6/01/01

Second Season Release Date: May 22, 2001
Okay, you've caught me. I love smutty, late-night HBO TV. I've been watching Sex in the City on HBO now since my husband sprang for Satellite TV about a year ago. At first, we watched the show because we'd heard about it, it was late, and there was nothing else on. But now I jones for the show and really wish someone would just force them to shoot it all year round. I know the show isn't necessarily a "women writers" regular, but it is based on a book... so we're allowed, right?

Why do I like it? True to its title, every episode contains liberal doses of sex; you usually get to see Kim Catrall naked or partially naked at least once. I wonder if, as an actress, she is getting tired of faking it so much. But then, I figure that is the issue that women, and the characters on the show, have to deal with so often-- when does one get tired of faking it-- in life, in sex, and in everything? The four women who are the show's regulars discuss sex, love, and everything in between with a frankness that reminds me of the better chats from which me & my own girlfriends (say that with attitude and a finger snap) have laughed our hineys off .

As for the "city" aspect of the show, you get plenty of New York thrown in. Sometimes the details seem to separate the "us"-- those of us who don't live in New York-- from "them." But most of the time, the city seems a lot like any urban mecca-- you can get coffee whenever, Chinese food even more often, and there are those places that sell enough shoes to make Imelda Marcos go into a frenzy-- in every city. Fashion, since we're talking about shoes, is another important aspect of the show that often goes unremarked, but is always there. Sarah Jessica Parker's wardrobe borders on weird sometimes, (what was with those odd little flowers she stuck on every outfit for a while)?

One of my favorite things about the show is how neurotic the characters sometimes can be, all the time thinking they're the normal ones. Sort of like some of my freinds. In one, the red head pretended to be a flight attendant to get a guy who was pretending to be a doctor to fool around with her. Then she got mad at him when she found out he wasn't really a doctor. In another one, the same character was getting harassed by a big talking sandwich, who said "Eat me" in a sarcastic/suggestive way every time she walked past. A third favorite was where Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) was "out of commission" for several days and, when she went out on the town again, there was "a new drink" -- the pink martini (vodka, cranberry & a little triple sec). Now, whenever I order one of my Cosmopolitans in a nice Martini bar (ever noticed how they've sprung up lately?) I feel a little like Carrie, or one of the other characters. Just more secure, less neurotic, and not dressed nearly as cool.

Watch the show, if you can, and if you don't have HBO, they've kindly stuck them all on video for us. It's funny, sexy, a little naughty. All those things that nice girls used to not be allowed to be.