A Weekend In the Country (Desperate Housewives episode)
Encyclopedia
"A Weekend in the Country" is the 50th episode of the ABC
television series, Desperate Housewives
. It was also the third episode of the show's third season. The episode was written by Bob Daily
and directed by Wendey Stanzler
. It originally aired on October 8, 2006.
Eva Longoria
submitted this episode for consideration of her work in the category of "Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series
" for the 2007 Emmy Awards
.
Without telling Bree, Orson tracks Andrew down and offers to buy him lunch. Andrew agrees, only later realizing Orson's his new stepfather. Orson asks Andrew how he's been living and Andrew admits he's "done things for money." Orson suggests Andrew just wants to keep punishing Bree for abandoning him. He tells Andrew that he knows something about rage, and that it has some ugly consequences. He also tells Andew that he has a home to come back to if he wants it. The next day, Bree opens the door to find Andrew on the doorstep.
Gabrielle and Lynette are heading off for a spa weekend—Gaby to get away from her messy divorce, Lynette to get some much-needed rest. Tom has taken the kids, including Kayla, camping, but he calls Lynette almost immediately. His back has gone out and he needs her to come get him.
When she arrives home, she finds Nora sitting on the front porch. She insists on coming along so that Lynette doesn't look like the better mother. Lynette is less than thrilled—it's an eight hour drive!
Nora quickly gets on her nerves and Lynette finally snaps, telling her what a nutjob she is. Nora decides to show her what crazy really is and grabs the steering wheel, forcing them into oncoming traffic. Lynette says if Nora wants to kill herself, go right ahead. Nora tells her to stop, she's going to hitch a ride with the first trucker. To her surprise, Lynette doesn't try to stop her.
A few miles later, she finds Nora sitting on the side of the road because the trucker got fresh. She tells Lynette that her comment about suicide hit a little too close to home. "You have everything, your life is perfect," she tells Lynette, who insists her life is far from perfect. She works 12 hours a day, it feels like she has 33 children instead of four, and Tom still hasn't found another job.
Nora reveals that Tom doesn't want to work in advertising anymore, something he's never told Lynette. Instead of confronting him about it, Lynette tells Tom maybe it's time to think about pursuing whatever dream job he gave up on a long time ago.
Gabrielle starts to feel lonely seeing all the other romantic couples at the restaurant. And then she bumps into her ex-lover, John. He's looking elegant and grown-up. He now runs a landscape company that services the hotel and may soon have the entire hotel chain as a client. She's impressed, so much so that they end up in bed together again. Then he gets a call: his fiancée, Tammy, is arriving early! And she's not just his fiancée, her father owns the hotel chain, so it's imperative she not find Gabrielle in John's room. Gabrielle hides in a suitcase and John wheels her out. She has to unzip herself when she's accidentally left in the elevator. The next day, she tells John she's single now and wants to keep seeing him. But he loves Tammy and doesn't want to risk losing her.
Susan goes off for a romantic weekend with Ian at his cabin. They seem to have the same thing in mind, as they both find out when they accidentally open each other's suitcases: His is full of condoms, hers has sexy lingerie inside. But Ian lets it slip that his wife is the only woman he's ever been with. Susan assures him it's just a number and numbers don't matter. He then wants to know what her number is. When he finds out it's 11, the mood is ruined. But when she hears him playing the piano in the middle of the night, numbers don't seem to matter anymore. The two of them end up having sex
.
Edie warns Julie not to fall for her bad boy nephew Austin, who had come over to help Julie restore her electricity and Julie assures her that won't happen.
Edie is looking for her CD player, which she loaned to Susan. Julie tells her that it's at the hospital with Mike. Edie pops in to take the CD player and just happens to be there when Mike opens his eyes.
musical, A Little Night Music
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series, Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
. It was also the third episode of the show's third season. The episode was written by Bob Daily
Bob Daily
Bob Daily is an American television producer and screenwriter. Currently he serves as executive producer of Desperate Housewives, and second-in-command to showrunner Marc Cherry....
and directed by Wendey Stanzler
Wendey Stanzler
Wendey Stanzler is an American television editor, director and producer from Flint, Michigan, where she was co-editor and associate producer of Michael Moore's documentary, Roger & Me in 1990. She also co-edited Moore's only fiction film, Canadian Bacon...
. It originally aired on October 8, 2006.
Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
submitted this episode for consideration of her work in the category of "Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. The award was first presented in 1953, but was not awarded again until 1959...
" for the 2007 Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
.
Plot
Bree and Orson are ready to leave for their honeymoon when Bree sees a TV interview with a homeless teen—Andrew! To Orson's dismay, she insists they cancel their honeymoon and go find Andrew. She finds him at a soup kitchen, but he says he wants nothing to do with her. She finally tells Orson the truth: Andrew didn't run away; she left him by the side of the road.Without telling Bree, Orson tracks Andrew down and offers to buy him lunch. Andrew agrees, only later realizing Orson's his new stepfather. Orson asks Andrew how he's been living and Andrew admits he's "done things for money." Orson suggests Andrew just wants to keep punishing Bree for abandoning him. He tells Andrew that he knows something about rage, and that it has some ugly consequences. He also tells Andew that he has a home to come back to if he wants it. The next day, Bree opens the door to find Andrew on the doorstep.
Gabrielle and Lynette are heading off for a spa weekend—Gaby to get away from her messy divorce, Lynette to get some much-needed rest. Tom has taken the kids, including Kayla, camping, but he calls Lynette almost immediately. His back has gone out and he needs her to come get him.
When she arrives home, she finds Nora sitting on the front porch. She insists on coming along so that Lynette doesn't look like the better mother. Lynette is less than thrilled—it's an eight hour drive!
Nora quickly gets on her nerves and Lynette finally snaps, telling her what a nutjob she is. Nora decides to show her what crazy really is and grabs the steering wheel, forcing them into oncoming traffic. Lynette says if Nora wants to kill herself, go right ahead. Nora tells her to stop, she's going to hitch a ride with the first trucker. To her surprise, Lynette doesn't try to stop her.
A few miles later, she finds Nora sitting on the side of the road because the trucker got fresh. She tells Lynette that her comment about suicide hit a little too close to home. "You have everything, your life is perfect," she tells Lynette, who insists her life is far from perfect. She works 12 hours a day, it feels like she has 33 children instead of four, and Tom still hasn't found another job.
Nora reveals that Tom doesn't want to work in advertising anymore, something he's never told Lynette. Instead of confronting him about it, Lynette tells Tom maybe it's time to think about pursuing whatever dream job he gave up on a long time ago.
Gabrielle starts to feel lonely seeing all the other romantic couples at the restaurant. And then she bumps into her ex-lover, John. He's looking elegant and grown-up. He now runs a landscape company that services the hotel and may soon have the entire hotel chain as a client. She's impressed, so much so that they end up in bed together again. Then he gets a call: his fiancée, Tammy, is arriving early! And she's not just his fiancée, her father owns the hotel chain, so it's imperative she not find Gabrielle in John's room. Gabrielle hides in a suitcase and John wheels her out. She has to unzip herself when she's accidentally left in the elevator. The next day, she tells John she's single now and wants to keep seeing him. But he loves Tammy and doesn't want to risk losing her.
Susan goes off for a romantic weekend with Ian at his cabin. They seem to have the same thing in mind, as they both find out when they accidentally open each other's suitcases: His is full of condoms, hers has sexy lingerie inside. But Ian lets it slip that his wife is the only woman he's ever been with. Susan assures him it's just a number and numbers don't matter. He then wants to know what her number is. When he finds out it's 11, the mood is ruined. But when she hears him playing the piano in the middle of the night, numbers don't seem to matter anymore. The two of them end up having sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
.
Edie warns Julie not to fall for her bad boy nephew Austin, who had come over to help Julie restore her electricity and Julie assures her that won't happen.
Edie is looking for her CD player, which she loaned to Susan. Julie tells her that it's at the hospital with Mike. Edie pops in to take the CD player and just happens to be there when Mike opens his eyes.
Cast
Although credited, Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) does not appear in this episode.Goofs
When Susan and Ian get to the cabin they accidentally take the wrong luggages to their rooms. There is one black bag and one white bag. When Susan is walking up the stairs she is shown carrying the black suitcase, however, when she gets to her room the suitcase changes to white.Title reference
The episode title, A Weekend in the Country is taken from a song from the Stephen SondheimStephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
musical, A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
International titles
- Croatian: Vikend u okolini (A Weekend in the Country)
- French: Un fardeau à porter (A Burden to Carry)
- French (Canada): Un week-end d’évasion (A Weekend of Evasion)
- German: Ein Wochenende auf dem Lande (A Weekend in the Country)
- Hebrew: סוף שבוע בכפר (Sof Shavua BaKfar; A Weekend in the Country)
- Hungarian: Egy hétvége vidéken (A Weekend in the Country)
- Italian: Weekend in campagna (Weekend in the Country)
- Spanish: Fin de semana en el campo (Weekend in the Country)