"Sex" Changes

Change is good.

At least that's what writer/director/creator Darren Star seems to believe. If he didn't, his highly successful and critically-acclaimed HBO cable series "Sex and the City" most likely wouldn't have taken home the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for its third season, the first time in history a cable show would ever do so, but it did.

Yes, this hilariously intelligent and addictive comedy series is back, where our four favorite beauties, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda, set out for a third go-around to take a sexy bite out of The Big Apple in this triple-disc DVD set, "Sex and the City -- The Complete Third Season".

But the triumphs and praise this particular season received from critics and audiences alike were not garnered by any display of redundant and mechanical grunt work. Star, along with his immensely talented writing and directing teams, turned America on its ear with the hard-nosed risks he took in making certain that the show, the stories, and our quartet of beloved characters, would righteously evolve.

Thank goodness for evolution. If it weren't for shows like this, television would still be trapped in the never-ending limbo of "22-minute problems, and their isolated, always reliable closing resolutions".

Carrie Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) is a character whose millions of fans adore her. But in a landmark episode of this third season, entitled "Easy Come, Easy Go", Star, along with writer Michael Patrick King, committed the forbidden act of throwing our hero to the wolves. This is the landmark episode where Carrie surrenders to having an affair with the lovably wry Mr. Big (Chris Noth). It wouldn't have seemed so bad had she not been in the midst of a deeply monogamous relationship with her perfect boyfriend, Aidan (John Corbett).

This particular episode sent many of its most loyal viewers reeling away in shock, anger, and disgust. But Star and King felt the strong need to pose the fans with an enormous challenge: will they disown this character and the show forever? Or would they stay tuned to try and understand Carrie's flaws? See if guilt gets the best of her? See if she goes through emotional hell?

It was a fearless risk like this that began to take the show in a new direction, with heightened complexities in plot structure, and deeper expositions in the facets of these four characters. And it worked. The show not only walked off with the top Emmy, but also received nine other Emmy nominations (which included "Easy Come, Easy Go" nods for the episode's director, Charles McDougall, and writer, King) and two Golden Globe wins to boot. In this season, the "Sex" became better than ever.

And to break it all down, I would like to introduce you to:


T H E -- C A S T

CARRIE BRADSHAW -- Sarah Jessica Parker (who received a Best Actress Golden Globe Award for her performances in this season, as well as another career Emmy nomination.) Carrie is our columnist of the much-loved weekly New York article, "Sex and the City". She goes through one tough year, filled with guilt-ridden choices, irresistible temptations, and painful loss and heartbreak.

SAMANTHA JONES -- Kim Cattrall (a supporting actress Golden Globe nominee and Emmy nominee for this season.) The CEO of her own P.R. firm, the most major change Samantha seems to go through this particular season is a change of scenery, after she moves into a different apartment because her former elderly neighbors quickly tired from her rampant sexual escapades.

CHARLOTTE YORK -- Kristin Davis. This was the year art gallery owner Charlotte truly believed her dream would come true: to be swept off her feet by a soldier of love. Well, the soldier does appear, she is swept off her feet, but little did she ponder the theory that not all soldiers come equipped with sturdy, steadfast "armor".

MIRANDA HOBBES -- Cynthia Nixon (who, in this season, earned a supporting actress Golden Globe nomination.) This was the year in which practical/judgmental attorney Miranda did a little growing up, through learning a little bit about patience, understanding, loyalty, and support.


R E C U R R I N G -- P L A Y E R S

MR. BIG -- Chris Noth

STEVE -- David Eigenberg

STANFORD BLATCH -- Willie Garson

AIDAN -- John Corbett

TREY -- Kyle MacLachlan


E P I S O D E -- B R E A K D O W N

D I S C -- O N E

"WHERE THERE'S SMOKE..." -- (Written & Directed by Michael Patrick King)
Carrie develops an interest in an older politician; a hunky firefighter proudly trips the trigger in Samantha's libido alarm; Charlotte declares to all of Manhattan that this will be her year of wedded bliss; Miranda fights for her own independence after she goes under an operation for laser eye surgery.

"POLITICALLY ERECT" -- (Written by Darren Star, Directed by King)
Miranda confronts Steve after he states the wanting of an exclusive relationship; Samantha experiences a whirlwind tryst with a very small man; Charlotte plays host to a "used date" party on her quest for her future husband; Carrie's politician makes a "politically incorrect" proposition.

"ATTACK OF THE FIVE FOOT TEN WOMAN" -- (Written by Cindy Chupack, Directed by Pam Thomas)
Carrie runs into Natasha, Mr. Big's bride-to-be; Samantha seeks "full satisfaction" from a resident massage therapist at her health spa; Charlotte fights physical self-consciousness in the womens' steamroom; Miranda is at odds with her new, Ukranian, religious housekeeper.

"BOY, GIRL, BOY, GIRL..." -- (Written by Jenny Bicks, Directed by Thomas)
Carrie's insecurities get the best of her when she learns that the man she is dating turns out to be bisexual; Samantha plays "boss" with her new assistant; effeminate Charlotte is asked to pose for a photographer that specializes in shooting drag kings; Miranda takes the leap into inviting Steve to live with her.

"NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS" -- (Written by King, Directed by Nicole Holofcener)
Charlotte has a date with the worst kisser on Earth; Carrie has eyes for Aidan, a down-home furniture designer; Samantha dates a black man, whose sister objects to the pairing; Miranda learns a valuable lesson in the art of mutual support.

"ARE WE SLUTS?" -- (Written by Chupack, Directed by Allison Anders)
Carrie becomes concerned with Aidan's resistance to sex; Charlotte is jolted by her new boyfriend's bedroom insults; Samantha moves out of her apartment when her neighbors cry anarchy on her late-night rendezvous; Miranda learns that she's the owner of a brand-new STD.

D I S C O N E -- S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S

CAST & FILMMAKERS -- This feature offers up extensive bio's on the stars of this hit series and the creative wizards who make them shine.


D I S C -- T W O

"DRAMA QUEENS" -- (Written by Star, Directed by Anders)
Carrie desperately searches for any one tiny flaw that might exist in her very perfect Aidan; Charlotte meets Trey, the man she's been waiting for her entire life; Samantha dates a man who takes Viagra as a recreational drug; Miranda feels strange discomfort in her co-habitation with Steve as she learns unwanted knowledge regarding his habits with hygiene.

"THE BIG TIME" -- (Written by Bicks, Directed by Anders)
Charlotte decides to withhold sexual gratification with Trey until marriage; Samantha fears the looming possibility of menopause; Steve asks Miranda to have a baby with him; Mr. Big steps back into Carrie's life, shaking things up for her and Aidan.

"EASY COME, EASY GO" -- (Written by King, Directed by Charles McDougall)
Charlotte is distraught over the act of proposing marriage to herself; Samantha is bothered by her new fling's "sour secretions"; Miranda helps Steve find a new place to live; Mr. Big professes his love for Carrie, and vows to split from Natasha.

"ALL OR NOTHING" -- (Written by Bicks, Directed by McDougall)
Samantha comes down with a bad case of the flu; Miranda relishes in her adventures with a long-distance lover; Charlotte is crushed when Trey presents her with a pre-nup; Carrie's conscience harbors a regretful secret.

"RUNNING WITH SCISSORS" -- (Written by King, Directed by Dennis Erdman)
Carrie reveals her guilt-ridden secret to Miranda; Meanwhile, Miranda is sexually propositioned by a giant sandwich; Charlotte goes on the hunt for the perfect wedding gown; Samantha fears the result of an AIDS test.

"DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" -- (Written by Chupack, Directed by Erdman)
Charlotte discovers that Trey's "soft side" is much softer than she had hoped; Samantha discovers that a Scottish groomsmen in Charlotte's wedding speaks an irresistible language of lust; Miranda role-plays for an interested date; Carrie comes cleans with Aidan.

D I S C T W O -- S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S

AUDIO COMMENTARY ON "EASY COME, EASY GO" -- Michael Patrick King takes us through a lecture on the swirling controversy that surrounded this particular episode. He also discusses how this season outlined stronger, more complex dynamics in the four main characters, and the different approaches the creative team took in fleshing out different sides of their interactive relationships within the structure of each storyline.

AUDIO COMMENTARY ON "ALL OR NOTHING" -- For the most part, King narrates this episode.

AUDIO COMMENTARY ON "RUNNING WITH SCISSORS" -- King virtually narrates this episode as well.

AUDIO COMMENTARY ON "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" -- Again, King explains it all for you.


D I S C -- T H R E E

"ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK" -- (Written by Becky Hartman Edwards, Directed by King)
Carrie, Samantha, and Miranda take a Manhattan getaway to sunny L.A.; Charlotte's sexless marriage with Trey is driving her to her wit's end.

"SEX AND ANOTHER CITY" -- (Written by Bicks, Directed by John David Coles)
Miranda meets up with an old friend in L.A.; Carrie meets an assistant to Hollywood's biggest stars; Samantha meets the man to end all men before him, Hugh Hefner; Charlotte sets out to join the ladies in Los Angeles.

"HOT CHILD IN THE CITY" -- (Written by Allan Heinberg, Directed by Michael Spiller)
Samantha is hired to P.R. a party for a wealthy 13 year-old; Carrie discovers her new love interest still lives with his parents; Miranda is forced to wear braces; Charlotte encourages Trey to join her in a sex therapy session.

"FRENEMIES" -- (Written by Heinberg, Directed by Spiller)
Carrie teaches a seminar for single women who yearn to meet men; Samantha befriends an older version of herself; Charlotte searches for ways to make herself more desirable to Trey; Miranda is jolted by the truth that her tardy date has actually passed away.

"WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND" -- (Written by Star, Directed by Allen Coulter)
Charlotte shares a lip lock with her mother-in-law's studly gardener; Miranda is overwhelmed by the fact that she's dating the most gorgeous man in Manhattan; Samantha is repeatedly hounded by a youthful admirer; Carrie has an uncomfortable run-in with Natasha.

"COCK A DOODLE DO!" -- (Written by King, Directed by Coulter)
Carrie's peaceful slumber becomes routinely disrupted by a group of outspoken, urban-dwelling poultry; Samantha's peaceful slumber becomes routinely disrupted by a group of outspoken, urban-dwelling "he/she's"; Miranda's delivery dinners are disrupted by a cackling, judgmental order taker; Charlotte separates from Trey.


M U L T I D I S C -- S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S

*All three discs to this 18-episode season offers these particular special features:

EPISODE SELECTION -- Depending on the disc you have inserted into your DVD player, this feature allows you direct access to the episode of your choice.

SEASON INDEX -- This feature contains a listed title and preview for each episode of this season.

LANGUAGE SELECTIONS -- With this feature, you have the option of watching the episodes in either ENGLISH DOLBY SURROUND, SPANISH MONO, or FRENCH SURROUND.

DVD-ROM COMPATIBILITIES -- With any of the three discs, as long as you have a computer equipped with internet access and a DVD-rom installed, you can click directly on to the HBO website, which offers information for every show of the series, along with screensavers, message boards, etc.


So, there you have it! The entire breakdown to the DVD set of "Sex and the City -- The Complete Third Season".

And remember: change is good. So, if you've never seen the show before or are feeling hesitant with the purchase of this set, hesitate no further. It won't take much research to find this item for 40 dollars somewhere on the net. But be forewarned that this type of "Sex" could turn you into a hardcore addict. Watch with caution, but don't hold out on the pleasure it abundantly provides.