He's in a great place

Marc CHERRY, the creator of "Desperate Housewives," was doing the first cut of the two-hour May 18 season finale on Monday. "They always start out dreadfully and I hate everything. A couple days later I start to like them," he said.

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The first half of the upcoming season finale is directed by Bethany Rooney, who has directed episodes of nearly every show on TV -- including "Melrose Place" and "90210." Does it help to have a lady director for a lady show?

Um. I don't think the sex of the people matters, the people behind the scenes. It matters if they get the tone. I kind of created it, and I'm not a gal! I care much more that the people who come aboard know how to mix the drama with the comedy. That's the trick, to find people who have those tools at their disposal. Especially that first season, we went through a lot of people who didn't get one or the other. . . . That first season was just murder.

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Does it feel like a burden to be bound to the show until 2011?

Certainly, on the days I'm tired. But the truth of the matter is, unlike some show runners, I was aware that this would only come around once in my career. I've been blessed with a great concept for a show and a great cast. And a great time slot and a great network. Let me protect the franchise -- and at the end of seven years we'll all take our bows and go home. There's something smart about . . . committing to a certain amount of time. I didn't want it to be one of those shows that goes on two seasons too long and the public doesn't care when you say goodbye. There's a couple big hit shows that overstayed their welcome.

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That's what they say about Bill Clinton now!

I will not comment at all in terms of political allusions. But just in general, in life it's good to know when to get off the stage.

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Is it hard to be a Broadway musical enthusiast in Hollywood?

Oh, no, there's a bunch of us running around covertly exchanging gossip about Bernadette Peters, humming tunes from "Gypsy."

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So everyone's all atwitter over the Great Post-Strike Ratings Crash -- "Desperate Housewives" went from 18 to 20 million viewers down to 16 million. Why do Americans hate TV?

I think it's not that they hate TV -- I think DVRs are siphoning off viewers. They had three months to buy new gadgets and discover cable shows. I think the same amount of viewers are watching -- they're apportioning themselves in different ways. It's like when they went from radio to television. The paradigm is shifting. It can be scary for some people, but ultimately we'll all survive it. In 10 years from now it's going to be a completely different landscape.