Desperate Housewives Season 8 debut

So this is it. The final season of Desperate Housewives is here. I am quite saddened by this as Desperate Housewives has quickly developed into one of my favourite shows over the past few weeks. You would think that Desperate Housewives would appeal to, well desperate housewives; however, I've found that actually a wide age range love this show. I initially started watching this because my mum did and she specifically said that I was not allowed to. Of course, one of the worst things a parent can do is to say to their overly-curious child that they're not allowed to do something. I have to admit though this show has not only gotten better as it has aged, but also as I have aged. For this reason I'm going to suggest that perhaps only 16+ teenagers and adults watch this programme. In addition, a large part of the content just isn't appropriate for children younger than that age.

If you've never watched Desperate Housewives, it's basically a comedy-drama about a group of housewives who live on Wisteria Lane. The four characters who've been consistent throughout all eight seasons are Bree VanDeCamp, famous chef with impeccable manners, Lynette Scavo, mother to what I can only describe as an army of children, Susan Delfino, funny but vulnerable, and Gabriella Solis, former glamour model. Whilst many, many men have wandered into the lives of each and every one of these women over the series and other neighbours have come and gone, these four have stuck together through thick and thin (more often 'thick' than thin, I might add). Some might think this is a silly show about a bunch of bored housewives, but there's so much more to it than that. Whilst they've all got perfectly mowed lawns and impeccable houses, the majority of the time, their lives are in absolute turmoil. Be it murder, a felony or false identity, everyone on Wisteria Lane's got something to hide and don't be fooled by their sweet sweet smiles. On a side note, there is also a brilliant soundtrack which has been used throughout the series and still matches the action of the show perfectly.

The Desperate Housewives cast is made up of a bunch of phenomenal actors and actresses, young and old. Every single role is played absolutely perfectly with great consistency throughout the long series. Each and every housewife offers a different personality and all of them compliment each other. They are all hilariously funny, but this isn't slapstic. The balance between comedy and drama is absolutely perfect and I'm in awe of how they do it. The majority of the 'drama' in Desperate Housewives is very serious and there is great attention to detail with the threading together of the plot - which never fails to surprise me. The comic elements don't mock the drama, but compliment it and aid in making the show much more light-hearted, otherwise I fear the plot would be a bit too heavy for it's demographic. Two of the child actors who stand out to me are Darcy Rose Byrnes who plays sweet and innocent Penny Scavo, Lynette and Tom's daughter, and Madison De La Garza, who plays Juanita Solis, the greedy first daughter of Gabby and Carlos Solis. Both of these young actresses show great potential despite their age and the fans of Desperate Housewives have seen the pair grow up from when they were babies on the show. Incidentally Madison De La Garzon is the half sister of Demi and Dallas Lovato.  

Renee takes Lynette out to try and show her a little fun

The penultimate season of Desperate Housewives did not fare well as the series saw it's ratings hit an all time low. Viewership was still peaking at the beginning of the series but they lost a large amount of viewers in the second half which unfortunately did not pick up towards the end. For the first time in it's history it did not rank in the top 20 most watched shows; however, it did rank number 13 out of the most watched scripted shows of 2010-2011. Personally, I don't see why this was as although I've seen better seasons, this one wasn't that bad. Perhaps viewers got bored given that quite a lot of characters from the past reappeared, but I thought this made it more interesting as we delved further into past mysteries. Just a quick recap: the finale of season 7 saw the murder of Gabby's stepfather, by one member of the street, but the housewives decided to cover up the crime; Susan and her family finally returned to the street after clearing all of Mike's debts; Paul has been poisoned and eventually ends up back in jail, right where he started; Tom and Lynette's marriage breaks down and Bree's bagged herself a cop for a boyfriend.

The main focus of season 8 so far seems to be the aftermath of Alejandro's (Gabby's stepfather) murder. The four main housewives and Carlos are all badly shaken after the events and their subsequent actions and everybody seems to be dealing with it in different ways. Carlos is drinking and Susan has taken up an art class - but is it more than she can chew? The other three housewives seem slightly less phased by the event, but then again, Bree's always calm in a crisis, Lynette's more worried about the fact that Tom's moved out and is dating again, and Gabby's got her hands full as new head of the PTA. There is a new hottie on the street, Ben Faulkner, who immediately catches the eye of always-up-for-a-party Renee. At first it just seems superficial, but could something be blossoming here?

Ben asks Renee out on a date, but it isn't quite what she was expecting

As this is the last season ever of Desperate Housewives there is a great deal of curiosity as to how the series will end. There are already links to Mary Alice's death in this series so perhaps it's going to come full circle as we learn secrets all the way back from season 1. I sincerely hope that they do the series justice and leave with a bang, though judging by previous seasons, I don't think one - of all seasons - will be lacking excitement. A lot of character's futures hang in the balance at the moment as no one is really sure what will happen with regards to Alejandro's murder and I think this will be the focus of the first part of the series. I predict that the second half will focus more on the mysterious letter that Bree received which replicates that of the one Mary Alice received before she committed suicide. There is also strife between the four friends as the stress of the murder gets to everyone, is this the end of their friendship? We shall have to wait and see. This is the end of a truly brilliant show and if you don't already watch this, then I highly recommend you start now - you're missing out!