Desperate Housewives: The Complete Seventh Season

With the departure of Nicollette Sheridan's Edie, this darkly comic soap needed another imperious lady to spice things up, so Vanessa Williams comes aboard in the penultimate season as Lynette's college friend, Renée, a divorcée who moves to Wisteria Lane but neglects to tell Lynette (Felicity Huffman) about the fling she once had with Lynette's husband, Tom (Doug Savant). And because every year needs a nemesis, Paul Young (Mark Moses) returns after a stint in the pokey for a murder he didn't commit (no one's happy to see him, largely because of the one he did commit), and begins plotting his revenge; but the deranged Felicia (Harriet Sansom Harris) has a devious plan of her own. Meanwhile, Bree (Marcia Cross) takes up with her contractor (Brian Austin Green), Susan (Teri Hatcher) turns to the Internet to make money, and Gaby (Eva Longoria) finds out the truth about her daughter. In the inevitable big “sweeps” episode, Susan suffers an injury that puts her on the waiting list for a kidney. Other storylines involve Tom's mother (Lois Smith), who's losing her grip on reality; and Susan's mom (Leslie Ann Warren), who faces a health scare of her own. And as always, neighbors Lee (Kevin Rahm) and Karen (Kathryn Joosten) liven things up whenever the proceedings veer toward the sentimental. Compiling all 23 episodes from 2010–11, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and bloopers. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)