"One Wonderful Day" is the 23rd episode and first season finale of the American comedy-drama television series Desperate Housewives. It was originally broadcast in the United States on ABC (American Broadcasting Company) on May 22, 2005. The episode was directed by Larry Shaw and written by John Pardee, Joey Murphy, series creator Marc Cherry, Tom Spezialy, and Kevin Murphy.
In the episode, the mystery surrounding the suicide of series narrator Mary Alice Young (Brenda Strong) is resolved. Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) finally discovers the truth about Gabrielle's (Eva Longoria) affair while Bree (Marcia Cross) learns that her husband has died. Meanwhile, Zach (Cody Kasch) holds Susan (Teri Hatcher) hostage and Tom (Doug Savant) forces Lynette (Felicity Huffman) to go back to work.
According to Nielsen ratings, the episode drew over 30 million viewers upon its initial broadcasting in the United States, becoming the most-watched program of the night across all networks, as well as the highest-rated episode of Desperate Housewives. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, most of whom complimented the writers for wrapping up the season's major story arcs. However, Ann Hodgman of Entertainment Weekly criticized the episode for being predictable and spending too much time on the Mary Alice storyline. In 2009, TV Guide listed "One Wonderful Day" as the 55th best television episode of all-time.
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Famous quotes containing the words wonderful and/or day:
“I was a wonderful parent before I had children. I was an expert on why everyone else was having problems with theirs. Then I had three of my own.”
—Adele Faber (20th century)
“And you’re too fired up to go to sleep, you sit at the kitchen table. It’s really late, it’s really quiet, you’re tired. Don’t wanna go to bed, though. Going to bed means this was the day. This Feb. 12, this Aug. 3, this Nov. 20 is over and you’re tired and you made some money but it didn’t happen, nothing happened. You got through it and a whole day of your life is over. And all it is—is time to go to bed.”
—Claudia Shear, U.S. author. New York Times, p. A21 (September 29, 1993)