Look! It's a Desperate Housewife

No, it's not Susan, Bree, Lynette, Gabrielle or Edie. It's just one housewife who's realized all my favorite shows are having their season finales this week or have already ended. All the dangling plot threads have been tied up in neat bows, mysteries have been solved, new suspense elements have been introduced, contests have been won and there’s been a cliffhanger or two.

I make it sound like I’m a couch potato but I’m really not. I only watch about 5 shows with regularity. Then there's the odd documentary on PBS or something on Discovery that catches my eye. And I'm a sucker for reruns of the Andy Griffith Show. "Nip it! Nip it in the bud!"

So what’s happening in my TV world?

1. DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES had its two-hour season finale last Sunday night. There was a murder. We have a new creepy character (Orson the dentist), the Applewhites have left town, Lynette is dealing with the repercussions of Tom’s premarital fling, Gabrielle is finding that what’s good for the goose isn’t necessarily what she wants the gander to be doing and Mike Delefino is lying in the street after being hit by a car.

Ah... hello, Mr. Cherry. You simply cannot kill off Mike. He and Susan are just way too cute a couple, despite their ups and downs. And besides, what’s not to love about a guy who reads romance?

I'd like to send a big shout-out to Dianne Castell. She had this photo as a huge poster at RWA in Reno last year and probably could have auctioned it off for enough money to pay off her mortgage and mine.

2. AMERICAN IDOL is rolling to the end of its fifth season. The final songs have been sung, the votes are in and later tonight the winner will be announced amidst fanfare and confetti. Will our fellow Alabamian Taylor Hicks be the next American Idol? Stay tuned.

3. SURVIVOR: Exile Island ended about two week ago. I’ve been hooked since Survivor: Africa. I watched because it was set in Kenya and the DH had spent six weeks in Nairobi on business. I love the drama, the competition, the conniving and alliances. I enjoy watching them outwit, outplay and outlast. And I was totally bummed that Terry didn’t win. He played a hard, clean game and in my opinion was most deserving. But we all know that the most deserving doesn’t necessarily get the prize.

4. CSI ended last week too and Captain Brass lives! Nick Stokes also found his comb and after a short but terrible hairstyling detour, his hair looks good again. I’m talking about the original show set in Las Vegas. I’ve never been able to get into the Miami version and I didn’t even bother to start watching the New York show. It’s odd that I don’t like them all since they’re all about crime investigation. But the difference is the characters, which is also true about good writing. You can have a great premise and plot, but unless the characters work with each other and work for the reader, the whole story will fall apart.

Was anyone else shocked at the final scene of CSI? Grissom and Sara? Ewwwww. I could imagine him with former stripper turned crime investigator Catherine Willows. Or better yet I have had this weird desire to see him hook up with Lady Heather the dominatrix. Now that would make for some unusual television. Grissom is one of my favorite TV characters. He’s a brainiac and makes being a geek look chic. His humor is dry and he's a big "buggy" sometimes. But when and where it counts, he cares.

Of course we all know that CSI is really just an educational tool for criminals and that DA’s hate potential jurors who say “Oh, I watch CSI all the time.” But how else would we know what luminol was for or about the pheno-blood test or that there really are chimeras?

However, the title of absolute favorite TV character goes to…

5. MONK. Adrian Monk, the quirky detective with OCD has to be one of the most unique and endearing characters on television today. His vulnerability should make him weak. But despite it, he’s a brilliant detective. And just when you think he’s going to surrender to his obsessions and compulsions, he digs down deep inside and comes to the rescue.

I just hate that the USA network can’t see fit to give us more than six new episodes at a time. Clearly it’s one of the best shows on television, so why do we only get twelve episodes a year – six in the summer and six in winter? Maybe to keep us wanting more?

So much of what I love about these shows is true of writing: great characters with good motivation and conflict, catchy premises, hooks and plots, action, suspense and intrigue, a good love interest and quality writing that keeps me coming back for more.

So what will I do now that my favorite shows are done with their first-run episodes? Maybe I can begin to tackle that mountain range of books in my office. Perhaps I’ll be able to devote a little more time to writing. Keep my flower beds weeded? Dust more often? Keep up with the ironing? That TBR pile sounds the most appealing.

So what’s your favorite show?

And what makes it your favorite? Is it the story? The setting? The characters? All or a combination of the above?

And what are you going to do now that it’s ended for the season?