The saga of Wisteria Lane comes to a conclusion with the DVD release of the eighth and final season of Desperate Housewives. An unabashedly tawdry domestic drama that breathed new life into the nighttime soap genre, creator Marc Cherry’s series used its central murder-mystery conceit as a pivot-point to explore all sorts of other suburban shenanigans over the years.

For friends Susan (Teri Hatcher), Lynette (Felicity Huffman), Bree (Marcia Cross) and Gaby (Eva Longoria), in the fictional town of Fairview, life is… well, complicated. United by their involvement in the death of Gaby’s loathsome stepfather (Alejandro Perez) from the previous season’s finale, the women find the airtight nature of their secret questionable and under siege when Bree receives an anonymous message intoning, “I know what you did.” Recriminations, panic and confessions ensue, naturally. As Renee (Vanessa Williams) tries to spark up some romance with hot new Aussie neighbor Ben (Charles Mesure) and Lynette and husband Tom (Doug Savant) try to navigate the rough waters of their separation, meanwhile, Susan jumps headfirst into a “relationship” with a volatile art professor (Miguel Ferrer) determined to coax out her wild side.

The show’s eighth season frequently reveals its age, honestly. The introduction of and focus on supporting characters other the main remaining quartet of friends often feels more geared toward guest star ratings-goosing than smoothly integrated storylines. The pair of episodes that brought the series to a close, “Give Me the Blame” and “Finishing the Hat,” wrap things up in a decent enough manner (there’s a nice wink to secrecy‘s pervasiveness in the last scene) considering some of the more far-flung and problematic plot arcs of the season. Sure, it leans on stereotypical dramatic devices (a birth! a wedding!), but the show has always at its core been a subversion of domestic expectation, and a peek over picket fences. Perhaps most unsatisfyingly, though, the episodes undercut the audience’s collective imagination by sketching out the futures of its characters a bit too specifically.

Spread out over five digitally mastered discs, and housed in a case with snap-in trays, Desperate Housewives: The Complete Eighth and Final Season comes to DVD in a nice set in turn stored in a complementary cardboard slipcover. The series’ trademark investment in primary colors — sometimes subliminal, sometimes not — comes through clear in a solid transfer, and the Dolby digital audio track is straightforward and robust, for a series that doesn’t have a lot of complicated aural design.

In terms of bonus features, the big inclusion here is a hearty behind-the-scenes featurette that casts a look back at series. Buoyed by sit-down chats with all the principals, this is a solid and well-produced piece of nostalgic reminiscence for fans. Aforementioned creator Cherry sits for an audio commentary track on the series’ finale, and talks about juggling disparate impulses in bringing his baby into the harbor. Along with a collection of previews, there is also a collection of deleted scenes and bloopers — the latter of which serves to remind viewers that the polished, finger-snapping tone of the show and some of its dialogue does not always come easy, or on first takes. Only demerits? What could have been, in the form of more audio commentaries or a look at fan goodbye parties and the like. To purchase the set via Amazon, click here. And if brick-and-mortar stores are still your thing, then by all means rock on with your bad self. C+ (Show) B (Disc)