It’s 10 p.m. in 2012 on a calm Sunday evening. Alissa is underneath her mother’s quilt, “sleeping” while her mother watches the latest season of “Desperate Housewives” on her bedroom box TV. As a rebellious 9-year old who was so enthralled by the Wisteria Lane drama condensed into a 45-minute episode, Alissa just couldn’t shut her eyes. Until her mother looked over to discover her peering eyes behind the comforter, Alissa would watch the fictional neighborhood unravel.
That attempt to emulate the iconic narrator in the show, Mary Alice, demonstrates the TV show’s resonance in my life. After ten years, the memories of pretending to sleep and getting caught by my mom as she lay next to me while watching “Desperate Housewives” flood back to me. Only this time, new memories are being made alongside my roommates and friends.
“Desperate Housewives” follows the lives of four housewives: clumsy single mother, Susan Mayer, iron-fisted mother of four, Lynette Scavo, fire-headed conservative Bree Van de Kamp and ex-model seductress Gabrielle Solis. The housewives live on the stereotypically suburban Wisteria Lane. To the neighborhood, the housewives appear normal and squeaky clean, but behind closed doors, each housewife is battling a grisly conflict.
From house fires, kidnappings, love affairs and freak accidents, the housewives confront some of life’s ugliest dilemmas. While the show can come off as cheesy and dramatized (and admittedly it is), its portrayal of life and its messiness is unironically spot on. Together, the housewives investigate a mystery that struck Wisteria Lane all while wrestling with struggles of their own. By supporting each other through the dark times, their relationship transforms from distant neighbors into true friends.
For my roommates and I, this show has occupied our nights with warm bags of movie theater buttered popcorn and midnight conversations post-episode, proposing creative theories. After a long day of classes and homework, it serves as a breath of fresh air.
It’s strange that this silly show has resurfaced in my life. It’s even stranger that I have actually taken something out of the complete chaos that transpires throughout the show. However, I wouldn’t trade it for the world because of the precious time spent with my roommates and friends.
Now that the show is a little more age appropriate, I can somewhat understand its take on life. I feel like my life has accumulated its fair share of wild moments much like the housewives on Wisteria Lane. With life’s unpredictability, perhaps we can all imagine ourselves as main characters in “Desperate Housewives.” Regardless, I’m delighted to continue this journey with my “desperate roommates.” Here’s to more nights in our shared suite mesmerized by housewife drama!
