NEW 'HOUSEWIVES' MYSTERY UNFOLDS

ABC's "Desperate Housewives" has recently enjoyed a lot of positive buzz as Marc Cherry and the show's writing team were praised for putting the show back on its feet after a sophomore slump that some in the industry dubbed a 'creative collapse'.

In order to do so, the writers have come up with a new central mystery for the third season which, unlike that mess of a storyline with the Applewhite family last year, involves many of the core characters.

Last year, Kyle McLachlan was introduced as Orson Hodge, a dentist who befriends Susan (Teri Hatcher) and meets the other housewives when her house burns down. He later meets Bree Van De Kamp (Marcia Cross) as she is 'resting' at a mental institution in the season finale. In the episode, Orson is seen visiting a woman sitting at the window who never talks to anyone.

Later, he gives Mike treatment at his practice. Mike believes he may have seen Orson before while he was serving time at prison. At the end, Orson runs over Mike with his car putting him into a coma.

The next day, he meets Bree and takes her out on a date. At this point, many fans had sighed with frustration as their beloved Bree once again came across an apparent psychopath. It all seemed familiar and made little sense.

Then some people got fired and the original transparent plans to make Orson and the lady at the clinic crooks looking for unsuspecting ladies to con were scrapped. A much more compelling mystery was developed.

In the third season premiere, it was revealed that Orson's ex-wife had gone missing, right after he caught her red-handed as she was getting ready to leave him. Laurie Metcalf was introduced as a suspicious neighbor, who firmly believed her friend was dead and Orson had killed her.

Six months have passed and as Bree is about to marry Orson, his former neighbor crashes the party and accuses the groom of committing murder and then cleaning the house spotless with bleach. That accelerates the storyline and sets the stage for the our ladies to ponder who their friend Bree was really marrying.

In the meantime, the police find a body wrapped in clay that belongs to a woman whose teeth had been pulled out, killed with a trauma to her head. Both Orson and the neighbor confirm it is not Alma, Orson's ex-wife, but as he is leaving the morgue he whispers in French: "I miss you, Monique".

The questions that have arisen are:

Where had Mike met Orson and what did he know about him?
Why did Orson run over Mike? Is it to protect a secret Mike knew about Orson (as it may have been the original plan) or was it revenge for something Mike had done to Orson or someone close to Orson?
What happened to Orson's wife Alma after she had tried to run away from him?
Who is Monique and how did Orson know her?

Now, there is a theory circulating over the Internet that Orson may have been related to the police officer that Mike had killed in self-defense protecting Diadre (and gone to jail for). If the writers spend the whole season leading us to believe that Orson is a killer and then it will turn out that he is not, this theory would give some merit to the horrible act of running over Mike.

We will find out more about the mysterious Monique who appears in flashbacks in an upcoming episode. Apparently, the connection between Mike and Orson will also be revealed when the police realize the dead woman had Mike's phone number written on her hand and they visit Mike when he awakes from his coma. Mike however has amnesia and does not remember how he got into hospital.

What do you think about that? Is Orson really a killer? And who is the mysterious red-headed woman? Could Orson's neighbor know more about Alma's disappearance than she is willing to tell?

Click here for more on tonight's "Desperate Houseiwives" and the return of Andrew Van De Kamp.