Television. One DVD at a Time.

"This is what rainy days are good for. They make everything clean again, which is necessary on a street like Wisteria Lane, where everything can get so messy..." - Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young

Desperate Housewives: The Complete Third Season DVD Review

By Jonathan Boudreaux

In its second season, Desperate Housewives went through a sophomore slump, with fans and critics alike agreeing that season two just wasn't as good as the first. Luckily, Desperate Housewives: The Complete Third Season gets the series back on track. Almost.

As season three begins, daffy divorcee Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) finds herself playing nursemaid to plumber Mike Delfino (James Denton), comatose since being run down by a car during season two. Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) tries to be supportive of her husband Tom (Doug Savant) as he gets to know his illegitimate daughter, Kayla (Rachel G. Fox). This proves difficult because Kayla's mom, Nora (Kiersten Warren), is a complete nutjob. Widowed perfectionist Bree van de Kamp (Marcia Cross) gets engaged to the mysterious Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks) after dating the dentist for only six months...and discovering that he may have killed his first wife. Soon-to-be divorced Carlos (Ricardo Chavira) and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) battle each other while waiting for their surrogate child to be born. Sexpot Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) finds new ways to torture Susan and Gaby. Once again, the neighborhood is watched over by narrator Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), whose suicide was the focus of season one.

The main mystery of season three involves Orson and his past. Did his wife, Alma (Valerie Mahaffey), simply walk out on him one day as he claims? Or is his former neighbor, Carolyn Bigsby (Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne), onto something when she accuses him of murder? Why does Orson have such a love/hate relationship with his battleaxe mother, Gloria (Dixie Carter, Designing Women)? And where did the body dug up at the country club come from? You know-the one with all its teeth pulled?

This dominating storyline is much more engaging than season two's tale of the Applewhites. It benefits from its strong guest cast. Mahaffey, Carter, and especially Metcalf serve up indelible performances. Tantalizing hints about Orson's past are dropped in almost every episode, leaving viewers begging for more. There's really only one flaw-the storyline's rushed denouement. There is an explanation for it-a pregnant Marcia Cross was ordered to get bed rest, forcing her to miss the final third of the season. Still, it is disappointing.

The Orson story also leads to one of the series' best episodes, "Bang," which revolves around a hostage situation at a local supermarket. Huffman, Metcalf, and Warren deliver brilliant performances in this tensely funny episode. (Early in the season, Warren's Nora is the series' most maddeningly irresistible character, an overgrown, petulant child who exudes utter craziness but still evokes sympathy.)

Some of the other plotlines are less successful. The triangle between Mike, Susan, and fellow coma ward vet Ian (Dougray Scott) is sometimes romantic, but more often than not resembles something from daytime television. They have their moments, but overall it is difficult to care for Gaby and Carlos.

The season's final episode, "Getting Married Today," promises more fun and heartache to come in season four. Two marriages, one and a half pregnancies, a health scare, a possible suicide, and guest star Polly Bergen as Lynette's blowzy mother will have dedicated viewers counting down the days until the third season premiere.

The twenty-three episodes that make up The Complete Third Season are divided onto six discs. Each disc is adorned with portraits of the series' characters - Gaby on disc one, Susan on disc two, Bree on disc three, Lynette on disc four, Edie on disc five, and Wisteria Lane itself on disc six. The discs are housed in a foldout case featuring publicity photos and production stills. The six discs attach to three panels-each of the panels hold two discs one on top of the other in a figure eight pattern. It is slightly inconvenient to remove one DVD in order to get to another, but on the plus side, the packaging takes up far less shelf space than if each disc was housed on a separate panel. Another panel of the foldout case includes a folder which contains an episode guide. The front panel of the case features the ladies of Wisteria Lane vamping it up in a laundromat. The case slides into a clear plastic sleeve which superimposes a soapy washing machine over the women.

As with the previous seasons, the full motion DVD menus are a variation on the series' opening credits. Unfortunately, they are too lengthy. You might be able to avoid this intro by pressing the skip button on your remote. Viewers can play all episodes or choose them individually. There are no scene selection menus, but the episodes include a generous number of chapter stops, allowing viewers to skip episode recaps and opening credits.

Video and Audio

There's no dirty laundry here-the episodes, which are enhanced for 16x9 televisions, are crisp and clean. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is fine, too.

English and Spanish audio tracks are included, as are English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

Extras

All of the extras are on disc six. First up is "On Set with Eva" (5:36), a featurette centering on Eva Longoria. Although this featurette isn't exactly scintillating, Longoria does make for a fun subject.

In "Here Comes the Bride" (7:40), the cast and creative team discuss the season's three weddings. This zippy featurette shows exactly how much thought went into planning these events, with costume designers, scenic designers, and the cast working together to produce a memorable experience for the audience.

Many American shows simply get dubbed into another language when exported to other countries. Desperate Housewives, however, is actually reproduced locally in other lands. "Amas de Casa Desesperadas: The Ladies Go Latin" (6:19) takes a look at the Spanish incarnation. It is quite fascinating to see American scenes running back-to-back with the Spanish version. Don't miss it!

"Desperate Moments: Reflections on the Season" (7:58) presents the actors discussing the third season. Cross discusses hiding her pregnancy from the camera. Longoria reveals that she suggested a storyline bringing Gabrielle and Edie together. Hatcher talks about physical humor. This is basically an entertaining rehash of the season's highlights.

Rather than presenting traditional episode-long commentary tracks, individual scenes are the focus of "Cherry-Picked: Creator Marc Cherry's Favorite Scenes" (7:52). He discusses several scenes, including Bree's orgasm and Gabrielle throwing Carlos out of the window. These aren't very informative, but they are harmless enough.

Also included are 8 deleted scenes: "We're Just Coma Buddies" (:52), "Ground Rules" (1:02), "This is My Job Now" (:29), "Two Forks in the Road" (:43), "Spilt Milk" (:54), "Behind the Curtain" (:36), "See You in the Morning" (:42), and "Edie's Priorities" (:52). Rather than pairing these scenes with the episodes from which they were cut, the clips are instead just gathered together with no indication of which episode they might have come from. The deleted scenes are viewable with or without commentary by creator Marc Cherry.

Finally, "Bloopers" (2:33) is a reel of flubs and screw-ups, most of which just feature the cast cracking up.

Summary

Desperate Housewives: The Complete Third Season finds the series back on track after a rocky second season. The main mystery might be a bit rushed, but this is completely forgivable when the season as a whole is so entertaining.

9/8/07