by Victoria Miller
When HBO's Emmy award winning hit show, Sex and the City, ended its six year run in 2004, I wasn't completely devastated. Sure, I knew of the show. I had caught a few episodes here and there-- whenever HBO ran a monthly special I would subscribe, keep it for a few months and then cancel when the rates went up. So I was familiar with Carrie and Company-- I had seen bits and pieces, sporadically. But it wasn't enough to get me hooked. I had heard of Mr. Big but really didn't know who he was, heard of Aidan but couldn't quite place him. Truthfully, I wondered what a show with the word "Sex" in the title was doing starring a bunch of 30-something women. Late 30-somethings to boot (this is not meant as a criticism--I am the same age as these women, they are my peers).
By the time the highly-touted final episode aired in the winter of 2004, I was in the midst of playing catch up. My sister had HBO and digital cable, which featured on-demand episodes of Sex and the City. We would spend Saturdays watching a couple hours worth of episodes, usually five or six of them. Lunch would be included (usually salads) and the only stress would be keeping my two toddler-aged children out of the room in case Samantha said or did an offensive thing or two (luckily my sister had an ample supply of Legos, board games and crayons).
This Saturday ritual was priceless. Catching up on episodes that I had never seen, leading up to the final climatic episode. The morning after the grand finale aired, I already knew what happened (blame Regis and Kelly for that one). It didn't matter. Seeing it a week later was believing it. I was glad Carrie didn't end up with the Russian. He was intellectual, but boring-- face it, he just wasn't fun. At the time, I never understood Carrie's attraction to Big (I was secretly hoping that the illustrious Aidan would reappear), but after a million viewings (I now have HBO and On-Demand) I now do. Big made her laugh. Big made her cry. Big made her feel. Big had the zsa zsa zsu.
The reason why I miss Sex is that I still feel there is unfinished business that needs to be attended to. The rare times I did subscribe to HBO, I would look forward to the Sunday night airings. If I didn't have HBO, I'd look forward to the Monday morning recaps.
Sunday nights are no longer the same, Okay, that's not completely true-- I enjoy Desperate Housewives immensely. It's just that the four Housewives aren't nearly as interesting as the four girls from SATC. There are too many characters on Desperate Housewives, too many quickie plotlines. Do I care that Bree's son might be gay? Do I give a hoot that Lynette's deaf friends' husband is a cad? It all seems like filler to me.
With Sex and the City, every episode was like a finely crafted jewel. There was no wasted dialogue. No meaningless plotlines. The episodes, which are available in a pricey DVD boxed set(pricey because each season is sold separately and season 6 is actually broken up into two parts), were so well done-- from the cinematography to the musical selections to the first rate writing. All of it was good.
Favorite episodes? I have a slew of them. "A Woman's Right to Shoes" which guest starred Tatum O'Neal (and did you recognizes supermodel Linda Evangelista as the salesgirl at Manolo Blahnik?); " Boy Interrupted" which featured David Duchovny (any episode that showcases Chicago's syrupy "If You Leave Me Now" is A-OK in my book); the episode where Carrie has her book launch party (I forget the title but Isaac MIzrahi has a cameo). Hey-- it's just occurred to me that SATC was so darn good the stars were clamoring to get bit parts on it (correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the legendary Valerie Harper a.k.a. Rhoda Morgenstern guest as the mother of one of Carrie's lovers in one of the earlier seasons? 'Nuff said!).
When the series ended, there was talk that the cast may reunite for a movie (a theater movie, not a made for TV one). Seeing them on the big screen would have been a hoot. It would have kept us wanting for more and it would have given us the opportunity to find the answers to a few questions:
Do Charlotte and Harry finally adopt their baby?
Does Samantha beat the cancer for good and, even more importantly, does she stay with hunky Smith?
Do Miranda and Steve make it and if so, do they have any more kids?
Do Carrie and Big ever get married and start a family? We know Carrie wanted a baby-- there was a whole episode devoted to that dilemma when she dated the Russian. So, do she and Big ( oops, I mean John) create a Little Big?
The sad truth is, we'll probably never find out. The casts' other commitments and obligations got in the way and plans for the movie were scrapped. So we're left hanging in a way. I know, I know, the final show tied up the loose ends as best as it could. Kudos to Michael Patrick Smith and the rest of the gang for giving us the best ending possible. It's just that we're still insatiable, always wanting more. That's the allure of Sex.
