When Desperate Housewives began airing in 2004 it captivated audiences with its wit and charm. Marc Cherry's dark satire about life in suburbia hit the ball out of the park with its first season. The show went to the Emmy's with a decent round of nominations and anticipation grew for the second season which started on September 25, 2005. Those fans eagerly waiting the show's sophomore year were sadly met with disappointment; the pop found in the first season just wasn't there right at the start.

While the season got better around the half way point, the first part was kind of drab. It's very difficult to put a finger on what went wrong. The writing was still very good, the acting was as enjoyable as ever and the atmosphere still sizzled with a certain guilty pleasure-like sensation. Most all of the characters returned as well, except the ones that kicked the bucket of course. So what was it that made the second season less enjoyable? In my opinion it was simply a season without focus for the majority of its episodes.

In the first season there was a singular plot that was stretched over the course of the 23 episodes; the mysterious circumstances surrounding the suicide of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong). It was a singular event that drew all of the main characters together for a common cause and really created a bond that translated well from screen to viewer. In the second season the plots that run through are exclusive to the characters they impact. Without a bridge to connect them the characters began to appear isolated in a manner unbefitting of what we came to expect. Because of that the sophomore season felt a tad disjointed.

If you watched the first season then you know how dramatically it ended. One of the characters had a gun pointed to their head, another died, a new neighbor moved onto Wisteria Lane, and someone was sent to jail for a long time. In the grand scheme of things you really don't get more dramatic than that, especially since everything was left as a cliff-hanger. The final episode left you on the edge of your seat and craving more. And that's exactly where things get started in the second season.

Almost immediately the dark and twisted nature of Desperate Housewives comes back into full swing. Mike Delfino (James Denton) has just returned from taking Paul Young (Mark Moses) out to the middle of nowhere to find Zach (Cody Kasch) and Susan (Teri Hatcher) in the precarious position the first season left them in. After the dust settles Susan discovers exactly what kind of relationship Mike and Zach have and that's something she can't live with. She eventually changes her tune, but that's only typical for her emotionally charged personality.

This season sees a lot of ups and downs for Susan and Mike. At one point they're discussing marriage and at another they want nothing to do with each other. I'm sad to say that whenever the two are together the drama is so forced and comical that there is very little chemistry. Susan's character becomes a gibbering goofball every time she is on screen. Sure it's cute and charming now and then, but when it is a constant part of her character she comes across looking like an emotional train wreck and entirely unstable.

With her husband Rex having just passed away it's only natural that Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross) would wait until it was acceptable to inform her friends of her new love interest. She goes through the motions of being a grieving widow and as time passes she begins to spend more time with George (the pharmacist responsible for poisoning Rex). His obsession with her only gets weirder and weirder as the season progresses, though eventually the both of them are brought in to be questioned about possibly poisoning Rex. Naturally Bree is mortified that the police would think she killed her husband, but then again she doesn't know how dark George's soul really is.

Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) has gone back to work and her husband Tom (Doug Savant) has made the sacrifice to stay home with their kids. To say that Lynette isn't exactly pleased with her new job would be an understatement. Her boss is a real beast about everything and the owner has the attention span of a poodle. But overall things go well for the couple until something from Tom's past comes up just a little beyond the halfway point of the season.

With Carlos Solis (Ricardo Chavira) in jail, Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) is trying desperately to get him out. Dealing with the aftermath of her infidelity and pregnancy she does whatever is necessary to get her man back. She begins to imagine life as a mother and realizes that there are more important things in life than chasing after 18 year old gardeners. Seeing their banter while Carlos is incarcerated was easily one of the biggest joys of this season.

Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) is just plain old Edie in this season. She goes out of her way to harass Susan and is still the voice of reason for Wisteria Lane. While the other ladies keep their thoughts to themselves she's the first to lay it all out in the open. I've always enjoyed that about her character though she seems much more confrontational this time around.

Alfre Woodard joins the cast this season and plays a mysterious woman with a secret she tries to hide from everyone. As Betty Applewhite she tries to fit into the neighborhood but winds up sticking out like a sore thumb. She keeps everyone at arms length and sadly that includes the audience. Woodard gives a good performance as Applewhite but the character's "secret" wasn't all that fascinating. She's definitely a good villain to add to this already busy show, but somehow I feel the character could have been better.

As these stories worked themselves out and the season got more into its run things became better all around. It was almost as if feedback about the show made a difference and at one point it was almost like someone hit a switch. The second year went from being mediocre or decent to nearly meeting all of the expectations I came into the season with. The lack of a big mystery to tie everything together still made the episodes here feel like they were lacking something, but overall I was pleased.

In the end the second season of Desperate Housewives just feels a little too surreal for its own good. The chemistry that the first season had was replaced by a sense that the writers lost their sense of direction. Thankfully that was remedied part way through, though it still leaves the season feeling a tad uneven compared to the first. If you enjoyed the original season you'll still have a good time with this one; just not as much. I was beginning to get worried as I made it to the third disc that the entire season was going to fizzle. Fortunately it didn't, but let's just hope that the writers learned from their mistakes and come back with an all around stronger third season.

Once again Desperate Housewives receives a fantastic looking 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Somehow the show doesn't look quite as good as it does during broadcast but that's the difference between HD and non-HD. Overall the image is very impressive with a vibrant color palette and clear picture quality. There were a few points where I noticed some grain in the video and a couple more where edge enhancement crept in. The image also remained moderately sharp from start to finish though there were a few scenes that seemed softer than others. At the end of the day Wisteria Lane is still nearly as beautiful as ever.

Also back for Desperate Housewives in the presentation department is a slick 5.1 surround English track. Because the show is a dialogue based drama with little action the rear channels only kick in with ambient noise or music. Otherwise there is a good degree of directionality to the audio but certainly nothing that will rock your bass. Just like the first season of the show, the second comes to life with a soundtrack that adds to its surreal nature. Optional English subtitles are included on this release as well.

The first season of Desperate Housewives was presented on DVD with great care. Supplemental material was packed onto each disc and consisted of documentaries, featurettes, and commentaries. Fans and newcomers alike were treated well with the material though if you had never seen the show before the arrangement of bonus features meant that you'd be hit with some major spoilers early on if you watched the extras on the first disc. Luckily the second season took the displaced content and packed it all onto the sixth disc in the set.

Compared to the first season, the second DVD release is rather on the light side. For starters there are some trailers for other DVDs, a commercial for the second season that summarized the entire first season into the span of a minute, and the Desperate Housewives video game. Marc Cherry sits down with his mom to discuss his childhood and the inspirations he found for the show. This was a cute little feature and gave a more personal look at the series than we usually see this day and age.

On the meatier side of things there is a look behind the scenes at the writing and directing process. The feature clocks in at over sixteen minutes and consists of a lot of fluff material but there is some decent information provided. Some commentary from the actors and parts of the crew also help to round out the feature. I got a kick out of "Desperate Role Models". In that extra different housewives from over the decades of television chime in on each of the ladies from the show and talk about what they think of the characters. There are a few good laughs but most of those are derived from the clips provided from the show.

Marc Cherry picks out a few of his favorite scenes from this season and gives commentary for them. Sadly this is the only commentary that you'll be getting this season unlike the previous one. Oh, and Marc, I agree, I loved the nun fight scene as well! A couple of unaired storylines appear on the sixth disc as well (one for Susan and one for Lynette) as well as eleven deleted scenes. "Fashion and Couture" is all about the fashion aspect of Desperate Housewives while "Juicy Bites" rounds things out with the actresses talking about their favorite naughty bits from the season.

The isolated feel that came from each of the characters doing their own thing with no interaction just feel gave the season the feel that I was watching five different shows. I know that the first season did pretty much the same thing, but the balance between the main story and that was better. In the second season there really is no singular plot that brings every one together until a little past the mid way point. Therefore it starts out feeling a little awkward. Now, while I had my reservations at first, the second season did win me over by the end.

The DVD receives a fine presentation with video that isn't quite HD quality, but more than acceptable, and a surround mix that compliments the show. The extra features this time around were a little lighter than the first DVD release though there are still a few decent tidbits to take a look at. In the end I'm going to recommend the second season of Desperate Housewives, but not as highly as I did the first season.

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