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DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: CHILDREN WILL LISTEN (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.

Gabrielle Solis doesn’t want to have children, but her husband Carlos does. Unbeknownst to her, he tampers with her birth control pills in an attempt to impregnate her. The police question Paul about the toy chest they found in the river and Zach helps cover for him. Paul brings Zach inside as Mrs. Tilman watches. Zach confronts his father over his unwillingness to provide him with truthful answers, but Paul manages to calm him down.

The Van De Kamps have been asked to go to Camp Hennessey for group counseling with Andrew, but Bree refuses to go. She secretly feels guilty about sending Andrew there and fears he will continue to hold a grudge against her. Meanwhile, Lynette struggles to discipline her rambunctious children. Gabrielle returns home to find Carlos talking to his lawyer. After he leaves, Carlos and Gabrielle argue about Carlos’s illicit dealings and he says he has to go to prison for eight months.

Susan’s mother Sophie arrives to visit her and immediately crashes into Mike’s car. Susan informs her that she and Mike have broken up, causing her some dismay. Sophie sets about thoroughly embarrassing her daughter, much to Susan’s frustration. Lynette pleads with Bree to take care of her kids while she’s out, and Bree reluctantly agrees. Susan learns that Sophie has broken up with her boyfriend Morty; she claims he shoved her and is increasingly devoted to his pancake diner.

While babysitting Lynette’s children, Bree spanks Porter when he misbehaves. The other children look on in shock; Lynette always threatens to spank them but never follows through. Carlos tries to get Gabrielle to sign a post-nuptial agreement so he can blackmail her into staying married to him while he’s in prison. She refuses and informs Carlos that she is aware of his secret Caiman Island account, counter-blackmailing him into withdrawing the post-nuptial documents.

Susan takes Sophie to one of her poker games with the other wives. Bree lets it slip that she spanked Porter and Lynette is outraged. She casts aspersions on Bree’s parenting by bringing up her situation with Andrew. Both of them, disgusted, leave. That night, Lynette discusses the situation with Tom. He warns that the kids have figured out that Lynette will not carry through with her threats, making it difficult to discipline them. She refuses to do so; her mother hit her as a child and she will not replicate that behavior.

Zach encounters Felicia Tilman, who reveals that she knew his mother, and knows that his original name was “Dana.” Susan takes her mother to a spa, where they talk about her situation with Morty. Susan is shocked to discover that Sophie wants to move in with her. Bree decides to go to Camp Hennessey after all, and realizes she is not connected with her son, feeling intense guilt. Carlos takes out the post-nuptial agreement again, revealing that he moved the money from his secret account. When Gabrielle refuses again, he physically forces her to sign the paper.

The Van De Kamps visit Camp Hennessey and Bree is upset to learn that Andrew wishes to speak with his father alone. Lynette still cannot control her children until she realizes she needs to be more aggressive. She threatens that she will send them to Mrs. Van De Kamp and they immediately fall in line. Bree bursts into Andrew’s counseling session uninvited and declares that she has done the best she can for him and that she considers herself a good mother. However, she is shocked to discover that Andrew had just announce he might be homosexual. Flustered, she retreats back to the car.

Gabrielle visits John Rowland to continue her affair with him. He notices an injury on her inflicted by Carlos, but she tells him her affair with him is the ultimate revenge. Susan visits Morty at his pancake restaurant to try to get him to set things right with Sophie. He reveals that he shoved her only as a response to her hitting him. He says he doesn’t want Sophie back, but Susan convinces him otherwise. However, when Morty goes to apologize to Sophie in the parking lot, she viciously attacks him.

Lynette and Bree come to an understanding, apologizing to each other for their earlier comments. The episode ends as Gabrielle sleeps with John Rowland. Includes commercials.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: April 10, 2005 9:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: B:86619
  • GENRE: Comedy; Drama, night-time serial
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Drama, night-time serial
  • SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2004-2012
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV – Commercials – AOL internet service
    • TV – Commercials – Advil headache relief
    • TV – Commercials – Alamo car rental service
    • TV – Commercials – Campbell’s soup
    • TV – Commercials – DepressionHelp.com depression help site
    • TV – Commercials – Faith in Action caregiving service
    • TV – Commercials – Gatorade lemonade
    • TV – Commercials – Girls Inc. nonprofit organization
    • TV – Commercials – Lexus automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – L’Oreal hair highlights
    • TV – Commercials – Maybeline lip gloss
    • TV – Commercials – Nissan automobiles
    • TV – Commercials – Ocean Spray fruit juice
    • TV – Commercials – Old Navy clothing
    • TV – Commercials – Peace Corps volunteer program
    • TV – Commercials – Pennzoil engine oil
    • TV – Commercials – Playtex women’s underwear
    • TV – Commercials – Quizno’s restaraunts
    • TV – Commercials – Royal Caribbean cruise line
    • TV – Commercials – Sepracor sleeping pills
    • TV – Commercials – T-Mobile phone service
    • TV – Commercials – The Fund for Animals animal rights group
    • TV – Commercials – Venus disposable razors
    • TV – Commercials – Whirlpool laundry machines
    • TV – Commercials – “Cinderella Man” motion picture
    • TV – Commercials – “Meet the Fockers” DVD release
    • TV – Commercials – “Ocean’s Twelve” DVD release
    • TV – Commercials – “The Interpreter” motion picture
    • TV – Promos – “According to Jim”
    • TV – Promos – “Alias”
    • TV – Promos – “Blind Justice”
    • TV – Promos – “Desperate Housewives”
    • TV – Promos – “Eyes”
    • TV – Promos – “Good Morning America”
    • TV – Promos – “Grey’s Anatomy”
    • TV – Promos – “Lost”
    • TV – Promos – “Rodney”
    • TV – Promos – “The Bachelor”

CREDITS

  • Michael Edelstein … Executive Producer
  • Tom Spezialy … Executive Producer
  • Marc Cherry … Executive Producer, Created by
  • John Pardee … Co-Executive Producer
  • Joey Murphy … Co-Executive Producer
  • Kevin Murphy … Co-Executive Producer, Writer
  • Alexandra Cunningham … Producer
  • George W. Perkins … Producer
  • Larry Shaw … Producer, Director
  • Charles Skouras III … Co-Producer
  • Stephanie Hagen … Associate Producer
  • Charles Pratt Jr. … Consulting Producer
  • Chris Black … Consulting Producer
  • Katie Ford … Consulting Producer
  • 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 … Cast, Gabrielle Solis
  • Nicollette Sullivan … Cast, Edie Britt
  • Steven Culp … Cast, Rex Van De Kamp
  • Ricardo Antonio Chavira … Cast, Carlos Solis
  • Mark Moses … Cast, Paul Young
  • Andrea Bowen … Cast, Julie Mayer
  • Jesse Metcalfe … Cast, John Rowland
  • Cody Kasch … Cast, Zach Young
  • Brenda Strong … Cast, Mary Alice Young
  • James Denton … Cast, Mike Delfino
  • Doug Savant … Cast, Tom Scavo
  • Shawn Pyfrom … Cast, Andrew Van De Kamp
  • Harriet Sansom Harris … Cast, Felicity Tilman
  • Brett Cullen … Cast, Detective Burnett
  • Mark L. Taylor … Cast, Mr. Steinberg
  • Joel McKinnon Miller … Cast, The Counselor
  • Linda Hart … Cast, Millie
  • Lesley Ann Warren … Cast, Sophie Bremmer
  • Bob Newhart … Cast, Morty Flickman
  • Brent Kinsman … Cast, Preston Scavo
  • Shane Kinsman … Cast, Porter Scavo
  • Zane Huett … Cast, Parker Scavo
  • John Lacy … Cast, Detective Beckerman
  • Emily Christine … Cast, Ashley Bukowski
  • Hira Ambrosino … Cast, Pedicurist #1
  • Alice Lo … Cast, Pedicurist #2
  • Sandy Martin … Cast, Woman #1
  • Rochelle Robinson … Cast, Woman #2