Sex and the City

"Why are there so many great unmarried women, and no great unmarried men?" asks thirty-something Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), directly addressing the camera. That is one of the several questions she, as a newspaper columnist, tries to answer in the 94 episodes of one of the most fascinating TV shows of the '90s.

Her doubt stems from an encounter with a British woman (Sarah Wynter) who was inexplicably dumped by a New Yorker despite having looked at a house with him, which actually mean something in London according to her. Of course, Carrie readily informs her (and us), the same rules don't apply in New York, where romance appears to be dead. To prove her point, she interviews some of her acquaintances, dividing them in three categories: Toxic Bachelors (all the male interviewees except one), Hopeless Romantics (the guy who was left out earlier) and Unmarried Women (Carrie's best friends). It is with the latter that the protagonist subsequently has a cup of coffee, allowing the audience to know these ladies a little better: Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) is a cynical lawyer who has lost nearly all faith in the male gender; Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), an art gallerist, shares Carrie's belief that true love does exist; and Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), a PR woman, is arguably the "worst" of the group, as she sleeps with a different man every night and claims women should be able to have sex like men, i.e. without any feelings involved. Carrie sets out to test this theory, eventually running into a handsome stranger known only as Mr. Big (Chris Noth)...

Based on the eponymous book by Candace Bushnell, the show also owes a lot to Jane Austen (the sharp female wit) and Woody Allen (the reflection on love in the Big Apple), combining the two aspects in a practically flawless exercise in smart comedy. If a complaint has to be made, it would be that the straight-to-camera asides (used in early episodes) come off as a little distracting from the main narrative flow, which is marvelous: dealing with a familiar yet interesting topic through the eyes of four wonderful "heroines" (all perfectly defined in less than five minutes - very remarkable), it generates 23 minutes of solid, heartfelt laughs.

The cast is quite simply astounding, especially the more pessimistic, and therefore funnier, Miranda and Samantha, with Nixon's cold intellectual ideally counterbalanced by Cattrall's feisty man-eater. Astonishingly, though, considering the latter's foul mouth in the remainder of the series, it is a bit of a surprise to find out that the pilot is the show's least profane episode, the F-word being spoken only twice: once by Nixon as the girls discuss The Last Seduction (one of the reasons they believe emotionless sex is possible), and once by the irresistibly charming Noth (the program's best male cast-member) in the last scene, which acts as the beginning of the serial's juiciest storyline. Absolutely fabulous.

The Sex and the City Pilot "Sex and the City" is probably the best pilot I have ever seen. It is was interesting, had a great rhythm, I loved the way she interacted with the audience, and it followed the first three articles featured in the book so very well.

The girls looks a little older in the pilot than the series, which is odd because it was pilot and is filmed long before episode two.

I thought that this episode was Sarah Jessica-Parker's best hairstyle in the series. It fit her face perfectly.

I wasn't a fan of Charlotte wearing glasses, and her hair in the pilot, they were trying to hard to make her look the same age as the other girls.

Season 1, Episode 1 of Sex and the City - just called "Sex and the City" - is the pilot, so it's the show introducing itself and saying, "Hi, this is who we are." It's got that late-90s New York vibe all over it. Carrie's narrating the whole thing, and in this episode people talk to the camera like it's a documentary. (They drop that later, which is for the best.) The plot is Carrie exploring this whole idea that men are dating like women used to - no feelings, just fun. Miranda's convinced it's a thing, Samantha's already living it, Charlotte's horrified, and Carrie decides to try it herself by hooking up with an ex without the romance. The banter is sharp, you get who each of the four women are, and the fashion plus the city itself feel like characters. You also get your first tiny glimpse of Mr. Big. Those "interview" bits feel awkward, Samantha's kind of over the top here, and the men (other than Big) are placeholders. It's a fun clunky start, but it sets the tone for what's coming- a mix of sass, vulnerability, and big questions about love, sex, and modern relationships.

We're introduced to the four main protagonists for the first time here and it's a competent beginning. We catch a glimpse of each of the girls' different personalities and ideas about love and relationships. While I get that Miranda is supposed to be the 'feminist' of the group, she's such a ball buster that it's hard to believe any guy would bother to take any interest in her at all. She treats Skipper like dirt and he still pursues her. Not believable. Her abrasive personality and clear disdain of men is a complete turn off. And it's not like she's so beautiful that her looks make up for her prickly nature. A bone of contention: the 'English girl' at the beginning of the episode is supposed to be from London, however, she is clearly Australian with her accent. Not sure why they couldn't have made her from Sydney, or simply cast an actual British actress. The jazz that accompanies this episode is a perfect complement to the seductive themes of sex, lust and attraction. It's a pity it's not woven throughout the entire series. It feels like it could have been another character, like New York. Loved the freeze frame on Carrie at the end. Coupled with the soundtrack it felt very film noir.

Who's going to tell them the Australian actress they chose to play a British woman made no effort to make herself sound British. So did they think she sounded British? I'm so confused. She sounds Australian. She is Australian. Just say she was Australian.

I'm so glad they stopped the talking heads. They totally pull you out of the moment and weren't necessary.

Also glad they changed her apartment from the monstrosity that this pilot episode put her in. Did anyone notice the nightmare of a chandelier in her lounge room?? What the hell was the set dresser doing?

Thank god the characters carry this episode.