‘Desperate’ makes for trashy fun TV dinner

It’s been too long since there’s been a good trashy, adult-oriented nighttime soap.

Don’t get me wrong. Fox’s “The O.C.” and about half of The WB’s lineup explore teen angst with abandon (to the point where “Best Look of Unrequited Longing” should be an Emmy category). But too often youth is served, with the adults just serving as well-dressed accessories.

But now there’s a campy drama that may well take us back to the ’80s, when nighttime soaps such as “Dallas” and “Dynasty” ruled the airwaves, and America cared who shot J.R.

“Desperate Housewives,” debuting at 9 p.m. Sunday on ABC, should get a truth-in-advertising award, for it focuses on suburban housewives who are, well, you get the picture.

This drama starts with a bang, literally, as Mary Alice Young (played by Brenda Strong) exits her perfect little existence with the help of a small handgun. From the afterlife, she serves as the narrator for the series, peeking in on her friends living on Wisteria Lane.

There’s Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman from “Frasier”), who traded in her power suit for motherhood, and now tries unsuccessfully to ride herd over three little monsters and an infant. She longs for escape.

There’s Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher, “Lois & Clark”), whose husband ran off with his secretary. She lives with her teen daughter, and yearns for love.

Also, there’s Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria, “L.A. Dragnet”), the runway model who married a rich businessman and has everything she wants. But he treats her like a possession, so now she’s busy seeking respect while she’s digging the teenage gardener.

Finally, there’s Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross, who played everyone’s favorite psycho on “Melrose Place). Bree gardens, cooks, crafts and decorates (think inmate #55170-054, I mean Martha), but her family hates her and her domineering ways.

There are lots of secrets on Wisteria Lane. Why did Mary Alice kill herself? Why is her widower digging up the pool in the back yard in the middle of the night? What’s the story behind the handsome plumber who just moved in, to be pursued by Susan and perennial divorcee Edie Britt (“Knots Landing” alumna Nicollette Sheridan)?

For those desperate for a little offbeat entertainment Sunday nights, “Desperate Housewives” offers a solution, if not many answers.

Also premiering Sunday, at 10 p.m. on ABC, is “Boston Legal,” a spin-off from “The Practice” featuring James Spader and William Shatner. A review copy was unavailable at press time.

Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 and dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.