Pretty Little Picture

Pretty Little Picture is the third episode of the first season of Desperate Housewives and the third episode of the series overall.

Synopsis
The housewives decides to organize the dinner Mary Alice was organizing; Gabrielle is blackmailed by a 9 year old girl; Bree tries to hide her broken marriage; Karl returns to discuss terms with Susan.

Plot
The ladies contemplate telling Mary Alice's husband Paul about the blackmail note, while he retrieves a mysterious toy chest from underneath his pool. Gabrielle suspects Carlos is catching onto her affair, and that John may be falling in love with her. Bree suggests to Rex that they should enroll in marriage counselling. While helping Edie salvage her belongings, Martha Huber finds a piece of evidence that might implicate Susan – her measuring cup. Edie and Susan continue to fight over Mike's affections as he invites both of them over for dinner, with his dog having to pay the price. Frustrated by her children's behavior, Lynette resorts to an extreme discipline technique, which ultimately backfires. Rex blames Bree for their marital problems in their first counselling session with Dr. Goldfine. Paul throws the toy chest into the town lake.

Starring

 * Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer
 * Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo
 * Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp
 * Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis
 * Nicollette Sheridan as Edie Britt (Credit Only)
 * Steven Culp as Rex Van de Kamp
 * Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Carlos Solis
 * Mark Moses as Paul Young
 * Andrea Bowen as Julie Mayer
 * Jesse Metcalfe as John Rowland
 * Cody Kasch as Zach Young
 * Brenda Strong as Mary Alice Young
 * and James Denton as Mike Delfino

Guest Starring

 * Doug Savant as Tom Scavo
 * Sam Lloyde as Albert Goldfine
 * Richard Burgi as Karl Mayer
 * Anne Dudek as Brandi

Co-Starring

 * Emily Christine as Ashley Bukowski
 * Nealla Gordon as Mrs. Bukowski
 * Lucille Soong as Yao Lin
 * Brent Kinsman as Preston Scavo
 * Shane Kinsman as Porter Scavo
 * Zane Huett as Parker Scavo
 * Keith Pillow as Newscaster

Production Notes

 * Nicollette Sheridan (Edie Britt) is absent in this episode.