Desperate Housewives Is Like DS?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I like the show, though, personally, I don't see it. But apparently San Francisco Chronicle writer Steven Winn does:

"Desperate Housewives," which I'd seen a few times before but never watched very closely, is a woozy, oddly involving paradox when you pay close attention. With its neatly measured doses of David Lynch, "Dark Shadows" and straight-ahead soap opera, it's cynical and sincere, mocking and affectionate about its characters.

You can read the entire article here: So what if I like Mariah, 'Wives' and 'Kingdom of Heaven'? It's just who I am.

[victoriawinters]

I for sure see the David Lynch and classic soap but Dark Shadows?

Perhaps, they may be thinking of the Elizabeth - Jason MacGuire story line.  That story line would certainly fit on the Housewives but the rest of it???  That is a real stretch.

The suburbia of Desparate Housewives is really distant to Collinsport, ME and a big old creepy house with things that like to go bump in the night and possess little children.

[ProfStokes]

I don't see the similarities either.  The closest thing I can think of is that "Housewives" is narrated by a dead woman.  Actually, I would have thought DS would be better compared to "Lost" in terms of mystery and phenomenal popularity.

ProfStokes

[MagnusTrask]

Egad... in mere moments, you created in me a desire to see a modern-day television program.    I thought I'd become too disillusioned by latching onto West Wing, just when Aaron Sorkin left and its heart seemed to leave its body.    David Lynch and DS as influences?!    If D Housewives isn't a very interestingly weird show, then where did the reviewer pull the DS and Lynch comparisons out of?!    He must have had some reason.

I was already noting to myself that, at least, D Housewives is (as is said now) "scripted", as opposed to all the pointless, contrived, voyeuristic anti-reality "reality shows" that are killing off civilization, at least as far as I'm concerned.     And one of the stars was dolled-up nicely recently on Conan, and seemed smart too.

When's it on?

[Connie]

Egad... in mere moments, you created in me a desire to see a modern-day television program.

I wouldn't get my hopes up.  Awhile back I was aware of all the broo-ha-ha over this show and made a point of catching a couple of episodes.  Couldn't find anything remotely interesting or entertaining in either one.  Figured I must be missing SOMETHING, but what that is, escapes me.  Even Oprah was making a big deal over the show and its characters and spent time fulfulling a fantasy of filming herself in an episode.  (Actually HER bit was better than anything I'd seen on the regular show)

Maybe the DS comparison has something to do with a campy aspect or something. 
But then, I can't even relate to that idea 'cause I never thought of DS as terribly campy.  Except for Grayson maybe. 

Signed,
Out-of-touch
 

[onyx_treasure]

Maybe the DS comparison has something to do with a campy aspect or something. 
But then, I can't even relate to that idea 'cause I never thought of DS as terribly campy.  Except for Grayson maybe. 

      These are my thoughts, too.  However, I don't think DS meant to be campy.

[Barnabas'sBride]

Count me in as another person who fails to see the comparison. I watched the show in the fall and thought it was pretty entertaining, but there aren't any similiarities to DS. It's more like a comedic, sarcastic ordinary soap opera to me.

[Cassandra Blair]

It's more like a comedic, sarcastic ordinary soap opera to me.

Word.  And I'm also in agreement with the cousin who thought the only thing that might bring the cachet of DS to DH is the narration by the dead character Mary Alice.  Otherwise, it doesn't seem similar at all.

DS was gothic and creepy, and always had this deep sense of isolation and foreboding - like something awful was always getting ready to happen.  And at least for most of the run of the show, that 'something' was liable to be supernatural.

DH on the other hand is sunny and optomistic, although the characters get to do awful things, nothing supernatural's going on, and there's always a feeling that everything's really being played for laughs and will probably come out right in the end.  With DS, all was dead serious (pun intended) and you were never sure that anything would ever be right again.

While I can see Dark Shadows fans getting into Desperate Housewives because of the over the top characters and crazy situations, the two shows, other than both being serial in nature, don't really compare, IMO.

[michael c]

except for the voiceover and the serial format i don't see any similarities either.i don't even really see the lynchian element.d.h. is nowhere near as dark and surreal as anything lynch has done.it's more black-comedy mixed with straight-foreward soap.there's nothing gothic or supernatural going on at all.

think "knot's landing" not "twin peaks"(or dark shadows).