Just to set the record straight...
I pee standing up.
My favorite diet is steaks, scotch and cigarettes.
I never ask for directions while driving.
I prefer Mailer over Vidal, Connery over Brosnan, and the Stones over the BeeGees.
I've never worn bikini briefs, tie-dyed shirts or the color pink. EVER!
I bring all this up because last Sunday night during a commercial break in the Red Sox/Yankees game, I was flipping channels on TV. and, before I could stop myself, I actually heard the following words come out of my mouth, "Honey! Come quick! 'Desperate Housewives' is on TV!"
Holy Shit!!! Did I really just say that? The words came out of my mouth in slow-motion and I could hardly believe myself. Has fatherhood turned me into the long-lost member of the Fab 5?
Now, I've never been much of a TV guy. I find about 99% to be sheer crap and I'd usually rather spend my time catching up on some reading. I did have a long infatuation with "The X-Files" and "Law & Order." And I truly love "The West Wing" and "Da Ali G Show." But I generally always abhorred the Aaron Spelling zeitgeist drivel, the reality-show tsunami and the generic Dumb-Fat-Guy-With-A-Hot Wife sitcoms.
But there's something about "Desperate Housewives" that's gotten under my skin. It's like a previously undiscovered secret pleasure that I truly enjoy. I can't quite put my finger on what it is. The writing is definitely clever (or at least clever enough to keep me interested.) The female leads are certainly attractive (I've always loved Felicity Huffman).
But I think the main reasons that I like the show are because...
1. The American Family Association hates it so it must be good. They're the anachronistic organization that believes we should all live like the Cleavers. It must be nice to have an organization where all its member families have a husband who goes to work, a mother who stays at home, and 2.3 children. Seems as though the realities of divorce, single-parenthood, family counseling, child-care issues and financial struggles have passed them by.
2. Being a life-long Manhattanite and ardent supporter of the urban lifestyle, the show reinforces my unfounded suspicions about suburbia. I know suburbia isn't REALLY like that (is it?). But I've always believed that some truly evil and deviant behavior existed behind the Stepford veneer of most suburban households. Whenever I drive through a beautiful suburb, I never think "Oh. This would be a lovely place to raise the kids." I'm more often consumed with images from "The Ice Storm" or "Blue Velvet." I have visions of unrequited soccer moms, living lives of quiet desperation. Or fathers, waking up one day in their 50's only to run off with their secretaries.
Anyway, I'll have more to say on the meaning of "Desparate Housewives" in another post. But just to set the record straight, I checked the Nielsen ratings for last Sunday night. So I know I wasn't the only person who pees standing up to watch the show!
Which desperate housewife are you? Go to http://quizilla.com/users/gerigrrl/quizzes/
Don't tell the guys but....I'm Susan.
