marc cherry

The sudden death of 'Desperate Housewives'' Edie Britt, a fixture on the show since day one, was indeed a shocker, but only in the most literal sense, since she died of electrocution, In other ways, it wasn't shocking at all, since the slutty realtor's impending demise had been confirmed weeks before in the entertainment press.

Given the longstanding reports of tension between Nicollette Sheridan and 'Housewives' creator Marc Cherry, her abrupt departure was not a surprise. In a way, however, it was fitting, as the backstage drama matched the on-screen drama, with Sheridan the locus of whispered gossip, just like her character. As Edie herself put it, in a patented 'Housewives' post-death omniscient voiceover, she died as she'd lived, as the the town's pleasure center.

The sleuths of NBC's crime drama 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' may have inadvertently solved a mystery on another network. NBC announced yesterday that Richard Burgi (pictured, right) and Lena Olin (below) will be guest stars on an upcoming 'SVU' episode - casting news that may answer the question of who died on Sunday's plane-crash episode of 'Desperate Housewives.'

We told you several days ago about the plane crash that will happen on Desperate Housewives later this season (it may or may not be an Oceanic plane, there are conflicting reports on that). Here's the first pic from the scene, with all of its devastation. The Daily Mail has more.

Creator Marc Cherry says the crash will kill several characters.

[Watch episodes and clips of Desperate Housewives at SlashControl.]

Yes, you read that headline right: an Oceanic Airlines plane is going to crash on Wisteria Lane.

One of the big ratings stunts on Desperate Housewives this season will be a plane crash that happens in the ladies' neighborhood that will affect everyone on the show (when a plane crashes in your neighborhood that's bound to happen). But a source at ABC tells E! that the plane will be an Oceanic plane, in a nod to Lost. No, it won't be the same plane, Oceanic 815, just a plane from the same airline. So don't expect time travel or polar bears running around Gabrielle's lawn. Although a weird crossover like that might be fascinating to see. Of course, I wonder how this billboard from FlashForward could possibly be right if this happens.

This isn't the first time the airline has shown up on a non-ABC show. The pic above is from FOX's The War At Home.

The network that brought you Family Matters, Cavemen and is still bringing you the parade of unfunny that is According to Jim wants to bring the sitcom back to its rightful throne on the airwaves.

ABC made a solemn vow to bring back more hit, half-hour sitcoms to the airwaves starting with the new TV season, according to Variety.

The network's heads made their announcement at last week's Television Critics Association gathering.

I read today that Desperate Housewives might run for an extra two seasons, instead of the original seven planned by creator Marc Cherry. According to TVGuide.com, Cherry made the announcement today at a cake-cutting ceremony celebrating 100 episodes of the ABC suds-fest.

Unless they can ramp up the storylines, I'm not sure this is such a good thing. Sure, the series has picked up steam this season, but it's still slow-going. While I'm on-board and watching it every week, nothing about the storylines has really wowed me. An extra two seasons? Not feeling it at the moment.

Let's see here ... If the original pact between Cherry and ABC stands, the series would wrap in 2011. That seems like a good amount of time to throw a few more juicy stories into the mix and give the housewives of Wisteria Lane a good send-off.

File this one under the category of really, wild rumors that should become reality: Desperate Housewives wants Governor Sarah Palin to appear as a guest on the show.

Like I said, this is a rumor that cropped up yesterday, saying that head-writer/creator Marc Cherry was "very hot to trot to have her appear in the season finale." That was followed by an ABC spokesman denying that there's a shred of truth to the story.

Still, what if it's not such a Lucy Ricardo idea? Sarah Palin as a visitor to Wisteria Lane would be terrific -- and probably a boost in the ratings (which are doing great anyway, but still why not do even better?).

Here's some casting news that should thrill TV fans: Lily Tomlin has been cast on Desperate Housewives as Mrs. McCluskey's sister. The comic actress, a multiple Emmy award winner (not to mention a couple of Tonys and a Grammy), has been cast in a recurring role, fleshing out Kathryn Joosten's Emmy-nominated role as the nosy neighbor across the street from Lynette who's occasionally babysat for the Scavo kids. At least when they were still kids, cause now the show's jumped ahead five years, remember?

Writer Marc Cherry has got to be licking his chops to write for Tomlin. She's the kind of actress that can bring unique characters immediately to life. As a comic, using her own imagination and the words -- often -- of collaborator Jane Wagner, Lily's been legendary with what she can do.

In her early career, there were Edith Ann, the bratty five-year-old, and Ernestine, the telephone operator (when the phone company still had operators!). On stage in The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, a one-woman show, she brilliantly created numerous characters.

I wanted to wait a bit before I posted about the ABC showrunner panel, because a) I already posted about the "news" from Shonda Rhimes about Katherine Heigl's statements, and b) I wanted to think about why these panels seem to be so much more informative than the individual show panels?

We'll get to that more later. On the panel were Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Silvio Horta (Ugly Betty), Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (Lost), and Greg Berlanti (seemingly the rest of ABC's schedule). As you'd expect, Rhimes got the Heigl questions, Lindelof and Cuse got the most esoteric questions, and Chery made the most jokes. The funniest line, though, came from Horta.

Haircuts on TV shows are often a very big deal. Remember when Keri Russell had the audacity to cut her long, curl mane on Felicity? Some fans never forgave her or the character!

Well, be prepared for another cut to your psyche, Desperate Housewives' devotees. Eva Longoria Parker has cut her hair for the upcoming sixth season of the show. Unlike Keri, however, Eva's cut was done with the blessing of the producers.

As you can see, it's a very cute 'doo; not too blunt or pixie-ish. It's quite stylish and flattering. The idea is that with the five-year time jump that we saw in the finale last season, Gaby doesn't have the time or inclination to care for her long, flowing locks. (If you've ever had long, full hair like hers, you know what I'm talking about!)

One thing you have to say about the powers that be at Desperate Housewives, they're really great with casting. Great looking guys, beautiful women, quirky character actors; we've seen them all on Wisteria Lane and usually they leave a lasting impression.

The latest name to check in to Desperate Housewives is Neal McDonough. He'll be appearing in the new season and Hollywood Reporter is wondering how he'd do with Nicolette Sheridan's character, Edie Britt. Is that wondering or playing matchmaker? How do we know that Marc Cherry isn't setting him up as a mystery man from Bree's past? Cherry is nothing if not inventive, so good luck trying to anticipate his plotlines!

And yes there are MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! So turn back now if you don't want to be spoiled!

There's a big twist coming to ABC's Desperate Housewives. And it involves Teri Hatcher and Marcia Cross wearing jetpacks and eating pills that will take the place of meals.

Well, OK, maybe they won't have any of that, but Desperate Housewives is taking a cue from Lost and will jump five years into the future in the last moments of the season finale in May. Cross let the news out on Ellen. But it's not going to do a back and forth in time like Lost, it's going to stay in the year 2013 (or will that be 2012, considering this season started in 2007?).

There's going to be a new lady swinging down Wisteria Lane this spring. Entertainment Tonight reported that Justine Bateman has signed onto Desperate Housewives for a few episodes. The actress, who will forever be remembered for playing Alex P. Keaton -- Michael J. Fox's -- sister Mallory on Family Ties, will be playing "a hip artist living with Gabby and Carlos."

(S04E02) "We better start coming up with better lies." - Katherine

After a controversial season premiere (in case you haven't heard, ABC had to apologize for a joke Susan made while in Adam's office), Desperate Housewives tries to have the Mayfairs, who moved to Wisteria Lane last week, settle in. In last week's TV Squad DH poll, 68% of the voters said they thought the Mayfairs were a good addition to the show. Based solely on last week's episode, I have to agree. But now that we are getting more backstory about the Mayfairs and seeing them interact more with their neighbors, have we changed our mind?

Oh, come on, do they actually expect us to believe that David Beckham and Robbie Williams will play the gay couple of ABC's Desperate Housewives this season?

As Paul mentioned recently, a new gay couple will move into Wisteria Lane this fall. And now Digital Spy says that soccer star David Beckham has chosen singer Robbie Williams to be his partner on the show if it were to ever happen. The site also says that creator Marc Cherry says that Beckham picked Williams over new friend Tom Cruise.

Yeah, OK...