Because this is a "Special" edition from 2005/2006, it is out of print. Standard Season One sets flood used bookstores and online marketplaces for as little as $5. However, the Desperate Housewives Complete Season 01 Special commands a higher price. Collectors on eBay and Amazon often list sealed copies for $40–$70, while used copies in good condition go for around $25.
Pro Tip: When shopping, look for the "Bombshell Slipcase" (red and black design, not the standard purple box). Verify the back cover lists a 3rd disc titled "Bonus Material: The Secrets of Wisteria Lane." If it doesn't have that, you are buying the generic version.
When Desperate Housewives premiered on ABC in October 2004, no one predicted the cultural firestorm it would ignite. It was a show that looked like a soap opera, walked like a comedy, but stabbed you like a thriller. Nearly two decades later, the show remains a benchmark for primetime television. However, for collectors, binge-watchers, and die-hard fans, there is one version of the premiere season that stands head and shoulders above the standard box set: the elusive Desperate Housewives Complete Season 01 Special.
If you are searching for the ultimate home viewing experience—packed with exclusive content, extended episodes, and the pristine visual quality that Marc Cherry’s vision deserves—you need to look beyond the standard DVD. Here is everything you need to know about this collector’s gem and why it is the definitive way to re-visit the scandalous residents of Wisteria Lane.
On Wisteria Lane the autumn light fell like faded gold through rows of maple leaves; the neighborhood wore its quiet like a mask. The residents went about their rehearsed lives — coffee, carpools, PTA meetings — but behind every trimmed hedge something ached, something dangerous and delicious.
Mary Alice Young’s funeral had settled into memory as both punctuation and question mark. That pale, immaculate woman who had once been the axis of the street was gone, and the house she left behind hummed with a secrecy that pulled the other women together as if by gravity.
Susan Mayer: still awkward and earnest, carrying her bruises like proof she could survive. She had a notebook filled with sketches of possible futures and a vanishingly small confidence that kept undoing itself. Her latest plan — to re-spark a life with Mike Delfino, the brooding handyman who smelled faintly of motor oil and rain — felt both terrifying and inevitable.
Lynette Scavo: simultaneously exhausted and precise, a commander of chaos. Four kids had taught her how to make alliances with silence; a fifth thought (a smoldering possibility) lurked in her marriage with Tom. She juggled tantrums, soccer practice, and the tiny rebellions of a life that once promised more than laundry and logistics. But a small, shimmering secret—an invitation to return to a job she loved—made her heartbeat at night. Desperate Housewives Complete Season 01 Special
Bree Van de Kamp: immaculate armor, manicured composure. Her kitchen was a sanctuary of order; her family was a delicate arrangement she feared might shatter at the faintest tremor. Her marriage to Rex felt like a porcelain sculpture that wouldn’t tell her how it might break. Beneath the aproned perfection, resentment and desire warred. A single late-night conversation with a stranger at a charity auction would set her world tilting.
Gabrielle Solis: glamorous, defiant, and bored to the point of danger. Money closed more doors than it opened; her marriage to Carlos was gilded but suffocating. She flirted with catastrophes for sport — an affair here, a sharp remark there — and the thrill of crossing a line reminded her she still felt. When a long-buried debt from her past reappeared like a shadow in broad daylight, Gabrielle found herself bargaining with consequences.
Together, they formed a fragile constellation of confidences and betrayals. Mary Alice’s death had been the first of many lessons: people lied for love, for convenience, for survival. The secrets stacked: a letter that smelled faintly of perfume, a hidden roll of film in a camera case, a bank statement with numbers that refused to add up. Each clue was a thread that tugged them closer to truth — and danger.
The season unfurled as a mosaic of small domestic crises blooming into menace. An anonymous note arrived in Bree’s mailbox: “You were warned.” Susan found a key hidden under a loose tile in Mary Alice’s house. Gabrielle received a photograph of a younger, desperate woman she’d hoped to forget. Lynette’s son brought home a stranger who said his father was a man Tom had once wronged. Secrets spilled like broken glass.
At the center of the spiral was a deeper revelation: Mary Alice’s past, far from neat or noble, tangled with debts, men who had loved too hard, and a decision that had become impossible to undo. The women, drawn together by grief and curiosity, became amateur detectives — their discoveries stitched into the pattern of their lives. Each discovery demanded choices: to expose, to protect, to forgive, or to hide.
The tone shifted between bitterly comic domestic scenes and darkly lyrical suspense. Bree’s perfectly iced cake sat beside a police report; Susan’s clumsy attempts at romance collided with the grotesque logic of threats and blackmail. Gabrielle’s glamour cracked to reveal a fierceness that surprised even her. Lynette, who had mastered the calculus of crisis, learned that some variables—like love and loyalty—refuse tidy solutions.
The climax came in a rainstorm that seemed to wash the neighborhood clean while really making everything sharper. A confrontation at the Young house — doors open, secrets spilling out — braided the women’s fates together. Long-buried choices were exposed. Accusations came like thunder. And in the end, when the truth about Mary Alice’s disappearance unspooled, it was neither simple confession nor neat resolution. It was messy and human: fear, protection, regret. Someone made a choice to conceal to spare another, and the ripple of that choice shaped the rest of the street. Because this is a "Special" edition from 2005/2006,
After the storm, Wisteria Lane did not become tranquil. The women were altered, as people are after being forced to see themselves clearly. Bree’s household would never again be perfectly ordered; she had tasted the freedom of imperfection. Susan would learn to accept help and to stop apologizing for desire. Lynette would fight for her ambitions in small, stubborn steps. Gabrielle would decide what she truly wanted from power and love. And Mary Alice’s house — that small white silhouette — remained, a reminder that every life contains a story other people can never fully know.
The special closed not with an answer to every question, but with a promise: that life on Wisteria Lane would go on, full of humor and grief, secrets and kindnesses. The women would bicker, forgive, scheme, and protect one another, because in a place made of neat lawns and borrowed smiles, friendship itself was the boldest rebellion.
Desperate Housewives: The Complete First Season DVD set, released on September 20, 2005
, offers an extensive look into the 2004 freshman phenomenon that revitalized ABC's prime-time lineup. This 6-disc collection covers the original 23 episodes following the lives and secrets of the residents of Wisteria Lane after the shocking suicide of Mary Alice Young. Exclusive Bonus Content
This set is noted for having a higher volume of bonus features than typical TV box sets of its era. Extended Episodes: Includes unrated versions of episodes like "Who's That Woman," "Anything You Can Do," "Sunday In The Park With George," "Goodbye For Now," often introduced by creator Marc Cherry Audio Commentaries:
Detailed tracks featuring Marc Cherry, various directors, and the main cast members, providing insight into the production of key episodes like the pilot and the season finale. Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes: "A Stroll Down Wisteria Lane":
An 11-minute tour of the set and production process with Marc Cherry. "Dressing Wisteria Lane": Desperate Housewives was created by Marc Cherry, who
An exploration of the show's specific costume and set design. "Secrets of Wisteria Lane":
An 11-minute look at the brainstorming process for Season 2. Exclusive Clips: Features the "Oprah Winfrey is the New Neighbor"
segment, an 8-minute satirical clip created for Oprah's talk show. Global Phenomenon: "Desperate Housewives Around The World"
explores the show's international impact, including multi-language sequences of iconic scenes. Key Specifications 6-Disc DVD Set Total Runtime Approximately 900 minutes Audio/Subtitles English language and subtitles available Release Date September 20, 2005 Viewer Considerations Desperate Housewives: The Complete First Season [6 Discs]
Desperate Housewives was created by Marc Cherry, who drew inspiration from his own experiences growing up in suburban California and his fascination with the lives of women living in similar environments. The show revolves around the lives of a group of housewives living on Wisteria Lane, a seemingly perfect suburban street. The narrative is presented through the eyes of Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong), who takes her own life in the pilot episode, leaving behind a mysterious suicide note that becomes the season's central mystery.
In an era of cheap plastic cases, the Desperate Housewives Complete Season 01 Special rolls out the red carpet. The packaging is a gatefold digipak designed to look like a glossy real estate brochure for Wisteria Lane. Inside, you will find: