Desperate Housewives Play Around

Doll maker Madame Alexander is creating a line of 16-inchers based on the five main Desperate Housewives; the line will be featured in the spring 2007 issue of Fashion Dolls Quarterly

By Natalie Finn Jan 03, 2007 1:20 AMTags

The ladies of Wisteria Lane are feeling pretty small these days, but not because of any petty squabbles or scandalous behavior. 

Instead, Desperate Housewives' five main characters, played by Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria, Marcia Cross and Nicollette Sheridan, are being turned into 16-inch plastic types by doll maker Madame Alexander. 

The company, which launched a line of dolls based on Disney film heroines and another based on classic nursery rhyme characters in 2006, could not be reached for comment at press time, so that we could ask why Madame Alexander was adding its refined touch to the dirty dealings on Desperate Housewives

But if nothing else, the accessory possibilities are endless. 

Per the manufacturer's Website, the upcoming line will be featured in Fashion Doll Quarterly's spring 2007 issue. 

The cover of the doll-peddling glossy features the carefully coiffed Susan, Gabrielle, Bree and Edie dolls decked out in dresses and Lynette suited up in business attire. 

Thanks to her vividly different hair color, Cross' Bree Van de Kamp replica is the most recognizable of the quintet. Longoria's Gabrielle Solis, meanwhile, is saved from looking just like Hatcher's Susan Mayer by a slightly darker tan. Consumers are going to have to rely on the very different outfits—think tailored suit versus low-cut halter—to tell Huffman's Lynette Scavo and Sheridan's Edie Britt apart, however. 

A posting on desperateblog.com by Leora Israel Zellman voiced concern that the dolls won't catch on because the majority of Desperate Housewives's audience is past the playing-with-dolls stage. 

"I can see crazy fans like myself getting them as keepsakes, but I just don’t think the dolls will be all that popular," Israel Zellman said. 

Well, maybe it's never too late for Desperate fans to indoctrinate their little girls into the world of Wisteria Lane. 

And there are plenty of adult devotees to go around. The hit ABC series, which, according to critics, has regained its creative footing this year after an off-kilter second season, is scoring 21.3 million viewers a week, 11.2 million of which are in the coveted 18-49 demographic. 

New episodes of the Emmy-winning dramedy return Jan. 7.