To think Carrie Bradshaw has no redeeming qualities?

[losercruiser]

I just finished the episode where she invites Big to stay with her and Aidan in their cabin in the woods.

Now if my boyfriend cheated on me (not just a one off but had a full blown affair with a married woman) and we had got to the point where I had somehow managed to forgive him and we were trying again. If we went on a weekend break and he invited the other woman because she was having boyfriend problems and they were good friends - I'd think fuck that!

I know Aidan didnt have to put up with that but there are many other examples of her not having any redeeming qualities -

Berating Charlotte for not offering to lend her thousands of dollars.
Always talking about herself - I remember when Stanford called her out on it.
Letting Aidan propose to her when she obviously didnt want to marry him.

They didn't seem to be as nice to Miranda, glances and eye rolling. Carrie would certainly get away with much more.

I love SATC and think the writing and acting is excellent - the four women seem so natural as friends.

There are some sad episodes and also some really funny ones - my favourite character is Samantha. I laughed when she went to get an Aids test and the nurse asks her how many sexual partners she has had, and she replies 'this year?'. I also thought it was funny when she is hosting a house party at Richard's house (I think) and she is mocking the younger girls who have implants by picking up two melons and saying 'the only thing you have paid for is your breasts'. So funny.

nugget I didn't realise Samantha used the same break up line with Richard - really lazy writing.

And agree that they never seemed as nice to miranda. Carrie was definitely the glue that held them all together. I couldn't see Samantha and miranda or Charlotte and miranda for example spending time together away from the group.

Just got the box set of 6 series for £18.99 + free delivery from Ebay

Just remembered the worst carrie line "when I first moved to NY sometimes I bought Vogue instead of food. I just felt it fed me more". EAT!

Well done and enjoy AF. Let us know as you watch it!

It makes totally sense for Samantha to end with Smith even using that line.
He didn't have time for sex anymore and she has such a high sex drive, she becomes really unhappy when she doesn't have enough.
She can't see any sense being in a long distance relationship and not have as much sex as she needed when traveling to be with her boyfriend.
She was even putting on weight as she was using food as comfort.

Maybe DrOwh if she had only said it to Smith but I don't like the repetitiveness and also the linkage of smith to Richard when Richard was cheating and Smith is lovely! The two situations were totally different so think they could have used a different break up reason.

I think perhaps the use of the same line underpinned the sense of Samantha maintaining a strong sense of self- I always saw her as the woman who knew herself the best and stayed true. When she started to drift from her essential honesty and considered cheating on Smith, she realised she had to stop the relationship.

I liked Samantha the best and would choose her as my friend. Her warmth and non judgement shone out.

I love Samantha as well. Maybe you're right but it didn't sit right with me.

How ridiculous is the bit when she shows up having put on a stone and they all gasp and slag her about it. My friends sometimes put on a few pounds I don't laugh in their faces about it. Grrr.

Having rewatched this series when it's been on a few times my theory is that Miranda is supposed to be 'us'.
A 'real' woman who has to deal with work problems, shitty dates, bad sex, no sex, bloated and flatulent pregnancy, leaky boobs, lack of sleep etc. She's not drop dead gorgeous, she wears boring work clothes, normal shoes and no designer handbags.

The others are stereotypical- the Park Avenue princess, the hipster writer, the ballbreaker.

The sad thing about the film is that ultimately the others don't have her back. They're so bitchy about her having 'destroyed' Big and Carrie's fairy tale wedding- thanks to one comment made at a very stressful time and they make it quite clear that she should forgive Steve because she's never going to find someone else who will put up with her.

So basically the writers hate women.

I have hated Carrie for years but when I mentioned this a while back on a US board (not unlike Mumsnet) OMG the backlash! American women seem to LOVE her and (want to?) identify with her for some reason. Obv. not ALL American women, but certainly more than women over here.

I loved the series, but against my better judgement - I think that the writer, Candace Bushnell, has some serious problems with women. All of her women are portrayed as the worst of female negative stereotypes in some way - Carrie (where to start), the stepford wife, the slut, the sexless career bitch - and her other novels are even worse for it. And each woman is punished for the flaw she represents - Carrie (where to start), Charlotte is infertile, Samantha is humiliated by Richard, Miranda gets knocked up by the dead-beat Steve.

Carrie was a nightmare! The scene where Patrick the alcoholic throws the fag and hits her she was such a baby- it always makes me and dsis cringe as does the cabin episodes. She really wasn't a good friend to Miranda over the whole Steve affair and when she had the eye operation.

Samantha and Miranda are the two I would be friends with. Samantha was so sweet when she looked after Brady and gave Miranda her hair appointment and it was beautiful when she spoon fed Carrie

I loved when she called the baby as asshole!

Controversial I know but pre-dc I probably would have said the same

Question: so Miranda called the baby Brady. And Steve was Steve Brady. I'm assuming this was because they weren't together at the time. So when they got married was Brady still Brady Hobbs or Brady Brady??

I can't imagine Miranda changing names just because of marriage but I did wonder. It was never mentioned!

It's worth pointing out that Candace Bushnell didnt' write the TV series. It was written by a cadre of gay men - it's not Candace that hates women, the book is, essentially a memoir, not a novel.

I always marvelled at how well they cast Brady- he did look like he could be their son!

Anna "I mean, who ever heard of "Mrs Up-the-Butt"? "

Some of the writing team were female too and yes, the book was originally a kind of Roman a Clef and quite a lot of effort was expended by certain people in trying to guess who the real Big was.

What about the scene where Charlotte blindfolds herself to see what it's like to be blind and carrie just ends up trying on shoes even though she's supposed to be looking after her.

I would detest the thought of anyone who spends that much time and money on shoes it's boring at best.

I thought she was awful, the further the series got along the worse the over acting became. The whole expecting Charlotte to give her money really pissed me off, sell your precious shoes for even half the price and she probably would've had enough, or take her millionaires ex money but no only her friends engagement ring was good enough.

Urg and the way she screeched "a scrunchie" at burger like some cracked out banshee made me want to punch the screen.

She deserved big, they were both self obsessed ares holes, Aiden was ridiculous and wet and Berger was just awful.

Still watched it all tho having ranted about it

That's why I think it was so relatable for twentysomething girls- when you're at an age of less responsibilities and are more likely to spend shallow money.
The fact that they were all in their 30s was quite depressing.

Why? I find that a strange thing to say. Surely by the time you've left uni, moved to the city and carved out a career you would be coming on for thirty. In my experience, most of my friends were single in their early thirties more than they were in their twenties.

"shallow money" you're exactly like the friend who shoe-shames Carrie!!

I like fashion.

I like New York.

I like women.

I like telly.

I like Sarah Jessica Parker.

I HATED SATC! I tried so many times to get into it and understand the passion by intelligent, funny friends felt for it. Nope. Unfunny, boring, drivel with unsympathetic, self obsessed characters - with Carrie Bradshaw at the helm.

I don't mean shallow money in a negative way rather in the sense that you're not necessarily going to worry as much about mortgages and you're more likely to go out with friends drinking and shopping.
For the majority of women (but not all by any means) 30s tend to be the decade where you meet your long term partner and plan marriage and real estate.

From my perspective I thought SATC was a relatable show when I first watched it in my 20s. Ten or so years down the line I find the women quite sad and the whole thing quite smug.
I still love to hate it though.