The script of Desperate Housewives
Season 1 第一季
第一集：
OPEN ON: [EXT. WISTERIA LANE --- MORNING]
(A school bus drives up the road. Friendly "Good Morning" are exchanged between neighbours. A woman pushes a baby carriage along, while a car pulls out of a driveway and drives down the road. GABRIELLE jogs past a fence on the sidewalk.
Pan to:(EXT.YOUNG HOUSE - FRONT YARD)
(MARY ALICE comes out of her front door and down the porch steps, carrying a basket of flowers. She kneels in front of her flowerbed, and smells a flower, smiling faintly.)
NARRATOR: My name is Mary Alice Young. When you read this morning's paper, you may come across an article about the unusual day I had last week. Normally, there's never anything newsworthy about my life. That all changed last Thursday. Of course everything seemed as normal at first. I made my breakfast for my family.
(Cut to:MARY ALICE, carrying a plate of waffles to the breakfast table, where PAUL and ZACH are sitting. She passes the plate to PAUL.)
MARY ALICE::Here we are. Waffles.
NARRATOR: I performed my chores.
(Cut to:MARY ALICE, flipping a switch on the washing machine, and then lifting a basket of clothing off the machine.
NARRATOR: I completed my projects.
(Cut to:MARY ALICE, stirring a paintbrush in a can of paint and painting a garden chair)
NARRATOR: I ran my errands (Cut to:MARY ALICE picking up the dry-cleaning, then retrieving the mail from the mailbox.)
NARRATOR: In truth, I spent the day as I spend every other day - quietly polishing the routine of my life until it gleamed with perfection.
(Cut to:MARY ALICE, straightening a photo frame on top of the piano. She sighs with satisfaction, a contented smile on her face.)
NARRATOR: That's why it was so astonishing when I decided to go to my hallway closet to retrieve a revolver that had never been used.
(Cut to:MARY ALICE takes a box off a shelf in the closet. Looking worried and distraught, she shakily puts a revolver to her temple. We see a finger pulling the trigger, and a loud shot is heard. The camera stays on the YOUNG family picture, as the blurred reflection of MARY ALICE is shown in the frame of the picture falling to the ground.)
(Cut to: MRS. HUBER'S HOUSE - KITCHEN)
(MRS. HUBER's finger dips into a pool of red sauce (resembling blood). She licks the sauce on her finger, as she turns her head towards the YOUNG house, puzzled by the sound she's heard.)
本段词汇与句法：
（1） baby carriage 婴儿手推车
（2） come across 偶遇，遭遇，此处意思为在报纸上无意看到
（3） newsworthy 有新闻价值的
（4） I performed my chores 我做了家务
（5） run errands 干活 做事
（6） contented smile 满足的微笑
（7） distraught 烦恼的，心痛的
NARRATOR: My body was discovered by my neighbour, Mrs. Martha Huber, who had been startled by a strange popping sound. Her curiosity aroused, Mrs. Huber tried to think of a reason for dropping in on me unannounced. After some initial hesitation, she decided to return the blender she had borrowed from me 6 months before.
(MRS. HUBER takes a blender labeled Property of MARY ALICE YOUNG off a shelf, and hurries next door to ring the doorbell. Hearing no answer, she hurries to the side of the house, where she peers inside the window and sees MARY ALICE's dead body lying on the ground, a pool of blood next to her. She screams. We see MRS. HUBER hurry back to her own house.)
MRS HUBER: (on the phone) It's my neighbour. I think she's been shot, there's blood everywhere. Yes, you've got to send an ambulance. You've got to send one right now!
(MRS. HUBER hangs up the phone. She stands in the kitchen, lips trembling, fighting tears.)
NARRATOR: And for a moment, Mrs. Huber stood motionless in her kitchen, grief-stricken by this senseless tragedy. But, only for a moment.
(MRS. HUBER turns her head sideways, noticing the blender sitting on the kitchen counter. She rips the label off the blender, and puts it back on her shelf.)
NARRATOR: If there was one thing Mrs. Huber was known for, it was her ability to look on the bright side.
(MRS. HUBER shuts the cupboard door.)
OPENING CREDITs
CUT TO: [EXT. WISTERIA LANE -- DAY]
(Residents wearing black clothing and bearing plates and baskets of food are walking towards the YOUNG household)
NARRATOR: I was laid to rest on a Monday. After the funeral, all the residents of Wisteria Lane came to pay their respects. And as people do in this situation, they brought food.
(Pan to:LYNETTE, holding a plate of fried chicken with one hand as she walks.)
NARRATOR: Lynette Scavo brought fried chicken. Lynette had a great family recipe for fried chicken.
(Flashback to: LYNETTE talking animatedly in a conference room as she points at a projected screen with charts and figures, a room full of corporate businesspeople taking notes or watching as she shows her presentation, smiling with confidence.)
NARRATOR: Of course, she didn't cook much as she was moving up the corporate ladder. She didn't have the time.
(Fade to: The doctor's office, where he performs a sonogram on LYNETTE's exposed belly, as LYNETTE lies in a chair watching the screen, laughing with excitement. Her husband, TOM, sits next to her as he watches with amazement at the sonogram, holding LYNETTE's hand.)
NARRATOR: But when her doctor announced Lynette was pregnant, her husband Tom had an idea. Why not quit your job? Kids do much better with stay at home mums; it was so much less stressful.
(We see TOM gesturing, talking animatedly as he proposes this idea to LYNETTE, who nods hesitantly in agreement as she looks at him.)
NARRATOR: But this was not the case.
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
(LYNETTE pushes a baby carriage with her free hand, looking weary. The SCAVO children, Twins PRESTON & PORTER, and the younger brother PARKER, jostles each other as they walk on the sidewalk in front of the carriage, bickering rowdily with each other.)
NARRATOR: In fact, Lynette's life had become so hectic she was now forced to get her chicken from a fast food restaurant. Lynette would have appreciated the irony of it if she stopped to think about it, but she couldn't. She didn't have the time.
本段词汇与句法：
（1） startle 吃惊
（2） you've got to send an ambulance. You've got to send one right now!（你们得派救护车来，而且马上就得来！）You’ve got to do something, 最常用口语句法之一，表示：你得做什么事情（不得不做的事情）
（3） grief-stricken 陷入悲痛
（4） She rips the label off the blender. – 她将标签从搅拌机上撕下。这里的rip和off是分开的，rip表示撕开，拉开，后面的off是表示标签离开搅拌机。另外还有一个常用语 rip off, 表示高价宰客， 或抢劫，剥夺的意思。比如：This is a rip off. 这简直是抢我们的钱。”Friends” 剧本里面也有这么一句：Then tell us how many times you’ve got ripped off．告诉我们你被宰过多少次吧。也是这个意思。
(LYNETTE pushes in front of the 3 boys, trying to separate them.)
LYNETTE: Hey, hey, hey, hey!
(She kneels in front of them with a stern look on her face.)
LYNETTE: Stop it, stop it, stop it. Stop it.
PRESTON: But Mom!
LYNETTE: No, you are going to behave today. I am not going to be humiliated in front of the entire neighbourhood. And, just so you know how serious I am... (reaches inside her top and pulls a folded piece of paper from her pocket)
PRESTON: What's that?
LYNETTE: Santa's cell-phone number.
PORTER: How'd you get that?
LYNETTE: I know someone, who knows someone, who knows an elf. And if anyone of you acts up, so help me, I will call Santa and tell him you want socks for Christmas. You willing to risk that?
SCAVO kids: Uh-uh! (all shake their heads vehemently)
LYNETTE: Okay.
(She tucks the paper back in her pocket, and straightens.)
LYNETTE: Let's get this over with.
(The camera pans across the road.)
本段词汇和句法：
（1） stern look 严肃的表情
（2） How'd you get that? （How did you get that?）发音时这个did几乎不发音，所以会写成 How’d.
（3） Elf 精灵
（4） act up 不听话， 调皮捣蛋
（5） vehemently 反应强烈地，热烈地
（6） tuck 折叠
（7） straighten 整理一下衣服
（8） Let’s get this over with. 让我们把这事做完了事。（get this/it over with， 指那些不太愿意去做但是还得去做的事情）
(Pan to:EXT. SOLIS HOUSE - FRONT YARD)
(CARLOS stands outside, hands in his pocket, turning his head to see GABRIELLE come out of the front door, holding a plate in one hand and a bag in the other. She wears a black halter neck dress, black high heels and an expensive diamond necklace. )
NARRATOR: Gabrielle Solis, who lives down the block, brought a spicy paella.
(Flashback to: GABRIELLE, strutting down a runway, wearing a pink dress as she models, the crowd is clapping and many cameras are flashing. The camera pans to CARLOS sitting in the audience.)
NARRATOR: Since her modelling days in New York, Gabrielle had developed a taste for rich food and rich men. Carlos, who worked in mergers and acquisitions, proposed on their third date. Gabrielle was touched when tears welled up in his eyes.
(Flash to: GABRIELLE and CARLOS, sitting in a restaurant. CARLOS holds out a ring as GABRIELLE gasps, excitedly hopping up and down in her chair as she agrees, smiling and laughing. We see the gleam of CARLOS' tears of happiness as he smiles at her.)
NARRATOR: But she soon discovered this happened every time Carlos closed a big deal.
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
(GABRIELLE walks down the pathway to where CARLOS is waiting, and hands him the plate.
They start walking together towards the YOUNG house.)
NARRATOR: Gabrielle liked her paella piping hot. However, her relationship with her husband was considerably cooler.
CARLOS: If you talk to Al Mason at this thing, I want you to casually mention how much I paid for your necklace.
GABRIELLE: Why don't I just pin the receipt to my chest?
CARLOS: He let me know how much he paid for his wife's new convertible. Look, just work it into the conversation.
GABRIELLE: There's no way I can just work that in, Carlos.
CARLOS: Why not? At the Donohue party, everyone was talking about mutual funds. And you found a way to mention you slept with half the Yankee outfield.
GABRIELLE: I'm telling you, it came up in the context of the conversation.
CARLOS: Hey, people are starting to stare. Can you keep your voice down please?
GABRIELLE: (sigh) Absolutely. Wouldn't want them to think we're not happy.
本段词汇与句法：
（1） paella 一般词典都译为：西班牙菜肉饭。其实这道菜有西班牙文化在里头。在西班牙的Valencia，人们常说 Andar de paella, 这话是当地的社交辞令，就如我们中国人说的：吃饭了吗？。Paella对与很早以前的西班牙人来说，就好比很早以前的北京人想吃烤鸭一样，都是属于在过节时候吃的大餐。现在的西班牙餐厅，这道菜更多地被称为，西班牙海鲜饭。一般是一个平底锅底部铺着了蔬菜和饭，上面盖满了各种海鲜和肉。不但好看，而且美味。温哥华downtown的cambie桥下面有一家西班牙餐厅，几年前公司聚餐就在那里，当时自己也学着同事点了这个饭，非常美味，只是当时还不知道这个饭有浓厚的西班牙文化在里头。甚至连Metrotown Kingsway上的咖喱皇都有西班牙海鲜饭，影响力可见一斑。
由这个paella还可以猜想，Gabrielle 或者 Carlos 里面肯定至少有一人的家族是墨西哥人。
（2） Gabrielle had developed a taste for rich food and rich men….. 这句话已经有黑色幽默在里头，有时候简单的文字能够表达出远超出文字本身的涵义。
（3） tears welled up in his eyes 热泪盈眶，这里的tear后面加了s, 表示这个热泪盈眶还不是一次，文字传神啊。
（4） Gabrielle liked her paella piping hot. 这里的piping hot是热气腾腾的意思。
（5） There's no way I can just work that in，我可没有办法把它编进去。Work…..in 把…编进去。意指把买了昂贵项链的事情自然地编到对话中去，以显示富有。
CUT TO: [EXT. YOUNG HOUSE - PORCH].
(The door opens to BREE's serenely smiling face. We see REX, her husband, behind her, an expression of exasperation on his face.)
NARRATOR: Bree Van De Kamp, who lives next door, brought baskets of muffins she baked from scratch. Bree was known for her cooking.
(Flashback to: BREE, sitting at a sewing machine, making clothes.)
NARRATOR: And for making her own clothes.
(Cut to:BREE, garbed in work-wear, planting a tree.)
NARRATOR: And for doing her own gardening.
(Cut to:BREE, using a hand knife to slice open the cover of a stuffed chair.)
NARRATOR: And for reupholstering her own furniture.
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
NARRATOR: Yes, Bree's many talents were known throughout the neighbourhood. And everyone on Wisteria Lane thought of Bree as the perfect wife and mother. Everyone, that is, except her own family.
(We see an exasperated REX, and her children - an annoyed ANDREW and a frazzled-looking DANIELLE - behind BREE, the very image of perfection. She carries a basket of baked goods in each hand as she walks up to PAUL and ZACH, looking sympathetic.)
BREE: Paul, Zachary.
ZACH: Hello Mrs. Van De Kamp.
PAUL: Bree, you shouldn't have gone to all this trouble.
(PAUL extends his hands to take the baskets from BREE, who moves the baskets out of his reach as he tries to take them from her.)
BREE: It was no trouble at all. Now the basket with the red ribbon (holds up the basket) is filled with desserts for your guests. But the one with the blue ribbon (holds up the other basket) is just for you and Zachary. It's got rolls, muffins, breakfast type things.
PAUL: Thank you.
BREE: Well, the least I could do is make sure you boys had a decent meal to look forward to in the morning. I know you're out of your minds with grief.
(REX, ANDREW and DANIELLE exchange long-suffering glances and mental eyeballing.)
PAUL: Yes, we are.
BREE: (beat) Of course, I will need the baskets back once you're done. (smiling serenely)
(REX looks with disbelief at his wife.)
PAUL: (taken back) Of course.
(BREE walks off with the baskets, leaving the rest of them stunned. REX is literally open-mouthed with disbelief.)
本段词汇与句法：
（1） serenely smiling face 平静的笑脸。 常用的英文修饰法，副词serenely修饰形容词smiling, 而后者又修饰名词face.作者在第一次介绍Bree出场时候特意用了这个serenely是有他深意的，因为再往下看就明白， 这个Bree笑的时候永远是serene的，不会笑出声或大笑的时候，以显示她永远追求的优雅。
（2） exasperation 恼怒。
（3） reupholstering re-upholster 重新装饰椅面
（4） frazzled-looking 看起来疲惫的，这里的含意是Danielle厌倦了她妈妈所作的事情
（5） you shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. 你不必这么麻烦自己的啊。重要而常用的句法。
（6） It’s no trouble at all. 一点儿都没问题。常用说法。
（7） Well, the least I could do is……. (我至少能做的，就是……) 前面加Well语气词对前面别人说得语意的转折。
（8） you're out of your minds with grief 你已经悲痛欲绝了
（9） long-suffering glances 意味深长的眼睛对视。Mental eyeballing 厌恶的眼神 (glance是眼睛一瞥的意思，这里表示两个孩子很厌恶他们母亲的这种做法，但又不好说出来，所以只能互相对看一眼，然后眼神一转，以示他们内心的厌恶)
（10） open-mouthed 张开的嘴 这种用法很普遍，比如 right-handed, open-minded.
(Cut to:EXT. MEYER HOUSE - PORCH --- DAY)
(SUSAN and her daughter JULIE comes out of their front door. SUSAN holds a flat, rectangular dish covered in tin foil. The wind blows the foil off, SUSAN snatches it back and recovers the dish as she and JULIE walk down the pathway.
NARRATOR: Susan Meyer, who lives across the street, brought macaroni and cheese. Her husband Carl always teased her about her macaroni, saying it was the only thing she knew how to cook, and she rarely made it well. It was too salty the night she and Carl moved into their new house.
(Flashback to: SUSAN and CARL sitting at their kitchen table, laughing and smiling. JULIE, as a baby, is sitting between them.)
NARRATOR: It was too watery the night she found lipstick on Carl's shirt.
(Cut to:SUSAN throws a towel at CARL, who catches it and throws it on the ground, as they yell at each other. JULIE, as a toddler, sits there watching her parents argue.)
NARRATOR: She burned it the night Carl told her he was leaving her for his secretary.
(Cut to:SUSAN and JULIE at about 13, sits at the table, the macaroni and cheese in the middle, untouched. CARL comes down the stairs carrying suitcases, and leaves via the kitchen door. SUSAN starts crying, as JULIE rubs her arm.)
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
NARRATOR: A year had passed since the divorce. Susan was starting to think how nice it would be to have a man in her life, even one who would make fun of her cooking.
JULIE: Mom, why would someone kill themselves?
SUSAN: Well, sometimes people are so unhappy they think it's the only way they can solve their problems.
JULIE: But Mrs. Young always seemed happy.
SUSAN: Yeah, sometimes people pretend to be one way on the outside and they're totally different on the inside.
本段词汇与句法：
（1） snatch 抢夺。这里的意思是风快把食物盘上盖锡箔吹走了，Susan赶紧把它抓回来。
（2） make fun of (tease 取笑某人)
JULIE: Oh you mean how Dad's girlfriend is always smiling and says nice things but deep down you just know she's a bitch.
SUSAN: I don't like that word, Julie. But yeah, that's a great example.
(Cut to: YOUNG HOUSE - LIVING ROOM -- WAKE --- DAY SUSAN and JULIE walk in the front door. SUSAN puts the dish down on the table and takes the tin foil off. JULIE joins the teenage group standing next to the table.)
JULIE: Hey, what's going on?
(Cut to:YOUNG HOUSE - KITCHEN -- WAKE --- DAY SUSAN walks in, dumping the tin foil in the bin. BREE, GABRIELLE and LYNETTE are sitting around at the kitchen table. LYNETTE is holding the baby.)
SUSAN: Sorry I'm late.
GABRIELLE: Hi Susan.
LYNETTE: (smiles at SUSAN) Hey.
(BREE looks up at SUSAN, looking upset. SUSAN takes her place at the table, and looks at the one empty chair in the table, where MARY ALICE used to sit. She picks up the coffee pot, and starts pouring coffee into a mug. We follow the stream of coffee into the mug.)
(Flashback to: The same stream of coffee being poured into a mug. SUSAN looks up at MARY ALICE, who is pouring coffee into SUSAN'S mug. MARY ALICE sits back down in her seat and puts down the coffee jug.)
MARY ALICE:(to SUSAN) So? What did Carl say when you confronted him?
SUSAN: You'll love this, he said it doesn't mean anything, it was just sex.
(They all groan.)
BREE: Oh yes, page one of the philanderer's handbook.
SUSAN: Yeah, and then he got this Zen look on his face, and he said, you know Susan, most men live lives of quiet desperation.
LYNETTE: Please tell me you punched him.
SUSAN: No, I said, really? And what do most women lead, lives of noisy fulfillment?
GABRIELLE: (raises her eyebrows) Hmm.
MARY ALICE: Good for you.
SUSAN: I mean, of all people, did he have to bang his secretary? I had that woman over for brunch. GABRIELLE: It's like my grandmother always said, an erect penis doesn't have a conscience.
LYNETTE: Even the limp ones aren't that ethical.
BREE: This is half the reason I joined the NRA. (SUSAN looks at her.) Well, when Rex started going to those medical conferences, I wanted at the back of his mind that he had a loving wife at home, with a loaded Smith and Wesson.
MARY ALICE: Lynnie? Tom's always away on business. Do you ever worry he might..?
LYNETTE: Oh, please, the man's gotten me pregnant three times in four years. I wish he was having sex with someone else. (smiles)
BREE: So Susan, is he going to stop seeing that woman?
SUSAN: I don't know. (smiles, tearing up) I'm sorry you guys, I just... I just don't know how I'm going to survive this.
MARY ALICE: Listen to me. (puts her hand on SUSAN's hand) We all have moments of desperation. But if we can face them head on, that's how we find out just how strong we really are.
(SUSAN puts her other hand on top of MARY ALICE's hand, smiling at her.)
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
BREE: Susan? Susan. (SUSAN withdraws her hand from the same position from the flashback.) I was just saying Paul wants us to go over on Friday. He needs us to go through Mary Alice's closet, and help pack up her things. He says he can't face doing it by himself.
SUSAN: Sure, that's fine.
BREE: Are you OK?
SUSAN: Yeah. I'm just so angry. If Mary Alice was having problems, she should have come to us; she should have let us help her.
GABRIELLE: What kind of problems could she have had? She was healthy, had a great home, a nice family. Her life was?-
LYNETTE: -our life.
GABRIELLE: No, if Mary Alice was having some sort of crisis, we'd have known. She lives 50 feet away, for god's sakes.
SUSAN: Gabby, the woman killed herself. Something must've been going on.