Oh my, that Orson Hodge.
Who's Orson Hodge? Oh, please -- he's the creepy dentist fella who has been wooing Bree and, as we all learned last May, mowed down Mike Delfino in a fast car!
Desperate Housewives (Sunday, ABC, CTV, 9 p.m.) is back and it rocks.
First, we're given the back story about Orson (Kyle MacLachlan) and if you're wondering what happened to his wife, you'll be left wondering.
But you'll get some juicy clues. He's a devil, this guy. Bree's met her match.
As for Gabrielle (Eva Longoria), she's got the maid carrying a baby for her, and her marriage is kaput. Naturally, Gabrielle doesn't find it easy to handle. Lynette (Felicity Huffman), God bless her, is trying to cope with her husband's love-child and the kid's tarty mom. You want a flake? That clueless mom is one way-bad flake. As for Susan (Teri Hatcher), well, she's taking care of poor old Mike at the hospital, but she attracts the interest of this other chap. She always does.
Last year, the second season of Desperate Housewives was the source of much hand-wringing among certain critics. In fact it was widely ridiculed as a failure. Me, I'm not sure that many critics actually grasp the show's viciously satiric intentions. It's wacky, inventive and a broad satire that celebrates the conniving of beleaguered women -- those women who have to put up with a bunch of dumb men. Whatever. This third season promises to be delicious. The first episode is wickedly funny and warped. The Wives rule.
Brothers & Sisters (Sunday, ABC, Global, 10 p.m.) follows the Wives on ABC. Here in Canada you have to switch channels, as CTV has the much chattered-about Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Here, the shift of tone from the Wives is bracing. It's all about the Walker family. We meet Dad (Tom Skerritt), who runs a successful fruit business. But there are hints of problems with the business and one daughter, Sarah (Rachel Griffiths from Six Feet Under), who works for dad, is very suspicious. Daughter Kitty (Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal) is a high-profile, pro-Republican radio pundit about to leap to TV fame. The youngest son, Justin (David Annable) served in Afghanistan and is deeply traumatized by his experience. Mom (Sally Field) frets about her children.
The Walker family is clearly meant to represent the big American family -- the entire society, today. And the family discussions are a forum for discussions of big issues -- 9/11, gay rights and much more. Thus the series has an earnestness which can be off-putting, but it's worth seeing because it's network TV drama that's trying so hard to be relevant.
Also airing this weekend: Pilot episodes of some new series are being repeated on Saturday. CBS repeats the first episode of Jericho (8 p.m.) and Smith (9 p.m. also on CTV 9 p.m.), while NBC repeats Kidnapped at 10 p.m.
Global Currents (Saturday, Global 7 p.m.) is a new series of docs introduced by Kevin Newman. It starts with Greenpeace: Making a Stand, a look at the origins of Greenpeace in Vancouver and at the milieu from which the organization was born. In many ways, it's a fond look back at a time when environmentalists were considered crackpots and the outrageous antics of Greenpeace were necessary to gain attention.
The Truth About Global Warming (Sunday, Newsworld, 10 p.m.) is a two-part doc by Sir David Attenborough and it's about what the title proclaims. In part it's an answer from Attenborough to those who say he has not used his status and visibility to further the environmentalist cause. Here, he looks at the issue of global warming in the context of an impending crisis for certain areas of the world's ecosystem. He illustrates how "thousands of plant and animal species are already on life support. . . ." The second part of the doc airs next Wednesday and is discussed on The Big Picture With Avi Lewis (Newsworld, 10 p.m.)
Dates and times may vary across the country. Check local listings.
DOYLE'S QUICK PICKS
MONDAY
HEROES
A group of ordinary people find that they have supernatural powers. They are a strange, assorted crew, scattered around the world. There's Nikki (Ali Larter, shown above), a single mom in Las Vegas who has the eerie feeling that there's another version of herself hovering nearby. There's a guy, Hiro, working in an office in Tokyo (Masi Oka from Scrubs) who feels he can teleport himself. Overall, it's a delicate blend of comic-book fantasy, dead-serious attitude and some comedy.
NBC, 9 p.m.
THURSDAY
UGLY BETTY
Everybody seems to think that this will be the new TV season's first huge hit. It's certainly got the charm. Betty (America Ferrera) is a plain girl from Queens who miraculously becomes the assistant to the head of a top fashion magazine. Of course, there are obstacles on her path to success and a bunch of bitchy fashionistas at the magazine conspire to humiliate her. Produced by Salma Hayek, the show is a perfectly cooked concoction -- satire, romance and gentle humour.
ABC, CITY-TV, 8 p.m.