Everyone else seems to be talking about it, so why shouldn't I? I usually avoid writing about fathers in TV shows, partly because I haven't the time to rail against every lovable-but-confused father figure bumbling around in sitcom land and mostly because I recognize that "Malcolm in the Middle" isn't intended as social criticism.

But please allow me this one comment on the destined-to-be-popular "Desperate Housewives," which is obviously set a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. The women are portraits of unreality, but the men are even more so. There is a hint -- the faintest echo -- of modern motherhood in there (a regretful mom who stepped out of the work world, the pressured-to-be-perfect Martha-Stewart-wannabe mom). But the men in the show are all straight out of the Donna Reed show. Present (sort of), but not accounted for. It's enough to make you pine for Bill Cosby. Or even Jim Belushi.