School of Hard Knocks (Desperate Housewives)
Encyclopedia
"School of Hard Knocks" is the 161st episode of the ABC
television series Desperate Housewives
. It is the fourth episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on October 16, 2011.
such as sex swings rather than actual work-out equipment. After arguing, Bree sees that her once-lackadaisical daughter is finally committed to a career and offers to support her endeavor as a very silent, invisible, anonymous partner.
Gaby, frustrated with the drop-off system at Juanita's school, gets her pass taken away by the obnoxious and rude drop-off supervisor, Dana. Thus, she must park at the "B Lot" and walk Juanita to class. She finds out from other moms that she may never get her pass back, and they plot to stand up against Dana at the Parent-Teacher Association
meeting. But when Dana bribes the other moms by giving them back their passes, Gaby is left to fend for herself, resulting in her being sent to the "C Lot." Determined to get revenge on Dana, she drives through the drop-off zone without a pass, crushing several pylons. When she watches Juanita walk off, she accidentally hits Dana with her car.
As she visits Dana in the hospital, who has a broken back, she asks Gaby to assume her role as supervisor and PTA president while she recovers. Gaby, who is not up for that role, kindly turns it down. However, Dana threatens to press charges against Gaby unless she assumes her role. This is strictly for revenge. Dana tells Gaby she was once very much like her, but the overly demanding job turned her into the shrewish martinet she now is—costing her both husband and friends. Desperate, Gaby has no choice but to agree.
Susan begins taking an art class taught by Andre Zeller. She shows him her illustrations, however, he says that they are not what he looks for in art. As he continuously tells Susan that she could never become an artist like himself because of her rather "Soccer Mom" appearance, Susan proves him wrong by angrily splattering paint all over. When she comes back later to retrieve her forgotten portfolio, Andre asks her to join the group; the passionate woman he finally saw is worthy of attending his class.
Lynette suspects Tom is dating someone. To get to the bottom of the situation, she gives Penny a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 so they can video chat, though more so Lynette can spy on Tom. She eventually discovers that Tom is dating a fitness instructor named Chloe, who is half his age and is also is a lingerie model. She and Renee decide to attend her fitness class, where she meets Tom at the end of the class. Lynette confronts Tom about dating Chloe, though he reveals that he is dating Chloe's mother, Jane. Devastated and confused, Lynette tells Tom to forget about their couples counseling appointment, as she sees no point anymore.
The episode ends with Chuck at his desk at the police station, staring at the ring he proposed to Bree with. His partner soon walks in with a pile of missing persons cases, one of them being Gaby's stepfather Alejandro.
, "School of Hard Knocks" was watched by 8.27 million viewers and held 2.7 rating/7 share among viewers between 18 and 49 years of age. The episode was outperformed by Sunday Night Football
on NBC, which averaged 16.57 million viewers and a 10.1 rating/16 share, The Good Wife on CBS
, which was watched by 10.33 million viewers but held a 2.1 rating/7 share and The Xfactor
on Fox
which was watched by 8.84 million viewers and held 3.4 in the 18-49 demographic. This episode was the least watched episode in terms of total viewers in the history of the show and tied a previously set series low in the 18-49 demographic rating. The episode gained an additional 2.1 million viewers and 0.9 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings
.
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 is the fourth episode of the show's eighth season and was broadcast on October 16, 2011.
Plot
Bree's daughter Danielle and her son come to stay with her when her marriage fails (as Bree predicted it would). Danielle says she will be starting her own business selling exercise equipment, though it turns out that Danielle was actually selling sex toysSex toy
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure. The most popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals and may be vibrating or non-vibrating...
such as sex swings rather than actual work-out equipment. After arguing, Bree sees that her once-lackadaisical daughter is finally committed to a career and offers to support her endeavor as a very silent, invisible, anonymous partner.
Gaby, frustrated with the drop-off system at Juanita's school, gets her pass taken away by the obnoxious and rude drop-off supervisor, Dana. Thus, she must park at the "B Lot" and walk Juanita to class. She finds out from other moms that she may never get her pass back, and they plot to stand up against Dana at the Parent-Teacher Association
Parent-Teacher Association
In the U.S. a parent-teacher association or Parent-Teacher-Student Association is a formal organization composed of parents, teachers and staff that is intended to facilitate parental participation in a public or private school. Most public and private K-8 schools in the U.S. have a PTA, a...
meeting. But when Dana bribes the other moms by giving them back their passes, Gaby is left to fend for herself, resulting in her being sent to the "C Lot." Determined to get revenge on Dana, she drives through the drop-off zone without a pass, crushing several pylons. When she watches Juanita walk off, she accidentally hits Dana with her car.
As she visits Dana in the hospital, who has a broken back, she asks Gaby to assume her role as supervisor and PTA president while she recovers. Gaby, who is not up for that role, kindly turns it down. However, Dana threatens to press charges against Gaby unless she assumes her role. This is strictly for revenge. Dana tells Gaby she was once very much like her, but the overly demanding job turned her into the shrewish martinet she now is—costing her both husband and friends. Desperate, Gaby has no choice but to agree.
Susan begins taking an art class taught by Andre Zeller. She shows him her illustrations, however, he says that they are not what he looks for in art. As he continuously tells Susan that she could never become an artist like himself because of her rather "Soccer Mom" appearance, Susan proves him wrong by angrily splattering paint all over. When she comes back later to retrieve her forgotten portfolio, Andre asks her to join the group; the passionate woman he finally saw is worthy of attending his class.
Lynette suspects Tom is dating someone. To get to the bottom of the situation, she gives Penny a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 so they can video chat, though more so Lynette can spy on Tom. She eventually discovers that Tom is dating a fitness instructor named Chloe, who is half his age and is also is a lingerie model. She and Renee decide to attend her fitness class, where she meets Tom at the end of the class. Lynette confronts Tom about dating Chloe, though he reveals that he is dating Chloe's mother, Jane. Devastated and confused, Lynette tells Tom to forget about their couples counseling appointment, as she sees no point anymore.
The episode ends with Chuck at his desk at the police station, staring at the ring he proposed to Bree with. His partner soon walks in with a pile of missing persons cases, one of them being Gaby's stepfather Alejandro.
Reception
According to Nielsen ratingsNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, "School of Hard Knocks" was watched by 8.27 million viewers and held 2.7 rating/7 share among viewers between 18 and 49 years of age. The episode was outperformed by Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football
Sunday Night Football is a weekly American football game held throughout most of the season by the National Football League. Sunday night games have been played regularly since 1987 and have thus far aired on three different television outlets:...
on NBC, which averaged 16.57 million viewers and a 10.1 rating/16 share, The Good Wife on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, which was watched by 10.33 million viewers but held a 2.1 rating/7 share and The Xfactor
The X Factor (U.S.)
The X Factor is an American television music competition to find new singing talent. The show is produced by creator Simon Cowell's company SYCOtv. It premiered on September 21, 2011 on Fox....
on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
which was watched by 8.84 million viewers and held 3.4 in the 18-49 demographic. This episode was the least watched episode in terms of total viewers in the history of the show and tied a previously set series low in the 18-49 demographic rating. The episode gained an additional 2.1 million viewers and 0.9 rating in the week following the original broadcast due to DVR recordings
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
.