Conceiving a child while starring in your own a primetime series has got to be a pain in the ass. And when above chest shots and strategically placed pillows no longer cut it, and babies start popping out, you’re left with just one painful option – an annoying and poorly explained absence.
Marcia Cross has always had an incredible knack for adding depth and charm to hackneyed soap operas. Her turn as Kimberly on Melrose Place was well-acted, and the storyline of her going bat-shit crazy was as interesting and entertaining as the show ever got. Now on Desperate Housewives, the extremely buzzworthy, come disappointing, come satisfactory and occasionally impressive ABC show, Marcia is once again the most deserving of the spotlight. But after false rumors of homosexuality were immediately followed by the announcement of an engagement (to a dude), a marriage and then a pregnancy with twins, Marcia has spent much of the third season in the shadows before going completely MIA for the past 4 episodes.
This is particularly rough because Marcia’s absence requires that they fill her screen time with the two worst people on the show: Eva Longoria and Nicolette Sheridan. Aside from the occasional storyline involving the housewives’ angsty teens, Eva and Nicolette provide us with the least interesting moments in a show that is frequently uninteresting. When you find yourself holding your breath until the next scene with Teri Hatcher, you know you’ve got problems.
All is not lost though. Marcia Cross and that creep from Blue Velvet return from their several month honeymoon for the May 20th season finale of Desperate Housewives. And with no real mystery left in this season’s arc, one can only imagine the kind of last minute shenanigans they have planned.
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