TVSquad

Michael Weinfeld of the Associated Press was able to sit down with television's most neurotic homemaker. Marcia Cross, who plays Bree Hodge on Desperate Housewives, dished about this Sunday's big finale event. The muffin-baking, rose bush-pruning domestic diva told all about what happens to herself and the other inhabitants of Wisteria Lane.

SPOILER ALERT: Marcia Cross talks about the Desperate Housewives finale after the jump.

We learned yesterday that ABC's Desperate Housewives will be back for season five next fall, in its same time-slot of Sunday at 9 p.m. I'm sure creator Marc Cherry has stocked up on Tums in the past few years, as the series waffled between must-see and mediocrity. Right now, it's somewhere in the middle, although I've made a point to watch every week, so that says something right there.

ET Online is breaking news tonight that Dana Delany will be returning to the series in the fall. Although no storyline has been as compelling as the murder intrigue that super-charged season one, the mystery surrounding Delany's Katherine Mayfair this season has been mildly interesting.

We know it has something to do with her daughter, Dylan (Lyndsy Fonseca) and ex-husband, Wayne (Gary Cole), who struck up a relationship with Dylan in recent weeks. I must admit, I'm curious enough to make sure the DVR records when the season finale rolls around.

ABC released its 2008-09 prime-time schedule this morning during a press conference call conducted by Steve McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment. I listened in and got the rundown:

Returning: Boston Legal, Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Grey's Anatomy, Lost (Midseason), Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty, According to Jim (Midseason), Samantha Who?, America's Funniest Home Videos, The Bachelor (Midseason), Dancing With The Stars, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Supernanny, Wife Swap, Saturday Night College Football, Primetime: What Would You Do?

Out: October Road, Notes from the Underbelly, Men in Trees, Big Shots, Carpoolers, Cashmere Mafia, Cavemen, Miss/Guided, Women's Murder Club, Oprah's Big Give

New: Life on Mars, The Goode Family (Midseason), Scrubs (Midseason), Opportunity Knocks, Untitled Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks Project (Midseason)

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

Last week I mentioned that Lost had dropped a lot in the ratings. This week they're not even in the top 20.

Looking over this list, it becomes apparent what it takes to get on it. If you're FOX, keep pumping out reality shows and reality competitions shows. If you're ABC, it's dancing and doctors. And if you're CBS, the answer is clear: create another police procedural show. It doesn't matter who's in it or where it's set, just make sure it's about a team of investigators who investigate something that needs investigation.

1. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)

ABC offered a set of fun Valentine's Day e-cards earlier this year, and they're at it again with a more extensive set of Mother's Day e-cards. More of my favorite ABC shows were let in on the fun this time, including Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Samantha Who?. Show Mom your love with a clever message from Lost's Claire, Susan from Desperate Housewives, or Hilda from Ugly Betty.

The cards are one part of a "Guide to Motherhood" page on ABC's website. You can watch clips from ABC's hit shows based on four motherhood themes: New Moms, Nesting, Words of Wisdom, and Letting Go. It's an amusing way to look back at some of the unconventional approaches to parenting taken in the last season.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then a new Cold Case and two episodes of Dexter.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos, followed by new episodes of Extreme Makeover, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then episodes of Monk and Psych.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, followed by a new King of the Hill, the season finale of Family Guy, and a new American Dad.
• There's a new Everybody Hates Chris on The CW at 8, then new episodes of Aliens in America and The Game.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece.
• Also at 8: TCM has the 1965 special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music.
• At 9, Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors, then the season premiere of This American Life.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies, then a new Assy McGee.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here's an interesting theory on why the ratings for many returning dramas are down a bit: the writers strike gave viewers an excuse to finally stop watching a show.

Of course, the shows that are down (including Grey's Anatomy, House, Lost, CSI, and Desperate Housewives) are still getting great ratings (all of the above shows are usually in the top 15 for the week), they're just noticeably down. Some industry analysts think that viewers might be getting a little frustrated at the continuing storylines you see on many dramas, while others think that some viewers are confused over the return dates for different shows and maybe even time slot changes for a couple of shows.

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Are You Afraid of the Dark? - Season 6
• Beverly Hills, 90210 - Season 4
• Burke's Law - Season 1, Vol. 1
• Cheers - Season 9
• Dark Shadows - The Beginnings Collection 4
• Desperate Housewives - Seasons 1-3
• Grey's Anatomy - Seasons 1-3
• I Spy - Seasons 1, 2, and 3 (Remastered)
• Joey - Season 2
• Lost - Seasons 1-3
• Roswell - Seasons 1, 2, and 3
• Sabrina The Teenage Witch - Complete Series (Animated)
• Scrubs - Seasons 1-6
• The Waltons - Season 7
• A Touch of Frost - Season 13
• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - Vol. 3: Years of Change

• TNT has NBA playoff action all night.
• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of Big Brother and Cold Case, then an episode of Dexter.
• ABC has two new episodes of Extreme Makeover starting at 7, followed by new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then new episodes of Monk and Psych.
• At 8, FOX has new episodes of The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Family Guy.
• There's a new Everybody Hates Chris on The CW at 8, then new episodes of Aliens in America and The Game.
• Nickelodeon has a new Zoey 101 at 8, then a new Dance on Sunset.
• Food Network has a new Challenge at 8.
• At 9, Sci-Fi has the new movie Infected.
• Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors at 9, followed by a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• At 10, Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here are the weekly ratings, by number of viewers.

If you were to pick a random TV fan off the street (The Street of TV Fans, I guess it would be called) and you asked them, "what is the #1 scripted show on television right now?," I would assume that not everyone would guess the answer to that question. A third of them would probably answer one of the CSI shows, a third would probably say one of the Law and Order shows (or maybe House), and the other third would probably say "what's a scripted show?"

But the answer this week is Desperate Housewives, followed very closely by NCIS. And I would bet no one would guess how high NCIS finishes every week.

1. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
2. American Idol - Weds (FOX)

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we'll supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479 - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have: Army Wives, Battlestar Galactica, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother, Lost, Moonlight, My Boys, Prison Break, Reaper, The Office and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, followed by a new Big Brother and the new movie Sweet Nothing In My Ear.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then episodes of Monk and Psych.
• At 8, ABC has the finale of Oprah's Big Give, then new episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.
• The CW has a new Everybody Hates Chris at 8.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, followed by a new Masterpiece.
• VH-1 has a new Celebrity Fit Club at 8, then a new Rock of Love with Bret Michaels reunion show.
• Also at 8: TCM has The Naked City, followed by Topkapi.
• At 9, The CW has a new episodes of The Game.
• There's a new Iron Chef America on Food Network at 9.
• HBO has the series finale of John Adams at 9.
• Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors, then a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• At 10, Comedy Central has standup special John Oliver: Terrifying Times.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Here are the weekly ratings, by number of viewers.

American Idol gets three spots this week. You know what FOX should do? Just spread out Idol over seven nights. Why not? Some episodes wouldn't be as highly-rated as others, but you know fans would tune in. They can have four performance shows and three results shows. Ryan Seacrest can drag out the results over a few nights. This will make sure that Idol takes up seven spots in the weekly top 20 and also make sure the shows that follow all get high ratings too.

1. American Idol - Tue (FOX)
2. American Idol - Thurs (FOX)
3. CSI (CBS)

Last week's episode of The Office now ranks high on my list of Awkward TV Moments. It got me thinking about other all-time great awkward TV moments. Sure, we've all seen the episode where a disheveled Mary Richards shows up at the awards banquet wearing one fuzzy pink slipper. And the one where Frasier and Roz nearly do it on a cruise ship. But let's take a look at a few recent awkward TV moments.

1. Jan heaves a Dundee at Michael's flat-screen TV. Okay, we'll start with last week's episode of The Office, in which Michael coerces Jim and Pam into attending a couples-only dinner party at his and Jan's condo. The entire episode is one long awkward moment, from Dwight showing up with his former babysitter as his date to Pam realizing she'll be held hostage for three hours, thanks to Jan's poor culinary planning. But the topper is when Michael and Jan's love spat escalates into a huge fight, ending with her heaving one of his treasured Dundee awards at his new (and tiny) flat-screen TV. The cops show up after the neighbors report a disturbance, and Michael ends up going home with Dwight.

• At 7, CBS has a new 60 Minutes, then new episodes of Big Brother and Cold Case, then an episode of Dexter.
• ABC has a new America's Funniest Home Videos at 7, followed by new episodes of Oprah's Big Give, Desperate Housewives, and Eli Stone.
• NBC has a new Dateline at 7, then episodes of Monk and Psych.
• At 8, FOX has a new Simpsons, followed by a new King of the Hill.
• There's a new Everybody Hates Chris on The CW at 8.
• PBS has a new Nature at 8, then a new Masterpiece.
• Comedy Central has the live Night of Too Many Stars charity event at 8.
• Also at 8: ESPN has the Red Sox/Yankees game.
• At 8:30, Nickelodeon has a new Dance on Sunset.
• At 9, The CW has a new episode of The Game.
• HBO has a new John Adams at 9.
• Showtime has a new episode of The Tudors at 9, then a new Tracey Ullman's State of the Union.
• National Geographic has the special Human Footprint at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Dirt.
• Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 10.
• At 12:15am, Cartoon Network has a new Squidbillies.

Check your local TV listings for more.