"She Had A Baby, Not A Lobotomy": Breastfeeding and Book-Signing In The City

Please Note: Although this review is tagged for spoilers, it also contains reference to significant plot elements from Sex and the City: Season Four.

Introduction

Often considered the runt of its pack, the fifth year of “Sex and the City” saw the series endure a dramatic downsize in quantity, being curtailed to a mere eight editions following the announcement of main star Sarah Jessica Parker’s pregnancy. Despite being a completely understandable creative decision (I can’t imagine anything worse for the show than Carrie being given a baby – she’d probably trade the child in for a new pair of Manolos), the curtailed run reduced the season’s storytelling potential, leaving it to serve as an extended buffer resolving the emotional fallout from its turbulent predecessor. Fortunately, the writers were able to maintain a commendable level of craft, keeping the characters’ trademark wit in fine form and carefully manoeuvring them through some simple but effective developmental arcs.

Episode List
(Highlights in bold; lowlights in italics)

1) Anchors Away; 2) Unoriginal Sin; 3) Luck Be An Old Lady; 4) Cover Girl; 5) Plus One Is The Loneliest Number; 6) Critical Condition; 7) The Big Journey; 8) I Love A Charade

Discussion

Due to its truncation, the best way to view season five is as a series of extended vignettes into the life and times of the characters, and removing any major expectations as to its direction helps enable appreciation of what’s actually there. Of particular interest are the increasingly prevalent themes of loss and loneliness, with Carrie struggling to deal with her break-up from Aidan (John Corbett) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) preparing to do battle in court as her divorce from husband Trey (Kyle McLachlan) looms close. Even the normally flippant Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is nursing a broken heart (thus proving its existence), having fallen in love with wealthy hotel magnate Richard Wright (James Remar) only to discover he’d been unfaithful. The concept of whether it’s possible to move on after being so badly hurt forms the backbone of the first half of the season, with opener “Anchors Away” offering humour and thoughtfulness as the characters adjust to their newfound lives, encompassing liaisons with some freshly-arrived sailors as they go. Meanwhile, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) tries to deal with man issues of a different kind, attempting to juggle the demands of her career with being a good mother to her baby boy Brady – a task that proves exhausting while creating some worrying isolation from her friends.

Of the early episodes, “Unoriginal Sin” is probably the highlight, examining Carrie’s (very realistic) turn to romantic cynicism and providing some meaningful discourse on the nature of faith and optimism. It also showcases a particularly good role for Charlotte, allowing her sweet nature to shine through and nicely enlivening a figure that could otherwise lurch towards being a saccharine Mary-Sue. Watching the continued growth of the characters’ friendships is a real treat, and the level of concern they display for each other’s welfare makes it very easy for the viewer to care about whatever events may occur, as well as their consequent effects. It’s very rare to find a series that manages to believably portray long-term friendships/relationships between flawed-but-good human beings, and “Sex and the City” continues to score highly in this area, delivering additional tribulations in “Cover Girl” as Carrie catches Samantha in an impromptu sex session and ignites a brief rift between them. Both Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall perform very well as their characters squabble (although I think the sarcastic barbs become all too real at times, echoing the actresses’ oft-reported mutual disdain for each other. In fact, rumour has it that during the filming of the Atlantic City field-trip episode “Luck Be An Old Lady”, Sarah procured a house for she, Kristin and Cynthia to reside in, while Kim was left to fend for herself). Either way, there’s some great character development in the offing, and a long-needed, implicit acknowledgement that Samantha’s behaviour is often outrageous to the point of caricature, for which I’m quite thankful.

The second half of season five isn’t as interesting as its introductory segment, but bits and pieces set up events for the show’s sixth year, with Carrie receiving a book-publishing offer and hitting it off with a fellow author named Jack Berger (Ron Livingston) in the process. The omnipresent Mr. Big (Chris Noth) also manages to make an appearance (“The Big Journey”), in a role that seems gratuitous at first but becomes far more interesting when viewed with hindsight. That said, many of the editions in this closing run suffer from lackadaisical pacing and a lower-than-usual ratio of jokes, but each serves its purpose, and Charlotte’s attempts to enjoy ‘just sex’ and talk ‘dirty’ with her divorce lawyer/love interest Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler) provide laughs while establishing a path for her own future growth. For an eight-episode arc, the amount of exploration and development featured is quite impressive, and sets up numerous pins elegantly so that the show’s triumphant final year may successfully bowl them down.

Conclusions

In terms of quality, the fifth season of “Sex and the City” is another success for its cast, writers and directors, with each of its eight pieces having a nice theme, a plot that accurately reflects the inherent concept, and character progression that flows naturally and smoothly from the protagonists’ past behaviours. However, I’ve ended up docking my rating a star due to the price/content ratio of this DVD set – it’s rather unreasonable for it to retail at the same cost as the other, eighteen-episode seasons given that you’re getting less for your money, so it’s worth holding out to grab it at a reduced price (especially since you can jump into season six from season four without losing much in terms of story). Still, this collection is one that no fan of the “Sex and the City” should be without, and continues to maintain its stellar record as one of the smartest and wittiest television series in recent history. Recommended.