There's nothing like kicking off the new week with some good old fashioned TV-drama, and there's only one place I look for that on Sunday nights - ABC! ABC's Sunday night line-up is like a 3-course meal. As an appetizer, you get "Extreme Makeover Home Edition". Then for an entrée you can enjoy a decent sized serving of soapy drama with "Desperate Housewives" and top it all off with "Grey's Anatomy" for dessert.
Normally I wouldn't be so eager to write about "Desperate Housewives". I was very much on the 'this-show-has-gone-downhill-since-season-1' bandwagon up until last night. FINALLY the writers got their stuff together and returned some of the flavor to the show! We have the Solis' trying to impregnate their maid, Edie committing arson, Lynnette finding out her husband might have committed adultery (and NOT calling him out on it. yet) and of course, Bree finally giving her son what he's deserved for a while now - the boot!
Perhaps all the writers of "Desperate Housewives" needed was a bit of on-set drama among the producers to get that spark back in the show. Or maybe they realized viewers love to see houses burn to the ground on Wisteria Lane. Either way, the fire's back and now I'm able to do a top-5 best ABC Sunday night moments (Vol. I):
5. Extreme Makeover 0 Hindu man is overwhelmed by generosity - I think the response of the family is really what makes the show great and the most recent episode of "Extreme Makeover" delivered the goods. I teared up when the man of the house hugged the contractors after they presented him with a check for $20k in addition to the beautiful house they built for him and his family. Shock and overwhelmed awe, topped with tears and hugs is the perfect ending to a good "Extreme Makeover" episode.
4. Grey's Anatomy - Did George's girlfriend, Callie wash her hands? - So Callie spends the night with George and, under the impression that the house was empty, wanders into the bathroom topless only to find Meredith and Izzy in there getting ready. Rather than excusing herself, she proceeds to urinate in front of them, flush and walk out, leaving Izzy and Meredith speechless (until the door is closed and then they giggle over the fact that she didn't wash her hands). This snowballs into a side-plot over whether or not Callie regularly pees and doesn't wash her hands afterwards. The girls give George a hard time over it and in true George fashion, he puts up with their taunts without much resistance. This alone wouldn't be enough to qualify as top-5 material. It was when Callie tells him that he needs to stick up for her that did it for me. It might seem like a small moment but I have a feeling that its moments like that, which will help George finally man-up a bit. I like Callie. I think she's good for George and actress Sara Ramirez is a breath of fresh air among the cast. I hope she sticks around though I'm not sure how long she'll be able to tolerate Izzy and Meredith's behavior.
3. Desperate Housewives - Edie sets fire to Susan's house. After Susan sends Edie a written confession of her brief affair with Karl, Edie responds like any angry woman would - by setting fire to Edie's house. OK fine, maybe most women wouldn't go as far as to drench another woman's house with gasoline from a watering can and then set the place ablaze, but this is Edie we're talking about. She then enjoys a glass of wine while watching the house burn from her front window as the rest of the neighborhood stands on the street in shock. I guess its safe to assume things are back to normal between Edie and Susan.
2. Grey's Anatomy - Grey's new boyfriend turns out to be damaged goods - and I say that in a good way! Just when I'd started to lose hope that Meredith will ever find a normal, balanced relationship, her new love interest, Veterinarian Finn Dandridge played by Chris O'Donnell (just when you'd forgotten he even existed) unloads his baggage at her feet and I couldn't adore him more for it! His mother died of cancer, his wife died in a car accident and now he spends his days birthing horses and fixing sick puppies. He's Dr. McPerfect-for-Meredith! Don't mess this one up, Mere! He's a keeper (we hope)
Bonus Moment - Grey tells off Derek when he implies that she's promiscuous (most likely, he was hurt to see her at the vet's office barely dressed and assuming they'd slept together). He's got some nerve giving her a hard time after what he put her through. "You don't get to call me a whore". Rock on, Meredith! I hope she meant it when she said "its really over" because its needed to be over for a long time.
1. Desperate Housewives - Bree gracefully accepts defeat - After Andrew successfully seduces Bree's new boyfriend, Peter, in an attempt to get his mother back for freezing his trust fund and every other "horrible" thing she's done to him, Bree responds with her usual emotionless grace. Under the guise of driving him to visit a college campus, Bree stops at a gas station and tells Andrew she's ready to throw in the towel and admit defeat. She gives him some money and tells him there's a bus station about a mile back and he can go wherever he wants. A shocked Andrew attempts to claim this as a victory but its evident that he is both a little afraid and definitely surprised. Perhaps he didn't think his revenge plot through or maybe he thought she would continue the war with him in some other way but he definitely didn't see this coming. Bree drives off leaving Andrew to fend for himself.
Since Andrew's hit and run in season one (in which he hit Carlos Solis' mother with his parents care and left her for dead), it's been clear that Andrew had some problems. His lack of remorse over the situation clearly scared Bree and no matter what she tried, she just couldn't reach him. I don't think I'm alone in saying that its about time she cut him loose. Perhaps some time out in the real world without the shelter of a safe suburban home and a loving mother, Andrew will finally figure out that most of the unhappiness in his life was his own doing.
So that tops off the best moments of ABC's Sunday night programs. Appreciation, arson and abandonment. I think that pretty much sums it all up. If you're looking for comedy on a Sunday night, I'd recommend Fox but if you're hungry for a bit of Drama, ABC's the place to be!
Tell me what you thought of this Sunday night's viewing in the comments section below!
