We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10.
Few TV shows have shared the success of the runaway HBO series Sex and the City. The exploits of Carrie Bradshaw and company kept audiences entertained for a solid six seasons before leaving the air. Even after, they blazed the trail for successful TV shows to jump from the little screen to the big screen. Sure, some guys might laugh it off as a chick show, but it actually had a lot more to offer. It was populated with interesting and well-written characters, snappy dialogue, and plenty of fashion for female audiences. With Sex and the City 2 ready to hit theaters this weekend, I figured I'd lend a hand in helping play catch up for those whose memories are a little foggy. I'm here to countdown the TOP 7 moments that made Sex and the City fabulous. You'll notice there aren't any scenes from the first film on this list, let's hope that's not going to be the case with the new film.
7. A Woman's Right to Shoes - Season Six
Recap: Carrie loses her shoes at a friend's anniversary party. When she confronts her, her friend refuses to pay. What's a single girl to do? Reason: I can't even pretend to have been in the same situation so this episode wasn't about relatability. In fact, I'd be honored if someone tried to steal my tattered old Chuck Taylors. Still, it's the principle of the matter. Carrie waxes on philosophic about the disadvantages of being single when her friend refuses to reimburse her after she's had to shell out hundreds of dollars for wedding presents and anniversary gifts. It gave a biting edge to the desperate single girl I'd grown to love, while exposing the double standards of single life. It's the clever writing that fans like me have always loved. And for the ladies? Plenty of fashion.
6. What Goes Around Comes Around - Season Three
Recap: After Big and Carrie's affair ends with Natasha getting hurt, physically and emotionally, Carrie tries to make amends. Too bad Natasha doesn't want to hear about it. Reason: This is one of those key moments where I realized how thorough the characters of Sex and the City were. I'd seen the whole ugly tryst unfold before my eyes, but never imagined it would end like this. Plain and simple, Carrie was wrong. Few shows are brave enough to have their protagonist commit a major faux pas without playing the pity angle, but the creators showed an ugly side of Carrie that day. It takes cajones to go out of the way to make the main character unlikeable, but they did it anyway.
5. Anchors Away - Season Five
Recap: Carrie begins to question her life choices when it comes to men when single life starts to prove too difficult. Luckily she's got one great love of her life who'll never let her down; New York. Reason: The show's about relationships in so many ways. Not just in the traditional sense of man and woman, but also these women and the city. After all the city is in the title. In this episode, New York City comes in to full focus as one of essential parts of the show. No episodes says it better than this one when Carrie says “If Louis was right and you only get one great love, then New York just might be mine.“
4. My Motherboard My Self - Season Four
Recap: Carrie freaks out when her computer crashes, but Miranda has bigger problems when her mother passes away. The ladies show up in true form to help Miranda in her time of need. Reason: Even though the past few entries have been about Carrie, I've always been a Miranda fan through and through. Miranda lets her guard down little by little in this episode to show us her softer side. Still, it's the way that each of the four women overcome their own personal obstacles to be there for her. It sounds a little cheesy, but the episode handles it in just the right way. Like I said, there's more than one way to define a relationship and if this isn't one of the best examples of the relationship these four women share, then I don't know what is.
3. Ex and the City - Season Two
Recap: Carrie is forced to come to terms with the fact that after she and Big broke up, he's moving on. This isn't made any easier when she finds out that he's engaged to be married. Reason: Part of every great love is loss. There's no way around it. For fans of Sex and the City there are few greater loves than Big and Carrie, it even beats Shoes and Carrie for some. All of us knew that there was no way it was over, but when Carrie compares herself to Barbara Streisand in The Way We Were, it was pretty heartbreaking. We were introduced to the idea that just because it's a great love, doesn't mean it's a lasting one.
2. Sex and the City - Season One
Recap: What if women were to start having sex like men do? No commitment, no feelings, just two sweaty bodies. Carrie seeks to find the answer in the pilot of the series. Reason: It's the question that kicked off the series and introduced us to the unforgettable characters. Sure, it's a little cliche to have the pilot on the top 7, but it's such an important part of the legacy. There are still a few stylistic kinks that got sorted out over time, but it was a promising start. It's not the best episode in terms of fashion or even camerawork, but it gave us a glimpse of the stellar writing to come and the women audiences grew to love.
1. An American Girl in Paris, Part Deux - Season Six
Recap: Carrie wonders what's missing in her life in a lonely Paris hotel room. Big flies to Paris to find Carrie. Charlotte's baby fever might finally pay off. Samantha loses her sex drive from the chemo treatments. Miranda learns the true meaning of love. Reason: There's never been a better send off. Well, maybe there has been, but the series finale beautifully wraps up the stories of its characters. It was a sad goodbye, but it was also nice to see them end on a high note. For most fans of the show, there wasn't a dry eye in the house while watching this one.