Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Yes, I know. I am a rotten excuse for a blogger. I have not updated in two months. I prostrate myself in shame. Shame, shame, shame. I flay myself with wet noodles. Flay, flay, flay.

Okay, that's over with.

And so is my second semester of library school. Woohoo! It was one that just about killed me dead, for reasons I could not and cannot fathom. Anyhoo, it's over now. Not that I actually disliked reading all those kids' books, but the pressure's off.

So in celebration of having time to waste on fluff, here is some of my favorite fluff.

TV Show: Sex and the City
Creator: Darren Star
Airdates: 1998-2004

Darren Star did good when he named this show, because its two preoccupations literally are: sex, and New York City, and an unabashed enjoyment of both. This isn't thea-tah, folks, or avant-garde film. This is a fun, funny, frank show about sex and relationships that doesn't pretend to be great art, and thank god for it.

The premise is simple. Take four single gals, add them to New York City, and stir in men. Lots of men. Bake for six years. At the end, they're still almost as mixed up about life and relationships as they were in the beginning, but it's been a fun trip all the same, and one that strikes a lot of chords. Everyone's got their favorite SATC gal, and mine is cynical, take-no-shit Miranda. Bad-choice-poster-girl Carrie has her fans, as do slutty-and-proud-of-it Samantha, and prim, idealistic Charlotte.

It gets some flak for talking about *gasp!* sex, but come on, it's part of life, and women do talk about it. Sorry to burst your bubble. It also uses New York City as almost a fifth main character, highlighting her flaws and her charms evenhandedly. It almost makes me want to move there, but I don't have the money.

The show has its flaws, sure enough. Does anyone else regularly want to smack Carrie until her head spins? Uh-huh, raise those hands high. And there are some character continuity nitpicks I have that may drive me bananas. Still, this is a show with some incredibly quotable lines, like:

(upon seeing some naval fellows on the street)
Samantha: Ladies! Seamen, twelve o'clock!
Miranda: I pray when I turn around that there are sailors, because with her, you never know.

Talk all you want about Mr. Big, Steve Brady, Trey MacDougal, or any of the other guys that spin in and out of these womens' lives, but for my money, the most important love story in this show is the four-way relationship between the main characters. Even when they disagree (which happens plenty), they're there for each other with flowers, sympathy, alcohol, chocolate, and if need be, dildos.

I watch this show when I have some time to fill up and I just want to have fun. Sanitized episodes are airing on TBS, but go to your local library or Blockbuster to find the DVDs instead.

And I will try to update more often.

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