‘Desperate’ Measures

Season 5 of “Desperate Housewives” succeeds in making the “five years later” jump interesting with previously unseen arcs (Gabby has children; Lynette deals with Tom’s mid-life crisis and the teen twins’ troubles; Bree becomes a successful cookbook author, etc.). But there are still boring storylines (Susan’s romantic woes again; Carlos and Gabby’s financial troubles again, etc.), which you tend to tune out. Guest appearances by Frances Conroy, Beau Bridges, and Lily Tomlin help keep things interesting. The revenge scheme of David Williams/Dash is nicely executed initially, but it ends predictably and with a whimper. The same can be said of the main characters’ arcs; by the season’s end, they encounter problems that they’ve faced before. Still, the good points overpower the dull. The deaths of two characters (one established and another retconned into the housewives’ histories) are moving, and most of the characters have grown significantly.