TV Corner

Let’s Talk About… Sex and the City

Whimsically Meghan

Hello all, today I’m going to be talking about the HBO drama, Sex and the City!

First off, I know I said last week was my last TV Tuesday, but I changed my mind, and this one is definitely my last of the year.
Secondly, I wrote this one a little different. I am going to be talking about all six seasons here because it’s easier for me to talk about- so I hope you enjoy!

Sex and the City is a show that follows around 4 women in their early thirties living in Manhattan.

I have to be honest, I didn’t think the show was that into sex; I know it’s in the title, but I just figured it was more of a drama about their lives, not about their sex lives- so I was in for a bit of a surprise. But the show is incredible! Every episode goes into a sexual issue that women face- for example, they talk about vibrators, threesomes, and having sex on a first date. I think it’s a great show for women, not just to relate to, but to learn from.
Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is the main character, who narrates the show and her life. It’s not very comical at first, and the way she starts to talk into the camera during some of her monologues is a bit off putting, but as you get farther into the series, it starts to become a comfort, and she stops talking into the camera after season one!
The reason she narrates everything is because she has a column in the local paper- Sex and the City.
Mr. Big (Chris Noth) is a prominent person in her life, as she starts to date him. I never liked him. He could be so rude to her and just plain dumb at times. When he just leaves her at the end of season one, I was sad to see him go, but also happy because he’s gone… Or is he?
Of course Mr. Big comes back, and Carrie thinks he’s changed, but has he really? At first it looks like he hasn’t, but then half way through season two he just sweeps her off her feet,
 and he does change- but for how long? Not long at all. He breaks her heart.
But not long later does she meet the perfect guy- Aiden Shaw (John Corbett).
He’s cute, he’s funny, and says all the right things. At first Carrie can’t figure out if they’re just friends or more, but soon things get pretty serious. And they are so cute.
That is until Carrie messes up by sleeping with Mr. Big- a now married man. I thought they would only do it that one time, but no they continue on to this affair until Natasha (Mr. Big’s wife) finds out, and things are officially over. It isn’t until Charlotte’s wedding that Carrie can tell Aiden about Mr. Big. And they break up!
I cried because I can’t handle those two being apart! That’s when Mr. Big and Carrie become friends again, and it works out for a while, that is until Aiden comes back into the picture (yay!). Mr. Big becomes very annoying (not that he isn’t any other time) he just wants to be with Carrie all the time and it feels like he wants her back, but I’m glad Carrie puts her foot down and they’re just friends. So Aiden and Carrie get back together, move in and get engaged. Carrie feels like she’s not ready to get married, and Aiden is willing to wait, but only for so long. It’s then that Carrie realized that it’s because he still can’t trust her. So they break up… Again. They need to stop doing this to me lol.
Now Carrie has to buy her apartment or she needs to move out, but she’s completely broke because of all the shoes she’s bought.
 Charlotte steps up and gives her the money in the form of her engagement ring, since things didn’t work out with Trey. Now she works at Vogue to earn a little bit more money. Although she’s not the greatest writer at first. Julian helps her, but wants more than just to help her write- he wants to help her with her men issues. Carrie is appalled as he’s much older, so she decides to work closely with Edith, someone who hated her writing at first, but they soon worked out their differences.
At the end of season four Mr. Big moves to San Francisco, and there I think that may be the end of Mr. Big, but oh no. She goes out there for the launch of her new book. Her column has turned into a book, and this is where she meets her next boyfriend- Berger. Jack Berger (Ron Livingston) is an author, and they meet because they have the same publicist.
They are cute, and adorable, but things aren’t always the best for them. He can’t deal with the fact that she makes more than him, which leads to them fighting, having some space, getting back together, just so he could break up with her on a sticky note.
She has more tiresome dating life, until she meets her new Russian lover- Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov). She starts to get serious with him, but realizes he’s done all the things that she still wants to do- like get married and have a baby.
Now Carrie isn’t alone, she has her three girlfriends who she can turn to. Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon), the spunky one, Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), the reserved one, and Samantha Jones (Kim Cattral), the one who is looking for sex. I hated Samantha at first- I don’t know what is was about her, but she just bothered me, buuuut as the series continues you just learn to love Samantha- she’s just got this humour that is so dry, and it works for her character.
A PR rep who as much as she goes around fucking all the men in Manhattan, she does find herself in a relationship with a woman. She learns to find herself and how to have the best sex ever. But things don’t work out because all they do is talk. She goes back to fucking all the men, until she starts a new job and ends up with her new boss. She has to play hard to get because she doesn’t want him to know she likes him. It takes everything Samantha has until she finally gets what she wants a relationship, an exclusive relationship. This relationship turns Samantha into a crazy person who’s in love.
Because of that they break up, Samantha can’t deal with being in a committed relationship. But it isn’t long until she meets Smith.
A very cute waiter, and wanna be actor. Samantha helps him to become the actor, and model she’s always dreamed of being, and in return, she fucks him. But obviously there is more going on here. He cares for her so deeply, and while Samantha does too, she won’t admit it. It takes a broken toe,  and fucking her old boyfriend Richard to realize this young man truly cares because is still there for her.
When she gets cancer, Smith even shaves his head with her.
Does it get any better than this? She’s truly found the perfect guy.
Miranda is a lawyer and spends a lot of the series single, and is proud to be single. She claims that she doesn’t need a man- and I love how independent she is.
She meets Steve Brady (David Eigenberg), and I fuckin love Steve! They are so cute together, it’s so sad that they don’t work out. He’s a bartender and he has no ambitions for himself and this bugs Miranda, and leads them to fights so they break up 😦
Moving on with her life, she sees other people, but nothing like Steve. Later we learn Steve gets cancer, and they have to get rid of one of his balls. Miranda is there every step of the way. They have pitty sex and Miranda gets pregnant. She thinks she’s going to get rid of it, which upsets Charlotte a lot. But then she changes her mind because she thinks this may be her only chance at a baby.

Little Brady is born, and both Miranda and Steve try to raise him, but living separate lives. This works, for about a year. At Brady’s first birthday party Miranda and Steve get back together.

❤

Steve moves all his stuff in to Miranda’s apartment, but soon realize that two adults, a dog, a cat, and baby have made the apartment cramped. So they are looking for houses. They find the perfect house, but it’s in Brooklyn. This would mean Miranda would be moving away from all her friends. They soon get married, and it’s just beautiful.

Then there is Miranda’s counter opposite- Charlotte, who thinks you need a man. She even goes so far as to buy a dog, that’s how much she needs a man. It’s a little disheartening to see her claim how much she depends on one. She’s an art dealer and works at a gallery, which suits her character. She does try to join a lesbian “club” just because she likes that they don’t always talk about men, but is kicked out pretty much for not being a lesbian.

 

So desperate to find love she goes to her married friends to find their single friends- when that turns sour really fast she ends up meeting her soul mate- Trey MacDougal (Kyle MacLachlan). They hit it off and become the perfect couple, so perfect that they get married! She the first one to get married and the first one to get divorced.

Now that she’s married she quits her job to be a full time wife and wanna be mother.
But their marriage has more downs then ups. First they have a problem with Trey trying to get it up. Because of this they break up, but then because Trey can’t have her, he wants her and they can finally have sex. So they move on to trying for a baby. They get so worked up about it that they on a schedule on when to have sex. They try forever but it’s not working. They also find out that Charlotte has a 15% chance of getting pregnant. So they stop trying because trey is tired. That’s when they formally get a divorce.

Trey’s attempt at humour.

She meets her divorce lawyer, Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler), and it’s just fate. They meet and slowly start to fall in love. She can’t really stand him at first, but she really loves the sex. They are so cute together.

He tells her that he can’t marry her because she isn’t Jewish, and he promised his dead mother he would. So what does Charlotte do? She converts to become Jewish! The two of them are so happy and in love, but they get into a fight because Charlotte wants to do everything in complete Jewish fashion- and Harry thinks she’s being just like his mother. So they break up. Charlotte takes it hard. But then they meet again and Harry has the most brilliant line: “Of all the synagogues in all the cities, you had to walk into mine,” then he get down on one knee,

Wedding number two for Charlotte, and it’s still gorgeous.

It’s back to trying for a baby for Charlotte, but Harry is very patient about it. She goes to a doctor and actually gets pregnant, but sadly miscarries. This obviously kills Charlotte, but a dog does the trick for the both of them, Elizabeth Taylor… and then the dog gets pregnant. Poor Charlotte.

And of course I can’t forget about Stanford Blatch (Willie Garson), Carrie’s best gay friend. He’s there for her when she needs him most- usually dealing with advice.

He’s also great for comic relief- as I feel that’s what the show used his character for- at first, as the series went on he became a loveable character, as well as comic relief. I love his conflict with Anthony Marentino (Mario Cantone), charlotte’s gay designer, it’s hilarious.

 

 

Let’s talk about the finale should we? So Carrie decides that she’s going to move to Paris with Aleksandr, she’s always wanted to, and she feels fulfilled in New York, but wants more, plus she wants a romance. Miranda is very against the idea of her leaving, she thinks that Aleksandr is just using her. But Carrie goes anyway. But who should stop her, Mr. Big. I am very proud of Carrie for standing her ground with him. She never could before, and now she’s really strong. She goes, and Big is heartbroken. Now I’ve always hated him, he has had a few excellent moments between season 5 and 6, but the end, I am fully won over. He doesn’t know what to do but call her, and Charlotte happens to be at her house when he does so she asks him to meet her. Turns out it’s to meet all the girls. And I love that it’s Miranda that says go bring our girl home.

Back in Paris, Carrie isn’t having the best time. Aleksandr is barely there, and when he begs her to go to this show with him, he leaves her alone. What a guy. She gets upset about it, and he slaps her. She goes on to say she’s looking for love, and that’s not what he wants, obviously so that is over.

The entire time I’m waiting for Big to show up. When he does, uh it feels very magical. And obviously he brings her home.

 

Back in Brooklyn, Miranda finally shows true love when Steve’s mom runs off. She has to find her, bring her home, and she gives her a bath. It’s very sweet.

In Manhattan, Samantha finally admits to love, as Smith flies all the way home to tell her he loves her. Those two are just so cute!

And Charlotte and Harry are getting the baby they have been dreaming about. A baby from China is coming.

So everything ends happy for everyone!

A few last things. 1) WE FINALLY LEARN MR.BIG’S NAME!! …. John….. I was so disappointed, really that’s his name? The most generic male name you could give a character, John. I could see him as a Christian or something like that, not John. So bummed about that!

2) There are a few things I’ve learned from this show, one I’ve learned a lot about sex because one can never know everything, and I’ve also learned to just speak the truth to everyone no matter the cost, because in the end if they are a true friend, or meant to be in your life, they will come back. Cheesy I know, but it did take watching this show to stop with the dancing around bullshit, especially with men, and get on with my life.