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Desperate Housewives Season 1 Episode 19

Live Alone and Like It

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 4/17/05

Lynette learns that no good deed goes unpunished when she momentarily befriends the mean Mrs. McCluskey. Susan's mother (guest star Lesley Ann Warren) decides to try and jump start her and her daughter's love lives. Susan later finds her mother in her kitchen with a man she picked up, and Susan asks her mother to get rid of him. Andrew talks to a priest about his feelings, and tells him of his shocking plans for his mother, Bree. Carlos sends Gabrielle a big message about what will happen if she leaves him for another man, and John offers to take care of her. Meanwhile, Mike makes some shocking discoveries about the disappearance of his former girlfriend... and the involvement of the Young family in her disappearance.moreless

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Fan Episode Reviews (5)

good

9.0

By danny7277, Oct 31, 2011

this was another good episode of desperate housewives with some really great storylines iloved all the stuff with lynette and karen it was so funny and rather heartwarming in the end, the bree storyline was also good although in feel for bree andrew is pure evil, susan had a good storyline this week aswell sophie is so funny, overall this was another really good episode from desperate housewives
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Season 1, Episode 19.

9.5

By Wanted23, Apr 13, 2009

Lynette helps Mrs. McClusky after she falls outside due to a minor overdose. I love Gabby! She is so awesome! I loved when she said, "Boy, with all this passion it's too bad we're not having sex!" Then she said she wanted to be completely honest with that guy and he called her Tina. LMAO. I love Gabby so much. She's my favorite. :) Wow, that dinner was weird. I like Andrew. He's awesome. :) I wasn't so crazy about the Lynette plot, but at least she's "friends" with Mrs. McClusky. Gabby's plot was the best, and John is just smokin' hot! Susan's plot with her mom was decent, and Bree's was entertaining. Good episode. I liked the later seasons more than season 1 though.moreless
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Sencillamente nadie puede vivir solo, así sea para que le molesten la vida.

9.2

By chupisfunky, Mar 07, 2008

En este episodio empezamos a ver lo compleja que es la mentalidad de Bree, que al principio cree que el problema de su hijo es sencillamente temporal y cree que con alguna charla religiosa y una compañia adecuada, su hijo pasará esta etapa rápidamente, tan equivocada está. Peor aún es la forma de ser de Andrew, jamás pensé que el odio que le tenía fuera tan alto, el se quiere vengar de ella, pero aún no entiendo cual es el gran daño que le ha hecho, Bree tiene sus momentos, pero es un buena madre. Lynette se ofrece a ser más amiga de Karen, lo cual se podrá apreciar más adelante, y Susan sigue con su mamá en la casa, para al final mostrarse vulnerable; eso me parece encantador, por un momento llegué a pensar que Susan ya estaba superando su estado emocional, pero gracias a Dios estába equivocado. Y Gabrielle, sí sabe como se maneja un hombre, y cuanto se puede lograr en la vida, siendo hermosa.moreless
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A very cool episode

9.0

By Jacky17, Sep 13, 2005

I loved this episode. It was really sweet of Lynette to “take care” of her arced-nemesis, as she once referred to Mrs. McClusky. Although see wasn’t radiate about it in the beginning, we could see that she really was committed to her at the end.

Susans mother is really starting to annoy me. She’s crazy. She got Susan a date without even consulting her and even wanted her not to be sad or gloomy or whatever she said.

I’m really “looking forwards” to see what Andrew will do to his mother. Poor Bree… I pity her. I was surprised, but not surprised at the same time about the way Andrew talked to the priest.

The way Gabrielle “seduced” the guy to pay her tab was hilarious. The way she looked at the waiter after he noticed that it was the man paying, was so funny.

I felt real bad for Mike and Noah when they found out that Deirdre had been murdered fifteen years ago. After Mike read the list of people that had bought a toy chest like the one that they found Deirdre body in, you just know that Mike is going to do something to Paul.

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In Company Of Others Written by Jenna Bans Directed by Arlene Sanford

7.0

By shawnlunn2002, Jul 19, 2005

Lisa (to Nate): "Being alone for all eternity sucks like you wouldn't believe"

- Six Feet Under, "Grinding The Corn".

Holden (to Buffy): "But we all feel alone and we are"

- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Conversations With Dead People".

There's nothing crappier in the world than being alone and my God, does this episode really go to town with the fact or what? In some parts this works really wonderfully, in others, it seems being alone may not be the worst of all possibilities.

The obvious place to start with the loneliness theme would be with Karen McCluskey, as the delightful Katherine Joosten reprises her role as the cantankerous old coot who more than provides a fair share of the comedic elements as well as being a great foil/imminent ally to Lynette when she passes out after ODing on her Arthritis medication. This show really loves to pushes the dangers of the more prescribed pharmaceuticals than any other and while this thread could have been absolute tedium to watch it's lifted by the brilliant interplay between Huffman and Joosten as Lynette finds her torn with the want of staying out of someone else's personal shit and her own moral compass to be a good neighbour, because let's be honest, there doesn't really seem to many on Wisteria Lane. Karen's plight is nicely executed, there are some great slapstick moments between both women and hopefully for Lynette, this is the start of storylines that don't involve the terror twins.

Unlike Karen, however, Gabrielle is well aware of the advantages bestowed onto her and well aware of the notion, she's almost God's gift to men, she continues her successful one woman campaign to state that she's in control. She isn't getting sympathy from me but damn, I gotta admire her determination. She may selfish beyond belief but does she know how get she wants or not? Cute and gullible John happily hands over his student card and no I'm not surprised she used, this is Gabby we're talking about here. I loved her threat of adultery to Carlos but I was a little surprised he caved in and tore up the post nup though.

However, any way I look at it I think Gabrielle and Carlos are a perfect match for each other. They're both sneaky, underhanded and have no qualms in playing dirty to get what they want. Despite being programmed to realise their hooking up again is strictly sex related and nothing else, John still loves her. It's a shame because even if finance weren't an obstacle, Materialistic Mama wouldn't be sailing off into the sunset with him. People, John may be hotter than a heatwave in LA but he's way too nice and no matter how devoted he is, it'll end in tears. Mostly his.

Speaking of hard lessons, can someone please chuck a nice bucket of ice water over Sophie? It's for a good cause, the serious she's a pain the ass cause. Her appearance last week was cause for headache and she's not much better here either, only that Lesley Anne Warren correctly ticks all the boxes for "well meaning but seriously embarrassing gymslip mother". With the absence of Julie this week and Sophie's outrageous flirting and over the top faux attempts of hedonism, Susan gets to momentarily come across as the adult of the piece. Still though at least Sophie's twisted double date scenario finally gets Susan to admit how broken she really is about Mike and no I don't mean another wingefest but some actual mourning which means Teri Hatcher gets to emote a bit. Sophie also slightly redeems herself by letting Mike know this but besides that the sooner Mrs Bremmer is gone, the better.

Mike after being underused in the past three episodes is also given something worthy of screen time and a nice opportunity for James Denton to flex his acting chops a bit as Deirdre's body is identified to be the hacked up one in the chest and asshole Detective Sullivan beats the crap outta Mike before handing over her file. Despite almost being opened up like a piñata at least Mike finds a clue to creepy Paul and The Chest. I knew Deirdre was the body in the chest but I'm also wondering if she may be Zach/Dana's real mother too. This plot is starting to get real interesting once again and with four eps left to go it'll be amazing to see how all the bits are pieced together. I expected no immediate continuity on the Felicia /Zach/Paul situation so the obscure reference with this plot fairly compensated for that. Before I forget, Noah's grief for Deidre was also heartfelt.

Meanwhile the Bree plot of the episode had me divided this week. What do you do when you fear your 16-year-old son might be gay? I don't know but I don't recommend calling a priest in the hopes of degaying him, that's for sure. This particular was disappointed but expected and while I can hardly envision Bree turning into Debbie from Queer As Folk US any time soon, could she have handled the situation any worse? I actually felt bad for Andrew, just a little mind. Why does she fear for her son's soul now when she should've feared for it over his callous attitude towards running over Juanita months ago? Although I still hate Andrew I still felt sympathetic over Bree telling him he won't go to heaven. I think if my mother had said that, I would have snapped and demanded a better explanation and I wished Andrew had done the same. Bree does love him and while she may have his best intentions at heart, this doesn't explain or condone her homophobia.

It also gives Andrew a new reason to hate his mother even more. I think a part of him was hoping that revealing his sexuality to her would bring them closer but her desperation to change him will now drive them further apart and Andrew's gleeful admission to Reverend Sykes of his newly formed vendetta against Bree is a shocker. What an evil bastard! If I were Bree, I'd watch my back cos this will get ugly and whatever Andrew ends up doing, it may be difficult for Marc Cherry and company to redeem him especially if Andrew goes to the extremes he's aiming for.

Also in "Live Alone And Like It"

Better opening sequence this week with Lynette fantasising of Karen popping her clogs, a Swedish family moving in with twin girls in a future marrying Pumpkinhead and Pipsqueak. Not brilliant but better than the previous two.

Susan: "Could you not flirt with the ice cream man?"

Sophie: "Why not?"

Susan: "Do you need a reason besides he's the ice cream man?"

Susan wore way too much pink in this episode and Sophie is the third character we've encountered in this series that has been married and divorced four times. Go figure.

Gabrielle: "Damnit John, what is our new rule?"

John: "Stop pretending we have a future".

John lied to his parents about his card being stolen will definitely come back to bite him the ass. If Helen doesn't kill Gabrielle, you can bet Carlos will sure as hell kill John without thinking twice.

Rex (to Bree): "Can you at least wait until desert to call our son a sodomite?"

Bree (to Andrew): "Your father is into S&M. He makes me beat him with a riding crop. No wonder you're perverted. Look at who your parents are".

Those pictures that were used of Bree holding baby Andrew looked out of place, given the cinematography of the show.

Andrew: "Look … I love vanilla ice cream, okay? But every now and then I'm probably going to be in the mood for chocolate. You know what I'm saying?"

Reverend Sykes: "I do, but God would prefer you to stick to the vanilla".

Mystery update – Deirdre's been missing/dead for fifteen years but the box she was found in was bought in 1992, as last ep stated. So would that also been the amount of years the Young's have been in Wisteria Lane?"

Was it me or did the wine at the Van De Kamp's look totally fake?

Gabrielle: "If you hurt me again, I'll kill you"

Carlos: "If you leave me for another man, I'll kill you".

Cool, another great if not terrible brilliant instalment. "Live Alone And Like It" is a simple minded enough hour and with four more to go, it's nice to see thing heat a little though last week was hotter but still this was oodles of fun.

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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Teri Hatcher	Susan Mayer
Felicity Huffman	Lynette Scavo
Marcia Cross	Bree Van De Kamp
Eva Longoria	Gabrielle Solis
Nicollette Sheridan	Edie Britt
Brenda Strong	Mary Alice Young

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Geoff Pierson	Sam	Guest Star
James Michael Connor	Tim	Guest Star
Patrick Dollaghan	Lamont	Guest Star
Shawn Pyfrom	Andrew Van De Kamp	Recurring Role
Brent Kinsman	Preston Scavo	Recurring Role
Shane Kinsman	Porter Scavo	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (4)
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- In the previous episode, the police visited Paul to talk to him about a toy chest that Mary Alice had purchased 12 years prior, although on Mike's copy of the police report it states that Paul purchased the toy chest.
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- Bree's line to her gay son Andrew, "I would love you even if you were a murderer", is what creator Marc Cherry's mom said to him when he told her he was gay.
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- Originally there was meant to be a scene in which Edie gives Paul a hard time for being a bad kisser, but it was cut for time.
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- In the previous episode, the police questioned Paul about the toybox, stating that he had bought one twelve years before. However, at the beginning of this episode, it is stated that Deidre had been dead for fifteen years.
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QUOTES (16)
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- Mary Alice: Every morning as she went to take out her trash, Lynette Scavo would indulge in a little daydream, the details of which were always the same. One day, her nasty neighbor Karen McCluskey would keel over and die. And her home would be bought by a lovely Swedish family with two adorable twin daughters. The families would form an everlasting friendship, culminating in their daughters marrying her sons at an elaborate wedding the Scavos wouldn't have to pay for. Yes, Lynette enjoyed her little daydream, but Mrs. McCluskey always had a way of pulling her back to reality.
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- Gabrielle: I don't need your credit cards, Carlos, and I don't need your money, but if our marriage is gonna work, I need your respect.
  Carlos: I'm not ripping up the post-nup.
  Gabrielle: Yes, you are. Because if you don't, I'm gonna put on my new shoes and walk out the door.
  Carlos: You're threatening me?
  Gabrielle: No, I'm just pointing something out. I'm a pretty girl, and pretty girls are never lonely.
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- Andrew: You know what my mum said to me last night? She said she doesn't think I'm going to Heaven. Can you believe that?
  Reverend Sikes: I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but the only way you can know Paradise is by repenting your sins.
  Andrew: When she said that to me, suddenly it hit me how I was gonna get back at her. From now on, I'm going to be so good. I'm gonna eat my vegetables, I'm,I'm gonna get good grades, I'm gonna say "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am." I'm gonna make her believe that God has delivered her this little miracle. Until one day, when she least expects it, I'm gonna do something so awful, it is going to rock her world. I mean, it is really going to destroy her. And when that day comes, trust me. I'll know Paradise.
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- John: What about me? Can't I be your plan B?
  Gabrielle: Damn it, John. What is our new rule?
  John: Stop pretending we have a future.
  Gabrielle: Thank you.
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- Gabrielle: If you ever hurt me again, I will kill you.
  Carlos: If you ever leave me for another man, I'll kill you.
  Gabrielle: Boy, with all this passion, isn't it a shame that we're not having sex?
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- Reverend Sikes: I'm sorry -- just so we're clear -- are you a heterosexual are aren't you?
  Andrew: Look...I love vanilla ice cream, okay? But every now and then I'm probably going to be in the mood for chocolate. You know what I'm saying?
  Reverend Sikes: I do, but God would prefer you to stick to the vanilla.
  Andrew: I don't believe in God.
  Reverend Sikes: You don't.
  Andrew: No. Sorry.
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- Mrs. McCluskey: Got to hell!
  Lynette: Run by Germans!
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- Rex: (to Bree, in front of the Reverend) Can you at least wait until dessert to call our son a sodomite?
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- Andrew: (referring to the wine) You don't suppose I can get some of that?
  Rex: Nope. I'm gonna need every drop.
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- Gabrielle: (to Jonh) Carlos cut up all my credit cards. I'm married and I can't shop which is the worst of all possible worlds.
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- (On the phone)
  John: Why don't you return the shoes and get the money back?
  Gabrielle: Return the shoes?! I can't talk to you when you're being hysterical? (Hangs up)
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- Mary Alice: Yes, life is a journey, one that is much better travelled with a companion by our side. Of course, that companion can be just about anyone... a neighbor on the other side of the street... or the man on the other side of the bed. The companion can be a mother with good intentions... or a child who's up to no good.
  Still, despite our best intentions, some of us will lose our companions along the way. And then the journey becomes unbearable. You see, human beings are designed for many things, but loneliness isn't one of them.
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- Susan: Could you not flirt with the ice cream man?
  Sophie: Why not?
  Susan: Do you need a reason besides he's the ice cream man?
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- Bree: (to Andrew) Your father is into S&M.
  Rex: Bree!
  Bree: He makes me beat him with a riding crop, and I let him. It's no wonder you're perverted. Look who your parents are.
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- Susan: (to Sophie) If you don't go out there in 5 minutes, I will tell Tim how old you really are.
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- Rex: (about Andrew being gay) Just be cool.
  Bree: You'll see I'm just as cool as you.
  (Andrew comes out to hug his parents)
  Bree: I would love you even if you were a murderer.
  (Andrew & Rex give Bree a weird look)
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NOTES (7)
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- Although credited, Nicollette Sheridan (Edie Britt), Mark Moses (Paul Young), Andrea Bowen (Julie Mayer) and Cody Kasch (Zach Young) didn't appear. It's the first time Julie doesn't appear in an episode.
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- It is revealed that Deidre is the woman in the toy chest.
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- Susan (Teri Hatcher) references her mom and Morty's break-up as occuring two weeks ago, because this episode was moved up a week. This show normally uses the length of time between episodes as the length of time used in the show between episodes.
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- Marc Cherry, the creator of Desperate Housewives, appeared on FOX's Arrested Development the same night.
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- Kathryn Joosten (Mrs. McCluskey) tells Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) to "Go to Hell!" This is ironic, seeing as she had played "God" in a few episodes of Joan of Arcadia recently.
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- ABC originally scheduled a repeat airing of Desperate Housewives on this date (1.14 "Love Is In the Air"), but decided to air this new episode, "Live Alone & Like It" on this date instead.
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- Led by Desperate Housewives (Overnights: #1, 17.4/25; Viewers: #1, 24.57 million; Adults 18-49: #1, 10.5/25), ABC once again won the ratings battle on Sunday, April 17, 2005.
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- The alternate title for this episode, Unexpected Song, is from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Song and Dance.
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- Stephen Sondheim
  This episode's title comes from yet another Sonheim song Live Alone and Like It but this time from the movie Dick Tracy
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