Desperate housewives OK with five-year age jump

By Barry Garron

TCA--What woman could possibly be happy tacking five years onto her age in one fell swoop? All six of the principal stars on "Desperate Housewives," if they meant what they said Thursday.

The show shocked fans in May when the season finale ended with a peek into the lives of Susan, Lynette, Bree, Gabrielle and Katherine five years later. Viewers best get used to it. Except for an occasional flashback, the fifth season of "Housewives" will resume this fall five years after the fourth.

"I was excited," said Eva Longoria Parker (Gabrielle), when she heard about the change. "I felt it was a reset button."

"It definitely wiped the slate clean," said Nicollette Sheridan, who plays Edie. Her character's future was not revealed in the finale but exec producer Marc Cherry has plans for her. "Edie will come back to Wisteria Lane in a mysterious way and we're not telling you any more."

Marcia Cross said she was "thrilled" because it gave her new insight into Bree Hodge. "I knew where Bree was going and she was going to get out of the house."

"I agree," added Felicity Huffman, who plays Lynette. "I thought it was great."

So, too, did Dana Delaney (right), who has been promoted from guest star to regular cast member. After seeing her perform as Katherine, Cherry said, "I had to work with her for another couple of years."

Longoria Parker, the most glamorous of the cast members, was also the most enthusiastic about the transition. She even cut her hair, she said, so she wouldn't have to wear a wig. The new Gabrielle only spends 10 minutes in hair and makeup where the old one spent two hours being primped.

The new Gabrielle is plumper, too, thanks to pads that add heft to her stomach and breasts. That won't last, though. Cherry said Gabrielle will return to her slimmer self as the series progresses.

One critic asked Cherry if his new portrayal of housewives, and Gabrielle in particular, could be taken as an insult. Didn't it imply that women who were mothers and wives could not be glamorous?

"As far as an insult to women," Cherry replied, "have you been to the Midwest?" He argued that the new housewives were, in fact, a more realistic depiction of women who are too busy for regular manicures. "Women in Oklahoma (Cherry's home state) resent that these housewives looked so glamorous."

Cherry insisted that, no matter how much the changes reinvigorate the show, he will end it after seven seasons. "Of course," he joked, "this could be a clever ruse to get me more money for Season 8."

Comments

[french legion]

I love patricia heaton

[jenny]

I really believe that the cliffhanger episode was a way to turn off a lot of Housewives fans into turning into season 6 so that marc cherry and the gang can end it in season 7. I don't think i've hated a finale more than the season 5 finale.