Desperate networks

Desperate networks do desperate things. And ABC, mired in fourth place in the ratings, has certainly taken a different approach for the upcoming TV season.

ABC is putting some good shows on the air, including two of the best shows — or, at least, the best pilots — of the fall, "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost."

CBS, meanwhile, has been on top of the ratings and, conversely, doesn't have much to get excited about this fall. What it does have, however, is the one sure-fire hit of the season — "CSI: NY."

Here's what viewers can expect from the No. 1 and No. 4 networks in coming weeks:

Desperate Housewives (Sundays, 8 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4) deftly blends comedy, drama, soap opera, satire and mystery into the best pilot episode of the season — a show that defies conventions to create something both familiar and fresh.

The domestic tranquility of seemingly idyllic Wisteria Lane is shattered in the opening moments of the premiere when Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) kills herself. But she doesn't go away — Mary Alice narrates the series, which looks behind the scenes at the lives of the other desperate housewives.

Susan (Teri Hatcher of "Lois & Clark") is a single mom dumped by her philandering husband. Lynette (Felicity Huffman of "Sports Night") gave up a high-powered career and is now the overwhelmed mother of four young children. Bree (Marcia Cross of "Everwood" and "Melrose Place") is a seemingly perfect Martha Stewart clone whose family is falling apart. Gabrielle (Eva Longoria of "Young & the Restless") is an ex-model who doesn't get what she wants from her husband, so she turns to the teenage gardener. And Edie (Nicollette Sheridan of "Knots Landing") is a serial divorcee with a long list of conquests.

There are the men, as well, including the hunky new neighbor (James Denton) and various husbands (Steven Culp, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, Mark Moses). And there's also a bunch of kids.

"Desperate Wives" plays with soap opera conventions without looking down its nose at them. It's sly and witty — sometimes even laugh-out-loud funny — while creating remarkably believable characters.

And it doesn't take you long to get caught up in the plots — like by the end of the pilot. (Why did Mary Alice kill herself, anyway?)

If creator/writer/executive producer Marc Cherry ("The Golden Girls") can maintain that quality in future episodes, this could be one of the best shows on TV, period.

"Desperate Housewives" premieres Sunday, Oct. 3.