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Sometimes, I think we’d be better off without the ability to re-watch old television favorites. Sex and the City is one of those iconic shows that probably shaped your cultural palette during your formative years. Yet, you may find that revisiting the show on the 10-year anniversary of its finale reveals it to be something of a hollow shell.
But, we couldn’t leave well enough alone, could we? We couldn’t let SATC just be the revolutionary series that it was — part of the lineup that helped build HBO into the robust network it is now. No, no. We had to put it under the microscope to expose it for the imperfect fantasy that it is. Because Carrie is selfish, Samantha is a male fantasy, Charlotte would never be friends with any of these women, and okay, Miranda is pretty awesome. But, when we were 16, no one wanted to be the Miranda — which was clearly a mistake, because Miranda has the most fun.
In addition to the ladies' character flaws, SATC’s fifth main character — the City — represented a wildly distorted view of Manhattan. The show romanticizes New York City to such biblical proportions that the expectations it inspired in us were shattered when we finally found ourselves living in the Big Apple. Ahead, 15 examples of how SATC built up city life, and the harsh realities we uncovered beneath the fantasies.
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