Remote daily blog!

That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for thoughts on Everwood and the return (finally!) of Medium. Plus, all the latest television news!

To read more of today's television headlines and listings, and to get a complete archive with the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.

SAVE EVERWOOD NOW! Click HERE to learn how to help the show get another season

Don't forget to help Veronica Mars with the $4,000 Shower Campaign. Click HERE for details