From Carrie to orgasms, via a Cosmopolitan or two, Sex And The City

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Dec 29, 2002 | by Charlene Sweeney

OUR cold, Scottish winter nights are about to become a few degrees warmer and for a change it's not a consquence of global warming. Sex And The City is back - hurrah - for a fifth series. Big is in California, Samantha is a victim rather than perpetrator of adultery and Carrie and Charlotte are single once more. However, it's been nine months and a Cosmopolitan or three too many since we last visited the Manhattan haunts of our favourite singletons, so here's our handy A-Z refresher guide ...

A is for Aidan The former fiance of Sex And The City's central character, Carrie Bradshaw, Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) is the kind of man you'd take home to your mum ... and leave him there. The writing was on the wall when he picked a tasteless engagement ring and had to get maneater Samantha to help him choose a more suitable sign of his love.

- is for Big Played by Chris Noth, Mr Big is Carrie's on-off lover and Achilles heel although it would be fair to say what he does for her relates to an anatomical area a little further north than the foot. But what does the nomer "big" refer to? His pay packet? His cigars? His social status? Something, erm, else?

C is for Carrie Actress Sarah Jessica Parker's journalist character Carrie Bradshaw is based on real-life scribe Candace Bushnell, who wrote a sex column for the New York Observer. Bushnell captured the mood of the 1990s with her witty depiction of dating in the world's most turbo-charged city.

C is also for Charlotte York (Kristin Davis), the art dealer and Park Avenue princess who couldn't wait to get married. So she didn't - and now she's getting divorced. More of dumped husband, Trey, later. Last but not least, C is for cocktail, especially the cosmopolitan, a mix of vodka, triple sec and cranberry which has become as synonymous with SATC as martinis have with James Bond.

D is for Darren Producer Darren Star, a friend of Candace Bushnell, optioned the rights to Bushnell's Sex And The City column over a year before he created the series. Openly gay Star - also responsible for hit teen series Beverly Hills 90210 - refutes suggestions by commentators that Carrie and pals are simply homosexual men re-written as heterosexual women. But how else do you explain Carrie's penchant for dressing like a drag queen?

E is for eating They might be whippets but Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda enjoy their tucker and often meet up to discuss the events of the night before over brunch. Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street in Manhattan's West Village is a favourite.

F is for f***ing As you'd expect in a series with sex in its title, many different types of this activity have been explored. Good, bad, casual, committed, oral, anal, male-on-male, female-on- female, anyone-on-everyone, no stone has been left unturned.

G is for Golden Globes Sitcoms such as Friends enjoy commercial success but haven't been so well received critically. However, Sex And The City has scooped a host of Emmys and Golden Globe awards and last week it was announced that it's been nominated in a further four Golden Globe categories for 2003: best musical or comedy series; best actress in a musical or comedy series (Sarah Jessica Parker); and best supporting actress in a series or TV film (Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon).

H is for HBO Cable channel HBO, or Home Box Office, is the television station responsible for commissioning SATC. The channel, known for quality, edgy drama, has 12 million subscribers in the States and is also the stable of The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Band Of Brothers.

I is for internet "You've got to get online, honey. If only for the porn," Samantha once said. For Sex And The City inside information, especially for tips on where to eat, drink in New York, make like Samantha and log on to www.hbo.com/city.

J is for James James is the no-frills name that Sarah Jessica Parker (also executive producer of the show) chose for her recently born first child. Despite being pregnant with James during the filming of the fifth series, the show's writers decided not to take the easy option of making Parker's character Carrie pregnant too. Out went the cocktail dresses and in came floaty smocks and head-and- shoulder-only camera angles.

K is for Krispy Kreme donuts If you look at scenes filmed in Carrie's bathroom you'll notice a Krispy Creme donuts mug holding a multitude of designer cosmetics. This says two things: Carrie still likes junk food and under the label-clad exterior she's a slob like the rest of us.

L is for love The Manhattan chicks find the business of true love perplexing. Can one person really love another for a lifetime? as Carrie might put it in one of her question-led columns. While the concept of a soulmate doesn't seem to ridiculous to Carrie and Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha are less convinced.

M is for Miranda Prim red-head lawyer Miranda Hobbes has had an ephiphany of late; she's discovered that it is possible to fall in love with one man ... even if that man is her baby son. Looking back, it should have been obvious that Miranda would be the first of the gang to bear a child as she was the most single-minded about her career. Actress Cynthia Nixon who plays Miranda has a daughter and in real life is due to give birth again.