Beneath suburbia's surface

'Desperate Housewives' gets off to a rousing start tonight.
By ED BARK
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
It's fitting, although maybe vexing to ABC, that its new "Desperate Housewives" series premieres tonight opposite the CBS movie "Suburban Madness."
The latter easily could be the title of the former, set in an outwardly becalmed 'burb teeming with festering spouses. One of them, Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), begins the hour with a brief discourse on "quietly polishing the routine of my life until it gleamed with perfection."
Then she polishes herself off with a pistol shot to the head.
"Desperate Housewives" remains delicious and appreciably more nutritious than your basic broadly drawn prime-time serial drama. Beyond the obvious question -- Why did Mary Alice kill herself? -- lurk multiple subplots driven by her four disparate friends and other intriguing inhabitants of prettified Wisteria Lane.
Cast
Teri Hatcher ("Lois & amp; Clark") returns to series TV as divorcee Susan Mayer, whose sparkplug teen daughter, Julie (Andrea Bowen), wants to see mom with a man again.
Felicity Huffman ("Sports Night") plays beaten-down Lynette Scavo, a former career woman now saddled with three unruly young sons and an infant in a stroller.
Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross) is a rigid, regimented send-up of Martha Stewart whose husband, Rex (Steven Culp), finally comes unhinged while the family slums it at the Saddle House family restaurant.
"I just can't live in this detergent commercial any more," he blurts.
Ex-model Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) is living the pampered existence she's always craved. But rich spouse Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) is demeaning and demanding, sending Gabrielle into the willing arms of their 17-year-old gardener.
Their tabletop sex scene definitely will perk up the petunias.
There's also neighborhood temptress Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), a bed-and-breakfast specialist who asks hunky plumber Mike Delfino (James Denton), "Do you think you could stop by later tonight and look at my pipes?"
Question
Meanwhile, why is the late Mary Alice's widower digging a big hole in the newly drained pool?
Tonight's one-hour premiere (9 p.m.) niftily sets all of these subplots in motion, leaving viewers with a spicy assortment of menu options. Huffman and Hatcher lead the way, giving "Desperate Housewives" a sturdy foundation with lots of built-in cracks.
Welcome to the neighborhood -- and the season's brightest, darkest new drama.