After the atrocious second season of Desperate Housewives wrapped up, I vowed never to turn the show on again. But then I started reading all these articles about how the show had�brought in new writers, that�they recognized what a joke Season 2 had become and that Season 3 would be different.�And quite frankly, I got suckered into watching again. The first half of Season 3 ended and I once again vowed that I was done with the show. And yet here I am still watching. It's like the old clich� of the train wreck that you just can't look away from.

What I loved about the first season of Desperate Housewives was the witty banter, the slightly exaggerated (yet somehow reality-based) characters, and that it was a parody of� --- and homage to --- soap operas. Unfortunately, tonight's episode has proven that there is sparse humor left and that the show has become the thing it set out to make light of�: a soap opera. The rape of Orson by Alma tonight really cemented it. And Gaby and Zach as a probable couple? C'mon! The show has completely left the realm of black comedy and moved into the twisted fantasy-land of Susan Lucci and her gang.

Not to mention, where's the mystery this season? And don't tell me it's the whole Orson, Alma and his mother deal�--- BORING! Season 1 had a great ongoing mystery, and even Season 2, as awful as it was, tried to uphold that premise.� With no mystery and no comedy I'm sorry to say it, but Desperate Housewives has become just a superficial shell of its former self.

With that being said, check back next week for my thoughts on the show, because you know (and I hate to admit this) that no matter how absurd it gets, I just can't look away.