Desperate Housewives

One of my favorite TV shows is “Desperate Housewives”. I have been thinking about why I like it since I started watching the show.

I like the omniscient narrator device they use, the voice of a dead woman, which opens and closes the show. I admire the sparing yet effective use they make of it during each episode.

One night I was sitting in the local bar with several folks watching the show when Eric sat down on the bar stool next to me. He started babbling in my ear, but eventually quieted when he realized I was watching the show. During a commercial break he said, “you know that show is just a soap opera.” He did not get an argument from anyone about that.

For fiction to be interesting to a large and general audience it must contain three necessary ingredients: an interesting plot, emotional connection to the characters, and enough detail for the audience to lose themselves in the fictional dream.

I don’t feel a strong emotional attachment to the characters in the show, but I feel sympathy for them despite their foibles. None of the scenes are sensational or graphic even though there is violence and sex in them.

What it does have is plot. Each scene is crafted to advance the story’s mysteries, conflicts, and tensions. Lots of moral and social issues arise in each episode, but the plot neither slows nor dwells on those issues.

The plot ties together lots of subplots and keeps me wondering what happens next. Teri Hatcher looks great. That’s good enough for me.