Desperate Housewives **** Spoiler Alert****

[Mark_Giardina]

Do not read this if you don't want to know the outcome of Sunday night's episode.



However it's been all over the early morning news that the character of Mike Delfino will be killed off.
James Denton actually made the announcement during testimony in the on-going trial involving Marc Cherry and Nicolette Sheridan.

It comes as no big surprise since this is the last season of Housewives anyways.

[landtuna]

After seeing the confrontation between Mike and the loan shark last week this comes as no surprise.  I was hoping for Orson though.   

Which prompts a question......when a long-time character is bumped off (character killed for real) do they continue earning their contract payments?  For how long?  Is there a different pay schedule if they are no longer acting due to writers killing them off?

[imhomerjay]

He'll be out of what, 6 or 7 episodes? Either way, not much loss there--he doesn't make the rest of one last season or the company pays for the remainder of the year.

[ding12]

This last season was pretty awful, and most unwatchable among all seasons. Almost half of the season dedicated to a stupid storyline plot of the gang hiding up a murder which was more of an accident to someone that anyways deserved to die.  Very different than most seasons when things were wrapped up much quickly and stories moved on.

The last season addition of Vanessa Williams unfortunately has been unnecessary, and she probably would have been better off on another show.

Anyways, I don't think the male actors of the show appear on every episode (they average 2 out of every 3 or so), whereas the four leading ladies are on every episode (with the exception when Marcia Cross was pregnant in real life). When Marcia Cross was pregnant, Nicolette Sheridan actually got more airtime and was on every episode during Marcia Cross maternity leave.

[Troy Goodwin]

I think Vanessa has not been very good to DH, but she has a good calling of playing Ms. Brown in a series of M&Ms commercials, and her voice is very fitting with the newest M&M character. Also on her plate is a Tyler Perry movie she's doing right now called 'The Marriage Counselor"-which will hit theatres later this year.

[landtuna]

I think Vanessa has not been very good to DH, but she has a good calling of playing Ms. Brown in a series of M&Ms commercials, and her voice is very fitting with the newest M&M character. Also on her plate is a Tyler Perry movie she's doing right now called 'The Marriage Counselor"-which will hit theatres later this year.

I could never understand what purpose was served bringing Vanessa into the ensemble.  IMHO there were too many incidental characters as the seasons progressed.  The first season was overwhelming the best and Cherry should have stayed with that recipe.  I have continued to watch it, always hoping for a return to the original excellent dark comedy formula, but have been disappointed despite some brief periods of hilarity.  It seems Cherry could not decide whether he was making a comedy, a dark comedy or a soap.

I feel for Vanessa though.  A Tyler Perry movie likely won't be a feather in her acting cap either.

[ding12]

I think Vanessa has not been very good to DH, but she has a good calling of playing Ms. Brown in a series of M&Ms commercials, and her voice is very fitting with the newest M&M character. Also on her plate is a Tyler Perry movie she's doing right now called 'The Marriage Counselor"-which will hit theatres later this year.

I could never understand what purpose was served bringing Vanessa into the ensemble. 

I thought I read that they wanted someone sexy (in a cool way) on Wisteria Lane again. Pretty much to do what Nicolette Sheridan did, as it worked well in the early seasons. Nicolette was fired not because she was unliked. Fans wanted more of her story, and the ratings went down after the "creative" decision to let her go.

They decided to make Dana Delany the nemesis for awhile (fortunately she got her own show-Body of Proof) and used the Soprano/Joey Drea De Matteo. Much cheaper hiring a 1-2 year new housewive as the character foil, then essentially making Nicolette a senior leading and 5th housewive on the street.

Too bad for Nicolette that she wasn't originally one of the four leading ladies, but was used just as a nemesis for Susan. At the same time, I'm not sure her lawsuit has much merit as characters are fired (or killed off) series all the time in tv.

[Troy Goodwin]

Sad story, but I had to break it to you: Mike DelFino (James Denton) was found shot and murdered by Donny The Loan Shark's henchmen. and next week, Denton will narrate "Women & Death"-which features Renee singing "Amazing Grace" at his funeral. And The Police will come hard on Bree, as she tells the truth to everybody.

[philosofy]

I thought I read that they wanted someone sexy (in a cool way) on Wisteria Lane again. Pretty much to do what Nicolette Sheridan did, as it worked well in the early seasons. Nicolette was fired not because she was unliked. Fans wanted more of her story, and the ratings went down after the "creative" decision to let her go.

This says that she was written out because they ran out of out men on the street for her to sleep with:

"Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry testified Wednesday that he killed off Wisteria Lane seductress Edie Britt in the fifth season because there were simply no more male characters for her to bed.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0308-sheridan-suit-20120308,0,7642383.story

[landtuna]

I thought I read that they wanted someone sexy (in a cool way) on Wisteria Lane again. Pretty much to do what Nicolette Sheridan did, as it worked well in the early seasons.

They must have changed their minds because Vanessa was never the "sleep around slut" that Sheridan's character was.  In addition, I have read that Cherry wasn't all that trilled with Sheridan's locker room antics off screen.

Personally, I liked Sheridan better because she could bring humor into the generally dark storylines of that period.  Vanessa is a much more limited character.

They decided to make Dana Delany the nemesis for awhile (fortunately she got her own show-Body of Proof) and used the Soprano/Joey Drea De Matteo.

That whole Delany/Black family in the basement period was terrible.  Not only was it not entertaining but it made absolutely no sense.  Once again, I don't think Cherry had thought out just what kind of program he was making.

Too bad for Nicolette that she wasn't originally one of the four leading ladies, but was used just as a nemesis for Susan. At the same time, I'm not sure her lawsuit has much merit as characters are fired (or killed off) series all the time in tv.

True, but as I understand the lawsuit, it isn't that she was killed off but rather the way she was treated on-set.  Whether that has merit remains to be seen.