My Husband, the Pig
Encyclopedia
“My Husband, the Pig” is the 63rd episode of the ABC
television series, Desperate Housewives
. It was also the sixteenth episode of the show’s third season. It was written by Brian A. Alexander and directed by Larry Shaw
. It originally aired March 4, 2007.
Edie Britt
gets a visit from her ex-husband, Charles McLain (though he is not shown), and their 9-year-old son, Travers. Charles wants Edie to take care of Travers while Charles is in Africa for a month with Doctors Without Borders. Edie does not want to sit her son, but Travers wants to stay with her so she promises to take care of him. Edie’s neighbor Carlos Solis
brings a woman named Kelly to Mike Delfino
’s and his house. As they are about to have sex
, Carlos notices Travers playing outside by himself, in the dark. Carlos brings Travers inside, which causes Kelly to leave. The end of the episode implies that Carlos is reminded of his desire for a child by this incident.
Victor Lang, a rich man in his midforties, tells his chauffeur to rear-end Gabrielle Marquez
’s Aston Martin DB9 Convertible on purpose so he and Gabrielle can meet. The next day, Gabrielle goes to Victor’s office and finds him being interviewed and photographed. He is running for mayor of Fairview
. She agrees to go out with him, and though they have a pleasant date, she does not think he is the right man for her. Still, he is seen confidently telling a waiter he was going to marry "that girl".
Familyman Tom Scavo
makes a nice romantic gesture for his wife Lynette
involving a horse and carriage ride for their anniversary. Naturally, things go awry, but by the end of the episode, they have reaffirmed their love for one another.
Danielle Van de Kamp discovers she is pregnant and it is believed by her family that Edie Britt’s nephew Austin McCann is the father. Danielle’s stepfather Orson Hodge wants Austin to leave town, and he decides that Danielle will go somewhere else to give birth to the baby and then give it up for adoption; the cover story being that she is taking a semester abroad. Austin writes his ex-girlfriend Julie Mayer a heartfelt letter and she agrees to take him back, not knowing about Danielle’s pregnancy. Austin tells Julie he has to leave for a while for "a family thing".
Mike Delfino returns the engagement ring he had planned on giving to his ex-girlfriend Susan Mayer
and the jeweler notes the inscription on the inside dedicated to Susan. At that moment Susan walks in with her engagement ring from her new boyfriend and fiancé Ian Hainsworth; she wants to have the ring resized as Ian bought the wrong size. The jeweler takes the ring that Mike was returning and uses it to size Susan's finger--and it fits. A poker game with all the husbands and bachelors from Wisteria Lane leads to a face-off between Ian and Mike. After selling back the ring he is able to repay Ian for the lawyer he hired for him. However, with Mike quickly losing out on money, Ian offers a new stake saying that if Mike wins the hand he can tell Susan whatever he likes, but if Ian wins Mike cannot utter a word. Mike has 3 kings and 2 queens, and so believes he will win. He loses the hand and cannot tell Susan that he was planning to propose the night he was hit by the car.
), and Parker Scavo (Zane Huett
) do not appear in this episode. Bree Hodge (Marcia Cross
) also does not appear in this episode, although Cross’s stand-in Carolyn Howard was used for the cold open
scene. This is the first episode of the show that Marcia Cross did not appear in.
, though her voice does appear in the “Previously on Desperate Housewives” narrative. This was narrated by Rex Van de Kamp instead. This is Josh Henderson
's last episode.
musical, A Little Night Music
. The title is something of a misnomer
in more ways than one, as only two of the men seen in the episode (Tom and Orson) are currently married and, except for Austin, all appear genuinely considerate in this episode.
’s painting Watson and the Shark
can be seen hanging in Victor’s office.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series, Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
. It was also the sixteenth episode of the show’s third season. It was written by Brian A. Alexander and directed by Larry Shaw
Larry Shaw (director)
Larry Shaw is an American film and television director.He is currently a regular director on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives, where he also serves as a co-executive producer for the show...
. It originally aired March 4, 2007.
Plot
This is a male-focused episode which is narrated by Rex Van de Kamp.Edie Britt
Edie Britt
Edie Britt Williams is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...
gets a visit from her ex-husband, Charles McLain (though he is not shown), and their 9-year-old son, Travers. Charles wants Edie to take care of Travers while Charles is in Africa for a month with Doctors Without Borders. Edie does not want to sit her son, but Travers wants to stay with her so she promises to take care of him. Edie’s neighbor Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis is a fictional character on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira.-Early life:Carlos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico to Juanita and Diego Solis...
brings a woman named Kelly to Mike Delfino
Mike Delfino
Michael "Mike" Delfino is the name of a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor James Denton.- Season 1 :...
’s and his house. As they are about to have sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
, Carlos notices Travers playing outside by himself, in the dark. Carlos brings Travers inside, which causes Kelly to leave. The end of the episode implies that Carlos is reminded of his desire for a child by this incident.
Victor Lang, a rich man in his midforties, tells his chauffeur to rear-end Gabrielle Marquez
Gabrielle Solis
Gabrielle Solís is one of four main characters on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She is portrayed by Eva Longoria...
’s Aston Martin DB9 Convertible on purpose so he and Gabrielle can meet. The next day, Gabrielle goes to Victor’s office and finds him being interviewed and photographed. He is running for mayor of Fairview
Wisteria Lane
Wisteria Lane is the fictional name of a street which the characters of the American drama television series Desperate Housewives live. Desperate Housewives storylines primarily centre around the residents of the street. Wisteria Lane is located inside Universal Studios Hollywood, and is actually...
. She agrees to go out with him, and though they have a pleasant date, she does not think he is the right man for her. Still, he is seen confidently telling a waiter he was going to marry "that girl".
Familyman Tom Scavo
Tom Scavo
Thomas "Tom" Scavo is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, played by actor Doug Savant.Tom originally was a recurring throughout the first season but became a regular in season two. Early storylines often revolve around Tom's working habits and that he is alway...
makes a nice romantic gesture for his wife Lynette
Lynette Scavo
Lynette Scavo is a fictional character on the series Desperate Housewives. The character is playedby actress Felicity Huffman, who won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the role in 2005, and was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series...
involving a horse and carriage ride for their anniversary. Naturally, things go awry, but by the end of the episode, they have reaffirmed their love for one another.
Danielle Van de Kamp discovers she is pregnant and it is believed by her family that Edie Britt’s nephew Austin McCann is the father. Danielle’s stepfather Orson Hodge wants Austin to leave town, and he decides that Danielle will go somewhere else to give birth to the baby and then give it up for adoption; the cover story being that she is taking a semester abroad. Austin writes his ex-girlfriend Julie Mayer a heartfelt letter and she agrees to take him back, not knowing about Danielle’s pregnancy. Austin tells Julie he has to leave for a while for "a family thing".
Mike Delfino returns the engagement ring he had planned on giving to his ex-girlfriend Susan Mayer
Susan Mayer
Susan Delfino is a fictional character played by Teri Hatcher on the American Broadcasting Company television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 3, 2004...
and the jeweler notes the inscription on the inside dedicated to Susan. At that moment Susan walks in with her engagement ring from her new boyfriend and fiancé Ian Hainsworth; she wants to have the ring resized as Ian bought the wrong size. The jeweler takes the ring that Mike was returning and uses it to size Susan's finger--and it fits. A poker game with all the husbands and bachelors from Wisteria Lane leads to a face-off between Ian and Mike. After selling back the ring he is able to repay Ian for the lawyer he hired for him. However, with Mike quickly losing out on money, Ian offers a new stake saying that if Mike wins the hand he can tell Susan whatever he likes, but if Ian wins Mike cannot utter a word. Mike has 3 kings and 2 queens, and so believes he will win. He loses the hand and cannot tell Susan that he was planning to propose the night he was hit by the car.
Cast
Although credited, Preston Scavo (Brent Kinsman), Porter Scavo (Shane KinsmanShane Kinsman
Shane Kinsman is an American child actor who typically plays a rambunctious twin alongside his identical twin brother Brent. He played Kyle Baker in the 2003 film Cheaper by the Dozen and its 2005 sequel Cheaper by the Dozen 2...
), and Parker Scavo (Zane Huett
Zane Huett
Zane Alexander Huett is an American child actor.Zane is most famous for his featured role on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives playing the role of Parker Scavo, the younger son of Lynette and Tom Scavo. He plays the youngest Scavo boy, yet is older by six months than the actors Brent...
) do not appear in this episode. Bree Hodge (Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross
Marcia Anne Cross is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and as Dr...
) also does not appear in this episode, although Cross’s stand-in Carolyn Howard was used for the cold open
Cold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
scene. This is the first episode of the show that Marcia Cross did not appear in.
Series continuity
This is also the first episode not narrated by Mary Alice YoungMary Alice Young
Mary Alice Young is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actress Brenda Strong and narrates the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series...
, though her voice does appear in the “Previously on Desperate Housewives” narrative. This was narrated by Rex Van de Kamp instead. This is Josh Henderson
Josh Henderson
Joshua Baret "Josh" Henderson is an American actor and singer. He rose to fame as one of the male members of Scene 23, a pop singing group that were selected as the winners of The WB's singing competition Popstars 2. After the group disbanded, he began focusing on an acting career...
's last episode.
Title reference
The episode title, My Husband, the Pig is a song taken (cut from the original production) from the Stephen SondheimStephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
musical, A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
. The title is something of a misnomer
Misnomer
A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue. Such incorrect terms sometimes derive their names because of the form, action, or origin of the subject becoming named popularly or widely referenced—long before their true natures were known.- Sources of misnomers...
in more ways than one, as only two of the men seen in the episode (Tom and Orson) are currently married and, except for Austin, all appear genuinely considerate in this episode.
Cultural references
John Singleton CopleyJohn Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley was an American painter, born presumably in Boston, Massachusetts, and a son of Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Irish. He is famous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting in particular middle-class subjects...
’s painting Watson and the Shark
Watson and the Shark
Watson and the Shark is the title of a 1778 oil painting by John Singleton Copley, depicting the rescue of Brook Watson from a shark attack in Havana, Cuba. The original of three versions by Copley is in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.....
can be seen hanging in Victor’s office.
Awards
- James DentonJames Denton (actor)James "Jamie" Thomas Denton, Jr. is an American film and television actor, best known for playing Mike Delfino in the television series Desperate Housewives.-Early life:...
submitted this episode for consideration on his behalf in the category of “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Comedy SeriesThe Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series is an Emmy presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series.-Winners and nominees:...
” at the 2007 Emmy Awards59th Primetime Emmy AwardsThe 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
. - Josh HendersonJosh HendersonJoshua Baret "Josh" Henderson is an American actor and singer. He rose to fame as one of the male members of Scene 23, a pop singing group that were selected as the winners of The WB's singing competition Popstars 2. After the group disbanded, he began focusing on an acting career...
and Doug SavantDoug SavantDouglas Peter "Doug" Savant is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Matt Fielding on Melrose Place and Tom Scavo on the ABC dramedy series Desperate Housewives.-Career:...
both submitted this episode for consideration in the category of “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama SeriesThis is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: Roddy McDowall – Not Without Honor*1962: no award*1963: no award...
”. - John SlatteryJohn SlatteryJohn M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
also submitted this episode for “Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy SeriesThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.-1980s:Outstanding Guest Performer In A Comedy Series*1986: Roscoe Lee Browne – The Cosby Show as Dr...
” - Steven CulpSteven CulpSteven Bradford Culp is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Rex Van de Kamp in the television series Desperate Housewives and CIA Agent Clayton Webb in JAG.-Early life:...
also submitted this episode for consideration of his work in the category of “Outstanding Voice-Over PerformancePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over PerformanceThe Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
” for the 2007 Emmy Awards59th Primetime Emmy AwardsThe 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
.
International titles
- Croatian: Moj muž, svinja (My Husband, the Pig)
- Español: Mi esposo el tramposo (My Husband, the Cheater)
- French: Le grand jeu (Big deal)
- German: Männer sind Schweine (Men Are Pigs)
- Hebrew: בעלי החזיר (Ba'ali HaChazir; My Husband, the Pig)
- Hungarian: A férjem, a disznó (My Husband, the Pig)
- Italian: Sorprese (Surprises)
- Polish: Mój mąż, świnia (My Husband, the Pig)