Season 5 News/Spoilers

[Lane Kent]

While the UK have 7 episodes to go of Season 4, which look like they won't be shown until the Autumn. US, Canada and Ireland at the very least have finished Season 4. Many other countries are well on their way to finishing as well. So here are the first few spoilers available for Season 5.

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The big news of Season 5 is the cast clear out. Some are guarenteed to return, several others are out the door and there are still a couple with uncertainties over their heads.

The Following Information has been gathered from various sources, most notably USA Today. USA Today have ran at least two articles on the cast and Season 5. I will try and re-locate them and post them in this thread along with any other Season 5 spoilers as they come out.

Those Definately Returning For Season 5
Teri Hatcher (Susan)
Felicity Huffman (Lynette)
Marcia Cross (Bree)
Eva Longoria Parker (Gaby)
Brenda Strong (Mary Alice Young)
Dana Delany (Katherine)
Doug Savant (Tom Scavo)
Shawn Pyfrom (Andrew Van de Kamp)
Kyle MacLachlan (Orson Hodge)
Gale Harold (as yet un-named re-occuring character)
Yet to be cast actor (Preston Scavo)
Yet to be cast actor (Porter Scavo)

Expected To Return but unconfirmed
Ricardo Antonio Chavira (Carlos Solis).He did not feature in the Season 5 setup at the end of Season 4, however there have been no reports suggesting he is leaving, but there have been reports suggesting he is staying

The characters of Parker Scavo and Penny Scavo, but they will be re-cast.

Fates uncertain

Nicollette Sheridan (Edie).There has been much speculation for months now that Edie's time on Wisteria Lane was coming to an end. Indeed she was disowned by all the housewives in episode 15 of the 17 episodes of season 4 and was not featured in the 2 hour season finale at all. Nicollette has repeatedly denied that she is leaving. Marc Cherry and the other producers of DH remained tight lipped, although Cherry did hint that Edie would go too far and have to leave. Finally an ABC exec let slip at the ABC Upfronts in Mid May that he expected Edie to be causing mayhem next season. Cherry has more recently said that Edie will be back on Wisteria Lane in "a few years time." Based on the Season 4 finale, you can make up your own mind what that means? It is thought that if Edie does return to Wisteria Lane her role will be much reduced.

James Denton (Mike Delfino). Due to the finale of Season 4, his fate is very uncertain. The actor himself has confirmed that he won't know until Mid June. Meanwhile he has told his agents to look for work for him and has said he is considering all offers. Even if Mike Delfino was to return to Season 5, it is likely that it could be in a reduced capacity. However part of Season 5's mystery could be taken up in asking the question "what happened to Mike?" The writers will somehow have to explain one way or another why Susan is in the situation she is in at the end of Season 4 and where Mike vanished to? It is worth noting that there has been a major backlash in the states, to the suggestion that Mike may not feature in Season 5, so who knows if that will influence the writers' hands

Actors Not Returning in Season 5
Joy Lauren (Danielle Van De Kamp). The actress Joy Lauren is off to Columbia University, so will not be returning to the series.

Andrea Bowen (Julie Mayer).There were much tears on the set when it was revealed that Andrea had been axed and Julie would not feature at all in Season 5. It is even rumoured that Teri Hatcher begged producers to save her screen daughter. Even though Julie won't be in Season 5, Marc Cherry has apparently told Andrea that he hopes to bring Julie back at some point in the future

Lyndsey Fonseca (Dylan Mayfair).Lyndsey has already got work lined up for a TV pilot

Nathan Fillion (Adam Mayfair). Nathan is starring in a new TV pilot for ABC.

Rachel Fox (Kayla Huntington/Scavo).Kayla may return but Rachel Fox won't be. Rachel has a lot of projects going on right now including launching a music career.

Zane Huett (Parker Scavo).Role to be re-cast, but Zane may appear in flashbacks.

Brent and Shane Kinsman (Porter and Preston Scavo). Roles to be re-cast, but the twins may appear in flashbacks. Brent and Shane meanwhile have been guesting on other shows and are looking to Disney and Nickelodeon for future work.

Darien and Kerstin Pinkerton (Penny Scavo).Role to be re-cast.

[Lane Kent]

www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2008-05-18-desperate-housewives_N.htm?csp=34

Time's really flying for the 'Housewives'
Updated 6d 15h ago

Picture of the Scavos i.usatoday.net/life/_photos/2008/05/19/housewivesx-large.jpg
They're not kids anymore: So the young actors who play Felicity Huffman and Doug Savant's children Zane Huett, Darien and Kerstin Pinkerton, Rachel Fox, and Brent and Shane Kinsman won't be back in the next season. of Desperate Housewives, which jumps ahead five years. By Danny Feld, ABC

IN THE YEAR 2013 ...

By William Keck, USA TODAY
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Where has the time gone on Wisteria Lane? It seems like only yesterday when Desperate Housewives' Susan and Mike were newlyweds with a new baby boy. Gabrielle's chief concern over Carlos' blindness was he couldn't compliment her sexy outfits. And Lynette's troubled preteens had her at wits' end.

It was just yesterday. But then the final moments of Sunday's season finale jumped the ABC series ahead five years. Now, Susan's living with a mystery man (Queer as Folk's Gale Harold). Gabby, still caring for blind Carlos, has let herself go and is raising two daughters. And Lynette's kids have grown into juvenile delinquents.

Why the drastic turn? Series creator Marc Cherry believes it offers "cleanliness."

"One of the problems I had with Season 2," the Applewhite-in-a-dungeon year, he says, "was that I had to keep going with the previous year's stuff. I learned you have to go back to square one to build up the tension again. Finally, this year I said, 'Why don't we really mix it up?' "

"I didn't believe it," says Felicity Huffman (Lynette). "I thought it was some bizarre rumor."

Dana Delany (Katherine) loved the idea. It reminds her of the 1991 series finale of her series China Beach, which jumped 20 years into the future. "It's very liberating for both the writers and actors."

"It's a great way to push the reset button," says Eva Longoria Parker (Gabby).

At a script table read, Cherry asked all but the main cast to leave the room before dropping his bomb for the finale. The result of the time shift, obviously, is that many regular cast members won't return.

Among those who might be out: James Denton, who has played Susan's love interest Mike Delfino since Day 1. At the table read, "all the heads turned to me, like, 'It's been nice knowing you,' " he says.

He won't receive official word on his fate until mid-June, but he says, "My agents are fielding offers. If anyone needs my services, they should give us a call."

Among those who for certain won't return are Joy Lauren (Bree's daughter, Danielle), who is heading off to Columbia University; Andrea Bowen (Susan's daughter, Julie); Lyndsy Fonseca (Katherine's daughter, Dylan), who has landed a new series pilot; and the child actors who have played Tom and Lynette Scavo's children since the first season.

"I'm devastated for the kids," says Doug Savant (Tom), who hopes talk of them returning for flashbacks will pan out.

"This business is hard enough on adults, much less ill-prepared children. It's heartbreaking."

But the Scavo child actors, visiting Wisteria Lane for a final goodbye, seem to be taking the news pretty well.

Ten-year-old Brent Kinsman (who plays Preston) and his twin brother, Shane (Porter), who popped up on last week's season finale of NBC's ER, are exploring Mrs. McCluskey's new house, which replaces the one destroyed in the tornado. Zane Huett (Parker), 11, jokes that the devastating tornado wiped away an entire house but not one plank off the Scavo family treehouse.

The boys are all looking forward to swimming over the summer — and setting up meetings at Disney and Nickelodeon in hopes of landing new series. All three are committed to maintaining their friendships, and Rachel Fox, 11, who terrorized Lynette as bad seed Kayla, is excited about releasing her first music video.

Teen actors will be cast over the summer to replace the boys. "How are they going to find kids who are as handsome as us?" Brent cracks. "That's impossible!"

Two of the new child actors made their debuts Sunday night. Kaila Say and Daniella Baltodano play Gabby and Carlos' daughters, Juanita and Celia.

"They are adorable," Longoria Parker says. "But I'm not excited about working with children because I'm a really fast shooter. I like to get in and get out and go home to my husband, and children tend to slow that process down. But I am excited about the comedic opportunities."

Cherry diplomatically describes Gabby's awkward daughters as "not living up to her standards of beauty, and that is a constant source of frustration in the household."

That reality, coupled with Carlos' blindness, has taken a toll on Gabby, who was seen in the finale "looking absolutely dreadful," Cherry says. "One of the things I want to get into with her character is a woman who has let herself go. But I've got to tell you, making Eva Longoria unattractive is one of the hardest things we've ever had to do."

Even giving her a drab hairdo proved challenging, Cherry says.

"Every time they did something with her hair, it just looked like a really cool hairstyle." She was given an unflattering outfit and fitted with padding.

"I've gained a little weight in five years," Longoria Parker says. "I have a bigger bra, a little belly and a big butt. (But) I will not be unglammed for long."

Assures Cherry: "By the time America starts to be uncomfortable that their Eva Longoria is not looking glamorous, she'll probably start to try to pull herself together."

Bree, now working as a Martha Stewart-like homemaker mogul, gets a severe new look: power suits and hair tightly pulled back in a bun.

"Marcia looks like a fashion model," Huffman says.

But Cross is just happy to be celebrating the demise of what she calls "The Bree flip. Gone forever — a-men!"

The new looks for all the women, Hatcher says, "are reflective of where the characters are. It will be revealed over episodes, maybe through flashbacks, what has been happening to everybody."

Cherry plans to close out the series after seven seasons and says two of the lead actresses intend to leave with him in 2011.

"I don't think (ABC) would be so foolhardy as to continue the show without Marc Cherry and two of the main actresses," he says. "I feel like it's my baby. I brought it to them, and I want to leave while the fans still care about us. I've seen too many long-running hits go on past the point where anyone cared."

In place of Housewives, Cherry plans to give the network a spinoff series titled Vicious Cheerleaders.

And he is not necessarily done time-jumping. Cherry is pondering what it would be like to set Housewives' seventh and final season in the past — when a pre-suicide Mary Alice Young was still keeping the secret of her stolen child, Mrs. Huber was still alive as the town gossip, and Bree was still married to first husband Rex.

Just where does he think he is? Lost?

www.post-gazette.com/pg/08146/884121-42.stm

What does the future hold for 'Housewives'?
Sunday, May 25, 2008
By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

-
Bob D'Amico/ABC
Fans of "Desperate Housewives" must wait to find out the fate of Mike Delfino, played by James Denton.

Although it was rumored beforehand, some viewers were no doubt surprised by the final moments last Sunday: ABC's "Desperate Housewives" jumped five years into the future. How come?

"One of the things we always talk about is that in spite of the show sometimes becoming gothic and soapy and over the top, we always try to return to the roots, the real lives of suburban women," said consulting producer Jeff Greenstein in a phone interview Monday afternoon. "We wanted to reset the predicaments of our women in ways that are real and grounded."

To that end, viewers saw Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) looking frumpy and with children, which she swore she'd never have. Lynette (Felicity Huffman) found herself dealing with the police over her troublesome teenage children. Bree (Marcia Cross) had become some sort of Martha Stewart, running a business empire with the assistance of son Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) while still married to Orson (Kyle MacLachlan). Katherine (Dana Delany), now tied in with the show's main characters after her harrowing experience, was still on the street, too. But the biggest shock was Susan (Teri Hatcher) in the loving embrace of a man (Gale Harold, "Queer as Folk") who was not her husband, Mile Delfino (James Denton).

"We wanted to shake people up," Greenstein said. "The essence of drama is surprise. We wanted to give people a lot to chew on over the summer."

When "Desperate Housewives" returns in the fall it will remain in the future, with some flashbacks to explain how the women got to the points they are at in their lives. In addition to revealing what became of Mike, Greenstein promised a new mystery, saying, "the show seems to flourish when we have our trademark combination of comedy, drama, soap and the mystery element that propels you through the season. So we're working on something new."

No word yet on whether Denton will return as a series regular. Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) wasn't shown in the future, but series creator Marc Cherry has hinted that she'll return to Wisteria Lane in a few years, which, of course, have now passed. Don't be surprised if she returns to stir up trouble.

One thing you won't see: Life in 2013.

"The show is noticeably shy on pop culture references. It almost exists in a bubble, so I don't think it will handicap us," Greenstein said.

Don't expect any of the women to be driving concept cars, either. "No one will be getting to work with a jet pack, though that has been a running joke in the writers' room."

TV editor Rob Owen can be reached at [e-mail] or 412-263-1112. Ask TV questions at post-gazette.com/tv under TV Q&A.
First published on May 25, 2008 at 12:00 am

Copyright ©1997 - 2008 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.

[eithne]

I hope Jamie Denton comes back and really doubt that he'll be axed. I am gutted that Joy Lauren, Lindsey Fonsesca and Andrea Bowen have all been axed as well and I hope that they do return in the future.

[Lane Kent]

Lots of Season 5 news now pouring in.

Allegedly the cast went back to work on the 7th July 2008.

Season 5 will have 24 episodes and will begin airing in the US on Sunday 28th September 2008.

The remaining 7 episodes of Season 4 will air in the UK from August and run straight into Season 5 without a break. Although unconfirmed, it is being said that Channel 4 and E4 will air the episodes 3-10 days behind the US, i.e. Channel 4 will be 10 days behind and E4 3 days. If this is the case I think the most likely launch date for Season 5 in the UK will be the 8th October 2008 on Channel 4. However we shall have to see. Currently channel 4 are re-showing 2 episodes a day from Season 2. If this runs into Season 3 and the 10 episodes they have already aired of Season 4, this will take them to the end of August. Ready to pick up the episodes they have missed and go nicely into Season 5.

Ireland are going to show Season 5 from January 2009.

Australia will show Season 5 from February 2009 (apparently).

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CASTING NEWS

Whether it be public opinion, cast/crew pressure or just a general change of heart on the producers part, but to the relieve of many James Denton will be back. Although this was not always certain (see article below). It is unclear in what way his character will be returning as it is definate he and Ssuan are no more. However they share custody of their son MJ so this no doubt does leave the door open for regular interaction between the characters if the story requires. Also all indications suggest that Nicollette Sheridan's role in Season 5 will be bigger than previously indicated (although it was always almost certain that she would be back in sorm form). In fact she could be tied up with some of the mystery.

As previously stated, Andrea Bowen had been told that the door would be left open for her to return in later seasons. However it is now being suggested that she might be bought back very occasinally in Season 5 (see article below).

Neal McDonough is joining the cast of Desperate Housewives as a series regular. McDonough is coming on as a new love interest for Edie! Source (amongst many):http://www.michaelausiello.com/2008/06/27/semi-exclusive-neal-mcdonough-gets-desperate-plus-random-stuff/. Indications pouring in are that he will play her husband and in the opening episode of Season 5 will try and buy back her old house on Wisteria Lane (as she has been living elsewhere for the past 5 years). Also she may have bitten off more than she can chew as he may have a history of obsessive issues with women. It is being suggested that he will be called Dave.

Gale Harold was seen in the closing seconds of season 4 kissing Teri Hatcher's character Susan. Well he will be returning in Season 5 (still some conflict on what the character will be called). He apparently will be in the series in a re-occurring capacity. It is unclear at this stage whether he and Susan are just lovers or actually married.

Some indications suggest that one of the new males may be a bigimist.

Bob and Lee will be back as occasional characters in Season 5.

CHILDREN CAST:

The Scavo children are to be series regulars.

Porter and Preston Scavo - now played by Charles and Max Carver

Parker Scavo - now played by Joshua Moore

Penny Scavo - now played by Kendall Applegate

Maynard/MJ Delfino will be a re-occuring character. I currently don't have a name for the actor but he has been cast.

No news on Benjamin Hodge.

There are now spoilers springing up everywhere for the first two episodes of Season 5, many at this stage are unconfirmed, so I will leave this update with just the following news article from E! Online.

uk.eonline.com/gossip/kristin/detail/index.jsp?uuid=407f2e4a-89fa-4d7d-9e43-1a74402a10f7#commentstart

Desperate Housewives Producers Spill Secrets on New Season
Categories: desperate housewives

Are Susan and Mike really over? Who's bringing the big mystery? And what the beejezus are they gonna do now?

These are just a few of the burning questions on the minds of Desperate Housewives fans after the fourth season finale leapt forward five years and left our jaws dangling just above the floor. But wait, what's that I hear? Oh right, it’s the sound of angels singing, because the show is back in production over on the Universal lot, and inside sources are spilling on what's going down.

Even better, those "sources" are Desperate Housewives executive producers Bob Daily and Sabrina Wind, who kindly took the time to share some exclusive details with me on the new direction of the show, what the time leap means for the fierce fivesome (yes, I said five-some) and their hot male counterparts this season.

Here is the juicy scoop you need to know:

The Show Is Truly Starting Over: "I would say from the writing standpoint that the five-year jump has been hugely energizing because it sort of wiped the slate clean," said Daily. "We keep talking about this first episode likes it’s another pilot. We’re starting over and each woman has a new drive now. Gabbi’s the mom. Susan’s the...how can I say this...Susan has interesting issues. Bree is the Martha Stewart. And Lynette is in a different place."

Neal McDonough Brings the New Mystery: Despite being banished in the latest season finale by the other four women, Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) will be moving back to Wisteria Lane at the start of season five and bringing with her a fine, steel-eyed specimen of a man: Neal McDonough (Boomtown, Tin Man). But he's hardly just a pretty face. Exec producer Sabrina Wind revealed, "Edie and Neal's character carry the new mystery with them." I'm hearing that his storyline is just plain crazy, wacky and unbalanced. In short: Just the stuff good DH stories are made of. Holler!

Susan Definitely Has a New Man, (Sorry Mike!) Regarding Gale Harold (Vanished, Queer as Folk), who plays Susan's (Teri Hatcher) new man, executive producer Bob Daily says, "He just shot his first scene today and Marc [Cherry] said it went great." Said Wind, "And it wasn't an easy scene to start with...it involved a little skin." Note: If you are offended by the notion of Harold in his Skivvies in a hot love scene, please, check your meds.

Mike Is Back: James Denton will remain a series regular, but his future was a bit dodgy for a while. Wind explained: "Because of the writers' strike, we didn’t finish last season until May 10, so we tried to give the writers as much flexibility as possible to decide what next year is going to be, and not trap them by picking up the actors contracts too early. So a lot of them really didn’t know and Jamie Denton was among them." Wind and Daily said that Andrea Bowen (Susan's daughter Julie) will be back occasionally but not as a series regular. "That's a hard thing she’s fantastic," says Daily.

Gaby Is the New Lynette: Gabrielle (Eva Longoria Parker) is now the full-time mom who is overwhelmed with the responsibilities of parenting. "I would say Gaby's life has changed the most," said Daily. Still, Wind said, "Gaby's never gonna have a crying on the soccer field moment [like Lynette] 'cause that's not who Gaby is. She could go through the same problems, but she's going to bring Gaby to it which will be the fun part."

It's a Good Thing for Bree: Bree (Marcia Cross) is "Martha Stewart right at the beginning before she became a national phenomenon," revealed Wind. And Daily added: "When you tune into the first episode, you will see she is on the verge of publishing her first cookbook. She is going from being a local celebrity to potentially being a celebrity on a bigger scale. And her son is sort of her right-hand man slash consigliore. He’s like Tom Hayden in The Godfather for her."

As for her love life: "One of the things we'll be answering in the first couple of episodes is how did Orson (Kyle MacLachlan) and Bree end up back together again," teased Daily. Well, that's easy. True love and obsessive-compulsive disorder conquers all, right?

Lynette and Tom Have a Hot Mess of Double Trouble: "Lynette’s primary drive is going from being the mother of troublemakers to potentially juvenile delinquents to potentially incarcerated." The new storyline is likely to develop a tween-girl following, thanks to the casting of the Scavos' evil twins, Max and Charlie Carver. "They really do look like young Matt Damons," Wind said.

There Will Be More Questions: "What's kind of fun," said Wind, "is that there’s not enough time in one episode to fill in the backstory of everyone’s lives in five years, so we only answer as many questions as we have time, and there will be more questions." You know what that means: You'll have to watch.

Excited about the addition of the insanely hot Neal McDonough? Delighted by Gale Harold's hotness even though it might mean bad things for Susan and Mike? Post your hopes, fears and speculation about Desperate Housewives season five in the comments.

P.S. Just remembered I'll see the cast and crew on Thursday at ABC's press day

[stix]

can't wait

[Lane Kent]

Contrary to what was previously said Joy Lauren is expected to return as Danielle in Season 5. How long she stays is not so certain but she is thought to return to Wisteria Lane in Episode 3 with her new husband and son Benjamin. Yes that is right, Ben has been with Danielle. This will explain why there has been no casting information on Benjamin. and little else sifting through about him. It would seem that sometime in the last 5 years Danielle got her act together, got married, became domesticated and reclaimed her son. As a result relations between mother and daughter are not good. Source: Zap2It's Korbi TV

MJ Delfino is played by Mason Gale Cotton

Gabrielle's older daughter, Juanita, who was briefly seen in the 4th season finale, has been recast; she will now be played by Madison Delagarza. Her younger daughter Celia will still be played by Daniella Baltodano.

www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view.bg?articleid=1110672

Desperate Housewives’ producers reveal all
By Amy Amatangelo
Sunday, August 3, 2008 - Updated 28d 0h ago


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LOS ANGELES - The executive producers of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” have only one request of viewers when the show returns Sept. 28 for a fifth season: Keep an open mind.

During lunch here, executive producers Bob Daily and Sabrina Wind discussed the controversial five-year leap forward the dramedy took in the final minutes of last season’s finale.

“The jump will seem odd in the first episode, but at the end of the episode, people will be on board with it,” Daily said. “It will not be as jarring a change as people think it might be.”

Wind added, “The jump doesn’t change the characters as who you know them to be, even if they are in different circumstances. It will be still the same great ‘Desperate Housewives’ stories. They are still funny, wicked and full of truths.”

Here’s what you can expect:

When we last saw Susan (Teri Hatcher), she walked into her home and kissed a man (Gale Harold, new to the cast this season) who was not her husband Mike (James Denton).

“Susan psychologically has gone through the biggest change,” Daily said. “She’s gone from the woman who wants the fairy-tale romance to the woman who has given up on fairy-tale romances and is now in a relationship with a guy who wants more of a relationship than she’s looking to get.”

Flashbacks will reveal why Susan is no longer with Mike. “There are tragic circumstances that bring Susan to where she is,” Wind said.

In that May flash-forward, Lynette (Felicity Huffman) learned that one of her teenage twins had been arrested - again.

All her children have been recast and the twins will be at the center of the Lynette story line, producers said.

“She’s gone from the mother with rambunctious twins to the mother of rambunctious twins on the cusp of being criminally prosecutable,” Daily said. “She’s juggling the business and marriage to a guy who is entering a little bit of a midlife crisis. We see Tom (Doug Savant) in the first episode polishing his new Mustang.”

Viewers also saw a heavier, disheveled Gabby (Eva Longoria Parker) scolding her two little girls.

“Gabby has probably the biggest change of circumstances,” both financially and socially, Daily said.

Wind added, “Gabby’s long-suffering husband Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) will still be blind and have a job that makes perfect sense for a blind guy. Carlos is a highly functioning blind person. They are now used to it.” said Wind. “This is their world now.”

Reunited with Orson (Kyle MacLachlan), Bree (Marlboro native Marcia Cross) had become a famous homemaker just like Martha Stewart. Flashbacks will explain how Orson came back into Bree’s life - a life that has her selling “the notion of the perfect housewife as her job,” Daily said.

Son Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom) is one of the few older children on Wisteria Lane to be a part of the future. “We thought it would be fun to see Andrew use his talents for good and not for evil,” Daily said. “But he sort of becomes a little bit of Bree’s hatchet man, her consigliere. It’s fun to see Bree realize, ‘Oh, I can take Andrew’s skills and use them to my advantage in the business place.’ ”

Newest neighbor Katherine (Dana Delany) listened to a voicemail from her daughter saying she was engaged.

“We felt very strongly that after all she had been through, in that finale you wanted to see a happy moment for Katherine to know that she’s OK, that the ordeal did not permanently scar her - it was a little bow on top of the package,” Daily said.

They remained vague about Katherine’s future. “She has some fun stuff coming up,” Daily said.

Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) did not appear in the finale. She had been driven out of town by her angry neighbors in the previous episode. She moves back into the cul de sac in the fifth season premiere and also is at the center of this season’s mystery.

“It’s best when the mystery is tied to our characters. Edie’s circumstances have changed greatly in the premiere,” Daily said.

Dorchester native Neal McDonough (“Boomtown,” “Tin Man”) joins the cast as Edie’s love interest. He’s also the man behind the mystery and has revenge on his mind.

“You will learn a lot about him in the first episode,” Wind said.

- [e-mail]

[Lane Kent]

Okay my apologies for not bringing you more spoilers. Truth is I'm trying to avoid them myself other than superficial uncomfirmed ones. I was disappointed that I knew the twist at the end of Season 4 so I'm determined not to let that happen in Season 5. So after this post I will not be posting for a while in this thread (although still will in the promo/schedule thread) unless I really find something out by accident. However feel free to post anything you find out.

Below is mostly confirmed spoilers, first with a roundup of character updates, then followed by sourced information. However do bear in mind that information is subject to change.

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This information is culled from a number of places, a lot of the time the information comes from more than one place however the key places are Sources: Kristin on E!Online, ABC promos, ABC Press Releases, USA Today, TV Guide, The Ausiello Files

Okay I'm going to assume if you have read this thread so far you know that Season 4 ends 5 years in the future. It is official that Season 5 continues from that point with flash backs to let us know what happened in the entwining years. Show creator Marc Cherry and others on the production team have said it was a way to re-set the characters, as some of them had wound up in a potential rutt. So by moving the show 5 years they were placed in different situations and they could start a fresh.

According to Cherry he had wanted to move the series 8 years but had changed his mind because he wasn't sure how his actresses' would feel about being made to look much older. As it happens with the exception of Gaby, Lynette and some of the men, the others don't look 5 years older and actually look better than they ever did - particularly Susan. Oh well Hollywood.

Marc Cherry has also said he hasn't ruled out sending the series back to before the events of the first season in some of the later seasons. But for now Season 5 is firmly in the future.

Julie Mayer
There was an outcry by fans and critics when it was announced that actress Andrea Bowen had been fired. Even Teri Hatcher (Susan) was reported to have gone and pleaded with prducers to reconsider. A few weeks ago in media interviews Marc Cherry confessed that they were desperately trying to find a way to bring the character of Julie back, how people on the show loved Andrea and how close she was to Teri. Well good news last week it was announced that Julie will bounce back to Wisteria Lane in episode 8 of the new season. She will be in a guest capacity so we don't know how often she will feature.

Julie is now 23, a college graduate who has fallen in love with her middle-aged former professor. Reports are suggesting Susan is happy until she discovers he is already thrice married.

Karl Mayer
Is known to be appearing in episode 2.

Danielle Van de Kamp
Actress Joy Lauren is another who has had a reprieve. She will be guest starring in at least two episodes. We first see her in episode 1 in a flash back sequence involving Benjamin. She will then be seen again in episode 3 when she arrives on Wisteria Lane now in her early 20s with her Jewish husband. It is quite apparent that there is a lot of bitterness between Bree and her daughter.

Brent and Shane Kinsman
These young actors played Porter & Preston Scavo for the first four years. They will make an appearance in a flashback sequence in episode 1 at least.

Edie Britt & Dave Williams
The last anyone on Wisteria Lane saw of Edie, was when she was banished on Mother's Day (Season 4 episode 15: Mother Said). In Desperate Housewives terms that is 5 years ago now. It would appear she didn't sell her house, but rented it out. However in the Season 5 premiere much to the shock of all, she returns and moves back into her house. Furthermore she brings her own surprise. When Lynette spreads word of her return, the women confront Edie and she declares that she has a husband now - Dave Williams - to which Susan replies "Whose!"

Outwardly Dave seems charming and able to control Edie's bitchy behaviour which causes Lynette to declare that the housewives love him. However is it Edie or Dave who wanted to live on Wisteria Lane? It soon becomes apparent to the viewer that Dave is this year's mystery. Behind the outward niceness lies a secret. By profession Dave is a motivational speaker but inside he is fulll of pent up rage and has come to Wisteria Lane with one thing in mind, revenge on a particular housewife?

The question I have is where does Edie fit into her husband's motives. Is she a pawn, is she the one he has been after or is she a willing participant?

Mrs McClusky
Mrs McClusky is 5 years older but is as sharp and as nosy as ever. Early in Season 5 she will become suspicious of Dave Williams and perhaps becomes the first on Wisteria Lane to realise that something isn't right? Dave will also quickly realise that Mrs McClusky is on to him and will resort to all sorts to get her off his back including allowing the neighbourhood to think she has gone senile. It will require her sister (rumoured to be played by Lily Tomlin to come to Wisteria Lane to rescue her from a mental institution - if reports are to be believed.

Is Mrs McClusky the housewife Dave Williams is hunting down or is she just getting in the way of his real purpose? She is one of the two main favourites of viewers who have been keeping up with spoilers.

Susan & Mike Delfino
Season 5 opens with a tragic wham which I'm not going to give away and I don't really know much about it myself other than Mike and Susan are at the centre of it. Apparently it was quite a shock for US viewers who weren't expecting it as it literally kicks off the whole season. After episode 1, a good portion of US viewers are asking if Susan is the housewife Dave Williams is after? While others point out that would be too obvious. (Although didn't Julie point out that Dylan wasn't Dylan in the very first episode of Season 4?) Susan could of course be caught in her own mini mystery or a storm in a teacup?

You are kept waiting for most of episode 1 to find out what happened to Mike (is he dead or alive) and why Susan and he are no longer together. I won't spoil it at this point. As to Susan, the opening moments of the Season have impacted her entire life. She is guilt ridden, living her life for the moment, and detached herself from love and no longer desperate for love.

When Cherry said he wanted to reset the series, the character of Susan has definately been reset. In the early years she had been popular for being clumsy, adorable, desperate for love, gifted (her childrens' books) and yet still intelligent (as she investigated the truth about Mary-Alice etc). However over the years people found the clumsiness predictable, instead of adorable she had become irritating and most of all rather stupd. According to Marc Cherry even Teri Hatcher had felt enough was enough and was sick of playing a character so emotionally needy, so while at heart Susan will still be Susan, expect to see a more evolved Susan and there will be a lot of differences to her character.

Jackson Hart
We met him in the final moments of Season 4 kissing Susan, however we knew nothing about him, not even his name. Well we will soon learn in the opening episode of Season 5 that Susan hired him as a painter for her house four-and-a-half months before and he quickly became her toy thing. Think Gabrielle and John here without the added problem of a husband, so there is no cheating going on. Susan makes it quite plain to him all she wants from him is sex and she refuses to introduce him to her friends or even her son or let him spend the night. Unfortunately for Susan, Jackson isn't satisfied with this anymore as he has fallen head over heals in love with her and wants to take their relationship further. To add insult to injury when Lynette unexpectedly turns up on Susan's doorstop for a shoulder to cry on, Susan throws a scantly dressed Jackson out, witnessed by neighbours Lee and Bob. Susan doesn't want love and doesn't think she deserves happiness. It is going to be up to Jackson to change her mind throughout the coming season.

Gaby and Carlos Solis
The biggest change to any set of characters over the last five years has probably occurred to the Solis' in every sense. First off Carlos is still blind (although is thought to regain his sight sometime during Season 5). To earn a living he is a masseur but he and Gaby have hit on hard times financially. Gaby will declare in despair to Bree early in the season "We used to have help, now we are the help."

The formally glamourous, vain and self-centred Gaby, is completely changed. She is now frumpy, wearing dowdy clothes, let herself go and having to not only consider her blind husband but also two young daughters, Juanita and Celia. The elder daughter, Juanita, is 4-and-a-half and is very fat and obsessed with food, something Gaby is struggling with. Perhaps through her dispair at her daughter we do see that underneath Gaby is still the same old Gaby. Carlos won't acknowledge their daughters problems saying she will grow out of it.

Gaby's circumstances have been completely reset, but there is a fear after a few episodes her struggling with young children could be a re-hash of Lynette. However Eva Longoria Parker's many male admirers needn't dispair as we are told Gaby will get her looks back after a few episodes of Season 5.

It seems unlikly Gaby will be involved in the Season mystery.

Katherine Mayfair
At the end Season 4 we heard that Dylan was living in Paris and had just got engaged. So Katherine is living alone and lonely. She soon develops a crush on Dave Williams and it is thought she will embark in an affair with him, this will no doubt get her on Edie's bad side.

In other aspects of Katherine's life she is equally un-settled. Over the past 5 years she and Bree developed a very successful catering business, however as Bree became a local celebrity poised for national fame, Katherine has been left in the shadows, although it is Katherine who is really the one doing all the work for the business and the brainchild behind most of the business.

As Season 5 opens we quickly learn that Katherine is getting sick of playing second fiddle to Bree.

Bree & Orson Hodge
In Season 4, Bree and Orson split up after she found out the truth about Mike's accident (at the end of Season 2) but in the Season 4 cliffhanger - when the series jumped forward 5 years - Bree and Orson were back together. At the start of Season 5 Bree and Orson are reconciled but we soon learn that this hasn't long occurred and we will also learn why Bree took Orson back. What has happened to Orson these past 5 years is all tied into why Bree has had him back so I won't spoil it.

Meanwhile while Orson has been out of Bree's life, she has become a local celebrity who is about to become a national success with the publication of her own cookbook. A number of the recipes in the book are actually the creation of Katherine, but Bree has failed to credit Katherine's work and as the duo's catering business has been relying for years on Katherine's hard work, Katherine is starting to feel a little resentment. If Bree's professional life is not at its best, neither is her personal life. Bree will soon be juggling a successful career with her domestic life as the two collide. Orson is particularly upset that Bree is now using the name "Bree van de Kamp" again.

Is Bree the housewife Dave Williams is after? Doubtful but you never know, assuming Dave's real name is Williams, wasn't that also the name of Bree's deranged deceased ex George?

Andrew van de Kamp
He now wears designer suites and is quite the businessman managing his mother's career. However apparently we can expect a little bit of the bad Andrew to surface during the season.

Lynette & Tom Scavo
Of all the characters, these are the least changed. Okay instead of little tearaways they are now dealing with teenage nightmares. Also Tom is about to embark on a mid-life crisis and Lynette appears to be completely free of cancer. However at the start of Season 5 they still have their Pizzeria but their lives are occupied with their family. The children themselves might be 5 years older, but for their parents, the basic struggles of raising them and agreeing on the same parenting policies, are still the issues that run that household.

Kayla might be back at some point but won't be seen in early Season 5.

Is Lynette the housewife Dave Williams is after? No indications of such so far.

The Scavo Children
These will be series regulars, but apparently we won't meet Parker and Penny in episode 1. Penny is now about 8 or 9. Parker is around 14 years old and a mummy's boy, a geek and an all round good boy. The twins, Porter and Preston, are every mother's nightmare. One of the twins has already spent time in 'Juvenile Hall' and it looks like the other isn't far behind.

Bob and Lee
Susan's gay neighbours will be back guest starring in occasional episodes.

The Other Children
The other children on Wisteria Lane will only guest star. These will consist of Maynard Delfino who is now known as MJ. He is 5 years old, blonde and lives with his mother. Look out for him getting into a falling out with the Solis girls in episode 3. This results in a brawl between Susan and Gaby after Gaby nastily tells Susan it is time she taught her son "to grow a pair." The other children are the mis-cast 4-and-a-half Juanita Solis. Okay she is probably a very good actress and has much to do in her early scenes, however people have pointed out that she looks much older than MJ when she is supposed to be younger and her whole actions just don't ring true for someone her age. Celia Solis we know little about.

There are also rumours that Bob and Lee have a 4 year old daughter but I have found no strong evidence of this.

These are the only children on Wisteria Lane. Ben Hodge does not live in the area anymore.

Episode 1 - You're Gonna Love Tomorrow
Five years have passed since Katherine shot her ex-husband as Susan, Lynette, Bree and Gaby stood together in solidarity to protect her. Susan tries to hide her relationship with a new man; Gaby questions her abilities as a mom; Bree is on the verge of publishing her own cookbook as business partner, Katherine, grows envious; Lynette catches her teenaged twins spearheading illegal activities; and Edie returns to Wisteria Lane in jaw-dropping fashion with a new man in tow. Guest stars include Joy Lauren as Danielle Van De Kamp, Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. McCluskey, Gale Harold as Jackson, Kevin Rahm as Lee, Tuc Watkins as Bob, Stephen Spinella as Dr. Heller, Hank Stratton as Keith Kavendish, Brent Kinsman as young Preston, and Shane Kinsman as young Porter. Source: ABC

Episode 2 - We're So Happy, You're So Happy
Lynette discovers her son, Porter, has a softer side, which she finds endearing; Gaby amusingly attempts to mask her demise in social stature; and the time has come for the men in Susan's life to meet. Meanwhile Bree begins to feel the pressures of balancing marriage and a career, Edie is reminded just how hostile the neighbors on Wisteria Lane can be, and a suspicious Mrs. McCluskey enlists Katherine's help to uncover more about their new neighbor, Dave. Guest stars include Richard Burgi as Karl Meyer, Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. McCluskey, and Gale Harold as Jackson. Source: ABC

Episode 3 - Kids Ain't Like Everybody Else
Bree's estranged daughter, Danielle, returns to Wisteria Lane and is met with a deluge of criticism; Gaby and Susan find themselves embroiled in a catfight brought on by an altercation between their kids; to her chagrin, Lynette comes home to find Tom and Dave have formed a garage band after she told him to get rid of his old things; and Katherine and Mrs. McCluskey invite Edie to lunch to press her for more information on Dave. Guest starring are Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. McCluskey and Gale Harold as Jackson. Other guest cast TBA. Source: ABC

Episode 4 - Back in Business

Episode 5 - Mirror, Mirror

-------------------------
General Spoilers

Sources tell me Joy Lauren will return to the series this Fall, but we'll be seeing a different version of Danielle. She'll be married to a good man, and full-time mother to 5-year-old Ben. That's right, word is Danielle filed for custody of the kid once she got her life together, which has created a brutal rift between her and Bree. [...] Five years into the future, Carlos will have a massage therapy business, which drives Gaby insane, as he uses their home as his office. I'm told they're still strapped for cash and will have altered their lifestyle quite a bit. Source: Zap2It's Korbi TV

The October 26 episode, set around a 70th birthday gathering Dave throws for McCluskey, will consist almost entirely of flashbacks. "As each of the ladies gets ready for the party, they remember key events that happened during the five years," [Marc] Cherry says. "It's an important episode that will explain a lot about why these women have changed." Source: TV Guide

Mrs. McCluskey thinks someone is trying to kill her for being her natural busybody self. Later this season, Tom Scavo is in for a shocking surprise-and the hospital. Source: Kristin on E!Online

Susan's now-adult daughter, Julie, is hightailing it back to Wisteria Lane later this fall, and I hear she's got a helluva surprise in store for Mum. (Hint: It has to do with her new BF.) [...] Desperate Housewives has tapped Gail O'Grady's former American Dreams co-star, Peter Onorati, to join the cast as the husband of her soon-to-be-introduced cougar character, sources confirm. Source: The Ausiello Files

Katherine develops a little crush on Edie's new husband. Source: Kristin on E!Online

[Marc] Cherry has tapped Lily Tomlin for the recurring role of Mrs. McCluskey's sister for Housewives' new season. Source: TV Guide Online

I'm hearing something about a fatal accident ... having huge repercussions for several characters. Source: The Ausiello Files

Jackson, the guy Susan was kissing in the finale, is a housepainter who came to work for her and they ended up fooling around," reveals creator Marc Cherry. "She's going through a wild, promiscuous stage. He's a crunchy-granola liberal - so different from her past men. And, of course, he's got a secret." [.] Lynette's home troubles mount when hubby Tom, a former high-school nerd, takes pride in their kids' delinquent behavior. Lynette goes online and pretends to be a girl. The plan backfires when her son falls in love with her. Source: TV Guide

Gail O'Grady (American Dreams, NYPD Blue) is joining the cast of Desperate Housewives as the cul-de-sac's newest troublemaker. As I teased in this week's episode of Ausiello TV, her character -- which will appear on a recurring basis -- was originally conceived as a Mrs. Robinson-esque seductress who sets her sights on one of Lynette's rapidly aged twin terrors. I say originally because it's entirely possible some of those plans have changed. One thing I know for sure: O'Grady's alter ego will be married. Producers are currently casting the role of her hubby. Source: The Ausiello Files

[Jackson and Susan] met when she hired him to paint her house. [...] Edie Britt doesn't marry just anyone, so it's a safe bet that her new hubby, Dave, has some special qualities. Chief among them: "He's just so handsome," kids [Neal] McDonough, 42, who plays the sucessful motivational speaker on a secret mission. According to McDonough, Edie has no idea of her husband's shady past: "Dave has revenge on his mind, which you'll see in the first episode." [Marc] Cherry won't say who Dave is out to get, or why. But, he reveals, "Dave is a low rent Tony Robiins who comes to Wisteria Lane very determined to be everyone's best friend. And we don't know if he married Edie just to move to the Lane." [...] "On Housewives, I make Edie realize through positive thinking that she doesn't need to be so cutting all the time[," reveals McDonough.] Dave will also bring music to Wisteria Lane as he and Tom Scavo form what McDonough calls a "Desperate Houseguys rock band" in Lynette's garage. "I'm the drummer," says McDonough, who's been taking lessons for a month. Source: TV Guide

"We have a very funny reason why [Gabby] gets her appearance back together, about seven or eight episodes in," [Marc Cherry says] Nicollette Sheridan (Edie) remains in the cast, to be joined by two newcomers: Neal McDonough as Dave, a new neighbor who introduces the season's mystery arc; and Gale Harold as Jackson, Susan's new beau, who kissed her in last season's finale. "We're going into their lives and we're going to see why each of these women, much like in the pilot, are desperate and unhappy," Cherry says, "for all sorts of different reasons." Source: USA Today

[Lane Kent]

Every November we get a death on Wisteria Lane. It has been the same since episode 1. Since Episode 3 they have added high drama with that year offering the critically acclaimed "Bang" episode featuring a hostage situation and claiming the lives of Nora and Carolyn. Season 4 offered a tornado with "Something's Coming" and Season 5 will feature a big fire. Episode 8 "City On Fire" will air in the US this weekend (so probably in the UK early December). The episode will see the return of Julie Mayer. Below is one of many reviews about this upcoming episode.

www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/13/entertainment/e090752S55.DTL

Associated Press
Fire threatens 'Desperate Housewives'

By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer

Thursday, November 13, 2008
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(11-13) 09:51 PST LOS ANGELES, (AP) --

It's mayhem on the set of ABC's "Desperate Housewives."

Most of the cast is attempting to flee a crowded nightclub that's slowly catching fire. Thick layers of smoke are quickly filling the room. Flickering flames are streaking up the walls. Pushy extras are hurrying to the nearest exit. And someone is still in the bathroom!

Much like the tornado that ravaged Wisteria Lane last season or the supermarket standoff the year before, the nightclub fire is the buzzed-about sweeps stunt that will engulf Sunday's episode. The blaze appears to have been started by this season's mysterious — and perhaps villainous — new neighbor Dave Williams, played by Neal McDonough.

"I personally don't think my character is a bad guy," McDonough said during a break from filming. "He's just damaged goods. Something happened to him that he just can't come back from. He has to take care of something. It's eating his life away. It's really interesting to explore a character like this, and it makes me feel very fortunate for my life."

Away from their usual Universal Studios street set, the cast have gathered for the scorcher inside Sound Stage 28. Meanwhile, on another part of the back lot, a nightclub facade is being erected that will later be burnt to a crisp. In true sweeps fashion, someone won't survive.

During production of the episode in October, the actor portraying one of those in peril found himself in danger in real life.

Gale Harold, who plays the boyfriend of Teri Hatcher's character, was in a motorcycle accident and fractured his shoulder. Script rewrites were ordered after Harold was admitted to USC Medical Center.

This fire isn't the first to threaten Wisteria Lane's residents. In the series' first episode, Susan Mayer (Hatcher) accidentally burned down the home of Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), who retaliated in the second season by lighting up Mayer's place. In the fourth season, the naughty twin sons of Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) confessed to an arson.

Is series creator Marc Cherry a closeted pyromaniac?

"Not at all," he says over lunch with Huffman a few days later. "I just like putting people in jeopardy."

He certainly does. Without much explanation, "Desperate Housewives" was thrust five years into the future at the end of last season. Inspired by "Lost," Cherry recalls nonchalantly pitching the leap to ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson during a baseball game last October. He said McPherson's initial response was: "Oh, that could be interesting."

Cherry let the idea percolate with ABC executives because he knew it was a "pretty risky proposition." After the fifth season premiered in September — apart from a few flashback scenes — there's been no going backward. What could have been a jump-the-shark moment ultimately reinvigorated everyone.

"I think it got everybody — the fans included — excited again," said Huffman, whose character battled cancer during the fourth season. "It certainly got the writers excited again. It all started on the page. The housewives all look younger though, which is a little weird, but the men look at a little older, which is really how it really should go."

The jump gave Dana Delany's tormented Katherine Mayfair, the center of last season's mystery, a place alongside the housewives at their weekly poker games. However, beyond her pairing with plumber Mike Delfino (James Denton) laid out in last week's episode, Mayfair has mostly served as the caterer sidekick to domestic queen Bree Hodge (Marcia Cross).

"I've gotten to do a lot more comedy," Delany said on her way to Sound Stage 28. "I guess I am hoping they will change it up a bit. I'm just honored they asked me to come back in the first place. The show has never asked anybody to come back for the next season, so I think they're trying to figure out how you fit in a sixth housewife."

Older counterparts for the children of Wisteria Lane were cast while the teenagers morphed into adults. Andrea Bowen, the 18-year-old actress who has played Susan's levelheaded daughter Julie since the beginning of the show, will return to Sunday's episode as a graduate student who's dating an older professor (Steven Weber).

"This whole five-year change has really shifted the vibe on the set," she said in her trailer. "It's spiced things up. There's the ability to do a lot more with these characters. For me, to come back in the middle of this has been interesting. I'm trying to get everybody to catch me up. I've been watching episodes like a regular viewer."

Cherry, who once worked as a writer and producer on the long-running sitcom "The Golden Girls," said he doesn't think "Desperate Housewives" will be doing any more fast-forwarding, but he does see an end to the series in sight. He's beginning to conjure up ideas for the sixth season and hopes the seventh season will be the last.

"I know what the last scene of the show is," teased Cherry. "I already have that in my head. I would like to end the series after seven seasons. The problem is we are one of the top-rated scripted series on ABC."

Cherry revealed that the final scene would feature just one of the housewives. Gasp! On a series where car wrecks, back-stabbing, murder, fire and other natural disasters are regular occurrences, it probably shouldn't be too surprising that, in the end, the show's mastermind may leave just one woman standing.

___

ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co.

[Lane Kent]

Every November we get a death on Wisteria Lane. It has been the same since episode 1. Since Episode 3 they have added high drama with that year offering the critically acclaimed "Bang" episode featuring a hostage situation and claiming the lives of Nora and Carolyn. Season 4 offered a tornado with "Something's Coming" and Season 5 will feature a big fire. Episode 8 "City On Fire" will air in the US this weekend (so probably in the UK early December). The episode will see the return of Julie Mayer. Below is one of many reviews about this upcoming episode.

www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/13/entertainment/e090752S55.DTL

Associated Press
Fire threatens 'Desperate Housewives'

By DERRIK J. LANG, AP Entertainment Writer

Thursday, November 13, 2008
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(11-13) 09:51 PST LOS ANGELES, (AP) --

It's mayhem on the set of ABC's "Desperate Housewives."

Most of the cast is attempting to flee a crowded nightclub that's slowly catching fire. Thick layers of smoke are quickly filling the room. Flickering flames are streaking up the walls. Pushy extras are hurrying to the nearest exit. And someone is still in the bathroom!

Much like the tornado that ravaged Wisteria Lane last season or the supermarket standoff the year before, the nightclub fire is the buzzed-about sweeps stunt that will engulf Sunday's episode. The blaze appears to have been started by this season's mysterious — and perhaps villainous — new neighbor Dave Williams, played by Neal McDonough.

"I personally don't think my character is a bad guy," McDonough said during a break from filming. "He's just damaged goods. Something happened to him that he just can't come back from. He has to take care of something. It's eating his life away. It's really interesting to explore a character like this, and it makes me feel very fortunate for my life."

Away from their usual Universal Studios street set, the cast have gathered for the scorcher inside Sound Stage 28. Meanwhile, on another part of the back lot, a nightclub facade is being erected that will later be burnt to a crisp. In true sweeps fashion, someone won't survive.

During production of the episode in October, the actor portraying one of those in peril found himself in danger in real life.

Gale Harold, who plays the boyfriend of Teri Hatcher's character, was in a motorcycle accident and fractured his shoulder. Script rewrites were ordered after Harold was admitted to USC Medical Center.

This fire isn't the first to threaten Wisteria Lane's residents. In the series' first episode, Susan Mayer (Hatcher) accidentally burned down the home of Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), who retaliated in the second season by lighting up Mayer's place. In the fourth season, the naughty twin sons of Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) confessed to an arson.

Is series creator Marc Cherry a closeted pyromaniac?

"Not at all," he says over lunch with Huffman a few days later. "I just like putting people in jeopardy."

He certainly does. Without much explanation, "Desperate Housewives" was thrust five years into the future at the end of last season. Inspired by "Lost," Cherry recalls nonchalantly pitching the leap to ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson during a baseball game last October. He said McPherson's initial response was: "Oh, that could be interesting."

Cherry let the idea percolate with ABC executives because he knew it was a "pretty risky proposition." After the fifth season premiered in September — apart from a few flashback scenes — there's been no going backward. What could have been a jump-the-shark moment ultimately reinvigorated everyone.

"I think it got everybody — the fans included — excited again," said Huffman, whose character battled cancer during the fourth season. "It certainly got the writers excited again. It all started on the page. The housewives all look younger though, which is a little weird, but the men look at a little older, which is really how it really should go."

The jump gave Dana Delany's tormented Katherine Mayfair, the center of last season's mystery, a place alongside the housewives at their weekly poker games. However, beyond her pairing with plumber Mike Delfino (James Denton) laid out in last week's episode, Mayfair has mostly served as the caterer sidekick to domestic queen Bree Hodge (Marcia Cross).

"I've gotten to do a lot more comedy," Delany said on her way to Sound Stage 28. "I guess I am hoping they will change it up a bit. I'm just honored they asked me to come back in the first place. The show has never asked anybody to come back for the next season, so I think they're trying to figure out how you fit in a sixth housewife."

Older counterparts for the children of Wisteria Lane were cast while the teenagers morphed into adults. Andrea Bowen, the 18-year-old actress who has played Susan's levelheaded daughter Julie since the beginning of the show, will return to Sunday's episode as a graduate student who's dating an older professor (Steven Weber).

"This whole five-year change has really shifted the vibe on the set," she said in her trailer. "It's spiced things up. There's the ability to do a lot more with these characters. For me, to come back in the middle of this has been interesting. I'm trying to get everybody to catch me up. I've been watching episodes like a regular viewer."

Cherry, who once worked as a writer and producer on the long-running sitcom "The Golden Girls," said he doesn't think "Desperate Housewives" will be doing any more fast-forwarding, but he does see an end to the series in sight. He's beginning to conjure up ideas for the sixth season and hopes the seventh season will be the last.

"I know what the last scene of the show is," teased Cherry. "I already have that in my head. I would like to end the series after seven seasons. The problem is we are one of the top-rated scripted series on ABC."

Cherry revealed that the final scene would feature just one of the housewives. Gasp! On a series where car wrecks, back-stabbing, murder, fire and other natural disasters are regular occurrences, it probably shouldn't be too surprising that, in the end, the show's mastermind may leave just one woman standing.

___

ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co.