Desperate Housewives - Season 5

Running directly on from the Season 4 finale last Wednesday the housewives are back on Channel 4 tonight with the debut of Season 5. With a much needed plot twist - jumping five years into the future - it is hoped that Wisteria Lane will get the revitalisation that it needs to re-establish Season 5 to a par with that of the first explosive and original show seen with its Season 1 debut.

The housewives are largely changed and jumping five years into the future brings new trials and tribulations in addition to the viewers desperate need to know just what has happened over these missed years. Gaby, now with two rather tubby children in tow, has become Mrs Frumpy whilst Susan and Mike’s rather boring and long winded will they won’t they is once again off the cards with Mike looking dead – again. Meanwhile the Scavo children have grown rather large and I’m sure more “boisterous” if that’s the correct word and our wonderful Bree seems to have returned to her former cold and calculating self that we knew and loved in Season 1. Katherine remains on the street though daughter Dylan and best friend Julie Mayer seem to have disappeared (presumably off to college) and though I was stricken to see our favourite man vulture Edie leave at the end of the last Season, five years on and she’s back on the street to cause chaos once again.

All in all the first few episodes seem to shape up for a good run to come, the humour is back, the ridiculous mystery and danger storylines seem to have gone (think boy locked in the cellar) and our housewives are back to causing chaos in their own insane, but truer and more normal lives. There’s still a stain of foreboding – Edie’s new husband is fast shaping up to be the new villain of the series and Bree’s male soul mate Orson seems to finally be putting his foot down but with Porter Scavo falling in love with his mum due to a myspace esc chatting incident, and Bree trying to force feed her vegetarian grandson a hotdog because it’ll make him grow up big and strong, I think we’re set for several months of fun and hysterics.

Channel 4 - Wednesdays at 22.00