I'm not one of those people who watches "Who Wants to Be a Million- aire?" religiously. In fact, I'd rather put the show on mute than have to listen to its dramatic music and the contestants' stream-of-consciousness deliberations. So for me, the nine o'clock hour on Sunday nights was a respite between "The Simpsons" and "The Practice."
But HBO brought Sundays to life this summer with its third season of Darren Star's "Sex and the City." Star, who gave audiences the coitus-filled sudsers "Melrose Place" and "Central Park West," premiered "Sex" in the summer of 1998 hoping to cash in on viewers who tired of rerun seasons.
In its infant years, "Sex" was a very adolescent, immature show. Star went overboard with HBO's lack of censorship and over-saturated early episodes with scenes of nudity and vulgarity, seemingly just because he could. But that was tame compared to its inspiration, the column penned by society gal Candace Bushnell in "The New York Observer." Emmy-nominee Sarah Jessica Parker plays Bushnell's semi-fictional equivalent, the dysfunctional Carrie Bradshaw.
The men come and go - frequently - in Carrie's world, but she does have three constants in her hip Manhattan world: her girlfriends. There's Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), an aggressive attorney who just made partner; Samantha (Kim Cattrall, also an Emmy nominee), a public relations exec with an insatiable libido; and Charlotte (Kristin Davis, late of "Melrose Place"), an art gallery owner who after 20 years of dating finally believes she met Mr. Right.
In the early days of "Sex," the show focused on the four well-to-do women's ability to hop in the sack with any man they could. Their problem lay in the fact that they could never hold on to them. Only Carrie had a significant, long-lasting relationship, with Mr. Big (Chris Noth, demonstrating surprising charisma after his stick-figure of a performance in "Law and Order ).
As with most male characters on the show, we never learned Big's real name. "Sex" originally made a name for itself because it objectified men in the way that the media usually objectifies the female gender, but this aspect of the show has since faded. The women may complain about men, but one never could accuse them of bashing men. Instead, men should look upon the women's communiquŽ over their sex lives as the perfect opportunity to be a fly on the wall.
Even though "Sex" has grown up, it has left no subject out in its newfound maturity. Star's creation continues to probe all aspects of physical intimacy, and therein lies its greatest strength. In refusing to play it safe, the show is nothing but honest. Recent subplots have ranged from the frank (STDs, Viagra) to the brutally graphic (oral sex, soiled underwear).
It was this season, though, that all elements jelled and the show came into its own. As the four ladies reach their mid-thirties, their prospects for finding the perfect mate seem increasingly dubious, and at times, their anxiety is surprisingly heartfelt.
In fact, this season played like a fairy tale for the new millennium. These strong career women want to have it all, to make their own decisions and take control, but at the same time, they're still waiting for a prince to come and rescue them. "I've been dating since I was 15 years old," moaned Charlotte at the season's commencement. "I'm exhausted!"
So Charlotte took it upon herself to create her own fate. Determined to marry within the year, she set out to land herself a husband. And to dispel misconceptions that the ladies of the show were too promiscuous, Charlotte declared herself a "born-again virgin," vowing not to engage in intercourse again until she was a bride. This journey led to some riotous yet entirely believable results.
The plot that most framed this season, however, was Carrie's life after Big. After last season's discovery that he was engaged to another woman not long after their breakup, Carrie tried valiantly to find her own independence. Parker hit all the right notes as Carrie realized that she was not at war with men, but with herself.
Towards the second half of the summer, "Sex" took an interesting turn and saw Carrie, now in a new relationship, engaging in an affair with the now-married Big. It was a sad statement, showing how weak, desperate and ultimately unfulfilled the two were in their lives.
Of course, "Sex" would only be half the show it is if it weren't madly in love with its New York City surroundings. From his gorgeous shots of lush Central Park to the trendy West Village, Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography makes the island of Manhattan a fifth crucial character. The message is clear: for all the cavorting these red-hot lovers may do, they're still very much in a town of lonely hearts.
Beginning this Sunday, the final six episodes of "Sex" air, with several of them finding the girls in Los Angeles. I'm interested to see how the girls handle life in la-la-land.
One thing's for sure: whatever the girls' woes may be, we'll always experience ecstasy in their agony.
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