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Desperate Housewives Season 6 Episode 12

You Gotta Get a Gimmick

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AIRED: Jan 10, 2010

7.7

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Episode Summary

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Susan turns up the heat for Mike, whereas Lynette discovers Tom's true intentions regarding her job. Gabrielle is forced to examine feelings she's suppressed regarding her heritage, and Bree learns it'll be hard to undo the hurt she's caused Orson. In the meantime, Ana is more determined to land Danny.moreless

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (7)

Tom's Attempt To Help Lynette At Work Backfires. Julie Decides To Leave Town Until The Attacker Is Found And Susan Teaches Mike A Lesson.

9.0

By Matt16020-FIN, May 28, 2012

First of all I can't understand these negative reviews! There were lots of character and plot development for each character. There were also lots of great emotional moments and the episode is filled with great humour. I laughed so hard at many parts! My favorite scene was with Gaby and Carlos and Tom and Lynette. Carlos bought a plasma TV for them because Lynette saved Celia's life. I think that scene shows that their frienship is unbreakable. The funniest scene was at the private school with the Solis family. I laughed so hard at that scene! Without giving away all the storylines, I end my review here. An absolutely entertaining episode with great moments.moreless
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Strange

5.0

By naldro, Feb 19, 2010

I can't believe the way they're behaving. Gaby's making a big deal out of a comment. Lynette's upset that Tom's taken her job. Has she forgotten that last week neither of them had a job. Bree takes Orson in. I think she should cut all ties with him. She should pay for his care and rehab. And Susan, she's a major control freak. That's how she's with Julie and look at what happened-- she's been getting involved with older men. She must have been scarred by her father's absence. And now she was nearly killed. And she's telling Mike that he can't work at the club. She should now that Mike would never do anything. And mike has done so much for her like taking the rap for her when she killed Dave's family. She should be more tolerant.moreless
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Felicity Huffman, where would Desperate Housewives be without you?

6.5

By screenagedkicks, Jan 22, 2010

Felicity Huffman, where would Desperate Housewives be without you? Up poop creek without a paddle, that's where. While we find ourselves hopping onboard the endless Scavo merry-go-round of job acquisition for the seventeen millionth time, as Tom decides that he knows what's best for Lynette and informs Carlos that she won't be returning to work when the baby is born, Huffman rescues the whole thing from being another dead-end, eye-rolling rehash by delivering a star turn when Lynette breaks down and confesses her true feelings about the loss of her other child to her husband. It's a beautifully harrowing sequence, full of heartbreakingly believable emotion. It's a shame that Teri Hatcher can't muster up a similar range in order to salvage her car crash of a B-story, which is predicated, yet again, on her penchant for over-reaction. Sure, the idea that she now owns a strip club is enough to raise at least a smirk, but the direction that the writers choose to take the story in is probably the most Housewives achingly obvious anyone could dream of. And that pay-off... if any single member of the viewing audience actually buys into that, I'll eat my hat. Actually, scratch that, I'll eat my entire wardrobe. "Yeah, I know, Susan'll show Mike how upset she is by working the pole herself! Yeah, that'll raise a titter... and get the dads shifting uncomfortably in their seats too! PHWOOOOOARRR!" Euck. There's nothing like sacrificing believability for a few cheap thrills, is there?

Elsewhere, the writers take the Orson/Bree dynamic down the road most expected, but at least Cross and MacLachlan have enough chemistry to keep the thing afloat and allow the audience to actually invest in their relationship. Let's hope things don't miraculously improve for them in the space of a few episodes. Gabrielle and Carlos actually get something remotely interesting to do as someone finally realises the potential inherent in having, you know, some diverse ethnic representation on the Lane. Well hell, at least it isn't just Gabrielle being selfish for once. And then there's Ana's quest to 'land' Danny, a storyline that is made all the more depressing by the fact that it only seems to take a mild change in tone to turn him round to her feminine wiles, despite showing absolutely no prior interest. Oh well, young love is fickle I suppose. But does anyone actually care about these two? They're so underused and underdeveloped that it's hard to muster up a shred of interest in their burgeoning romance. Especially when it comes at the expense of, you know, actual plot progression on that most important of points that is being squarely ignored: who the hell strangled Julie Mayer? 'You Gotta Get A Gimmick' is a bit of a nowhere episode, nudging a handful of narratives forward but couching the rest in fairly meaningless fluff (Susan/Mike, I'm looking at you). And where was Shawn Pyfrom, huh? He's in the 'guest starring' credits but unless I blinked and missed it, nowhere to be found onscreen! Now THAT would've improved things somewhat...moreless
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A really funny episode.

9.0

By Empathica21, Jan 12, 2010

I thought this weeks episode was really comical. My favourite moments:

Karen: Want to know who I fantasise about?

Gaby: No, not necessarily.

Karen: Tom Scavo

Susan: Wine. Now!

Gaby: Looks as though we're going to have to spell this out for you. You do know you're a girl, right?

Gaby: Well you're a self-WIPING Mexican.

Although there were a lot of comical moments, there were some nice meanings underneath, with Gaby's family history.

Although Eva provided a lot of the laughs, the genius acting of Felicity Huffman really shined through again with her scene with Tom in the kitchen discussing the loss of their baby. Quite touching.

The only thing I'm not really a fan of is Orson taking advantage of Bree's wishes to repent for her sin. After seeing the pictures of those two in last weeks episode I was starting to wish they'd be back to how they used to be. I suppose Orson's behaviour is understandable, but I prefer Orson's nicer side because I don't love to hate him.

And Susan on the pole? Wow..moreless
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High on laughs.

8.2

By thefanof, Jan 11, 2010

This episode didn't offer very little in the form of storyline advancement, other than an interesting development in the Bree/Orson relationship, but it was still quite funny, something the show has been doing consistently since 2004. Even without a major thing happening tonight (I can't believe they're still doing this whole Juanita private school/home school thing) I found myself thoroughly pleased with the effort brought forward by everyone.

The cast is really enjoyable right now and I think the people who said this should be lacking without Edie are eating crow right now as I hardly miss her. The only ones I don't particularly care for are Angie and Dominic and thankfully they did not appear here.

Good episode tonight, on a night where there was very little opposition from other networks.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Teri Hatcher	Susan Mayer
Felicity Huffman	Lynette Scavo
Marcia Cross	Bree Hodge
Eva Longoria	Gabrielle Solis
Dana Delany	Katherine Mayfair
Drea de Matteo	Angie Bolen

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Kevin Scott Allen	Drunk	Guest Star
Brianne Davis	Jennifer Morelli/Destiny	Guest Star
Lou DiMaggio	Emcee	Guest Star
Shawn Pyfrom	Andrew Van de Kamp	Recurring Role
Kevin Rahm	Lee McDermott	Recurring Role
Orson Bean	Roy Bender	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (3)
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- Susan: You fantasize about other men when you're with Carlos?
  Gabrielle: Honey, Carlos has been so many different men, I'm actually surprised when I open my eyes and it's Carlos.
  Mrs. McCluskey: You want to know what I fantasize about?
  Gabrielle: No, not necessarily. Anyone want more wine?
  Mrs. McCluskey: Tom Scavo.
  Susan: (whispering to Gabrielle) Wine, now!
  Lee: 4th of July barbecue.
  Mrs. McCluskey: Those tan shorts.
  Lee: Oh, I am there right now. Ooh!
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- Gabrielle: I don't understand. How could you not know you're Mexican? We eat Mexican food all the time!
  Juanita: We eat Chinese food, too. Does that mean I'm Chinese?
  Carlos: No, that just means your mother hates to cook.
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- (during the reading of Karl's will)
  Lawyer: "To my dearest Susie Q. Who endured my infidelities far longer than she should have, years of cheating, betrayals almost from the day we were married...
  Susan: Can we just skip to the part where I get stuff?
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NOTES (3)
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic: Nápad k nezaplacení (The Idea Is Priceless)
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- International Air Dates:
  Turkey: February 9, 2010 on CNBC-e
  Latin America: February 17, 2010 on Sony Entertainment Television (a.k.a. Canal Sony)
  Sweden: March 9, 2010 on Kanal 5
  The Netherlands: March 16, 2010 on Net5
  Germany: March 24, 2010 on ProSieben
  Norway: April 20, 2010 on TV2
  Australia: April 26, 2010 on Channel 7
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- Although credited, Dana Delany (Katherine Mayfair), Drea de Matteo (Angie Bolen), Jeffrey Nordling (Nick Bolen), Kendall Applegate (Penny Scavo), Mason Vale Cotton (MJ Delfino) and Daniella Baltodano (Celia Solis) are absent from this episode.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Episode Title: The title of this episode comes from a song in the Stephen Sondheim musical ''Gypsy''.
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