TVSquad

Last season's Desperate Housewives' finale was pretty much a game changer. The denizens of Wisteria Lane jumped five years into the future and into completely different lives. Just to recap: Gaby (Eva Longoria Parker) is a mom, Bree (Marcia Cross) is the new Martha Stewart and is back with Orson (Kyle MacLachlan), Lynette's (Felicity Huffman) sons are juvenile delinquents, Susan (Teri Hatcher) has a new man and Edie (Nicolette Sheridan) is nowhere to be found. So basically things are a little ... different. Executive producers Bob Daily and Sabrina Wind discuss just how different life on Wisteria Lane is going to be this season.

Daily says that the five year jump has allowed them to wipe the slate clean, "We keep talking about this first episode likes it's another pilot. We're starting over and each woman has a new drive now." For more information on what to expect on Desperate Housewives this season, follow me after the jump.

WARNING: SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP

(S04E03) "Uncomfortable people don't ask questions." - Katherine

Last week introduced "Kree" or "Bretherine" (two suggestions made by TV Squad reader D) to us. Most of the TV Squad readers who took part in our poll seemed to like the nemesis and their respectful yet devilish fights. After last week's great episode, I had high expectations for this week's Desperate Housewives: I wanted more Bree and Katherine face offs, I wanted to get a few clues to the Mayfairs' secret, and I wanted the hit man hired by Carlos to take care of Edie.

(S04E02) "We better start coming up with better lies." - Katherine

After a controversial season premiere (in case you haven't heard, ABC had to apologize for a joke Susan made while in Adam's office), Desperate Housewives tries to have the Mayfairs, who moved to Wisteria Lane last week, settle in. In last week's TV Squad DH poll, 68% of the voters said they thought the Mayfairs were a good addition to the show. Based solely on last week's episode, I have to agree. But now that we are getting more backstory about the Mayfairs and seeing them interact more with their neighbors, have we changed our mind?

(S04E01) "No more secrets. From now on, we tell every shocking details of our lives." - Lynette

The ladies of Wisteria Lane are back and it's certain that they won't follow through on the promise they made to each other to not keep secrets! The Season Three finale of Desperate Housewives may not have been the most cliffhanger-y out there, but still, fans (I include myself in the lot) were wondering what was in store for the ladies and their men this upcoming season. But most importantly, we wanted to know if Edie survived her suicide attempt.

(S03E19) Last week's episode left me with a lot of questions and expectations for this week's installment of Desperate Housewives. Would Susan dump Ian for good? How would Edie and Carlos' relationship evolve? Would Lynette cheat on Tom with Rick? But most importantly, I wanted to know how Mr. McCluskey died, why he was in the freezer and why was Mrs. McCluskey not reporting his death?

Even though I'm a spoilers addict and knew most of the answers to my own questions, spoilers are never 100% accurate so I was impatiently waiting for the episode. Sadly, the episode didn't give me all the goods I was waiting for.

(S03E15) Whoa! Didn't see that coming! When Andrew got tossed down the stairs, I thought for sure he was going to be the one who bought it this week. But this episode was absolutely, 100% better than last week's episode. Somebody said last week in the comments that they thought last week's episode was like a connector piece in which nothing happened so things could build to this week. I think that's what happened.

I have to admit that I am really happy to learn that Orson is innocent of all wrong doing. As much as I love it when Kyle MacLachlan plays evil, it's nice to know that the worst thing he is guilty of is hitting Mike with his car. But I think we know now that there is even a reasonable explanation for that, considering what Gloria had put him through.

Reader Jeannie Jacks wants to know the following:

I can't remember the exact name of the show, but I think it was "Justice Denied".  It came on Friday nights, 9:00 on ABC. What happened to it? All of a sudden it was gone!  I loved it because it showed just how screwed up our justice system really can be.

Jeannie, the name of the show was In Justice and it was a mid-season replacement for ABC this past winter. It starred Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Sex in the City) as the head of the Oakland, California based National Justice Project. Their job was to revisit cases where they believed that the person found guilty and put and jail was actually innocent.

(S02E19) I don't watch this show any more for the plot. I watch it for the fan-frickin-tastic guest stars, and the awesome one-liners.

I mean, you know that Susan is going to get in some ridiculous situation with one of the many men she's dating / in love with / sleeping with / pretending to date. You know that Andrew is going to think he finally pulled one over on his mom, only to get slammed by the vastly more experienced scheme-stering of Bree. You know that Karl is going to be a dog and Gabby is going to be a little bit heartless and Lynette is going to (once again) get conflicted about her role as mom or wife.

You watch for the fun. The fun that includes Kyle Maclachlan as a random man in the movie theatre that Susan picks to pretend she's dating, then use as a confessor. And Carol Burnett as Bree's step-mother. Not to mention Gabrielle and Carlos appearing in court to defend their (essentially) kidnapping of their to-be-adopted daughter.

Perhaps the fears of cancellation that fans of In Justice have addressed may be coming to fruition. Tonight will be the second Friday in a row where the show is not on the schedule. In addition, the next air date listed on ABC's website is the ominous TBD (To Be Determined for the unaware).

Add to that Kyle MacLachlan's recurring role on Desperate Housewives and Constance Zimmer's role in a new ABC comedy pilot called 52 Flights (according to her website) the future of the National Justice Project is not looking too good. Then again, this could just be a ploy to have the remaining episodes air during the May sweeps season, but that doesn't seem likely as the network would release its fall schedule before sweeps period ends.

So, if you are a fan of In Justice, say a prayer to your respective television gods.

This week we focus on The National Justice Project's Sonya Quintano (Marisol Nichols), as a case from her past re-surfaces. We haven't seen much of Sonya except where she is a secondary player, so this is a good chance to explore her character. We also focus on attorney David Swain (Kyle MacLachlan) and investigator Charles Conti (Jason O'Mara).

Okay, I lied; Sonya is not the focus of this episode, unlike Brianna (Constance Zimmer) was last episode. She's there for a few scenes but it's mostly Conti and Swain in this episode. I can't believe TV lies to me like that!

There are a few things going for this show. First, it's not a show about a bunch of attorneys with suits and briefcases (well, accept David Swain) who leave the investigation to others. This show is about a bunch of attorneys in jeans and sneakers who learn how to perform the investigations on their own. In other words, they use their skills. In every episode Conti, or whoever is handling the investigation, asks questions to the other attorneys as to what is amiss about the case they are looking into.

The other thing about this show is that they aren't afraid to learn more about criminal investigation. In one scene Conti learns a little bit about what the criminal scientists call "smears"; fingerprints that smear on a weapon. With the knowledge that Conti gathers you already can see that the client in this episode was actually innocent.

 

I didn't set out to watch In Justice, and the last thing I need is another courtroom drama to love. But it was Sunday, all of my favorite shows were in re-runs or supplanted by tedious TV movies or double-length episodes of Extreme Makeover, my boys were all feverish, and I wanted to do nothing for a while. And so, I didn't change the channel from the very dull Desperate Housewives recap.

And look! There's Kyle MacLachlan, who last played Charlotte's impotent Scottish husband on Sex and the City. And hey! That's Constance Zimmer, who I finally identified as the only reason worth watching the insultingly awful Good Morning Miami. And the criminal who is so grateful to be taken in by the Justice Project - that's one of my faves, she played Sela Ward's sister on the fabulous and much-missed Once and Again. (And if you're still wondering where it is you've seen Marisol Nichols - she played Audrey Griswold on Vegas Vacation. *groan* She's still a hottie, though.)

Now that 2005 is behind us, we can look forward to new and returning favorite shows all this month on television. What will you be watching?

South Beach (Wednesdays, UPN) Two hot, New York City working-class bachelors leave the big city behind to follow one of their girlfriends to South Beach, FL, only to discover that she has a new boyfriend. They get mixed up with the rich and famous in the club scene. After viewing a sneak preview on UPN's website, it looks like a guilty pleasure like The O.C., except with more sex and no high school. Jennifer Lopez is the executive producer and it co-stars Vanessa Williams as a club owner and mother to one of the main characters. South Beach premieres on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 8 pm.