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DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: WHAT'S TO DISCUSS, OLD FRIEND (TV)

Summary

One in this darkly comedic soap opera about the denizens of Wisteria Lane, a suburban neighborhood with a seedy underbelly that is thrust to the forefront after the suicide of one titular housewife. Bree prepares to commit suicide, but is interrupted when Renee breaks into her room looking for Ben, convinced that Bree is carrying on an affair with him. She rants at Bree until she notices the gun on her table, and she reads Bree’s suicide note. Shocked, she gives up her rant and comforts Bree. Tom talks to Lynette in private, expressing his shock and anger at her status as an accessory to murder. Lynette feels vulnerable and Tom tries to be supportive, promising that he will find a solution for her. Lynette hears news of Chuck’s death on the radio. Gabrielle visits Carlos’s rehabilitation center, still angry that he checked himself out of it. She also learns about Chuck’s death. Renee brings Bree back to her house and helps to take care of her, explaining that she is moving in to make sure Bree doesn’t kill herself. Bree claims that she no longer wants to, but Renee doesn’t believe her, and Bree finds that Renee has removed any item from her house which she thinks Bree could use to take her own life. Renee tries to get Bree to explain to her why she wanted to commit suicide, although Bree is not forthcoming with details. Renee receives a text message about Chuck’s death and tells Bree. Mike awakens to find Susan attempting to leave for New York, and tries to convince her to stay. She makes excuses about her reasons, but Mike knows that she’s actually trying to escape Chuck. Bree, Gabrielle, and Lynette arrive at Susan’s door to inform her about Chuck’s death, and the four of them discuss the situation. They contemplate if Chuck was murdered or not, and when they begin to suspect Carlos is responsible Gabrielle lies and says he is still in rehab. The four of them agree to try to move on with their lives. Lynette goes home to tell Tom about Chuck’s death, but finds that Bob is there and is aware that she buried Alejandro in the woods. Tom explains that he wanted to prepare for the worst and reasoned that Lynette would need a lawyer, thus he revealed her secret to Bob. Lynette tells Tom and Bob about Chuck’s death and Tom, relieved, sends Bob away. Susan is pensive about Chuck’s death, but Mike tells her that she should get over her feelings about hiding her involvement with Alejandro’s murder. She agrees with him and notes that she will try to find a way to move on. Gabrielle visits a police detective for more information on Chuck’s death, but he says they have no leads at the moment, although he is convinced that it was not an accident and vows to make the culprit pay for his crime. Bree talks to Lynette about Chuck’s death; neither of them think it was accidental, and they try to determine who else knows about Alejandro’s murder. Gabrielle returns home and Karen tells her that Carlos came back and is sleeping upstairs and highly drunk. She wakes him up and gets him to tell her his whereabouts the previous night. He admits that he went to a bar and drank heavily, but doesn’t remember anything else that happened. She informs him that Chuck is dead and that she suspects he is responsible, but Carlos denies it. Matters are further complicated when they decide to check Carlos’s car for signs that it was used in the hit-and-run that killed Chuck, but it is missing and Carlos has no idea where it is. Renee checks up on Bree, and again tries to discern why Bree attempted suicide, believing that she might attempt it again. Bree claims she cannot explain herself to Renee, and Renee seems hurt when Bree notes that while they are “friendly,” they are not friends. Renee retorts that she believes Bree has no friends if her behavior is any indication, and once again vows not to allow Bree to kill herself, hinting that she has already witnessed such a thing once before. A funeral for Chuck is held, and Susan inadvertently gets some helpful advice from his aunt. She asks Gabrielle about Alejandro’s alias before rushing off, confusing her. Carlos and Gabrielle are approached by a policeman who informs him that he wandered into the police station during his drunken night out, and that he began making a drunken confession just before the news of Chuck’s death arrived. Gabrielle helps him devise a cover story to avoid provoking suspicion. Bree sits next to Renee at the funeral and inquires about her experience with suicide, and Renee reveals that her mother killed herself when she was a teenager, even though she made every effort to prevent it. Bree feels sorry for her and talks to her about Mary Alice’s suicide, and reveals some of her reasoning for her own attempt. Bree feels indebted to Renee for saving her life, and says that she now considers her to be a friend. Tom and Lynette get together with the kids for a movie night. Carlos’s car is found and Gabrielle plans to take him back to rehab the following day. Carlos apologizes to Gabrielle about the past few days and vows to get his drinking problem under control. Tom and Lynette start talking about Jane, and he notes that she doesn’t become as angry as Lynette about many things, although Lynette points out that her anger is often spurred by Tom’s seeming inability to listen to her. Lynette, realizing that Tom is truly happy with Jane, relents on her decision to prevent Tom from going to Paris, much to his surprise. Susan again attempts to leave without Mike, but he again stops her. She explains that this time she is leaving to go find Alejandro’s family and try to explain what happened to them in the hopes of offering them some comfort so she can get over her feelings regarding his death. This time, Mike allows her to go, although Susan lies to Gabrielle about the nature of her trip. Bree receives a mysterious note in her mailbox simply reading “you’re welcome.” Includes commercials.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: January 8, 2012 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:01:00
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: 108731
  • GENRE: Drama, night-time serial
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, night-time serial
  • SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2004-2012
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV – Commercials – AT&T phone service
    • TV – Commercials – Alka-Seltzer cold medicine
    • TV – Commercials – Allstate insurance
    • TV – Commercials – Applebee’s restaurants
    • TV – Commercials – Apple mobile devices
    • TV – Commercials – Aveeno skin cream
    • TV – Commercials – Burger King restaurants
    • TV – Commercials – Chili’s restaurants
    • TV – Commercials – Clean & Clear skin cleanser
    • TV – Commercials – Colgate toothpaste
    • TV – Commercials – Eggo waffles
    • TV – Commercials – Energizer batteries
    • TV – Commercials – Ford automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – H&R Block tax services
    • TV – Commercials – Honda automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – Hyundai automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – KFC restaurants
    • TV – Commercials – L’Oreal hair color
    • TV – Commercials – Maybelline cosmetics
    • TV – Commercials – McDonald’s restaurants
    • TV – Commercials – Olay skin cream
    • TV – Commercials – Oscar Meyer meat products
    • TV – Commercials – Pro Nutrients vitamin supplement
    • TV – Commercials – Robitussin cough medicine
    • TV – Commercials – Staples office supplies
    • TV – Commercials – Toyota automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – Tropicana orange juice
    • TV – Commercials – Verizon phone service
    • TV – Promos – “2012 Miss America Pageant”
    • TV – Promos – “Body of Proof”
    • TV – Promos – “Castle”
    • TV – Promos – “Celebrity Wife Swap”
    • TV – Promos – “Desperate Housewives”
    • TV – Promos – “Last Man Standing”
    • TV – Promos – “Modern Family”
    • TV – Promos – “Pan Am”
    • TV – Promos – “Revenge”
    • TV – Promos – “The Bachelor”
    • TV – Promos – “Work It”

CREDITS

  • Jeff Greenstein … Executive Producer
  • Marco Pennette … Executive Producer
  • Matt Berry … Executive Producer
  • Sabrina Wind … Executive Producer
  • Bob Daily … Executive Producer
  • George W. Perkins … Executive Producer
  • David Grossman … Executive Producer, Director
  • Marc Cherry … Executive Producer, Created by
  • Sheila Lawrence … Co-Executive Producer
  • Lori Kirkland Baker … Co-Executive Producer
  • Stephanie Hagen … Supervising Producer
  • Charles Skouras III … Producer
  • Annie Weisman … Producer
  • Dana Wilson … Associate Producer
  • Dave Flebotte … Consulting Producer
  • Wendy Mericle … Writer
  • Steve Jablonsky … Music by
  • Danny Elfman … Theme Music by
  • Teri Hatcher … Cast, Susan Mayer
  • Felicity Huffman … Cast, Lynette Scavo
  • Marcia Cross … Cast, Bree Van De Kamp
  • Eva Longoria (See also: Eva Longoria Parker) … Cast, Gabrielle Solis
  • Vanessa Williams … Cast, Renee Perry
  • Ricardo Antonio Chavira … Cast, Carlos Solis
  • Doug Savant … Cast, Tom Scavo
  • James Denton … Cast, Mike Delfino
  • Kathryn Joosten … Cast, Karen McCluskey
  • Tuc Watkins … Cast, Bob Hunter
  • Joshua Logan Moore … Cast, Parker Scavo
  • Darcy Rose Byrnes … Cast, Penny Scavo
  • Lee Meriwether … Cast, Doris
  • Michael Dempsey … Cast, Detective Murphy
  • Robert Reinis … Cast, Detective
  • Daniella Baltodano … Cast, Celia Solis
  • Jeremy Rowley … Cast, Nurse
  • Eddie Driscoll … Cast, Cab Driver
  • Christine Clayburg … Cast, Anchor Woman
  • Brenda Strong … Voice, Mary Alice Young