Andrea Bowen Promotes Self Esteem
Andrea Bowen, who plays Julie, is one of a group of young actors that have joined the Dove Self Esteem Fund to help young girls feel better about themselves.
An article in GMTV says that the percentage of teenagers that have low self esteem is very high, and a large part of that problem is the image they get of what they should look like from watching television.
The stars will hold BodyTalk workshops with teenagers, explaining the importance of having a healthy self image. Andrea Bowen’s workshop was in the UK on Nov. 22nd.
Add comment November 25, 2007 Jessica Tripp
Murder on the high seas (and other stuff)
Here is the summary site, for those of you who didn’t have time to watch.
Probably the most interesting plot development this week was the murder of Victor by Gabi. Well, maybe there was a murder. When she knocked him off the boat the second time, he didn’t come up. So it seems safe to assume he is dead. It is very surprising that he managed to survive until they found him the first time, or that they found him at all in the very big ocean. So with him stranded out there, it is not likely that he will be found. But the “Next Week On” said he might come back. I would like it better if he didn’t. The Victor plot has run its course and Gabi needs to get back with Carlos.
Mike’s drug addiction was also a major plot point this week. For once, Susan was right to be nosy and interfering. It would be terrible for the baby to be born and live with a father that is addicted to drugs. Mike needs to get help. But what Susan did wrong was her method of confrontation with Mike. Instead of making it about the baby or him, she made it all about her. She asked if she is making him so miserable he needs to do drugs. She gave him the perfect opportunity to make an excuse and make her feel guilty. Then he dumps the pills in front of her. But then he eliminates any audience hope that he may be clean by going in with a wrench to get the pills later.
Dylan was another impressive character this episode when she stood up to Katherine. I am glad she is getting some backbone. Now maybe if she would just stop being gullible…
The Orson/Bri fight just showed a potential dilemma in the baby’s future. Maybe that conversation and realization stopped the problem, maybe not. But the resolution was still a sweet moment.
Can’t wait to see what happens this week! Comment people!
Add comment November 16, 2007 Jessica Tripp
Writers Strike
Production on Desperate Housewives will stop on Wednesday as they run out of scripts.
The Writers Guild of America began striking this week because they want more money on DVD and Internet royalties, and the people in charge are refusing to negotiate. They will picket until negotiations are resumed.
E Online says that while there will be a few new shows,
Producer Alexandra Cunningham said the network would run out of new episodes to air before Christmas, should the strike continue.
They also said that some of the major presidential candidates are supporting the WGA
“These writers deserve to be compensated fairly for their work, and I commend their courage in standing up to big media conglomerates,” Edwards said Tuesday, while Obama said he urged “the producers to work with the writers so that everyone can get back to work.”
Sign on San Diego says
Marc Cherry, executive producer and creator of the show, said the writers had his blessing to picket as long as they were respectful to the actors.
They also say no new negotiations have been scheduled as of yet, but the ending of these shows should push producers to make the negotiations soon.
Add comment November 7, 2007 Jessica Tripp
Trick or Treat?
Here is your link. Its Television without Pity again. They point out quite a few things in their summaries that even I missed.
Everything in this episode seems to be a bit of trick and a bit of treat. The biggest event is the birth of Danielle’s baby, who for now we will call baby boy Hodge. Bri finally gets her second chance and gets to stop wearing the fake belly, and Danielle gets to come out of hiding. Also, Danielle finally shows that she has feelings for someone other than herself, crying over her lost child. Hopefully those feelings don’t lead to problems later, because I honestly feel good about Danielle for the first time since first season.
But because of Danielle’s timing of delivery and her coming to the party, there are now more and more chances of the secret coming out. The main one is Adam. He did keep the secret all that time, since he seemed to know, but maybe he was just waiting for the opportune moment to use it.
Susan and Mike are having problems already. With the plot device of the genetics appointment, Mike’s secret father in the prison is discovered. And after talking to him, Susan decides that he could be a sociopath. Then the sociopath father tells her that Mike might be a sociopath or broken too. And Mike is taking pills secretly in his truck, and hiding them somewhere no more inventive than the glove compartment. So while they have made advancements as a couple with the baby and less secrets, Cherry exposes so many more that spell DISASTER!!
Lynette is finally over her cancer. And she is crying. I am very glad Cherry touched on this part of being a survivor. The feeling she has is that the cancer has been a part of her for so long, she almost feels bad killing it to save herself. Either that or she feels sorry for the possum and I am reading too much into this.
And Victor is being dumped by Gabi. At first I thought that meant she was going back to Carlos. Then the phone call to Susan made me think she was going away to consider her life and who she wanted, which would be a good idea for her. Then Victor shows up in her limo to try to get her back, and then he finds out about the cheating. And that blank look on his face leaves it up to anyone’s guess what he is planning to do about it. But the next week on makes me think it has something to do with a boat….
Funniest line
“Now, now baby Hodge. We don’t kick people, unless they’re servants.”
Add comment November 5, 2007 Jessica Tripp
All about the fountians
This episode was completely and totally full of circles. Everyone wanted to accomplish something, but all they managed to do was put things back where they started. In some cases this is good, in some not, but it seemed like a huge step backwards as far as plot went.
The fountain dilemma comes to mind first and foremost. The gay guys refusal to remove their noisy monstrosity from their yard, even after being asked multiple times, causes the reconvening of the scenery mafia. Katheryn was going to lead, and abolish all neighborhood ugliness, until Lee points out to Lynette how power can corrupt and his fountain might be only the beginning. Then she goes back on what she was trying for and starts trying to stop Katheryn.
Finally Katheryn wins, but because of her background and her secrets, she can no longer remove the fountain. And her need to make new friends in the neighborhood stops her from removing Lynette’s tree-house. So effectively, nothing happens.
Bri and Orson’s main challenge this episode is getting to be able to keep the baby. And to keep the baby, they have to convince Danielle to give it up. Which is remarkably easy after Andrew points out that his sister is incredibly shallow and easy to bribe. It is remarkable to me how good of a team that the two stepfords and the sociopath make once they realize that the true enemies lie elsewhere. So Danielle is bribed, back in Bri’s control, and Phyllis is mollified with offers to babysit. This is one of the examples of a circle being a good thing.
Gaby and Carlos’ going back to being good is incredibly sad to me. I love them as a couple, and now I am not sure that they will ever get back together. More and more things keep getting in the way. But the fact that Carlos doesn’t hate John anymore is a plus, I suppose. Gabi may need help psychologically though, as she seems to have fallen into a pattern of not being happy unless she is cheating on someone. She needs a John Rollins on the side. Which leads me to wonder if she will be happy with just Carlos if they even end up back together.
Oh, and to end, the funniest quote in the entire episode.
“You’re son’s catapulted out of the closet and your husband has his hand on the doorknob”
Add comment November 5, 2007 Jessica Tripp
Crab cakes!
For this week’s summary, I like the one on TVguide.com. Here is the link.
The big new event this week was supposed to be the arrival of the new neighbors. Honestly, they didn’t seem to have too much going for them to begin with, but one site with spoilers does seem to predict that it will get better.
Susan spent this entire episode, and honestly most of this season so far annoying me to death, and Mike as well. Now that he has to pay for her mistakes, they aren’t so cute anymore. It seemed to get varying responses from viewers on the ABC message board, but her character is getting a bit old to me.
The best scene in the entire show was the crab cake scene. For those of you who missed it, Edie had crabs. She gave them to Carlos, who gave them to Gaby, who gave them to Victor. So Gaby cures Victor by telling him the crab shampoo was a new type of lotion. So Edie is at Bree’s shower, and she smells the lotion on Victor. And then she is offered a crab cake by a waiter, who then offers one to Carlos, Gaby, and Victor in turn. Cherry has the cameras focus on each person as Edie’s eyes follow the waiter throughout the room and realization dawns. It was an amazing piece of symbolic work, and hilarious as anything. It was obvious enough for everyone to understand it, but subtle enough not to be over-dramatic. Props to Cherry for that. But does anyone wonder, did Edie really get it from a tanning bed? And if she did, why can’t Gaby just use that excuse too?
And as for the new family, fans are becoming extremely disgruntled with how much of a sheep Dylan is being. There is an entire rant on her on the message boards. I admit a bit of frustration too. It is like she wants her mommy to tell her what is going on so she can continue to be the good little perfect sheep she was. And do I remember correctly hearing something before the season about how she is supposed to be as slutty as Danielle? Maybe I’m wrong about that though.
The Tom and Lynette cancer bitch moment was beautifully written. That couple has the perfect honesty that any couple should attribute to. He is able to tell her how he feels, no matter how much of an ass he feels doing it, and she responds by honestly considering what he said. Their moment was beautiful and heartfelt and very very real.
Still no idea why Andrew wanted his mother to have a baby shower so badly. Maybe to keep the scooter? And that was why he invited the bitch-in-law? Any theories from readers on this one?
And is anyone else excited for next week, with Jesse Metcalff coming back?
Add comment October 23, 2007 Jessica Tripp
Game night or Drama night?
Here is the promised summary link for those who did not watch the episode.
Sometimes Cherry is forced to use neighborhood events as framing techniques to get all of the characters into the same house to further the plot. Those episodes are almost always high energy and, with the exception of the shooting episode last season, rarely have anything to do with the actual event planned.
This episode follows that trend to a ti. When Bree and Gaby and Lynette only agree to go to the party in order to get Kathryn drunk and talking, the viewer can tell that no one wants to play charades.
Lynette, the least drama ridden of the three, begs off the party because she is sick, but crashes it high later. For her, the party is just the start of the drama with her mother over the drugs. It forces her mother to confess what she did, which she may not have done if the brownies had not found their way to the party. Now I think that it would have been an interesting party if she had not come in time to stop the neighbors from eating them (can you imagine Bree high? That would be hysterical!) But both mother and daughter in that situation had a point, and it was a step towards getting them to realize each others point of view.
The party was also the perfect chance to put both Victor and Carlos in the same room to show the tension between them. Having Victor threaten Carlos like that was definitely surprising. But I am still trying to figure out if Victor was just trying to insult Carlos, or if he actually knows anything about Carlos and Gaby’s affair. I hope Carlos wins! He and Gaby belong together!
And hopefully Victor talking about bribing the gardener means Jesse Metcalff will be back on the show for an episode!
Kathryn’s blurted out admission and then recant to Adam later just made me more curious. Which of course was Cherry’s intent. So she most likely ruled out molestation, but the gouge in the floor at the end indicated probable violence…. maybe she killed Dylan’s father? And obviously Adam is still making up for cheating on her. Why did she keep him?
And, aside from the party drama, seeing Bree actually have feelings about Danielle was definitely refreshing. The two never have mother-daughter type moments, and I was starting to wonder if Bree is as sociopath as Andrew, but in relation to Danielle.
And next episode, in comes the gay couple! Comments people!
Add comment October 21, 2007 Jessica Tripp
Clues to the mysteries
First of all, I need to apologize for dropping off the face of the planet after summarizing the first episode, and not even giving you anything on the second or third yet.
Second, I need to announce that there will be no more summaries. At least not from me. I will attach a link to a summary for those of you who missed the episode, but these posts will from now on be for discussion.
So, as the writer of the summary said, the second episode was completely about moving the plot forward. Not too many new developments here.
Kathryn confirms she has a secret when she slaps Dylan. Still not too many hints about what it is, but I think the viewers can be pretty sure it has to do with Dylan’s dad. Why would Katheryn slap her if not because she got too close to the truth?
The entire scene with Susan and Julie at the party seems to be mostly for comedy. And it was pretty funny to see a bunch of teen-aged boys mistake Susan for a stripper. Makes you feel kind of sorry for Julie though. First her mom is the one to discover her boyfriend cheating, then she starts bursting in on parties dressed like that!
Although it was a nice bit of character development to see Julie be honest and upstage the lying Susan in front of Mike. Maybe now that Susan is married again and pregnant, she might start acting like an adult instead of a teenager?
The interlude between Gaby and Lynette was nice and heartfelt and all, and it was nice to get into my favorite character’s past a bit. Gives Gaby some depth to know that her constant fake smiles were drilled into her from childhood. Props to Mike Cherry for that!
And honestly, I hope that Carlos is hiring an assassin for Edie. It would be a fun bit of drama, and she is seriously ticking me off!
Comments people!
Add comment October 21, 2007 Jessica Tripp
Controversy already
Desperate Housewives season No.4 only started last week, but it has already managed to enrage an entire country.
When Susan was in the doctor’s office and became hysterical because the doctor was telling her that she was going through menopause, she questioned his credibility by asking to see his diplomas. She said
Just to make sure they aren’t, like, from some med school in the Philippines?”
This one-liner caused a wave of outrage from viewers. Approximately 30,000 viewers signed a petition asking for an apology issued from ABC. ABC issued an apology, according to Stuff.com , that went like this
The statement said: “The producers of Desperate Housewives and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offence caused by the brief reference in the season premiere. There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines.
“As leaders in broadcast diversity, we are committed to presenting sensitive and respectful images of all communities featured in our programs.”
But that apology was not enough, according to a Filipino newspaper.The newspaper is saying that viewers in the Philippines and all over the world should stop watching the show. Filipino Senator Santiago wants the Filipino network to completely stop airing the show.
Another Filipino Senator, Ramon Revilla, says an apology issued off-air is not enough. He wants ABC to apologize on the show.
“It is not commensurate to the damage created by the derogatory remark made by the show. The makers of ‘Desperate Housewives’ should formally and publicly express their apology in their next episode to signify sincerity
There have also been demands for the episode to be taken off the air. ABC is saying that it may consider editing the episode, so we will have to watch for that in reruns.
Add comment October 8, 2007 Jessica Tripp
Secrets from the beginning
Season 4 starts out talking about secrets, which is already making me think of how juicy the season will be. The Mary Alice voice over intro starts out with everyone thinking about secrets they can’t tell their friends.
Now the audience already knows some of the secrets from the end of the last season. Lynette has cancer and Bree is faking a pregnancy.
Lynette starts the show attempting to hide her cancer from her friends with a wig and fake bravado. But her mother’s cruel words when Lynette is too tired to pick up Penny after promising to run a benefit at the school force her to acknowledge her limits. She pulls off her wig in front of the bitchy mom forcing her to run the benefit and at the same time lets her secret out to the entire neighborhood.
Bree’s secret is nothing new, but it does have a startling development. After a close call with a bbq fork at a picnic, Orson tries to get Bree to call the whole scheme off and let Danielle keep the baby. Bree confesses to Orson that she wants to raise the baby so that she can have another chance to raise a child right.
Other secrets that come out are new. We find out through a flashback that Gabi is already unhappy with Victor and she wants to run away with Carlos. They decided that he will pick her up on her wedding night after he has a chance to pack some things. So he runs off to Edie’s to get his stuff together.
But there are more secrets at Edie’s. She is not actually trying to commit suicide. She is faking to keep Carlos with her. She is hanging from the rafters by her arms until he gets home so he can “find her” and “rescue her.” And then she takes his freedom away, bit by bit, using blackmail about a $10 million account he has been hiding in the Caymans! And to think I almost liked her! No wonder he starts up an affair with Gabi!
Sorry, getting ahead of myself. Carlos tells Gabi that he cannot run away with her immediately because he has to take care of Edie. He proposes starting an affair. She basically tells him that he deserves Edie. Then she tries to patch things up with Victor, trying to get him to take her on a vacation to make her happy. He tries to put her off until April. A pissed off, desperate Gabi calls Carlos and gets him to her old house, where he finds her looking really hot and saying that she wants to get him away from Edie. And therefore the cheating begins. Which in itself is kind of ironic, the cheating couple, cheating with each other. Cherry is a genius!
Susan’s secret comes and goes all in this episode. She goes to visit the gyno, who tells her she might be going through early menopause. She freaks out about being old and not being able to give Mike children, then finds out she is pregnant.
Although Kathryn, the new neighbor, wants to appear normal, her house holds its secrets too. Most of which seem to center on the daughter Dylan, who cannot remember most of her childhood, which gave the tvguide blogger the idea
My first thought was that something happened to the first Dylan and Katherine’s trying to pass off this replacement. Then Julie discovered that Dylan has one remaining memory/dream from childhood
Dylan has been having a creepy dream about a man reaching for her in the dark. And her mother doesn’t want her to seek therapy. That leads towards theories of some kind of childhood abuse.
Emily522 on the ABC message board theorized
my thoughts:
-she was abused somehow when she was longer and went through head trauma or something
-could it really not be her? like could there be a “real Dylan” that died or something b/c of the parents and they kidnapped this Dylan?
The episode ends with a secret conversation about a room in Kathryn’s new house, and leaves the audience thinking hard about the new mystery.
1 comment October 2, 2007 Jessica Tripp
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