Product Details

• Actors: Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria Parker, Ricardo Chavira
• Directors: Arlene Sanford, Charles McDougall, David Grossman, Fred Gerber, Jeffrey Melman
• Writers: Adam Barr
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 20, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (196 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00079FUI6
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,132 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #2 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Television > Desperate Housewives
  #29 in	Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > Television

• For more information about "Desperate Housewives - The Complete First Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 1 in The Desperate Housewives Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Audiences were captivated by the women of Wisteria Lane in the first season of Desperate Housewives, the breakout hit from ABC that almost single-handedly lifted the network from its ratings doldrums and brought back the classic TV soap, remixed now with satire, comedy, and mystery. An affectionate yet darkly tinged send-up of suburbia that skirted Twin Peaks territory as much as that of Knots Landing, Desperate Housewives opened with a bang--literally--as perfect-seeming housewife Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) went through her picture-perfect day before putting a handgun to her temple and pulling the trigger. Mary Alice's sudden suicide leaves her four closest friends, all housewives of a sort, with a surfeit of grief, a re-examination of their own lives, and a mystery to solve. It also proves to be a catalyst for a seamy study of what goes on inside the finely appointed homes of Wisteria Lane--the tales of which Mary Alice narrates from beyond the grave with a sardonic tone dipped in both honey and arsenic.

There's Martha Stewart-perfect Bree (Marcia Cross), who rules her household with an iron fist in a tailor-made garden glove and seems to have it all, until she finds out her husband (Steven Culp) is cheating on her--and had a serious fetish habit to boot. Sultry Gaby (Eva Longoria), the youngest of the set, is a bored trophy wife whose predilection for shopping and clothes are the perfect decoy for her affair with the hunky teenage gardener (Jesse Metcalfe). Former career woman Lynette (Felicity Huffman) is the most stereotypical housewife, raising four (or was it five?) kids and frustrated at using her cutthroat business skills for suburban politics. And daffy Susan (Teri Hatcher), the divorcee looking for love, sees her prospects brighten with the arrival of hunky plumber Mike (James Denton), who has some desperate secrets of his own. And did we mention the neighborhood hussy (Nicollette Sheridan), the snotty busybody (Christine Estabrook), and Mary Alice's increasingly agitated son (Cody Kasch)?

It was a fast and wild mix of plot and characters that gave Desperate Housewives the zing that made it a number one hit, as it never got too bogged down in any dilemma before moving on to the next. And though it was neither as hard-hitting nor salacious as it was trumpeted to be, the show nevertheless breathed fresh, funny air into comedy television, for even though it hewed to the hour-long soap format, the content was far more dark comedy than sudsy drama. There were fun bright spots to be had, but the story behind Mary Alice's death--which included drugs, murder, blackmail, secret identities, and vengeance in equal amounts--hovered over all the characters, tingeing the farce with the specter of danger. The show's other source of strength is in its peerless ensemble cast, headed by four perfect leading ladies, all Emmy-worthy. Hatcher received the (deserved) lion's share of praise (and a Golden Globe), but her co-stars--especially the underrated Longoria--matched her scene for scene. And though the mystery of Mary Alice's death was ultimately solved (no Twin Peaks teasing here), it was just the beginning of the troubles on Wisteria Lane, where no life went unexamined for too long. --Mark Englehart

Product Description

Experience the television phenomenon that has fans cheering and critics raving. "Refreshingly original, bracingly adult, and thoroughly delightful, Desperate Housewives is like the answer to a TV prayer you didn't know you'd made," says Robert Bianco of USA Today. Now you can spend the night with the women of Wisteria Lane and relive every minute of the weekly television event that heated up water coolers from coast to coast. With spectacular bonus features including extended, unrated episodes, this sizzling six-disc set is full of surprises and loaded with entertainment.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is What Happens When TV Goes Very Right, May 30, 2005

By	Busy Body (London, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

"Desperate Housewives" is an absolute phenomenon! I remember I saw an advert on Channel 4 over here in England advertising this new show and just from the advert I knew I'd love it. So did 5 million other Brits who tuned in when the first episode premiered on January 5th 2005. Since that first episode the nation has been hooked. This is easily the most popular US-import show in the country and literally everyone at my college talks about it on a Thursday morning after the previous night's episode. I must confess, I watch it religiously on my own in our conservatory every Wednesday night and if anyone dare disturb me I will be seriously p***ed off!

In a world saturated with reality TV and bad talk shows, Desperate Housewives is a breath of fresh air. Creator Marc Cherry is a Godsend to women all over the world, and it was clear from the beginning that this show was going to become totally global. I mean I've heard stories about this show getting upwards of 30 million viewers in America! That's absolutely incredible, and this DVD will sell millions upon its release, trust me.

So what makes Desperate Housewives so addictive? For me, there are a number of things. Firstly, the cast is impeccable. The four main stars of the show are Teri Hatcher (who plays Susan Mayer), Marcia Cross (who plays Bree Van De Kamp), Felicity Huffman (who plays Lynette Scarvo) and the sensational Eva Longoria (who plays Gabrielle Solis). My personal favourite is Marcia Cross, because she is just so amazing. She is a gorgeous, fabulous gay icon and she is a true star! Her character is so particular. To begin with, we hate her, but over time she grows on you.

Secondly, I would say the blend of genres make this show effortlessly appealing. The mix of comedy and drama is achieved within a degree of perfection, tossing the viewer from laugh-out-loud moments to those moments of tension. It is a credit to the writers that they have sustained this throughout the entire first season. If we are to look at other successful shows such as Buffy, The X-Files, Friends, Will & Grace and Sex And The City, the pinnacle of excellence usually peaks after the first season, so for Desperate Housewives to hit the mark straight away sets the bar very high. I'm confident that they can improve the formula in the second season.

The imagery of the first season is just beautiful, too. The white picket fences, show home houses and lush green lawns define the show, and Wisteria Lane in general. However, they also serve as a major juxtaposition to the sensational storylines that bubble away under the surface. The murders, the affairs, the breakdowns and the shameful secrets are what keep us hanging on like vultures indeed, desperate, for more. Speaking of the storylines, they may not be the most original or inventive, but its with the amazing cast of actors that these storylines become something on their own entirely. So much happens in one episode that you may totally forget about it in the next! There is a small army of co-stars who decorate the sidewalks of the show as the spotlight falls on our four main characters and the troubles that revolve around them.

The season's main draw is the death of Mary Alice Young, and why she chose to kill herself with a revolver. This question is carried throughout the whole season, from the very first few minutes of the pilot episode where we see her kill herself. Details are gradually revealed throughout the season as the plot thickens. I'm not going to go into much detail about this storyline, or indeed the many others that make this season so jam-packed, because I'm sure you know it all yourself, but what I will say is that I love the way the characters are portrayed. There's a sense of fantasy about the whole neighborhood, in that everyone is a nosey beggar and wants to know everyone else's business. One such example is Mrs. Huber. The way death doesn't seem to affect many of the show's characters is also part of its appeal, as the show adopts an almost retro look at classic comedies with nifty stories and camp backdrops.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

After so many of my favourite TV shows ended in 2003 and 2004, I was looking for something new to watch, but I never thought I'd find something as brilliant as Desperate Housewives. I say find, when really I should say 'realise' because this show has hit like a tidal wave. I sure will be buying the first season on DVD when it is finally released over here in the UK, and I'm sure you need no motivation from me to buy it as well! This review merely serves as a culmination of TV's biggest phenomenon. Here's to many more great years to come!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must for fans of Marcia Cross, September 11, 2005

By	Demosthenes "RM" (CA) - See all my reviews

"Desperate Housewives" is a witty and amusing look at the antics of four suburban women whose lives change dramatically after the suicide of a neighboring housewife. Much like "American Beauty" or "Six Feet Under", the show mixes humor, drama, and satire to explore the underbelly of contemporary American society. While the performances of the main cast members are all good, my favorite is Marcia Cross, who brings a touch of the bizarre and mysterious to her character of perfectionist Bree Van De Camp. Cross creates one of the most memorable characters of recent TV. Fans of Ms. Cross should also check her out in LIVING IN FEAR (2001) and the hard-to-find FEMALE PERVERSIONS (1996), which is sort of a percursor to "Desperate Housewives" in its portrait of female angst and also the only film in which Cross (who has a small role as Tilda Swinton's mom) appears topless.

181 of 240 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect "Sex and the City" replacement and more!, March 10, 2005

By	T. Stewart "moviemancritter" (Santa Cruz) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am the perfect example that anyone can enjoy this show. With a title like "Depereate Housewives" it seems to put alot of people off, becasue they don't believe that they can enjoy this wondeful show. Well I am here to set the record striaght. I am a 17-year-old High school Senior Male (who just entered the UCSC) and Despereate Housewives has quickly become one of my top three favorite shows on the air (the other two being "Gilmore Girls" and "Veronica Mars").

The show is about four, sometimes five housewives and how there lives become meshed as they try to figureout the mystery behind why one of there fellow neighbors committed suicides. Beyond this mystery, each of the housewives have there own troubles at home to over come. Marcia Cross plays housewife one who has and off-again, on-again relations with her husband because he thinks she is too perfect, Felicity Huffman plays housewife two - a woman who has to deal with a husband who is never home and a home full of little monsters (also known as six and five year old boys), Eva Longoria plays housewife number three, a woman who isn't quit sure if her husband is the person she wants to spend her life with, and finally housewife number four player to perfect by Teri Hatcher is a 40-year-old woman who is recently divorced and has to take care of her 14-year-old daugter, but due to her neurotisisesy's it seems the daughter takes care of her.

I have just scratched the surface of what this show is about. During the first few episodes the show is trying to figure out what it wants to be (comedy or drama), yet it finally desided upon dramedy. The series won both the golden globe for best comedic series, but also for Teri Hatcher for best Actress (two additional actresses where nominated as well).

But what makes this series so special is the fact that it was a last chance at a career for most of the people involved. The creator was literally at the end of his ropes havn't to borrow money from his mother to write the script, and actresses Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher could no longer find work. This show is just a testiment that the old hollywood mantra "the younger, the better' does not apply anymore.

With "Unaireable / Uncencored episodes," Audio Commentary by the Cast and Crew, Bloopers, Behind-the-Scenes footage, and deleted scenes this is definately the DVD to own this september.