The first season DVD box set of Desperate Housewives was released in North America today, and the first reviews give the product a thumbs up.

Giving a glimpse of what's in the set, Access Hollywood last week took a look at some of the deleted scenes available, a video of which is available at Desperatefans.org. Deleted scenes previewed were Gabrielle Solis on the catwalk, and an extended scene at Bree's kitchen table where it's revealed John is dating Danielle. Also shown was a scene of Edie Britt in her underwear, where a Marc Cherry commentary explained the scene's removal. "The interesting thing about this scene was that it was shot prior to the infamous Monday Night Football thing," he said, referring to an ABC ad which featured Edie seducing a football player and triggered numerous complaints. "We ultimately cut this because we could tell the story without it. I also, incidentally, wanted Nicolette [Sheridan] in a towel for this scene. She wanted the underwear."

Meanwhile the first reviews have appeared online. Brian Tallerico at UGO said there was a lot to be gained from the DVDs, even for those that have seen the episodes. "If you do make it through that season without pulling your hair out at all of creator Marc Cherry's twists and turns, you'll have hours of extras to keep you entertained waiting for the next new episode," he wrote. "Cherry himself comments on his 'favorite episodes,' and while he can be a little dry, no one knows the show better. In other words, he'll give you all the DH trivia you want to impress your friends. Commentaries aren't enough? How about longer versions of the shows you've already seen? Many DH chapters were cut for time and the footage has been reinserted, sometimes even changing what you may think about a certain character's motivations. " In his full review he rates the set an overall A- telling other DVD producers that the Desperate Housewives box set is "how it should be done".

DaViD Boulet at Home Theater Forum was very impressed with the 'Oprah Winfrey is the New Neighbor' spoof. "Freakin' brilliant. I mean BRILLIANT. I found myself *rolling* with laughter a number of times. This spoof... where Oprah moves to Wisteria Lane and meets her new neighbors... the Desperate Housewives... is a total hoot. It also shows just what a great sense of humor Marc Cherry has about the whole thing and how he refuses to take his own show too seriously and can make fun of Desperate Housewives and give everyone a good time. Keep it up Marc." His full review over at Home Theater Forum details the more technical aspects of the product in particular, and comes with a verdict of "recommended".

Patrick Luce writing for Monsters and Critics said that the box set should satisfy old and new fans alike. "Overall, I would recommend 'Desperate Housewives—The Complete First Season' to anyone who never took the time to watch it when it aired on television. It really is a funny show, and one that does a great job blending several different kinds of genres. When I started watching it, I didn't think I would enjoy the show, but was quickly hooked by the great acting, and outrageous plots. If you are already a fan of the show, the DVD set is perfect for you to catch up on anything you might have missed when it first aired, to enjoy the unrated scenes of some of the episodes, and has enough special features to make it worth buying." His full review, where he also details the plot of Desperate Housewives, can be read at Monsters and Critics.

The box set contains a total of 24 episodes, with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. The aspect ratio was originally going to be in 4:3 (known as pan and scan), but following a Get Desperate! petition earlier in the year it was later announced the format would be 16:9 widescreen—preserving the picture size that was broadcast on TV.

The first season DVD box set is available in the region 1 format from Amazon.com. It gets its region 2 release on October 10 2005. A video of the Access Hollywood report can be found over at Desperatefans.org.

Discuss this news item at Talk Desperate!
 Add Get Desperate! RSS feed to your news reader or My Yahoo!
Also a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation fan? Then visit CSIFiles.com!