Pilot (Desperate Housewives)

Introduction
As the pilot, this episode gives a brief biography of each of the four housewives whose lives become the focus of the series. We first meet a fifth housewife, however: Mary Alice who, within a few minutes, The episode is divided into sections: each segment after a commercial segment tells the story of one of the housewives, through a flashback that each of them has while at Mary Alice's wake.

We are introduced to Wisteria Lane, the iconic suburban neighborhood where all the action unfolds through eight seasons.

The Housewives
The series centers around four housewives who are involved in the drama for the entire 8 seasons. Additional housewives occasionally arrive at the Lane, and are subsequently developed as characters. Eventually, they move out of the Lane, however; or they die.

The core cast of housewives and their families are: the Solis's - Gabrielle and her husband Carlos; the Van de Kamp's, Bree - her husband Rex, and their two children; the Mayers - Susan, her ex-husband Carl, and their daughter Julie; and the Scavo's - Lynette, her husband Tom, and their ever-growing list of children (when the series starts, they originally 4).

Wisteria Lane
The Lane is where the street where the housewives, their families and their neighbors live. Wisteria Lane becomes a symbol throughout the series, linked directly to development of the housewives. It represents the concept of American dream in suburbia where the middle class lives in its secluded world without being concerned with those not in their vicinity.

While the core cast of housewives remain in the same residences throughout the whole series, the neighbors come and go. The neighbors, with their personalities and specific location within the Lane, helps drive the drama.