So my husband and I just got HBO a few months ago for the first time. Since then I have seen a few Sex in the City episodes, not expecting to like it at all. Now I find it oddly enjoyable and am fasinated by my sudden and unexpected addiction. I even set the DVR to record it! And now I learn the series is ending this month.
Should I be ashamed or run out and buy all the DVDs?!
Please advise.
If you like the show, I would say buy the DVDs. But be ashamed.
My ex bought every season as it was released. I watched it so much while were dating, that I now find myself strangely drawn to Channel 62 every Sunday at 8 p.m. CST.
Yes, I’m a male; yes, I’ve probably seen every darned episode (some 2 or 3 times); and yes, I’m wholy ashamed of myself.
And yes, I hope Big comes back before the final episode and gets back together with Carrie. Going to Paris with the Russian is no good-- No damned good at all! And she quit her column? Is she CRAZY?!??!
And…that’s the sound of me stepping beyond ‘ashamed,’ and into the realm of self-loathing. This show is such trash. 
Happy
Nah, rent 'em. The pre-2001 (9.11.01, that is) episodes haven’t really held up over time. And there’s a hokey breaking the fourth-wall thing that finally got phased out after a bit that makes the early shows really kitschy, and not in a good way. You’ll want to see them, but owning them is a bit much.
On second thought: what TL said.
Happy
HBO is going to be really interested in suing anybody with a show called “Sex in the City” as the title is too close to their fine “Sex and the City” program. (Although is does sound like a porn movie parody-title. Those usually avoid litigation since they would actually benefit from the publicity of a lawsuit.)
I think it’s worth watching – the episodes a couple years ago were much better than now. I understood what Big and Aidan saw in Carrie but she’s become such a caricature of herself I’ve got no idea why Mikhail Baryshnikov likes her. I second the rent-it recommendation.
–Cliffy
If you’re a compulsive DVD buyer, then I can imagine worse things to own but if you just want to get caught up, rent them.
Personally, contrary to Cliffy, I think the episodes that started in January have been some of the best ever. And the girls back THEN seem more like caricatures to me whereas now they have many more aspects to their personality and the show never forgets their histories making their whole dynamic much deeper.
The first season “4th wall” thing is a little distracting, and the camera work seemed more hand-held or something back then. But I think they were done with that by the beginning of season 2.
Not that anyone, asked, but I just love it this season. It’s been dark and sad : The cancer, the (non) baby, brooklyn, petrovsky, while still having the funniest one-liners on TV.
They’ve really gotten some shit out on each other this year. What an episode for Carrie last week. Such conflict, and she’s so good an actress.
I like the show a lot and am sorry to see it go…however, it might not be gone. Word is that there is a feature film in the works, and there is also talk of a pay-per-view film as well. In other words, I don’t think we have to worry about any of the four getting killed off in the last episode.
It seems fashionable this year to say how much you hate the show…yet the same people who say that are the same people who can quote lines from last week’s episode.
I would rent the first couple of seasons…you could always buy them later.
By the way…Sex And The City is also being syndicated on local channels soon…seems they often filmed a “cleaner” version of many scenes and will be doing some creative editing on other scenes to allow the show to pass (pre-Janet Jackson) broadcast censorship. I can’t image a G-rated, sanitized version of SATC could be any good…so go rent those original DVD’s now.
Actually, I agree with you as to the other three characters, all of whom have had affecting arcs this half-season and have become more than one-note johnnies. But Carrie doesn’t seem like she can go for three minutes without saying something wildly inappropriate, taking unjustified offense at perceived slights, and regressing into a thirteen-year-old girl. Although this half-season is notably better than the summer season was.
–Cliffy
My wife and I watched it once and we found it to be kind of sad and depressing.
See I don’t hate the show…I hate myself for liking the show. There’s a difference.
Carrie’s clothes were so damn cute and chic the first couple years. But Jayzuz! Some times I want to just rip those bizarre threads off her and put her in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. What the hell is she THINKING?
Forgive me, but…Yes, be ashamed. Be very ashamed. Besides the fact that Sarah Jessica Parker is The Most Annoying Human Being Ever (possibly separated at birth from Robert Plant), what I’ve seen of SatC is almost relentlessly and simultaneously depressing and irritating. Never have so many bitched so much about so little. Typical episode: The ladies gather at a cafe. A solid quarter-of-an-hour of bitching ensues. They bitch about men. Then they bitch some more about men. One of them throws in some egregiously slutty comment, which illicits some giggling; there is comparing of notes re: slutty comment, and then the bitching resumes. Maybe one of them reveals she wants a baby. Uncomfortable silence. Now we bitch about biological clocks.
OK, enough. Time for some sex and nudity! Well, there’s precious little of that, I’m afraid. Like as not, you’ll be staring at some guy’s limp dick (which I’m told no hetero man OR woman cares to view on TV), or there’ll be some quick T&A to keep the media buzzing, then we cut back to…what? Yes, more bitching! Wrap up with SJP typing some drivel on her laptop, sharing with the world her deep thoughts about, say, how fucking younger men casually taught her she ,just cares too much. Blessedly, the credits roll. Repeat each week until you wish grave misfortune to fall on each member of the cast, out of well-justified spite at their callow existence.
My advice to you: If a small head injury can erase any memory of this vile program, you may want to look into it. After you have been purged of this evil, go rent yourself the first season of “Six Feet Under” and be amazed and gratified. See a hypnotist in the mean time, who will instruct you that if you see SatC on the shelves at Blockbuster, you will be come faint; your skin will break out in hives; and you will feel an uncontrollable urge to run away from any likeness of the Evil One (a.k.a. Sarah J.P.); until you are safe at home and Laura Ambrose is on your set again, soothing your nerves with her precocious perfection.
Lauren Ambrose…sorry (why-oh-why can we NOT EDIT???)
I’m in the camp that thinks this season has probably been the best so far, maybe because the writers have known they had to make shit happen instead of just having repetitive, deadend story lines. I agree, though, that Carrie is still a dumbass much of the time; e.g., not returning Big’s calls–who the hell cares? You’re banging Baryshnikov, who, by the way, is hot, hotter, hottest. They could have an episode of him reading a book and I’d be enthralled. Also, there’s something involving Charlotte in every episode that’s pretty annoying, such as wandering around a department store in a blindfold and letting the dog off the leash.
Loopydude, who/what is Lauren Ambrose?
Lauren Ambrose: She’s too good for either of us is what she is. Every time I watch 6’U I feel deeply conflicted because I’m married, 34, and I lust after this woman who younger than my kid sister. She’s potentially the best thing with two X chromosomes to hit the Blue Glowing Tube since I-don’t-know-when.
Just go rent some Six Feet Under. Just do it. It is a fucking awesome show (at least the 1st season, all I’ve seen), kicks SatC ass so hard it’s either criminal or a Benevolent Act of God, and you’ll even feel good about yourself afterwards, to boot. It’s guilt-free, because it’s not empty mental calories. Sure, it’s pop culture, but fortified with essential vitamins and minerals. Just trust me, it is entertaining and edifying, and Ms. Ambrose has as much beauty and talent as any actor her age I’ve ever seen.
If you just can’t wait, go here:
Speaking of Six Feet Under, (we were, weren’t we?), when the hell is it coming back on with new episodes?
It seems like aaaaages since we saw the last of Lisa and saw Nate go running back to Brenda.
Well, I’m female and straight, but thanks for the info!
That’s because you are both prudes, John ;).
I have to mostly agree with Loopydude (especially about the Lauen Ambrose love). I initally kind of liked the show, but the more I watched, the more I started to hate all four of the girls. Why would anyone want to spend time with those chicks? Could they be any shallower?
My husband despises them, mostly because he likes things that explode. If Carrie or Samantha blew up, you better damn well bet he’d be watching religiously.
I must say, I do prefer Six Feet Under to Sluts in the City. There’s so much more going on. And I hate to say it, but I love watching the dead person die each week. It’s my favorite part. Sick, right?