A- DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC) 9 p.m. (Pictured at left)
Starring: Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman
They say: Over-the-top soap operatics in suburbia, narrated by a housewife who killed herself. The ladies of Wisteria Lane expected oh so much more from life.
We say: This melodrama is tinged with John Waters-esque camp, as it slyly upends the American dream.
Should be known as: “Stomach Tied Up in Knots Landing’’

BOSTON LEGAL (ABC) 10 p.m.
Starring: James Spader, William Shatner, Mark Valley
They say: David E. Kelley is officially obsessed with Boston law. His morally challenged litigators continue to outfox one another on this “Practice’’ spinoff.
We say: Spader is guilty of being irresistible. But Kelley’s repetitive law-firm antics are easily dismissed.
Should be known as: “The Practice of Overstaying Welcome’’
Grade: No preview available

A- JACK & BOBBY (WB) 9 p.m.
Starring: Matthew Long, Christine Lahti
They say: Jack and Bobby McCallister – not Kennedy – come of age with single mother and pot addict Lahti. Viewers know what the characters don’t: that one of the boys will become president in the 2040s.
We say: It’s fresh and innovative, with flash-forward interviews with the kids as adults. Also: loving Lahti.
Should be known as: “Portrait of a President as a Young Man’’

(Text by Matthew Gilbert / Globe Staff)