“Move On” shows Desperate Housewives’ Teri Hatcher in peak form as Susan expresses suppressed rage against ex-husband Karl.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Teri Hatcher’s finest Desperate Housewives moments! In episode eleven, “Move On,” Hatcher’s Susan confronts both her ex-husband Karl AND years of pent-up female rage. And she does it via a fairly impressive karaoke version of “New York, New York!” The episode heavily leverages Hatcher’s natural gift for comedy and served as her official Emmy submission for the freshman season.
The actual Emmy winner, Felicity Huffman, finds herself saddled with a “Tom Scavo Is the Worst Husband Ever” plot line. Here, not only does a late night chance encounter with nude nanny Claire entice him to bone Lynette, but he also just can’t stop starting at Claire’s breasts! Hilarity ensues in a plot line that would look very, very different today. Lynette and Tom, at the mall searching for a new water heater (?!?) also bump into Gabby, modeling the new Buick LaCrosse (PLUG! PLUG! PLUG!) to make some spare cash while Carlos sits in jail.
Of course, the best lines of the episode belong to Marcia Cross’s Bree. It turns out being a stay-at-home mom of two bratty kids and caring for your ailing estranged husband puts a tiny wrinkle into your dating life! Meet George the Pharmacist (played by the great Roger Bart) who will be a very consequential figure in future Desperate Housewives lore.
“Move On” doesn’t actually move forward much of the Mary Alice plot, but we do get several great character moments and memorable performances from our talented cast. Plus, there’s far more Edie Britt this time!
If you’ve never seen Desperate Housewives, then now is a great time to start. The series is available to stream on Hulu / Disney+. Catch up with our podcasts here! We’ll return with another podcast exploring episode twelve, “Every Day a Little Death,” next Thursday.
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Podcast Music:
Abbreviated Version of Desperate Housewives Theme by Danny Elfman
