Get Desperate!

Well as my blogging comes to an end I hope you all know by now how I feel about the hit television show “Desperate Housewives”. If you don’t, let me refresh your memory. It is the best show on television today! For this blog I went out to see what people thought about the show when it first came out, what people think about “dramedies” and what people overall think about the show now that it is in its fifth season.

One of the First Reviews:

Chaw, Walter. "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON ." 24 October 2005 1. Web.27 Apr 2009. .

Walter Chaw writes in one of the first reviews of the show that it “understands the attraction/repulsion dynamic of venerable bodice-ripping soapers and boils them down to their base elements of women, houses, relationships, and desperation.” Chaw does, however; say that after the first few episodes the series fell off its track.

Do people really like “dramedies”?

Vande Berg, Leah. "DRAMEDY." 1. Web.28 Apr 2009. .

Yes!

Leah Vande Berg writes in an article, that critics, overall, love dramedies. She says critics are impressed by the way television has advanced in the sense that two genres are put together to form great television shows.

What is the overall perception of the show now?

West, Kelly. "Desperate Housewives - Fifth Season Premiere." 28 Sept. 2008 1. Web.28 Apr 2009. .

People love it!

Kelly West writes that she loves the fact when season four ended, season five began five years later. She compliments Marc Cherry’s bold move to do that with the show. She writes that she hopes it will refresh the show.

So as you can see there isn’t really much negative criticism regarding the show. From the beginning of the show people have liked the show in general but wanted the gusto to stay with the show all season. People love the bold move to jump ahead five years in the housewives’ lives. And now that the show has lasted for five seasons, survived the writer’s strike and won several awards, people still enjoy the show. I know I still do.

With a Cherry on Top!

So, if you have been following my blogs you already know that “Desperate Housewives” is the best show on television. And I’m sure you are dying to know who the mastermind behind the show is. Well that talented man’s name is Marc Cherry, the creator of “Desperate Housewives”.

Marc Cherry was born on March 23 in Long Beach, California in 1962. He is a “self-proclaimed gay republican”. His mother’s name is Martha. His father’s name is Truman. As a child, he and his family lived in Hong Kong and Iran for a short period of time. He was once a contestant on the game show, “The $100,000 Pyramid”. He attended California State University in Fullerton, California and majored in theatre. He originally wanted to act in musicals. In 2005, he was nominated for two Emmy’s, one for “Outstanding Comedy Series” and one for “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series”. In 2005 and 2006 he won a Golden Globe for “Best Television Comedy Series”.

So where did Marc get the inspiration to create “Desperate Housewives”?

A conversation with his mother! Yes, he and his mother, Martha, sat down one day for just a casual conversation and out of that conversation; he got the inspiration to develop a show about the not so glamorous side of four upper middle class women’s lives in suburbia.

But, the show almost didn’t happen for Marc. HBO, FOX, CBS, NBC, Showtime and Lifetime all rejected the show at first. But Cherry hired himself a new agent and ABC gladly accepted the show.

Marc without a doubt got his big break when he created “Desperate Housewives”. The way he has kept the show’s storyline very interesting for five whole seasons now, really shows his talent. The fact that he is a dedicated writer/creator really shows through in each episode. I believe that if Marc Cherry wasn’t the writer/creator of the show, it wouldn’t be what it is today. I look forward to each episode because I know Marc’s talent will indeed come out during the show.

Here are some other shows Marc has written for:
“The Golden Girls”
“The Golden Palace”
“The Five Mrs. Buchanans”
“The Crew”
“Some of My Best Friends”

All About Structure

What is “good writing”?

Well, in my opinion, good writing is a piece of literature that has structure. One that you can tell the author had a process while writing it and actually followed it. It is not a piece of writing that jumps all over the place and confuses everyone that reads it. Of course it is grammatically correct and well written. Good writing paints a picture in your mind and makes you feel as though you are there in the novel with the character. It describes everything well and never leaves you missing a piece of the puzzle.

Good writing can be summed up using the writings of Nicholas Spark’s “The Notebook”.

This is my favorite novel. It has structure and it is very well written.

“He especially liked to look at the trees and their reflections in the river. North Carolina trees are beautiful in deep autumn: greens, yellows, reds, oranges, every shade between. Their dazzling colors grow with the sun, and for the hundredth time, Noah Calhoun wondered if the original owners of the house had spent their evenings thinking the same thing….The evening passed, staying warm, nice. Noah listened to the crickets and the rustling leaves, thinking that the sound of nature was more real and aroused more emotion than things like cars and planes. Natural things gave back more than they took, and their sounds always brought him back to the way man was supposed to be. There were times during war, especially after a major engagement, when he had often thought about these simple sounds. “It’ll keep you from going crazy,” his father had told him the day he’d shipped out. “It’s God’s music and it’ll take you home.” “

That is two paragraphs from the novel. I picked those two because when I read it I could visualize it perfectly. The paragraphs have an excellent description of the surroundings around the character, Noah. The paragraphs have good structure and I can see, in my mind, everything that Noah sees.

As for my writing, I always follow a process. I brainstorm my ideas and outline what I want each paragraph to be about. I do try to be as descriptive as possible, as I know that always makes a piece of writing more interesting.

Haha, Sorry Mom

A few days before I turned 15, my mom and my dad separated. Needless to say, that wasn’t the best time in my life. I was angry at one for this and angry at the other for that. I really took it hard. The holidays were tough to get through but I managed.

It took a little while, but my mom started dating again. It was hard for her to find someone she really liked and felt a connection with. She reminded me of a teenager in a sense, one date today another tomorrow with someone else. But she seemed to be enjoying herself, so I was happy for her. Or at least I was as happy as I could be being as how I had never seen her with anybody else but my dad.

As I said before, my mom wasn’t having any luck in the love department. I saw a side of her I had never seen before. Instead of just reminding me of a teenager, she acted just like one. She had a new boyfriend every week it seemed like. I didn’t care for any of them really, there were a few that were ok, but none that I could see myself getting along great with. Oddly enough she seemed to like playing the field.

Looking back on those days I have come to realize that my mom was just like Desperate Housewives’ Edie Britt. Edie is one of the wives on the show. She used to have a tenancy to breeze in and out of a relationship quite quickly. Edie enjoyed the way she lived her life, just like my mom did when she was out on the dating scene. My mom thought she had found love a time or two, as had Edie on the show. And she got hurt a few times, just like Edie had. My mom always kept a smile on, as to not show us how hurt she had been. And, even though she didn’t think I knew, she sometimes hid how happy she was. I think she thought I would resent her for being so happy so soon after the divorce. Edie was similar; she always seemed to stay strong whenever a relationship wasn’t going right.

I am happy to say that my mom is happily married now, has been for the past two years. Edie is also happily married on the show. I will never forget how my mom used to be 3 years ago and how she and Edie, even though she is a fictional character, remind me of each other.

Not So Desperate?

In my first blog entry titled “People are complicated creatures…” I talked about how “Desperate Housewives” was my favorite show and how, in my opinion, it was one of the best shows on television. I talked about how the show was filled with comedic drama, real life issues, secrets and mysteries.

Does everybody think “Desperate Housewives” is amazing?

No.

Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post said, “The tone is off. It’s not campy enough to make the comedy clever, not real enough to make it engaging as mystery-drama. The story is too rooted in convention to be truly outrageous, too melodramatic to make it plausible as anything but goofy comedy.” Ostrow gives the show a thumbs down.
While I’m sure others feel the same as Ostrow, I still love the show. If Ostrow doesn’t feel that women burying their daughter in their back yard and adopting another child to keep the secret from her husband is a large enough mystery, then I would love to know what shows she thinks are interesting. But in a sense I can understand where Ostrow was coming from, if I wasn’t someone who loved to be nosy, just like the characters on the show, then I don’t know if I would like or even relate to the show the way I do. Nevertheless everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

So what do critics that love “Desperate Housewives” have to say?

Myrna Blyth of Ladies Home Journal says, “Americans have always needed a Sunday-night show to end the weekend, and to talk about at the office on Monday morning. During these stress-filled times, don’t we want something to distract us? So we’re back to watching Desperate Housewives, and this is sweeps month. I am glad the women of Wisteria Lane are again giving us something to talk about.” Of course, I totally agree with Blyth. I religiously watch the show every Sunday night and always talk about it with other people I know who watch the show as well. It is also my “winding down” show at the end of my long, hard-working weekends.

Well, no matter what critics have to say about the show, I will always be a dedicated fan.





Works Cited:

Blyth, Myrna. "Not So Desperate." Ladies Home Journal 14 November 2008 22 Feb 2009 .

Bradley, Jessica. ""People are complicated creatures...." 01 February 2009 22 Feb 2009 .

Ostrow, Joanne. "Housewives’ creator: They can’t all be gems." The Denver Post 18 Feb 2009 22 Feb 2009 .

"People are complicated creatures..."

"People are complicated creatures. On the one hand, able to perform great acts of charity. On the other, capable of the most underhanded forms of betrayal. It's a constant battle that ranges within all of us, between the better angels of our nature, and the temptation of our inner demons. And sometimes the only way to ward off the darkness...is to shine the light of compassion."

-Mary Alice, Desperate Housewives

If you love juicy gossip, amazing friendships and comedy you should turn your television to Desperate Housewives every Sunday night. I started tuning into Desperate Housewives a few years ago and fell in love with it instantly. Desperate Housewives is by far my favorite television show. The way the four main characters, Gabby, Bree, Lynette, and Susan, bond with each other is captivating.
The setting of the show is the street of Wisteria Lane in the made up town of Fairview, Eagle State. It depicts the lives of a group of women as it is seen through the eyes of their dead neighbor who committed suicide as a result of blackmail from a murder she committed. Each episode shows how each of the women work through their domestic struggles and family life, while at the same time facing all of the dirty secrets, unspeakable crimes and unbelievable mysteries hidden behind the doors of their friends, family and enemies.
The current season is taking place 5 years later and in each episode a juicy detail from the years past is revealed and comes into play with their lives at the current moment. The show never fails to leave you wanting more. And you often find yourself imagining yourself in each of the housewives’ scenarios and yelling at them through the television because they are blinded by love or even their friendships.
Desperate Housewives had me from episode one because while the episodes are not your everyday average situations they are not farfetched either. I often find myself wondering “What would I do if it were me?” The lives of the wives of Wisteria Lane are quite different from mine but there are times when I feel as though I relate to one of them in a way.