Desperate Housewives S05 E10 : A Vision's Just A Vision

Desperate Housewives came back on Wednesday with a great episode that moved me to tears at one point. Lynette takes extreme measures to protect her son from going to prison for allegedly burning down a restaurant, however he flees the town and so his twin brother takes his place in court. Carlos realizes the extent of Gaby's sacrifices for their family when he gets his sight back. Bree wants to prove to Andrew that she has accepted him for being gay, and approves of his new fiancee who is her doctor. Katherine finds happiness, as Susan and Mike recognize the fate of their relationship. Meanwhile, Dave starts to lose his grip, and it starts to become clearer why he came to Fairview in the first place.



Representation

A major representation in Desperate Housewives is housewives (obviously). Some people think rich housewives do nothing all day, but this TV drama shows how busy and complicated their lives are, and how much they go through trying to keep their families together.

Gabrielle represents shallow women and gives hope that they can change. She protected her family financially by selling her much-loved clothes, and it showed the love she has for Carlos.

Susan represents single mothers; two children from two different ex-husbands. She has a good relationship with Julie, and relies on her a lot. She is very emotional, which is a stereotypical womanly trait.

Lynette represents the women who "wear the trousers" in relationships and business. She has 5 kids, has suffered with cancer, and has endured a tornado. She represents working mum's, and her fashion and maintenance is a little less than the other women. She is blonde, but not stereotypical because she is smart and not flirty.

Bree represents the "perfect housewife" image, and from the outside she seems to run a perfect household. However, thanks to Mary Alice's narration and us being able to see behind closed doors, we find that her life is one of the most messed up (and that's saying something..)

Edie is a husband-stealing tease. She represents the more risque women, blonde, who wear seductive clothes and thrive on gossip. This is shown by the string of men she's had, including some of the women's husbands.

Teenagers are represented here by Porter Scavo being falsely accused of burning down his girlfriend's husband's restaurant. Dave lies and says he saw Porter come out of the stock cupboard, where the fire originated, just before the fire broke out, and since he had a motive, the police believed him.

Many older people think of youths as being unruly and troublesome, and here is the same. Porter didn't commit that crime, but he had intended to shoot his girlfriend's husband because he beat her up. So he was being bad.

This situation also represents fraternity among the twins, since Preston was willing to go to court in place of his brother. And family solidarity; Lynette is willing to lie to the courts to protect her son Porter from the husband of his girlfriend (who threatened to kill him).

Divorce is represented by Susan and Mike. The awkward moments when they get new partners, and when the partners meet the kid. Susan is lingering on the fate of their relationship, wondering if they should really give up.

Homosexuality is represented in this episode, and people's reactions to gay marriage. Bree is surprisingly tolerant, however is shocked by the fact that her gay son is engaged to her doctor who once starred in a gay porno. Bree is very old-fashioned, and the fact that even she accepted her son, shows that people today are more accepting of homosexuality, and this is represented by Bree.

Lipstick Jungle synopsis of final episode

So the last episode of series 2 was shown (and possibly the last ever).. so sad...

Wendy, film producer, makes a bid on a great new project while dealing with her headstrong teenage daughter Maddie while her husband Shane is on a 3 month music tour with Natasha Beddingfield. Nico, editor-in-chief of "Bonfire" magazine, lands a guest spot on the The Today Show only to have it wreak havoc on her personal life. Meanwhile, Victory, fashion designer, tries to get her parents and Joe, her fiancee, to get along. Nico's ex, Kirby, said he wants to get back with her and he'll do whatever it takes, but she's recently been seeing her boss, Griffin. It's all very emotional and sad and aww..

Really really hope NBC do the smart thing and make a 3rd series. I would definitely watch it.

New chosen TV drama

I've now had to choose another TV drama, so I decided to do Desperate Housewives because I love it and it is coming back on TV tomorrow!


In the near future I'm going to be analysing episodes for the following things:

• Representation
• Sound/Music
• Camera Work - movement/ shot types
• Costume
• Lighting
• Body Language
• Location
• Hair and Make-up
  
• Degree of Realism
  
• Narrative
  

What is it about?

Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young. It's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated POV. Her husband's acting suspicious, the neighbors are talking, and her girlfriends are wondering why one of their own would do something so rash… and so messy. From her unique vantage point, Mary Alice sees more now than she ever did alive and she's planning to share all the delicious secrets that hide behind every neighbor's closed door in this seemingly perfect American suburb. In the end of the episode, the girls find a threatening note written to Mary Alice, while a ghost of Mary Alice is standing in her yard looking at them.

Mary Alice narrates each episode, opening and closing each episode with some kind of message/moral/observation.

These are the main characters:

Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher)

Karl Mayer - first husband. Divorced now.

Mike Delfino - second husband. Divorced now.

Julie Mayer - daughter (20s). Daughter of Karl.

Jackson Braddock - boyfriend.

Maynard "MJ" Delfino - son (6yrs?). Son of Mike.

Currently living at 4353 Wisteria Lane, Fairview, Eagle State, with Jackson and MJ. Susan's occupation is a teacher's assitant at her son's school and a former children's book illustrator. She is a huge klutz (clumsy).

Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman)

Tom Scavo - husband.

Preston & Porter Scavo - eldest twin sons, currently 18ish

Parker Scavo - younger son, currently 14ish

Penny Lynne Scavo - daughter, currently 10ish

Kayla Huntington-Scavo - Tom's daughter from another woman, who has been sent away, so is no longer living with Lynette.

Currently living at 4355 Wisteria Lane, Fairview, Eagle State, with her family (not Kayla). Lynette used to work in advertising, but now co-owns a pizzeria with her husband. She is a bit of a ball-breaker.

Bree Hodge (Marcia Cross)

Orson Hodge - second and current husband.

Rex Van de Kamp - first husband, died of a heart attack a few seasons ago.

Andrew Van de Kamp - son, gay, 25ish.

Danielle Katz - daugher, married to Jewish lawyer Leo Katz.

Benjamin Tyson Katz - grandson, but she was posing as his mother to save face because Danielle was only a teenager.

Bree lives at 4354 Wisteria Lane, Fairview, Eagle State, with Orson. She is a famous chef. She is recognized for her perfectionist attitude and work ethic, which at times borders on neurosis and obsessive compulsion.

Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria Parker)

Carlos Solis - first and third husband.

Victor Lang - second husband. Politician. Killed by Carlos in self-defence.

Juanita Solis - eldest daugher. 7ish.

Celia Solis - youngest daughter. 4ish.

Gabrielle lives at 4349 Wisteria Lane, Fairview, Eagle State, with her husband Carlos and their two children. She has always been the shallow, money-grabbing, model who had affairs. She got back together with her first husband (cheated on her second husband with him) and now she is a mother and Carlos was blind for 5 years, so she's shed all her expensive clothes and is a full-time mother and wife who made many sacrifices. Her character has deepened, and her and Carlos really love each other.

Edie Britt (Nicolette Sheridan)

Dave Williams - current husband.

Edie lives at 4362 Wisteria Lane, Fairview, Eagle State with Dave. Edie is a realtor and is a serial divorcée who has had many relationships throughout the show's duration, most notably with Karl Mayer Mike Delfino and Carlos Solis, the ex-husbands of lead characters Susan Mayer and Gabrielle Solis respectively.

Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany)

Adam Mayfair - ex-husband.

Dylan Mayfair/Davis - daughter, accidentally killed, so adopted another child as Dylan. Married to Bradley with a baby.

Katherine lives at 4356 Wisteria Lane, Fairview, Eagle State, alone for now, but plans to move in with Mike Delfino. She has a very sarcastic personality but frequently gets serious. She is also very secretive. After her secret is revealed (about accidentally killing and replacing her daughter), she is much more calm and relaxed.

Those are the MAIN characters and their immediate family. There's LOADS, but 5 main women, with Katherine kind of making her way into the main group.

End of Lipstick Jungle...

Bye Lipstick Jungle! :-(

Read My Lips...

Oh no!

On Friday I was snowed in, and so I thought I'd catch up on Lipstick Jungle so that I could watch it on TV. So I watched 5 episodes and they were all brilliant. And it seemed like there were loads still. So then I watched it yesterday on TV and they said next week is the season finale! :(

So I guess I'll have to watch earlier ones..

Also, I heard rumours that NBC wanted to cancel it, so I signed an on-line petition (along with 26,000 other loyal fans) to make sure it isn't cancelled.

Lipstick Jungle - what is it about?

Based on the best-selling book by Candace Bushnell ("Sex and the City"), this sexy drama follows three high-powered friends as they weather the ups and downs of lives lived at the top of their game.

Movie exec Wendy (Brooke Shields, "Suddenly Susan") does everything she can to balance career and family. Nico (Kim Raver, "24"), editor-in-chief of a hot fashion magazine, has her eye on becoming CEO. And free-spirited designer Victory (Lindsay Price, "Beverly Hills, 90210") longs to make her dreams come true -- and maybe find "Mr. Right" along the way.

Armed with humor and strength, these three modern New York women support one another through the triumphs and tears that are all part of making it big in the Big Apple. Also starring are Andrew McCarthy ("Joy Luck Club"), David Noroña ("Frasier") Paul Blackthorne ("Big Shots") and Robert Buckley ("Fashion House")

The series is executive produced by Oliver Goldstick ("Ugly Betty"), Timothy Busfield ("The West Wing") and Bushnell. Based on the book by Bushnell, "Lipstick Jungle" is from Universal Media Studios.

It is currently showing in England on Living TV at 10pm on Mondays, and NBC in America.

The tag line at the end of the opening sequence and at either side of the advert breaks is "Read My Lips".

Hovis ad

At 122 seconds, it is one of the longest adverts ever shown.

Advertising the little brown Hovis loaf, which was first sold 122 years ago, it follows a 13-year-old boy through 12 decades of British history.

1. In the bread shop

• The baker says "here we go lad"
• bread wrapped in brown paper bag with string
• Boy about 13 years old, caucasian, blonde/brown hair
• boy wearing a cloth cap with old brown clothing with a jumper and a shirt underneath his coat -represents working class, late 1800s/early 1900s
• baker all in white (hat and coat) which is traditional
• old man in morning suit
  

2. The Cart

• sound of horse neighing - then you see the horse and carriage - also showing the time period: obviously before cars were invented (19th century)
• guy in the cart yells at him
• women looks shocked as he runs past her-wearing a white pinafore and a bonnet
• Man wearing a top hat - tells the time period - upper middle class
• Tracking shot
• boy running through the street of a city-city, working class
• runs through the gate with a chain on and loses his cap.
• his shirt and costume has changed slightly showing the change in time
• we then see a poster for the titanic and can assume it is early 20th century (1912)
  

3. Womens March

• Boy leans on wall and we see his costume has changed slightly again-his brown jacket now has lapels
• we can see a woman dressed in a long blue skirt with a hat on fighting with a gurd (or police officer). Another man is standing in a tall tpo hate and smart attire
• There are placards with 'Votes for Women' showing this is 'the Suffragettes'-this shows the time which is approximately 1913
• We can hear screams from the women
• man with moustache
• LOADS of women marching with banners and placards
• The boy runs through the people watching the march

4. Soldiers

• All together with guns and old fashioned uniforms-WW1
• Boy looks up at the soldier aspirationally and proudly
• Soldier looks young-sending out young people to war
• Young girls with hats on with ribbons'
• Boy sits on the wall-his costume has changed very little as the time period has not really changed
• He salutes the soldiers showing respect

5. Street with car

• Boy jumps off the wall
• runs past 3 people standing by a car
• The car appears to be slightly more modern-indicating the time has prodressed through to the 20s.
• We can also see this by the clothing-bowler hats and camel coats.
• Dog chases him.
• The boy runs down an alleyway and kicks a can down not knowing where it will go

6. War-bombs, plane etc...

• He follows the can out into the mayhem
• There are bombed buildings surrounding him and ikd furniture in the street-he looks very shocked and worried
• We see people evacuated from there housees carrying there worldly possessions-including portraits of family members
• Little boy looks sad.
• Clothing is simple and in dull colours as it is during the war; rationing.
• Speech of Winston Churchill through the radio 'We shallnever surrender'-encouraging and determined.
• Boy stands on top of a mountain of debris
• Plane passes by-shows it is the second world war as planes were used.

7. Street Party

• Everyone happy and cheery
• People wearing hats and paper crowns
• A boy wearing a pirate costume-shows how joyful everyone is. He waves at the other boy. This shows a great sense of the community coming together to celebrate the Queens coronation

8. Girls/Football players

• One girl is wearing a short yellow dress and red boots, and the other is wearing a white top and a brown mini-skirt - indicating that it is the 1960s. Also their hair is typical of the 1960s. The boy is wearing a brown leather jacket and a t-shirt underneath it, showing the fashion has moved on to the 1960s.
• The bread is still wrapped in brown paper.
• There is no dialogue between the boy and the girls, but he eyes them up in a cheeky way, suggesting he likes them.
• The boy runs past a car with British flags and you can hear men cheering "Champions!". This suggests that it is 1966 when England won the World Cup. The flags show their patriotism.
• The car is petrol blue and is a classic car of the 60s.
• The houses are fairly small and terraced, which suggests a working-class area, and one house has a massive flag of Great Britain hanging outside it's window.

9. Street with Asians and TV Shop

• The boy is now wearing an open-collared square-patterned shirt and a sweater-vest with diagonal orange, blue and green stripes. This shows he is now in the 70s.
• An Asian couple walks past showing England has started to become more multi-cultural. The woman is wearing a long floral-patterned dress, and the man is wearing a beige corduroy jacket, showing it is the 70s.
• They walk past a TV shop, indicating that technology is becoming more advanced and that the time has moved on.

10. Coal not Dole strike/protest

• Miners chanting "Coal not dole" because they don't want the mines to be shut down as they would then have to go on the dole.
• Police have riot-shields, suggesting it was 1984-5 as it was the miner's strike.
• The boy has run in-between the two sides, and one man says to him "Eh lad, is it past your bed-time?" which shows that the nights were a bit dangerous for young people
• The boy's jacket is now a brown bomber jacket, still indicating it is the 80s, and he is wearing a bright blue t-shirt.
• The boy runs across a field of wheat, connoting to the bread which he is delivering to his house.

11. Fireworks

• Now it is night-time and the millenium (fireworks).
• It is a tracking shot showing him running home past a river (perhaps the River Thames)
• He jumps over a bench that is in his way, suggesting that people were overcoming the obstacles of the 90s to reach the new millennium.

12. Home

• Suddenly it is day again, and there are two teenage boys leaning against a car with a football at their feet.
• The boy is now wearing a brown hoodie, showing fashion in the 2000s.
• The boy comes home through the back door and sits down at the kitchen table with the loaf of bread which is wrapped in a brown plastic bag saying "Hovis".
• His mum says "Is that you home love?". She has a slight northern accent, suggesting they live up north, and not in London.
• He says "yeah" and smiles to himself in a way that tells the audience he is thinking that his mum has no idea what it took to get Hovis bread home.
• The bread is then on a bread-board, some of it sliced, and a hand grabs a slice - presumably the boy's.
• The loaf is then shown on a pinkish white background with the tag-line "As good today as it's always been"

13. Sound throughout the sequence

• There is chattering when there are people in the scene, and you can hear footsteps from the boy running
• There is some dialogue, onscreen, offscreen and from the radio (Churchill giving encouragement)
• You can here the sound of a plane, cars, cheering, chanting, a horse neighing
• The music is quite quick-paced, and climaxes after dialogues ("Eh lad, is it past your bedtime?") when the boy is running.
• At the end, the music calms down, and finishes with gentle piano.
• The music is mostly in a major key, showing hopefulness.
• The music starts with just piano, then includes violins.

14. Narrative/Story development through whole advert

• The advert starts in 1886 and spans over 122 years - to 2008. The boy gets the bread from the baker, and runs home, through all the time that Hovis has been around. It shows what Hovis has survived through, and how it is the same quality as it's always been (tag line).

What is TV Drama?

TV drama is scripted and usually fictional. It can include sports, news, reality and game shows, stand-up comedy and variety shows, but doesn't usually refer to sit-coms or soaps. Most TV drama's are on-going story-lines around a few main characters, however sometimes they can be one-offs, or made-for-TV movies. They are usually an hour long, split into four segments with advert breaks, except for BBC in which they run for about 57 minutes continuously.

TV Dramas tell stories about conflict and emotion through action and dialogue. When you think about the word drama you automatically think that something bad is going to happen. But sometimes drama can be happy because it can show happy emotions

Drama originally started in plays in the Renaissance by one of the worlds greatest playwrights William Shakespeare. From Hamlet to Romeo and Juliet, all of Shakespeare’s shows were full of drama and excitement.

It is one of the oldest genres of TV shows in television. From Simon on "Seventh Heaven" to Buffy on "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer", dramas have a very wide range of characters. Drama television shows started in the 1940’s and they were a huge hit. The longest running drama TV show was a soap opera called "Guiding Light". It first aired on June 30, 1952 and it is currently aired each weekday. Drama shows could be about family, animals, school and so much more. Also, dramas can be for viewers of all ages. 

So why waste your time on drama television shows? You can entertain yourself by watching this great genre of TV shows. Drama shows are addictive. If it is a drama series, then you are most likely to be left in suspense at the end of every episode because they end with very emotional/exhilarating/thrilling endings. 

And the winner is.....

It's been a tough decision about which TV drama to choose. I narrowed it down to Gossip Girl and Lipstick Jungle, and I just watched episodes on each.
My decision is..........

Lipstick Jungle!

I'll still be watching Gossip Girl, but I think Lipstick Jungle will be more interesting to look at in-depth because the characters are older and more complex.

Love them both though!

HELLO

Welcome to my TV drama blog.
I LOVE TV.
Hope you enjoy my blog!
xxx