"Listen to the Rain on the Roof" is the third season premiere episode of the American comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and the 48th episode overall. The episode premiered on ABC (American Broadcasting Company) on September 24, 2006. It was written by series creator Marc Cherry and series writer Jeff Greenstein, and was directed by Larry Shaw.
The episode takes place six months after the events in the second season. In the episode, Bree (Marcia Cross) becomes engaged to Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan), who is accused of murdering his missing wife by his former neighbor, Carolyn Bigsby (Laurie Metcalf). Meanwhile, Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) deals with the ramifications of her impending divorce and Lynette (Felicity Huffman) copes with her husband's illegitimate daughter and the girl's mother. Also, Susan (Teri Hatcher) meets a new man, Ian Hainsworth (Dougray Scott), while waiting for Mike (James Denton) to awaken from his coma.
According to Nielsen ratings, the episode drew just over 24 million viewers, indicating a 4 million viewer decrease from the previous season premiere a year earlier. The episode received mostly positive reviews. Critics complimented the six-month time jump and generally agreed that the episode showed improvement over the quality of the second season.
Plot Background Desperate Housewives focuses on the lives of several residents living on Wisteria Lane in the town of Fairview. In previous episodes, Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross) begins dating Orson Hodge (Kyle MacLachlan), a local dentist."Remember, Parts I & II". Larry Shaw (director), Marc Cherry (writer), Jenna Bans (writer), Alexandra Cunningham (writer), Tom Spezialy (writer). Desperate Housewives. ABC. May 21, 2006. Season 2, no. 23 & 24. Mike Delfino (James Denton) plans to propose to Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher); however, Orson intentionally runs over Mike with his car and then flees the scene. Gabrielle (Eva Longoria) and Carlos Solis (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) elect their maid, Xiao-Mei (Gwendoline Yeo), as their surrogate."I Know Things Now". Wendey Stanzler (director), Kevin Etten (writer), Bruce Zimmerman (writer). Desperate Housewives. ABC. May 7, 2006. Season 2, no. 21. Afterwards, Gabrielle discovers that Carlos and Xiao-Mei are having an affair. Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman) learns that her husband, Tom (Doug Savant), fathered a child out of wedlock prior to their meeting. The girl, 11-year-old Kayla (Rachel Fox), and her mother, Nora (Kiersten Warren), move from Atlantic City to Fairview.
Episode "Listen to the Rain on the Roof" takes place six months after the aforementioned events. Orson and Bree become engaged and, although they initially planned to wait until they were married to have sex, they are unable to overcome temptation. Bree visits the doctor immediately after, fearing that she may have suffered a stroke; her doctor informs her that Bree had just experienced her first orgasm. Later at the couple's engagement party, Orson's former neighbor, Carolyn Bigsby (Laurie Metcalf), arrives uninvited and accuses Orson of having killed his missing wife, Alma (Valerie Mahaffey). Despite a sense of doubt, Bree believes Orson when he denies Carolyn's claims. Later, the rain washes away mud at a construction site and uncovers a buried body.
Mike has been comatose since the hit-and-run. Dr. Lee Craig (Terry Bozeman) warns Susan that Mike will most likely not awaken from his coma, but she remains optimistic. She meets Ian Hainsworth (Dougray Scott), a British man whose wife, Jane (Cecily Gambrell), has been in a coma for several years. Ian asks Susan on a date, which forces her to face the unlikeliness of Mike recovering.
Gabrielle and Carlos are in the middle of a prolonged divorce. Carlos has moved into an apartment across town and Gabrielle is forced to care for Xiao-Mei, who is over eight months pregnant and on bed rest. During an argument, Gabrielle threatens to send Xiao-Mei back to China after she has the baby. Later, Gabrielle discovers that Xiao-Mei has run away and enlists Carlos' help to find her. The two bicker before acknowledging the challenges they will face while trying to raise a child as a divorced couple. Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan) finds Xiao-Mei in a house that she has been trying to sell and notifies the Solises.
Lynette is frustrated with Nora inviting herself to family events. To ensure that Nora does not show up to Parker's (Zane Huett) birthday party, Tom and Lynette tell her that they are having Kayla over for a quiet afternoon. Nora becomes suspicious and arrives at the party unannounced. She is furious over their deception and threatens to take Kayla home, but Tom tries to calm her by inviting Nora to stay. Lynette accuses Tom of putting Nora and Kayla ahead of the rest of the family, which encourages Tom to ask Nora to leave and pick up Kayla later. Eventually, Nora obliges.
Production "Listen to the Rain on the Roof" was written by series creator Marc Cherry and series writer Jeff Greenstein and directed by Larry Shaw. Cherry's decision to advance the storylines by six months for the third season premiere came as a response to the series' problematic second season. Cherry stated that he regretted most of the second season, as scheduling problems made it difficult to plan the season's storylines.Lyford, Kathy (September 28, 2008). "'Desperate Housewives': 'The truth about my gals of the suburbs'" . Variety. Retrieved May 29, 2011. "One of the problems I had with Season 2 was that I had to keep going with the previous year's stuff," he explained. "I learned you have to go back to square one to build up the tension again."Keck, William (May 19, 2008). "Time's really flying for the 'Housewives'". USA Today. Retrieved May 28, 2011. The cast also expressed disappointment in the second season; James Denton considered leaving the show and Marcia Cross confessed: "I've been at Marc's door plenty of times [with script complaints] going, 'You've got to be kidding.'"Keck, William (May 19, 2006). "Wisteria Lane's new landscape" . USA Today. Retrieved May 29, 2011. Cherry stated that the six-month time jump would help the storylines develop quicker, as the second season's storylines lagged. He added: "And I'm going to work much harder to criss-cross all the women's stories so that their lives bump up against each other."
To help refresh the show, several new writers were hired, including Greenstein, Joe Keenan, who also served as an executive producer, and Bob Daily, who was also a producer. Daily commented, "When we came on in season three, the mandate was to bring the show back to its roots. That meant having plotlines spring from relatable experiences, no matter how operatic or convoluted."Hendrickson, Paula (January 15, 2009). "'Housewives' returns to splendor" . Variety. Retrieved May 29, 2011. For the season's main mystery, Cherry and the writers wanted to incorporate more of the series' regular characters rather than bringing in various new ones, like they had done in the second season with Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard) and her family. They developed the Orson plot line around the "idea that one of our women marries a guy who has dark secrets and possibly a violent streak." Cherry opined: "I thought there was something exciting about that, but real and relatable."Snierson, Dan (September 8, 2006). "Third Time's the Charm" . Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2011. Greenstein commented that the writers worked backwards from the second season's cliffhangers to develop the Orson storyline, forsaking the original material that had been developed earlier.Ausiello, Michael (July 20, 2006). "Major Lost, Desperate Spoilerage!" . TV Guide. Retrieved August 9, 2011. The cast responded positively to the new material for the season.
The episode is the first to feature Kyle MacLachlan as a series regular. He originally appeared as Orson Hodge in a string of episodes at the end of the second season.Ausiello, Michael (March 24, 2006). "Former Twin Peaks G-Man Kyle MacLachlan..." . TV Guide. Retrieved May 29, 2011. The Orson character was originally planned as a romantic interest for Susan, according to executive producer Tom Spezialy, until Cherry decided to pair Orson with Bree.Ausiello, Michael (May 31, 2006). "I thought someone was..." . TV Guide. Retrieved May 29, 2011. Additionally, when Orson was introduced toward the end of the second season, he was originally to be a con artist. A character portrayed by Julie White appeared in the second season finale and would have been Orson's accomplice, but the entire storyline was discarded in favor of the mysterious disappearance of Orson's wife and White's character was not seen or mentioned again.Gans, Andrew (May 4, 2006). "Little Dog Julie White to Join "Desperate Housewives" Cast" . Playbill. Retrieved May 29, 2011.Ausiello, Michael (August 2, 2006). "Do you have any Desperate..." . TV Guide. Retrieved May 29, 2011. MacLachlan commented that his character is "desperate to make this relationship with Bree work. Anything that tries to knock that apart becomes a threat." Cherry called Orson Bree's perfect match, but added that their similarities "will ultimately prove to be the downfall of the relationship."
Kiersten Warren also returned to the series as Nora Huntington after being introduced at the end of the second season. On her storyline, Warren commented, "There's a lot of families who are going through this. Not quite the surprise ooh, boo, child, but children from other marriages and trying to meld these families. I think a lot of people have to deal with it. I think it's fantastic that they’re doing this on the show."Topel, Fred (August 22, 2006). . CanMag. Retrieved May 29, 2011. Dougray Scott made his debut in this episode as Ian Hainsworth, Susan's romantic interest. Cherry opined that the character "can legitimately rival Mike for [Susan's] affections." Daily commented on the storyline, saying: "Talk about dark comedy — we're trying to find the humor in these two people bonding over the fact that they each have a partner in a coma." Scott called his character "bumbling at times," adding, "He kind of blossoms after he rediscovers his romantic juices with Susan."Snierson, Dan (September 8, 2006). "Who's new on 'Desperate Housewives'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
Reception Ratings According to ABC, "Listen to the Rain on the Roof" was watched by 24.09 million viewers, placing it as the second-most watched program of the week on all networks, behind ABC's Grey's Anatomy."Ratings Report" . ABC. September 26, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2011. According to Nielsen ratings, the episode received a 14.6 rating/21 share.. Zap2it. September 25, 2006. Retrieved May 29, 2011. The episode was watched by four million less viewers than the second season premiere a year earlier but managed to outperform the second season finale in May.Huff, Richard (September 26, 2006). "Retooled 'Housewives' Is Queen Of Its Time Slot". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
Critical reception