TV

Dana Delany is the best thing that could have happened to Desperate Housewives.

Her turn as a manipulative and competitive suburban Frau named Katherine has given the nighttime soap new life, quieted critics who predicted its demise after four seasons and redeemed the series in fans' eyes.

Before the writers strike put the brakes on this once-again booming drama, a livid Katherine drove away her husband Adam (Nathan Fillion) out of anger for his infidelities.

He returned the ire when he found a note from Katherine's aunt that revealed a horrifying secret from Katherine's past. Katherine threw the note in the fireplace, but her daughter Dylan (Lyndsy Fonseca), whom the secret involves, salvaged some of the note and was revolted by what she learned.

What is this big secret? When the show returns tonight, hopefully we'll get closer to the truth than Bree (Marcia Cross) — Katherine's best frenemy — got to Katherine's coveted lemon-meringue pie recipe.

Speaking of Bree, she and her gal pals are still the central players. To catch everyone up to speed, here's what's going on with the four women of Wisteria Lane.

Bree: Ever the busybody, Bree is dying to know Katherine's business but is still holding on to her own secret. Everyone still thinks Baby Benjamin is Bree's baby, but it's really her daughter Danielle's (Joy Lauren) baby.

During the tornado, Bree and Katherine became friends of sorts. With her roof destroyed, Bree, Orson (Kyle MacLachlan) and Baby Benjamin move in with Susan (Teri Hatcher). Although Wisteria Lane's resident gay neighbors Bob (Tuc Watkins) and Lee (Kevin Rahm) helped Bree find a contractor, he's nursing wounds from a breakup, so Bree tries to hook the contractor up with her hunky son Andrew (Shawn Pyfrom). Susan interferes so Bree will have to stay and take care of her.

Oh, poor Susan: Pregnant and scared because Mike (James Denton) is in rehab for his addiction to painkillers, Susan is searching for stability anywhere she can find it. At first she regretted letting Bree stay with her and daughter Julie (Andrea Bowen), but once Bree started ironing her pillowcases, cleaning her house and making dinner, Susan didn't want to let her go. When she explains her reasoning, Bree stays and bakes Susan a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Sweet, brave Lynette (Felicity Hoffman): Now that her friends know she has the form of cancer called Hodgkin's lymphoma, Lynette has started taking her girlfriends with her when she goes for chemo treatments. More than anything, Lynette is just happy her family survived the tornado. They had been staying in Mrs. McClusky's (Kathryn Joosten) basement, but the storm leveled the house. Ida Greenberg (Pat Crawford Brown), who had also been staying with McClusky, told Lynette's kids and a woozy Tom (Doug Savant) get under the stairwell, but Ida didn't fit. Ida sacrificed her own life to save Tom and the kids.

Gaby (Eva Longoria Parker): Now that her mayor/husband Victor (John Slattery) is dead, Gaby and Carlos (Ricardo Chavira) are finally free to rekindle their love and get remarried. Too bad Carlos is blind and hasn't told Gaby, and, to make matters worse, the couple is poor again. Carlos' off-shore accounts can't be accessed because Gaby and Edie (Nicollette Sheridan) fought over the papers during the storm, and the papers blew away.