DVD Reviews

Desperate Housewives: The Complete Seventh Season – DVD Review

By Patrick Luce Sep 4, 2011, 17:47 GMT

The action gets even wilder in the sizzling seventh season of ABC\'s acclaimed dramatic comedy, "Desperate Housewives". Experience all the humor, mystery and juicy thrills in this spectacular 5-disc collection. It\'s high noon on Wisteria Lane as a brand-new rival (Vanessa Williams) stirs up even more excitement, deceit and romance in the neighborhood. Lynette gets jealous when Renee starts spending time with Tom, and Bree finds herself falling for Keith ...more

The wives of Wisteria Lane are back for another season of betrayal, mystery, romance, and maybe a little murder. The Seventh Season feels a tad more desperate than past releases, but the cast still has the charm to keep it worth watching.

The season also benefits from the addition of Vanessa Williams and her Renee Perry character - who might just be the biggest diva the neighborhood has ever seen. The season also benefits from the return of Mark Moses' Paul Young – the ultimate “bad guy” and a way to remind of how great the series was in the beginning.

Although the series features a huge ensemble cast, the episodes mostly focus on the primary wives - Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman, who continues to be my favorite of the group), Bree (Marcia Cross) – who has been married so many times I am not sure what her last name is right now, Susan Delfino (Teri Hatcher), and Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria, and my second favorite character of the series).

It may have Housewives in the title, but the series wouldn't be as much fun without the men of Wisteria Lane including Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), Tom Scavo (Doug Savant), and Mike Delfino (James Denton).

In addition to Williams, Season Seven also gets a few new reoccurring characters including Bree’s younger love interest Keith Watson (Brian Austin Green) and Emily Bergl’s Beth Young – who is Paul Young’s innocent wife who might not be as innocent as she first appears.

I also enjoyed some of the episodes which featured the kids of Wisteria Lane – specifically Lynette’s twins Porter (Charlie Carver) and Preston (Max Carver). There is a great episode focusing on Lynette’s need to mother her grown boys and kick them out of the nest (you will crack up as one of the twins asks her where they keep the eggs).

As the season rolls along, the housewives have to deal with a variety of trouble (both individually and as a group). This season sees Bree moving on with her life after her divorce from Orson (Kyle MacLachlan), and finding new romance yet again.

Gabrielle has the most emotional growth as she and Carlos have to deal with a discovery about one of their daughters and its fallout. Susan is broke and tries to help her family get out of debt by doing housework in her underwear for the men of the Internet.

Lynette continues to be my favorite character as she struggles to be a good mom (although she seems to do everything wrong and has to have the worse bedside manner on television), and find a place in the professional world.

She also gets a shock as her old college friend Renee Perry (who she seems to compete with on every level) arrives for a visit and ends up moving. Perry is the ultimate diva and quickly causes her own share of drama on Wisteria Lane.

Once again, the DVD set comes loaded with special features that take you into the series. Special features include commentary, bloopers (which is always a fun treat), deleted scenes, a trivia feature, and a look at the kids of the show.

The series continues to manage to not be predictable (a bonus for a series in its seventh season), and leaves you with hope for season eight (its last). Although it was far from the best season of the series, the ensemble cast still has great chemistry and manages to keep you entertained.

Some of the storylines felt a bit forced, but the huge cast keeps you from getting bored with any single plot.

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