Desperate Housewives (Season 4)

infobox tvseason
season_name = Desperate Housewives Season 4


caption = Promotional poster for the fourth season.
dvd_release_date = September 2, 2008
dvd_format = Widescreen, Boxset
country = USA
network = ABC
first_aired = September 30, 2007
last_aired = May 18, 2008
num_episodes = 17 (including a two-hour season finale )|

This article contains a summary of the fourth season of the American dramedy television series "Desperate Housewives". The first episode aired on ABC on September 30 2007, and one special "Secrets and Lies", which aired September 23. [ [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?date=07/25/2007&id=20070725abc01 ABC Announces Fall Premiere Dates] , "The Futon Critic", July 25, 2007]

This season was affected by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which halted production after the tenth episode of the season. Initial plans called for a hiatus to begin in December 2007 following the ninth episode of the season ("Something's Coming") and to hold the tenth episode ("Welcome to Kanagawa") until further episodes were produced. Instead, that episode debuted on January 6, 2008, with encores of fourth season episodes shown during the hiatus.

The season's eleventh episode, entitled "Sunday", aired in the United States and Canada on April 13, 2008, more than three months since the previous original episode. A total of seventeen episodes — fifteen regular episodes, plus a two-hour season finale ("The Gun Song" and "Free") on May 18 [ [http://abcmedianet.com/web/progcal/progcal.aspx?Date=05%2f18%2f2008 ABC Medianet ] ] — comprise the fourth season [ [http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2008/02/desperate-house.html The Watcher - All TV, all the time | Chicago Tribune | Blog ] ] , the shortest season to date.

Episodes have been broadcast in Canada on CTV concurrently with the U.S. broadcasts. Outside the U.S. and Canada, episodes began airing internationally in Poland in October; in Turkey and Italy in December; and in Ireland, South Africa, and the Arab World throughout January. The season debuted in central Europe and Latin America by mid-February 2008. The season then premiered in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2008 on Channel 4, and in Greece in April on channels of Filmnet on NOVA.

Cast

For the 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Nathan Fillion, Kathryn Joosten and John Slattery were nominated along with the rest of the cast for the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series award due to their many appearances this season. [ [http://www.sagawards.org/PR_071220] 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Nominations.]

tarring

*Teri Hatcher as Susan Delfino
*Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo
*Marcia Cross as Bree Hodge
*Eva Longoria Parker as Gabrielle Solis
*Nicollette Sheridan as Edie Britt
*Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Carlos Solis
*Andrea Bowen as Julie Mayer
*Doug Savant as Tom Scavo
*Kyle MacLachlan as Orson Hodge
*Dana Delany as Katherine Mayfair
*Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young
*James Denton as Mike Delfino

Also starring

*Shawn Pyfrom as Andrew Van de Kamp
*Lyndsy Fonseca as Dylan Mayfair
*Joy Lauren as Danielle Van de Kamp
*Brent Kinsman as Preston Scavo
*Shane Kinsman as Porter Scavo
*Zane Huett as Parker Scavo
*Rachel Fox as Kayla Scavo

Notable guest stars

*Justine Bateman as Ellie Leonard
*Polly Bergen as Stella Wingfield
*Richard Burgi as Karl Mayer
*Pat Crawford Brown as Ida Greenberg
*Gary Cole as Wayne Davis
*Nathan Fillion as Adam Mayfair
*Kathryn Joosten as Karen McCluskey
*Shirley Knight as Phyllis Van de Kamp
*Jesse Metcalfe as John Rowland
*Kevin Rahm as Lee McDermott
*John Slattery as Victor Lang
*Tuc Watkins as Bob Hunter

Production

Joe Keenan, one of the three executive producers during the third season, as well as writer of the critically acclaimed season episode "Bang", did not return for season four as executive producer, but as consulting producer. [ Schneider, Michael & Adalian, Josef: [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117962170.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1 Keenan not 'Desperate' any more] , "Variety Magazine", March 29, 2007] Replacing Keenan, and joining Marc Cherry and George W. Perkins as executive producers, is season three writer and co-executive producer Bob Daily, whose previous work include sitcoms "Frasier" and "Out of Practice", as well as cartoon series "Rugrats". Keenan will serve as Cherry's second-in-command for the next two years. Also joining as executives producers are writers and former co-executive producers John Pardee and Joey Murphy who have been on the show since its first season. [ [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7408 Development Update: Week of June 11-15] ]

Ratings

Nielsen Ranking (2007-08 U.S. TV season; based on average total viewers per episode): #6 (18.2 million viewers) [http://www.abcmedianet.com/web/progcal/dispDNR.aspx?id=052008_06]

"A lot of storyline got dropped because of [the strike-shortened season] , so we're going to consolidate it [into seven episodes] ," the actress said, adding that viewers can expect to see some nonstop drama in the upcoming installments. "It will definitely be worth watching because a lot of the juicy stuff will be jam-packed into every episode. You don't want to miss it." Strong also said that the new episodes will "tie up Season 4 in a nice bow," so that the show can present fresh storylines in its recently acquired fifth season. The main mystery this season is about a family returning to Wisteria Lane, after 12 years away. Katherine Mayfair comes to Wisteria Lane from Chicago with her (new) husband, Adam, and her daughter, Dylan. Dylan used to be Julie's best friend, although Dylan now does not remember anything about Julie, or living in Wisteria Lane at all. Katherine is happily reunited with her old friend Susan, although she does not get along at all with Bree. Katherine claims that she returned to Wisteria Lane to take care of her ill aunt Lillian but private conversations between Katherine and her husband suggest otherwise.

usan's story

Susan Delfino is finally married to Mike Delfino but has difficulty in settling down as she fears Mike isn't as happy as he should be. When finding out there is a possibility she has menopause, Susan grows emotional and turns her relationship with Mike to a blatant line. When she is told it isn't menopause but pregnancy she is overjoyed, Susan's daughter Julie has difficulty in living with Mike, as both of them clash with their separate opinions. Susan is later told by both Mike and Julie to choose between one of the two, and stick to the decision. Susan asks Bree to see her gynecologist after she says it feels funny seeing Adam, as he's Katherine's husband.

Lynette's Story

Lynette Scavo is sick with cancer and is hiding the fact by wearing a wig similar to her hair. No one knows except Tom, her mother Stella, who is staying with the family, and Lynette's sisters. Tom and Stella attempt to convince her that things would be so much easier for her if she told everyone the truth. After losing energy and suffering from fatigue and nausea, she tells everyone the truth. Lynette's cancer disturbs Gabrielle and makes her uncomfortable, as her father had died of cancer. Lynette's issues with Stella continue, meanwhile Stella bakes pot into brownies to get Lynette's nausea settled and her energy back. Despite Lynette's illness, she still wants to seem attractive to Tom and she buys a wig to turn him on but he doesn't feel like making love to a sick person, and Tom's feelings about Lynette's disease come forth. Katherine Mayfair gets on Lynette's nerves when Katherine wants to run for President of their neighborhood and get rid of unsightly things on Wisteria Lane, and Lynette runs against her; she loses the race because of Susan. She later forgave Susan. After killing an opossum that came into their home uninvited she was really mad at cancer her doctor pays a house call to let Lynette and her family know that her cancer is gone. Now, the last uninvited thing she needs to rid her house of is her mother. Following a conversation between her three daughters which she overhears, Stella is brokenhearted and leaves without warning. A few days later after constant searching, Lynette arrives home to find her stepfather in her kitchen. Devising a plan to get Stella to return home, Lynette and Glenn (her stepfather) go to the park where Stella asked Glenn to meet her and give her money. After Stella catches Lynette, she appears angry that she was set up. In the mess, Glen reveals to Lynette that he didn't leave Stella because she cheated on him, but because he is gay. The situation ends with Stella agreeing to live at Glenn's home, due to a spare bedroom in the home. Lynette's family hides in Karen McCluskey's house during the tornado. However, her house gets destroyed while Lynette and Karen are not inside the house during the tornado, and the two escape the collapse. It is revealed that Ida Greenberg got all of Lynette's family under the stairs and they survived. Ida, however, died as there was not enough room under the stairs. She had to sit in a corner, and was killed when the house collapsed in.

Bree's story

Bree Hodge is pretending to be pregnant with Danielle's baby so she can adopt and raise it without anyone knowing it's Danielle's. She faces some obstacles along the way, with an elderly woman wanting to touch her belly and a BBQ fork being stabbed into her false belly. Orson tells her that he thinks they should throw in the towel, but Bree refuses to do that. Bree's ex-mother-in-law finds out about Bree's faux pregnancy but promises to keep her secret. Danielle goes into labor at Bob and Lee's Halloween party while she's dressed as Bree, and Adam Mayfair, who promises to not tell anyone, delivers little Benjamin Hodge. Danielle decides to let Bree raise her baby and leaves Fairview, probably to go to college. Bree then gets Benjamin circumcised against Orson's wishes. Following the circumcision, Bree attempts to raise Benjamin in what is known as a family bed, where she has Benjamin sleep in bed with Orson and herself. After a confrontation at the dinner table, Orson begins sleeping on the couch while Andrew moves out having been labeled a "mistake". Shortly after, Bree goes to visit Andrew only to finally realize that her son has become a man and matured greatly.

Gabrielle's story

Gabrielle Lang is in an unhappy marriage with Victor. She wants to get back with Carlos, but, although he wants her as well, he feels responsible for Edie, who faked a suicide attempt to win Carlos back. She discovers his hidden assets in an offshore bank account and uses this to blackmail him into continuing their relationship. Edie gets crabs from a tanning bed that she transmits to Carlos, which he gives to Gabrielle, who eventually gives them to Victor. Edie puts the pieces together and realizes what's going on. She hires a private investigator who finds Carlos with Gabrielle in a liplock. Edie shows these pictures to Victor in hopes of him doing something awful to Carlos. On a boat trip out to sea Victor confronts Gabrielle about the affair and pulls a black bag out of a cabinet. Fearing the bag contained a gun, Gabrielle hit him over the head with an oar, knocking him overboard. She meets up with Carlos back on shore and the two realize there was no weapon in the bag - only a sweater. They go back into the water and find Victor and pull him back onto the boat. Victor and Carlos then get into a fist fight. Just as Victor is about to kill Carlos with a knife, Gabrielle, once again, knocks him overboard with an oar. This time, Victor is nowhere to be found. Gabrielle and Carlos assume Victor is dead and return to shore and send the boat back into the ocean by itself, attempting to make Victor's death appear as accidental - and not involving them. Two detectives appear at Gabrielle's home questioning her about Victor's whereabouts and following a conversation with Carlos, and an "anonymous" phone call by Edie, Victor is found alive but unconscious on shore and brought to the hospital. Leaving Carlos drugged at her home, Gabrielle arrives at the hospital with the two detectives only for Victor to reveal he remembers nothing. However, after leading the detectives out, Victor reveals he does remember everything, but does not reveal what he will do with the information. He is eventually killed by a fence picket shoved through his stomach during the tornado which had hit Wisteria Lane. Gabrielle finds out at Victor's funeral that she will not be getting a cent from his will because he knew about the affair. Having gone blind and losing all his offshore money, Carlos did not tell Gabrielle about his blindness until she heard it from Edie.

Edie's story

Edie Britt was last shown hanging herself from the rafters after Carlos broke up with her. However, it is revealed that Edie was planning to deceive Carlos into taking her back, and was never going to commit suicide. Carlos, who feels responsible for her now, takes her back, despite still loving Gaby. She discovers Carlos' hidden assets in an offshore bank account and uses this to blackmail him into continuing their relationship. Edie gets crabs from a tanning bed that she transmits to Carlos, which he gives to Gabrielle, who eventually gives them to Victor. Edie puts the pieces together and realizes what's going on. She hires a private investigator who finds Carlos with Gabrielle in a liplock. Edie shows these pictures to Victor in hopes of him doing something awful to Carlos. Gaby and Edie confront each other when a tornado hits Wisteria Lane, after Carlos's accountant accidentally delivers the details of the offshore bank account to Edie, thinking her to be Gaby. After a scuffle, the papers get blown away, and both women are forced to flee from the tornado and climb into a crawl space together, where they reconcile and repair their friendship, which had been fragile from the previous season. Later on in the season, Edie finds out that Benjamin is really Austin and Danielle's baby, as opposed to Bree and Orson's. After Edie attempts to blackmail Bree with this information, Bree tells the other three housewives the truth. All four of them confront Edie, disowning her. Edie is last shown telling her son that she is coming to visit him on Mother's Day, and will be spending a lot more time with him from now on.

Five Year Leap

The season 4 finale fast-forwards five years, where we see Susan come home from poker with the girls to a new unnamed man (portrayed by Gale Harold), whom she kisses, and apparently, lives with. It is unknown what has happened to Mike and Maynard.

Lynette comes home to Tom to find a police car outside her house. A policewoman is talking to Tom about one of her kids stealing a car for a joyride. While Lynette says she's talked to Porter about it, because he went to juvie one time because of the same accusation, Tom states that this time, it was Preston who did it.

Bree comes home after playing poker and Andrew welcomes her, telling her that he's with a woman from the New York Times on the phone who wants to have an interview with her (since she is now a famous cookbook author), Orson Hodge calls her from upstairs and Bree tells Andrew to tell the woman that she'll do the interview in the morning because she wants to have a nice bubble bath with her husband.

Gabrielle, with little make up on, goes upstairs she finds her twin daughters, Juanita and Celia Solis, playing with her make-up and dresses.

Edie is not seen at all, though by this time, she will be married again, and getting ready to return to Wisteria Lane, leading to the events that will take place in Season Five.

Katherine, who is now the sixth lead, goes home after poker to find a message on her answering machine. The message is from Dylan, who has just returned from Paris, who excitedly informs her mother that her boyfriend has proposed to her under the Eiffel Tower.

Ratings

United States

Season Debuts

NOTE
* The reason as to why the UK has four starting dates is because that due to the WGA strike of 2007-2008, the show was unable to air on terrestrial television until March 2008 when Channel 4, had originally intended on beginning in January. As E4 is one episode ahead of Channel 4, but does not air the season premiere before the host channel, E4 did not begin airing the new season until 4 days later on March 30. Due to the arrival of Big Brother, and the schedules being written out months in advance, it was originally anticipated that the season would have finished by June as it has done in the past three seasons. However, as there were still 7 episodes left to air, the launch date for the rest of Season four, as of episode 411 " Sunday", was September 2008.

References

External links

* http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2008/02/desperate-house.html
* http://www.buddytv.com/articles/desperate-housewives/desperate-housewives-returning-16699.aspx