Serenity No More: Nathan Fillion Will Ignite New Sparks on Desperate Housewives

While things have never exactly been calm on Wisteria Lane, I fully expect that actor Nathan Fillion will take things to all-new lows; and I mean that in a good way. In his best roles - like the misogynistic preacher on Buffy or tough guy with a heart of gold Captain Reynolds on Firefly - Fillion exudes quick wit and scathing sarcasm. What better place can there for that than Wisteria Lane? I have no doubt his one-liners will make Gabrielle smash her compact in a jealous rage. And, the eternally repressed Bree is about to meet her worst nightmare; a man so charming her could talk a nun out of her habit and teach her some new ones. And, isn't it inevitable that Susan will fall head over heels for his bad boy charm?

Nathan Fillion will play the Gynecologist husband of Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany), who lived on Wisteria Lane twelve years ago but left under mysterious circumstances. The couple returns to the neighborhood, with their daughter Dylan, to take care of the dying Mrs. Sims (Ellen Geer). According to Fillion's August 24th interview with TV Guide, "My manager asked, 'If someone were to tell you that you could be any kind of doctor on Wisteria Lane, what kind would you be?' " he recalls. "I said I'd be a gynecologist so I could interact with all the women." Ironically enough, the couple is returning from Chicago because of a scandal in Adam's (Fillion) professional life, so it seems that Katherine isn't the only one with secrets to hide.

After the dismal failure that Fox's Drive turned out to be, it'll be great to see Fillion in a role where he can cut loose. Because the show is called Desperate Housewives after all, Katherine will get quite a bit of attention initially; including a spatula fight with Bree in the second episode. However, I don't expect that Adam will remain entirely uninvolved in the Wisteria Lane scandals. Traditionally the show has revolved around the female characters, but there's never been an equally duplicitous male actor like Nathan Fillion on the show before either. Tom (Doug Savant of Melrose Place fame) and Mike (James Denton) have a lot of charm, but neither has the underlying wickedness to their personality that is Nathan Fillion's Hollywood trademark.

E! Online's Watch With Kristin reports that "Teri [Hatcher] also shared that in the first episode, she had quite a few scenes with Nathan Fillion, and that he and Dana Delaney are fitting in fabulously and adding a lot to the already wonderful dynamic." Hmmm, wonder why Susan and Adam could be spending so much screen time together? Could it be an affair, or the just the persistent rumor that Susan is pregnant? Only time will tell, but as I said before, Susan (Hatcher) does seems to have a penchant for falling for bad boys. And, even if Susan doesn't fall under Adam's sway, there's always Bree's definitely pregnant daughter Danielle to consider. No matter who he ends up involved with, and let's face it no husband on Wisteria Lane is entirely faithful, Adam is in the perfect position to interact with any - or all - of the Desperate Housewives that give show its saucy charm.

With his own sly fox nature added to the mix, I'm sure Nathan Fillion will bring back the buzz the show had in its first season, plus he'll be bringing a lot of his loyal Buffy and Firefly fans to the show with him.