December 8th, 2009 7:58 pm

‘Desperate Housewives’ The Complete Fifth Season

Leap forward five years into the future on Wisteria Lane with ‘Desperate Housewives: The Red Hot Edition-the Complete Fifth Season’

by Mathew Muratore

Fans of ‘Desperate Housewives’ were left in shock at the end of season four when the show unexpectedly leaped forward five years into the future  giving  ’Desperate Housewives: The Complete Fifth Season’ a fresh new start for the residents of Wisteria Lane.

The lives of the main housewives has changed dramatically Bree (Marcia Cross) has now received Martha Stewart type fame with a successful catering company and a cook book on the way, Lynette (Felicity Huffman) is now dealing with her rebellious teenage sons, Susan (Teri Hatcher) has separated from Mike (James Denton) and Gabrielle (Eva Longoria Parker) has undergone the most significant change losing her looks as a result of having two children.

Eva Longoria Parker was the real standout of the season the transformation her character had undergone was in typical ‘Desperate Housewives’ fashion both humorous and touching at the same time. Its fascinating looking back on the way Gabrielle was in season one to what she had become in season five even though Gabrielle re-gains her looks she never fully reverts back to her old self with many lessons learnt along the way by dealing with financial struggles, her husband’s blindness and raising her two daughters.

Despite the lives of the housewives sustaining enough interest across thye 24 episodes it is unfortunate that the mystery does not live up to ‘Desperate Housewives’ standards. The mystery surrounding Edie’s (Nicollette Sheridan) husband; Dave Williams (Neal McDonough) seeking revenge for the death of his wife and daughter was predictable and the individual he was after was obvious from the beginning and it lacked any of the show’s trademark twists and turns.

The show celebrated its 100^th episode during season five and the episode remains a standout of the entire series. The episode involved a series of flashbacks centred around resident handyman Eli Scruggs wonderfully played by Beau Bridges and how he touched the lives of each of the housewives. The flashbacks allow us to see the return of old favourites including Rex Van De Kamp (Steven Culp), Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook) and one of the few appearances of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong).

The various flashback episodes including the episode ‘Mirror Mirror’ that fills in the gaps during the five year jump are the real standouts of the season including a tribute episode after the surprise death of one of the housewives.

Special Features

The amount of special features is impressive with audio commentary with cast and crew on the premier episode “You’re going to love tomorrow” and the 100^th episode “The best thing that ever could have happened.” There is also an interesting look at the celebrations surrounding the 100^th episode along with Marc Cherry’s favourite scenes, Bloopers, deleted scenes and a feature on Teri Hatcher.

Summary

Spanning across eight discs ‘Desperate Housewives: The Red Hot Edition- the Complete Fifth Season’ is a must for any fan and a great way to introduce new viewers to the show with its fresh start. Despite some of the season’s short comings including the lack of Katharine Mayfair (Dana Delany), the predictable mystery and the sometimes sitcom style the show evoked the fifth season is a great starting point for a new chapter of the show with only better things to come.