Perhaps it was too much to hope that the second season of Housewives would get off to the same kind of explosive start as the first. But we do expect the series to do more than just mark time. [10 Oct 2005]

We're now three episodes into the second season of "Housewives," and the show still doesn't seem to have any traction. ... What's wrong so far this season, for the most part, has been the tone. [11 Oct 2005]

The show has lost focus and flavor, delivering nothing but — sigh — leftovers. What's changed? Not much — and that's the problem. With a large, adoring fan base and powerhouse ratings, it may have seemed wise not to mess with what was working. But relying on formula has done nothing but let the show grow stale.

I don't know what's worse about Desperate Housewives: its contempt for women, its shrill sense of humor, the incessant tinkle of its Elfman-esque score, or its lame attempts at making its Backlot, Hollywood aesthetic seem as if it exists in the real world.

'Desperate Housewives' is the worst show on the broadcast networks. ... The show is adrift in silly contrivances (as opposed to inventive situations), painful dialogue and obvious wheel-spinning. The solution to ending or spicing up any boring story line is just to inject some over-the-top melodrama or at the very least, have various characters in floods of tears or running about screeching. Or, failing all that, have Teri Hatcher fall down.