As in many, Desperate Housewives has its share of details that do not stick to the plot. Here are seven that will tell you for sure.
1. The date of Mary Alice’s suicide
There are series that end with the death of the main character and others that start like this. This is the case of Desperate Housewives, whose plot begins with the suicide of Mary Alice Young. The housewife shoots herself in the head at the very beginning of the pilot episode and then speaks to viewers as a narrator from the afterlife. However, if Mary Alice reveals that she ended her own life on a Thursday, her gravestone indicates that she died on September 26, 2004. A glance at the calendar for that year reveals that this day falls on a Sunday.
Did Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) commit suicide on a Thursday or Sunday? © ABC
2. Gabrielle’s size, supposed to be a supermodel on the catwalks
From the first episode of Desperate Housewives, we learn that Gabrielle Solis is a former successful model who has paraded on many catwalks. But something is wrong with this information: it is not at all the size required to scroll. It is necessary to measure 1m75, but Eva Longoria is only 1m57. These are the right numbers, but not in the right order! Besides, did you know that another actress almost played Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives ?
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Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) does not have the height required to walk the catwalks as a model. © ABC
3. Susan’s culinary gifts
Susan Mayer is known to be as clumsy as a bad cook. During the very first episode of Desperate Housewives, at the wake in honor of Mary Alice, she warns Mike about his macaroni and cheese. Throughout the show, or at least the first few seasons, she’s mocked for it. We remember for example the day when the parents of her boyfriend Ian have to come to dinner and they expect a meal prepared by Susan. In order to avoid the worst, she asks Bree to cook for her.
Yet by the seventh season, that major characteristic of Susan’s character seems to have disappeared. While Paul Young is at his worst since the suicide of his wife Beth, the housewife played by Teri Hatcher takes care of him. She makes him good meals as if nothing had happened. Ironically, Felicia Tilman, Paul’s nemesis, even has to add poison to the meals Susan has prepared to intoxicate her. Until then, Susan’s dishes were considered toxic without adding anything to them. The unexpected time jump from Desperate Housewives would it have had a miraculous effect on Susan’s cooking?
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Is Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) a good or a bad cook? © ABC
4. The disappearance of domestic animals
A curse seems to befall Wisteria Lane when it comes to pets: they suddenly disappear without explanation. First there is Bongo, Mike Delfino’s dog, who is introduced in the pilot episode of Desperate Housewives. The animal even participates in some cult scenes from the first season, such as when he accidentally swallows Susan’s earring. Against all odds, Bongo mysteriously disappears around the middle of Season 2. In reality, the dog was removed from the series for budget reasons.
The observation is the same on the side of Roxy, the guide dog taken in by Carlos during season 4. The animal is suddenly no longer present in the Solis in the fifth season, after the time jump of five years. And yet Carlos is still blind. Where did he go ? One of biggest secrets of Desperate Housewives ?
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Mike Delfino’s dog Bongo mysteriously disappeared from “Desperate Housewives” in the middle of season 2. © ABC
5. Lynette and Tom’s meeting place
In the first season of Desperate Housewives, it is said that Lynette and Tom Scavo met at their workplace, they who work in advertising. However, when Vanessa Williams fromUgly Betty joined the cast as Renee Perry in season 7, another explanation is given to viewers. Indeed, we learn that Lynette and Tom got engaged when they were still students at the university. It was also during a weekend where they had briefly broken up that Tom cheated on Lynette with Renee.
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Did Tom (Doug Savant) and Lynette (Felicity Huffman) Scavo meet at college or at their workplace? © ABC
6. Zach sole heir to Noah’s fortune
And some characters from Desperate Housewives were almost killed on the way, others were simply forgotten by the writers. This is the case of poor Kendra Taylor, Deirdre’s sister and Noah’s daughter. On the latter’s death, it is in fact said that Zach Young, his grandson and Deirdre’s son, is the sole heir to his fortune. The question that arises is therefore the following: why did Kendra never come to claim her due?
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Noah Taylor (Bob Gunton) bequeathed his entire fortune to Zach Young (Cody Kasch)… but has he forgotten his daughter Kendra (Heather Stephens)? © ABC
7. MJ and Juanita, children of Susan and Gaby, in the same class
In season 6 of Desperate Housewives, MJ Delfino and Juanita Solis find themselves in the same class at primary school. We even witness a little rivalry between their mothers Susan and Gaby to know which of the two children is the more intelligent. However, they are not normally supposed to be the same age, and at no time is there any question of repeating a grade or a grade jump, which the two mothers would not have hesitated to highlight in their rivalry.
Susan gives birth to MJ in episode 15 of season 4, just before the five-year leap into the future. Logically he is therefore 5 years old when we find him in season 5. Juanita appears for the first time in episode 1 of season 5 where it is said that she is 4 years old. Logical, given that Gaby was not even pregnant at the end of season 4. This kind of error is quite classic in the series, and we find elsewhere similar inconsistencies in the age of children in A nanny from hell.
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MJ Delfino (Mason Vale Cotton) and Juanita Solis (Madison De La Garza) are not supposed to be the same age in “Desperate Housewives”. © ABC
The Desperate Housewives series is available in full on Salto and on Disney +.
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