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"Desperate Housewives" Time-Jump Inspired by "Lost" Flash-Forward


Of all the news emanating from the Television Critics Association press tour after the Emmy nominations were announced and dissected, the nugget I found most interesting came from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, who admitted he got the idea for last May's season cliffhanger by watching another ABC show.

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"I was so impressed," Cherry said, "with the bold stroke that Damon [Lindelof] and Carlton [Cuse] had done with doing the flash forward in Lost the previous season finale. And I was kind of looking for something for my show. I felt the 'soap' had really started to build up, and I kind of wanted to pare it down to where everyone's problems were small but very relatable.

"And I thought, 'How am I going to do that?' And I thought, 'Oh! Let's just go forward in time. Let me change everyone's lives completely!'

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"I was originally going to do an eight-year jump," Cherry continued, "but then when someone explained to me how the actresses would react to the idea that they were eight years older, I thought, 'Maybe five. Maybe I could get away with five.' " Presto: Bree is a Martha-Stewart type success, Susan has a new man, and Gabrielle has two young daughters, and has sort of let herself go.

Lost co-executive producer Cuse acknowledged Cherry's confession good-naturedly, but not without throwing a playful jab in his direction.

"He's also going to have a polar bear on the show next year," Cuse joked.

Reviving continuing series is no laughing matter, though. Lost reinvented itself brilliantly with that flash-forward device, and even worked its way back into best drama series Emmy contention as a result. Desperate Housewives already was doing a fine job of reviving itself last season, and time will tell if this Lost-inspired time jump is another step forward creatively as well as chronologically.

Time will tell, in fact, in a few months, unless someone can figure out how to time-jump ahead to September 28, the night Desperate Housewives returns. Meanwhile, Lost won't return until midseason, in 2009. Stay tuned, and be patient.

1 Comments

David Rivera said:

How sad that apparently no one in the industry watches "Battlestar Galactica," which beat both shows to the punch with its 1-year "flash-forward" a few seasons ago.

Mr. Bianculli, I'm thrilled I came across this site. I'm a NY Daily News reader who still misses your column. (David, I'm thrilled you found me, too. Welcome aboard. -- David B.)

Comment posted on August 15, 2008 2:09 PM

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David Bianculli

Behind David in the picture is the first TV owned by his father, Virgil Bianculli, a 1946 Raytheon. (The TV, not his father. His father was a 1923 Italian.)

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air, occasional substitute host for that show's Terry Gross, and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His most recent book is 2009's Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,' and he's at work on another.

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