Missing Desperate Housewives ? Here’s the cure. The wild women of Footballers Wive $ (think Dynasty with a bit of Absolutely Fabulous ) crank it up several notches over the ladies of Wisteria Lane. Footballers Wive $, which started its fourth season June 4 on BBC America, is filled with the kind of scheming, conniving, manipulating and back-stabbing that would make Dynasty’s Alexis (Joan Collins ) proud. It is her spirit that crackles anew in Zoe Lucker’s portrayal of the twice-widowed, ruthless Tanya Turner. In the Dynasty tradition, she and her rival, ex-Bollywood film star Amber Gates (Laila Rouass ) have had vicious catfights and inflicted stunning cruelties upon each other (baby swapping, acid in cosmetics ). Mostly, it’s over Amber’s husband, team star Conrad Gates (Ben Price ). This adult show has sex, nudity, bad language, drugs, booze and murder. And no distracting soccer matches ! There are some laughs in this more-intelligent-than-it-might-seem soccer-soap of lavish living, outlandish outfits and even more outlandish plot twists. Housewives will have a lot to live up to this fall when this new season of Footballers Wive $ is through with the summer. It lives up to its slogan: “Everyone plays dirty.” To get up to speed on these Wives, BBC America starts a marathon at 1 p. M. Sunday. It begins with the previous season’s finale, followed by the first three episodes of the current season.

 

From