AllMovie

The reasons for suburban housewife Mary Alice Young's suicide -- in the middle of her immaculate living room -- is but one of the many puzzles posed in the opening episode of Desperate Housewives. From the afterlife, Mary Alice (Brenda Strong) narrates with amusement and bemusement the continuing activities of her best friends -- and her best friend's secrets. Of particular interest to Mary Alice (and to the viewer) is the strange nocturnal behavior of her far-from-bereaved husband, Paul (Mark Moses), not to mention the disintegrating marriage of the neighborhood's resident control freak Bree Van De Camp (Marcia Cross), and the difficulties facing Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), who is still struggling to come to terms with her decision to give up her career and devote her full time to her children and husband (Doug Savant). And can it be that Mrs. Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook) knows more about the recent indiscretions of divorcée Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher) than she's letting on?