Desperate Housewives

This episode was fantastic! The 5th season's second half began on the right note and if the rest of the season will deliver such amazing episodes like this, it's going to be an awesome season. This episode had lots character and plot development for each of the characters. Bree Van de Kamp certainly has a memorable opening scene. It was also a very good scene since all the main characters are there. Bree's storyline was fantastic. Susan's and Mike's storyline concerning MJ's episode was very entertaining. The funniest scene was when MJ and Susan clapped each others knees at the school. The best scene was when Susan infiltrated Katherine's home. I laughed so hard! Lynette's plot was good but Gaby's was the weakest. Overall, a very good and entertaining episode with memorable moments.

i actually really liked this episode i thought it was entetaing and im sure the theme of this episode would be relatable to alot of other people out there..

I thought gabys storyline this week was pretty funny with her joining a keep fit class a filler storlyine but entertaining non the less

Susan had a pretty funny episode aswell however it was a bit daft breaking into katherines house to steal her pearls

Lynette and bree shared a storlyine this week which was also nice, i liked the tension bretween these two characters Overall a good episode nothing special or game changing but still fun and entertaining

another fine episode of season five, this time showcasing how the credit crunch is affecting the women and men of wisteria lane. First of all its nice to see 'more' of Dana Delany. She has recently been underused this season but now her role is becoming more jucier and firmer. Susan's new job could open up new prospects for the character. She was quite funny in this episode from her stealing Katherine's necklace to her "look at my sorry face!" At the end. Quite a touching speech too.

I'm surprised that Lynette didn't kill Bree when they clashed. I have noticed that Mrs Hodge is slowly moving away from her circle of friends - perhaps something will happen? But the best thing was seeing glamour Gabby back. Eva Longeria is a beautiful woman and I'm glad to see her back in shape. And Dave is becoming more freaky each time...

Overall another fine episode of our ladies.

Lynette and her family are having money problems; the pizzeria is not busy. They had to sell Tom's Classic Mustang to bring in some money. Later in the episode Bree offers Lynette $20,000 to help out and Lynette says no, but decides to take it for a 15% stake in their pizzeria.



Susan is trying to get MJ into a private school but can't afford it. Mike gives Katherine a pearl necklace and Susan thinks that Mike is spending money on his girlfriend that he should be spending his son's education. The necklace turns out to be fake and cost only $129. Susan ends up offering her services as an art teacher at the school she wants MJ to go to because employees get a 50% discount. She gets the job.



Carlos is going to take Gaby to the Palm Restaurant for their anniversary and she wants to wear a certain dress that is still to tight. She joins a boot camp workout and learns the meaning hard work, dedication, and friendship. In the end she is able to get into the dress she wants to.



Things could not be going better for Bree Hodge. Her book is selling and she is being offered a 3 book deal. She bought a new car and is showing it off to the rest of the neighborhood. The only problem is with the loan to the Scavo's, the money has driven a wedge between her friendship with Lynette



Tom finds out that his best friend Dave is the one who gave the information to the police about his son. Tom confronts Dave an punches him out. On his second attempt to punch Dave, Dave manhandles him and basically tells him to let it go.



This was a great episode with plot development and character development.

This episode was well-constructed in its exploration of different tensions and dynamics running through the friendships. Relationships are scrutinized and go through changes. Gabrielle and Edie bond over boot camp - Tom finds out Dave is not his true friend - Bree tries to help Lynette with her money problems and only succeeds in alienating her with blindingly narcisstic self-congratulation and insensitivity - Susan and Katherine and Mike have an interesting interaction around money issues as they relate to MJ's tuition at an expensive private school.... It was interesting the many different ways in which money played out in the relationships, which are themselves dynamic and changing to begin with. The most impressive storyline was the Bree and Lynette one - and both actresses did a great job.

Topical? Desperate Housewives? The show about four achingly perfect women and their quest to keep on the right side of sane in the idyllic suburbs of America? You're having a larff ain't ya? Well, actually, no. Marc Cherry's magnum opus manages to be just about as relevant as page 2 of The Sun this week (you know, the bit with, shock of shocks, the politics) as the production crew take the global recession and run a few blocks with it (despite the show being set five years into future, natch). Or about as far as Gabrielle manages to get with her fitness regime in the first twenty odd minutes, at any rate. So both Lynette and Susan find themselves struck down by the credit crunch monster: business isn't exactly booming for either lady, but poor Mrs. Scavo's case, the recent finger-pointing and damning media coverage of evil Porter is hampering sales of her fabulous pizzas even more.



Mrs. Myer, meanwhile, desperately wants little MJ to go to a private school (I mean, don't all parents? Or at least, all parents in bloody American television shows, the snobs... does no one care for the merits of state education any more? For actually being introduced to that important little thing called life? Apparently not. Rant over) and when she is faced with the phenomenal bill, she does everything in her power to get Mike to cough up the pennies. Thankfully, this somewhat selfish streak is addressed within the narrative and before long, she's pimping herself out to the headmaster, insisting that she'll do anything to get the boy in. I'm quite surprised the guy doesn't turn to camera with a wry grin on his face and exclaim, "aanything?!" but we'll bypass that missed opportunity for now. What is more troubling is the ease with which Susan manages to ingratiate herself within the faculty: why does being an illustrator of children's books qualify you to be a teacher's assistant? Teach being the operative word in the sentence. Don't you need some sort of, oh, I don't know, teaching qualification?! And if Susan has one, it's not exactly evident from her conversation with the man: all she shows him is a copy of her art work, no mention of her educational history is made! Oh, and while we're nitpicking, would he really not offer her the assistant to the Art teacher's role immediately after she suggests working in the department? He held back that nugget of information because she was 'over qualified'? Where? Where were her credentials? Give me a sodding break!



Things are somewhat stronger in Lynette's corner, if only because the narrative has the added bonus of highlighting the distinct changes in Bree's character. The marriage of the two housewives in business is a novel idea and the staging of the downturn in their friendship at the restaurant works really well. Largely, the credit goes to Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman as the two are on the ball yet again, perfectly encapsulating the gulf that can develop as a result of financial oscillation. And then, of course, there's Dave, whose story manages to take an additional step forward through this as finally, someone gets to see through the guy's crap. I imagine everyone with a working conscience was delighted at Tom's right-royal punch-out: I know I was egging him on to giving the psychopathic g*t a good seeing to. I am not a violent person. Honest.



An encouragingly well thought out episode overall, then, with an engaging set of narrative strands and even some relevance to the current socio-economic climate. There are elements that leave a slightly bitter taste and once again, Gabrielle's story proves difficult to reconcile, even if it is occasionally amusing, but generally, this is an enjoyable forty five minutes. Fairly standard Desperate Housewives fare but that's certainly nothing to complain about.

I enjoyed this episode very much because it felt that I could relate, more than episodes about hostages or tornadoes (not that those are good or necessary). Money is an issue in this day and age, and I think "Desperate Housewives" encompassed the issue very well. Sadly, money does rule the world, and some have it, while some don't. Anyway, I hope tonight's episode continues with the excellence that's been brought since we've come back in January. The five year jump has been successful so far, but I'm interested to see how this mystery plays out. We will soon see...

Gabrielle: "It's hard."

Edie: "Of course it is. That's why it's called "boot camp"."



In these times where you cannot flick open a newspaper or listen to the news without the word "recession" coming at you from all sides, it's nice to see that Desperate Housewives does an episode where it gets discussed fairly well.



Success is something that we all want to have right now and for Bree, well the woman has it in spades. Also seeing as modesty isn't her strongest of points, Bree also has no problem in letting her neighbours know how fortunate she has become in spite of the current economic climate.



Sporting a Lexus in front of her friends inspires admiration from Gabrielle, Katherine and Edie but it only serves to highlight that Lynette is exactly on the opposite of the money spectrum. This is a fact that Bree seems all too oblivious of when she's going on about the car's features.



For a while we know that Lynette and Tom have been having some money troubles. I think thanks to Porter nearly getting sent down and the pizzeria taking a nosedive that's understandable for Lynette not to be so eager to share in Bree's financial bliss. Of course there are two sides to every story.



On the side of Bree when she does realise that Lynette is having financial troubles, she does offer some money to help her friend out. When Lynette's pride gets in the way of accepting a cheque, Bree accepts the 15% partnership in the pizzeria to make the transition of cash more palatable.



Bree also accepted the fact that Lynette used her cookbook launch as a means of getting more punters into the pizzeria because you don't need to be a genius to see that this can only benefit both parties involved. Of course, it's also because of this choice of location for book launching that later caused problems for the pair of them.



So in the great big spat over pizzas, who was right – Bree or Lynette? Actually I think that both of them had some valid points. Bree had the point due to the simple fact that Lynette altered her recipes without consulting and it's understandable for Bree to get hacked off over that.



However Bree failed to realise that the majority of the clientele at Scavos aren't the sort who are always gonna have gourmet meals on a nightly basis and Bree did make some personal comments about Lynette's work ethic that weren't entirely justified.



It isn't Lynette's fault (from what we've seen) that Scavos is going under and Bree also proved why friendships and finances don't mix. In the heat of the moment, Bree did throw back into Lynette's face that she gave her the money but at the same time, Lynette isn't blameless either.



While it does suck to be in that kind of a financial predicament, Lynette can't go around sulking everytime one of her neighbours is more financially solvent than her. Otherwise she's just gonna be bitter and annoying to watch and while her and Bree should've resolved things, Lynette was harsh in ending their friendship.



We've had various spats with certain housewives over different kinds of issues but this time there was no making up. Perhaps it's a good thing to let Bree and Lynette's estrangement drag out for a few episodes but it's certainly sad to watch two friends fight over money like this.



Funnily enough the friendship arc also came into play with Tom. He and Dave have been practically bosom buddies since the beginning of the season and thanks to Lee, that friendship is blown out of the water. If you think I'm criticising Lee, I'm really not. What Lee did was completely right in every way.



Bon was smart enough to discover that Dave was the witness who ratted on Porter and told Lee in confidence. Bob also made the point of telling Lee not to say a word due to the fact that he finds Dave creepy. The fact that someone other than Karen has a deep mistrust of Dave is brilliant. I just hope that Bob and his hubby don't suffer Dave's wrath as a result of this plot.



Having Lee be the one to tell Tom about Dave made for a good scene. Lee was genuinely looking out for Tom and while the latter hasn't been likeable compared to earlier seasons, I did feel terrible for him. Porter might be a pain but Dave really could've ruined the kid's life to save his own skin.



The scene between Doug Savant and Neal McDonough where Tom and Dave face off is brilliant. Tom's punching skills don't make much of an impact but there's a scary moment where it did look like Dave was going to kill him. Tom had better watch his back from now on.



Dave also maintained the creepy quota this episode when grilled by Edie about his first wife. The funny thing is that even though Dave's response to Edie's question was so blatantly disturbing, Edie surprisingly brushed it off and bemoaned herself for asking a more superficial question. Given that I've heard some recent rumours about Nicolette Sheridan, I'm beginning to think that Dave might find a more dangerous way of dealing with Edie's curiosity if she's not too careful. After all, a lot of ABC shows are losing some main characters this season. This could be another one in line.



When not asking about her husband's past, Edie then managed to get involved in Gabby's plot as well. Now that Carlos is raking in the cash, Gabby can afford to wear designer clothes once again and thanks to Edie's boot camp, she also decided to get back into shape.



We've had these kinds of plots in a lot of other series and movies and while it's not terribly original, I actually didn't have much problem with it here. Okay so Gabby's boot camp instructor Yaniv is a tight ass but he's fun and he scares Gabby pretty good so I'm generally not too miffed with that.



However this is Gabby and when boot camp became too much work, she did try to get Yaniv to back off. Here's the thing about people like Yaniv – they're merciless and he proves that point by getting everyone else to do more laps while placing the blame on Edie. Yaniv is also one of the few men that we've seen Edie submit to as well.



The most interesting thing about this story is the fact that Edie organised the whole boot camp as a way to rally around Gabby's reversed fortune. It's a nice gesture but I got an immature snicker when Edie said that poor Gabby had humility. I'm pretty sure that's not true but it was enough for Gabby to take the boot camp seriously so points to Edie for that.



It also got Gabby to acknowledge her seamstress and I'm pretty sure if this was any other I wouldn't care about this. In fact I don't really care about it on this show but it was nice scene but any scene where Gabby doesn't belittle those on her payroll can be a good scene. Plus seeing as Eva Longoria Parker cannot be frumpy to save her life, perhaps it's wise to bring back the more glamorous version of Gabby anyway.



Last but not least, money problems also surfaced for Susan. She wanted to send MJ to a private school (boy, they really are sticklers for that in Wisteria Lane) and when MJ got accepted, the fees threatened to halt Susan's latest dreams. Harassing Mike for more money also didn't help matters.



Another thing that didn't help was trying to steal Katherine's pearls but aside from a brief threat of nudity, the only thing that really came out of this plot was the reveal that despite working around the clock, Mike is still reasonably poor.



The other issue was that Susan was the one who needed to provide better for MJ. It's good that this episode then had her beg the principal Mr Hobson for a job and as begging went, Susan did a bang up job. I just hope her stint as a teaching assistant isn't too slapstick or too short lived.



As for Mike and Katherine, fake pearls or not they still seem to be very into each other. This is also probably the first episode in a while in which Dave isn't keeping a creepy eye over Mike but I'm sure that will change in later episodes.



Also in "Mama Spent Money When She Had None"



Isn't it annoying that Bree was the one who managed to find the $20 bill on her new car?



Lynette (to Walter, re Tom): "He's inside but between sobs he's happy for you."



Tom had to sell his mid-life crisis car in this episode. By the way, Foxy is a stupid name for a car, not that cars should have names anyway.



Bree (re Lynette): "Thank God I didn't show her how the car parks itself."

Katherine: "You're gonna show us, aren't you?"



Gabrielle (to Carlos, regarding their fortune): "Why didn't you tell me this when you were begging for sex this morning? You could've closed that deal as well."



Was that really the same dress that Gabby wore in the "Pilot" during the proposal scene? If so, excellent continuity from the producers.



Gabrielle: "You're just afraid I'm gonna look better than you."

Edie: "6am. The Park. Be ready to die."



Gabrielle: "It's an exercise class. Why would anyone say "donut"?"

Yaniv: "That's another lap."



Yaniv's words of disapproval are "cake", "tired", "can't" or "donut". How about this – "I'm so tired, can't do any more exercise. Perhaps a nice slice of cake or a donut will give me some energy". Yes, I can be that immature at times.



Gabrielle: "I said time out."

Yaniv: "There is no time out. You signed a contract."



Susan: "Pearls or towel, you decide."

Katherine: "You wouldn't dare."

Susan: "I've been naked on this street. It would be nice to take the heat off that story."



Nice call back to Susan's nudity spell in "Pretty Little Picture". Parker falling off his bike when he saw Katherine was a funny moment.



Gabrielle (re boot camp): "Oh yeah, I quit that."

Yaniv: "There is no quitting. It's in your contract."



Gabrielle: "What the hell are you doing?"

Yaniv: "When you don't come to boot camp, boot camp comes to you."



UK viewers will recognise TJ Ramini who played Yaniv in this episode. He used to play Zain Nadir in The Bill. Edie: "You wanted the old Gabby back, well congratulations, it worked. A self centred, spoiled jerk. Personally I preferred the paunchy Gabby. At least she had humility."



Lee: "I just wanted you to know, he's not your friend."

Tom: "Who? Dave?"



We learned that the zip code for Wisteria Lane is 00057.



Bree: "I don't understand why you're so upset."

Lynette: "I know you don't but five years ago you would have."



Tom (to Dave): "Lynette doesn't know anything about this. Otherwise you'd be dead."



No appearances from Orson or Andrew in this episode or Porter/Preston/Penny.



Edie (to Dave, re Lila): "My first instinct was to ask if she was prettier than me. When will I go with my gut?"



Mr Hobson: "Congratulations on your new job."

Susan: "Congratulations on getting me out of your office."



Chronology: None is directly specified since the events of "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened".



"Mama Spent Money When She Had None" isn't the best episode that the series has ever done, it's certainly not one of the best from this season but it's definitely not the worst. While I'm trying to think less about a recession rather than more, I did enjoy how this episode handled the issue.

In this episode there were two main stories, one centered on money and the other on the knowledge that Dave is the one that placed Porter at the nightclub the night of the fire.



So the very current topic of financial struggles played a part in everyone's life, Bree, Gaby, and Edie had too much, while Lynette and Susan had to little. While most of them handled their situation well, Lynette, Susan, and Bree were less than mature about their finances. So Bree is flaunting her new Lexus to the ladies, now it would seem that this would also make Katherine jealous, but she had more to worry about thanks to Susan. Lynette was the one who turned jealous, as she had to sell Tom's mustang. This leads Bree to offer Lynette $20K, as a gift, which makes Lynette uncomfortable, so she and Bree strike a deal where she would own 15% of Scavo's Pizzeria. This culminated in Bree having a book signing at Scavo's where Lynette thought it would be nice to serve up some of Bree's recipes, but when she learned that Lynette would be using subpar parmesan she changed the menu so as not to reflect poorly on her image. When Lynette found the discarded pizzas she was hurt by her friend and retaliated by smashing into her new car. It didn't end there though, the drama escalated when Lynette wrote Bree a check, which she tore up. So who is at fault here, since the start of the season Bree's success has become the enemy of Katherine, Orson, and now Lynette, while Lynette has suffered more than anyone on the block this year, I think that Bree is going to have to stop flaunting her successes before she really loses everything.



For Susan and Mike the issue became paying for MJ's fancy private school, this dated back to how Mike got himself addicted to pills, he was working around the clock to keep up with expenses, but this time Mike made the point that Susan needs to sacrifice a little. Now, before all this she made a fool of herself, believing from Lee that Mike was showering Katherine with gifts, mainly a strong of pearls, so Susan did what Susan does best, snuck into Katherine's house and got stuck in a compromising situation, one that involved Katherine being almost naked on the street for everyone, namely Parker Scavo. In the end Mike revealed that the pearls were fake, and Susan got a job at MJ's school to help pay for and reduce the costs of his schooling.



Gaby was reaping the benefits of Carlos's new salary by having a dress made for a fancy dinner, the one problem she was not yet ready to fit into it. So she joined Edie's boot camp, and met her enemy in the form of the instructor. Overall it was a lesson in humility for Gaby as Edie pointed out that the old Gaby was back but that she preferred the poor, fat Gaby better because she had some humility. So for Gaby the real lesson was that the money did not really make her a better person.



Now for the big reveal, as Bob and Lee were commenting on Tom's loss of Foxy. Dave showed up to offer his condolences, and that is when Bob and Lee left, and where Bob admitted that Dave is not as good of friend as he claims. Lee never being one to keep a secret told Tom that it was Dave that led the police to Porter for starting the fire. Tom, with nothing left to do came knocking down Dave's door and laying down the law, but the ever vigilant Dave put Tom in the choke hold and landed a new member of Team McClusky. The most disturbing moment came at the episode's end when Edie reluctantly asked what made her marriage to Dave so different than his first, his response was that being married to Edie was no fairy tale and that one day it would all have to end, something he never believed the first time. This made Edie regret asking in the first name, and made Dave more creepy in his wife's eyes.



I thought this was a great episode, while the relevant story line was compelling, I would have liked to see more of Dave, because I still feel there is so much about him we don't know.

Let me just start off by saying that I absolutely loved this episode. All of the story lines were great, but Susan's storyline was definitely my favorite of all the storylines in this episode. I loved the scene where Susan and Katherine get into a fight over Mike buying Katherine pearls. Gabrielle's storyline was absolutely hilarious. It was great getting to see a lot of Edie in this episode. Bree was just great in general in this episode. I loved all of her scenes with Lynette. It was so great getting to see Bob and Lee in this episode. Lee was absolutely hilarious in this episode. The scene where Tom confronts Dave about framing Porter for the fire. All in all, I thought that this was a very well written, well acted and well made episode of Desperate Housewives from everyone involved, and I can't wait to see the next episode of Desperate Housewives.

Susan finnaly had a storyline that wasn't connected to a love affair, so thank God for that, and she's getting a job. Might give some interesting storylines. Her way of leading Katherine outside the house was funny and her way of reacting on Kathy's towel situation was great.



Gaby is back to her old self, but I'm glad to see Edie finally made her realize that she used to be selfish. The call in bed was hilarious, although I regret we didn't see the kids.



I'm totally on Lynette's side when it comes to the restaurant thingy. Bree was being stuck up and had no right to throw away those pizza's. Lynette driving in Bree's car was rather silly, but I guess they needed it for the end conclusion.

No Orson? No Scavo kids?



Dave's story is moving on, again, but with slow steps. I feel sorry for Edie at the way she was talked to in bed and I'm glad someone's finnaly seeing through his disguise. I just hate that Tom isn't planning on telling anyone. And Dave suddenly holding Tom... what the hell? We might have a fighter this time.



Overall enjoying, a totally different vibe, compared to the first half of the season, but with a few sill moments. No storyline really had a highlight (or at least not at the end, where it should be) and they could have been handled better. What I did notice was that Lynette and Bree were doing episode 5x04 all over again, with the jealousy thing... But since the final talk found place in the test kitchen, I think the writers realised that.

It was so good to see another episode of Desperate Housewives after several week's break since the 100th. Gaby at the extreme boot camp exercise class was absolutely priceless and there were a couple of great Gaby and Carlos moments renminiscent of old times. Susan and Katherine's scene over the pearls was also very funny. Bree was brilliant as ever when she really brushed Lynette up the wrong way over the pizzas. Edie and Dave also had some great scenes and I loved it when Tom punched Dave when he found out it was Dave who had implicated Porter over the fire incident. Overall, highly enjoyable.

I loved the episode :) Susan/Katherine: It was a nice storyline. And Susan finally got a job, it was about time :D



Gabby/Edie: I just adore Edie. She was so right and it was really great of her to have that honest conversation with Gabby. And I am really happy that Gabby is taking this "You are absolutely the same as before" as an offence. She should. Lynette/Bree: Maybe the best story this episode. I understand them both and I really can see where they both come from, but if I have to choose a site, it would be Bree's. Bree tried to help her and Lynette was just two proud to accept. Lynette has done really a lot of things for Bree over the years, she should have just taken the money Bree offered as a gift. And Bree was absolutely wrong to throw out Lynette's pizza like that. But Bree have always been harsh and uncompromising, it wasn't the money that made her being like that and that's where Lynette is wrong the most. I really hope they will work it out. :)

Lynette hitting Bree's car, a woman running around naked and Tom punching Dave. It's just another week on Wisteria Lane.



This may not have been the best written installment ever, but it served its purpose of advancing the Dave Williams storyline (we now know he has super ninja abilities) and by creating some new drama between Lynette and Bree. It was more of a throwback to the earlier episodes where zany things kept happening, and believability was thrown out the window, but in a good way.



As usual Bree was simply hilarious showboating her new car, and clashing with Lynette's lifestyle. The exchanges between these two were excellent and I am certainly looking forward to where this heads.



Gabrielle was also very funny in her fights with the Israeli exercise specialist. Susan's part was probably the weakest, but her unfortunate predicaments are always entertaining to watch.



Just another good episode and glad to have this show back after a brief hiatus.

Bree reaps the success of her new book by treating herself to a new car, while Lynette and Tom resolve to sell his Mustang for some extra cash. Susan is determined to send MJ to the best school, even though she and Mike can't afford it. Meanwhile, Gabby joins Edie's no nonsense boot camp to get herself back into shape. This episode seems so different with the writing... Bree seemed different in the beginning a little. Then Tom, who already acts immature, is worried about his car, which he named Foxy. Unbelievable... Bree is an amazing friend. She offered Lynette $20,000! Haha, Gabby is just an amazing character. Kudos to Eva Longoria. "Listen, Iraqi Army Guy!" LMFAO! Good episode.