TONIGHT ON DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: A THREE HOUR SPECIAL. In the opening segment of this episode (much of which occurs in "real time"), Cordie arranges for a home attendant to look after her husband for a few hours so that she can get a second injection to treat her macular degeneration. She also arranges for her daughter Allie to take the day off and make the two hour trip to escort her to the doctor's office.

On the day of the appointment, Allie hits traffic and shows up ten minutes late. The attendant shows up twenty minutes late due to faulty MapQuest directions. Cordie and Allie drive around the doctor's parking lot for five minutes before finding an open space. Everything goes smoothly, albeit slowly, during the first hour at the doctor's office, but then the nurse's aide tells Cordie and Allie that they might not get approval for the injection because Medicare recently increased the inter-injection interval from 28 days to 30 days--and it's only been 28 days since Cordie received her first $2000 shot. The nurse's aide spends the next thirty minutes making phone calls to see if she can get approval for the shot anyway, missing a call from the nurse at her son's school telling her that her son has a fever. Meanwhile, Cordie and Allie try to figure out what they will do in case they have to come back for the injection later. They also check their watches frequently to make sure they still have time before the home attendant has to leave. Their spirits lift when the doctor comes and prepares to give Cordie the injection, but at the last minute the nurse's aide calls him over and tells him that she hasn't gotten approval for the injection.

Ultimately, the nurse's aide informs Cordie and Allie that she received the "okay." When the doctor becomes available again, he seems to have confused Cordie with another patient, but he appears to give her the proper injection while Allie performs her key function: holding Cordie's hand as the needle pierces the eyeball. After driving Cordie back home and spending the rest of the afternoon helping around the house, Allie returns to her own home and realizes that she missed a registration deadline. As the evening unfolds, Cordie braces herself for another restless night.

Tonight on "Desperate Housewives" is a weekly series that premiered on Blog About Town on October 23, 2005. Last week's installment is here.

Photo: David Marc Fischer