A few words of respect

There are times when you have a whole lot to say, but you don't know how to say it, and you find that someone else has said it perfectly for you.

I have spoken about my soft spot for the TV show Desperate Housewives before here, but the eight-season series finished with me today, and I just wanted to mark the occasion with a post.
The below is a summary and goodbye from mallamun's tumblr post I came across here.
This can't possibly say everything I've ever thought over the eight years of watching this show, or explain how much it has been able to teach someone who is growing from a 13-year-old know-it-all, to a 21-year-old that realises she still has much to learn...
But it still does pretty well in summing up what a great show DH is. :)

mallamun:

Just finished watching the series finale of Desperate Housewives.
I know it’s really corny, but I got hooked on the show when I was in a very dark place, and its overly simplistic, emotive, ultimately heartwarming dramas helped my heart. Felicity Huffman and Doug Savant are such breathtakingly talented actors, and their characters’ arc brought a gravity to the show that seems almost out of place, but I’m so happy with what the writers did with it. I think real-life people in similar situations can draw a lot from their story.

The show is completely worth watching JUST to see the once-in-a-lifetime chemistry between these two actors. Seriously.

(I mean, LOOK at him. He’s acting SO much with just his eyes, here.)  

Then there’s Bree.

Don’t even get me started. I don’t know how they managed to theme an entire character on something like this and make them so sympathetic. A right-wing conservative woman struggling with the hypocrisy that arises from the friction created between her irrational principles and her human nature? Devout NRA member who makes the world’s greatest scones? You never thought you’d say, “Yes, please!” They took this character through every possible scandal a right-wing conservative might fear—from the gay son to the kinky husband—and illuminated Bree’s humanity through it all in a way that was clever, funny, and thoughtful.

Somehow, they managed to show that it’s possible to become a wiser human being while still, er, sticking to your guns.

(And I’ve godda say, the bedroom scene between her and Orson remains the funniest moment I have ever witnessed on television. “Well, I’m a libertarian!”)

And then there’s the mature teenage daughter, trying to raise her extremely silly mother… Struck a cord or two, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this particular dynamic addressed so well. Julie is so believable, which is what tends to be missing from these “daughter raising mother” plots, and Susan’s particular brand of cluelessness is one I think many people can recognize in their own mothers.

The show is offensive, reductive, and oftentimes downright bad, but that’s the nature of a good soap. In-between all the madness, it manages to capture some truly profound glimpses into human nature, and it certainly manages to bypass the brain and go straight for the gut. Maybe it’s able to do these things because it doesn’t have to be apologetic. It can “go there” with whatever topic it likes, because, well, the title of the show is Desperate Housewives.

And “go there” it has.

What’s more, it just gets better and better with time, and goes out on its strongest note yet. How many 8-season-long shows can say that?

Brenda Strong, it’s been a pleasure listening to you say “Yes” for the past few years. It must be nice, being able to pay your rent with a weekly 30-second audio clip!

Thank you, girls. You’ll always be playing poker in my mind!

I hope you have also had the pleasure of watching it all, or a few episodes here and there - and if not, you know what to pick up next time at the video store!

xZ