Last night, I was on edge from the severe thunderstorms in our area. Rain held back as the sky lit up with lightning, followed ominously by rolls of thunder. I do not deal gracefully with thunder. The worst of my high-strung tendencies come out when bands of storms show up on the radar, and I can only curl into a ball and wait for them to pass. I’ve asked JG, only half jokingly, when he’ll build me that soundproof room — “It can double as a recording studio!” — where I imagine that I can happily weather the storm without the knowledge of its violence. Until then, every muscle fiber in my body tenses up at that first flash of lightning, a sharp harbinger of the impending thunder that could be anything from a gentle roll eight miles away to an ear-splitting clap right over our heads. Thank goodness that Ted is not fazed by the noise; dealing with the two of us would be too much to ask of JG. Instead, Ted sits quietly in my arms, even as they tighten around him with every bolt of lightning.
We headed to bed as the storms started to recede, and we turned on reruns of The Office. JG fell asleep fairly quickly, and I shifted uncomfortably. The humidity sat on my skin, despite the whir of the oscillating fan in the corner. I was not anywhere near falling asleep. Between the rumbles of thunder in the distance, the heavy moisture in the air, and the tension in my body from the knowledge that the severe thunderstorm watch was in effect until 1am, I was not in a restful place. Resigned, I kept watching television instead of reading, because holding a book would get in the way of clapping my hands over my ears in case of a sudden upswing in the storm front.
The jazzy introduction of Sex and the City rang in my ears, and I perked up slightly. I never understood the appeal of the show, not really. I never had HBO, so the only snippets of the show I put together from reading magazines in waiting rooms painted a picture of sheer, glossy escapism with a side of tulle skirts, nameplate necklaces, and cosmopolitans. I could appreciate it, but it wasn’t available to me, and that was fine. I gathered that viewers enjoyed the female camaraderie and bawdy conversation, and that most women identified with one specific character out of the four. From my gleanings, I surmised that I was probably Charlotte. I have no plans to see the movie. The fashion doesn’t interest me, and I couldn’t imagine that if I had not “gotten it” up until this point, spending twelve dollars to sit in a theater full of women probably wasn’t going to do the trick. Shrug. No great loss, I figured.
But I found myself watching the two episodes that were scrubbed clean for general consumption. I didn’t know any differently, so all I could see was Sarah Jessica Parker’s affair with Chris Noth, who I will always associate with Law and Order. And then, oh, SJP had on a champagne bridesmaid dress for Kristen Davis’s wedding, and she was telling John Corbett about the affair, and he was pressed against her hair, and SJP was crying, and — what was this? I was teary-eyed? Over SJP and John Corbett? I had always seen this Carrie character as poised and flip, with her laptop and her cigarette, so seeing her reduced to sobs with the backdrop of a wedding was almost too much for me. And I never cry! Well, I didn’t actually cry. Let’s get that straight. But I felt that tug of the heart, the welling of tears, the pull of empathy. So maybe, for just a few minutes in that hot, humid, tense night, I came a little bit closer to understanding why so many women love this show and its characters.
I know I can’t judge off of two episodes viewed under less-than-relaxing circumstances. Maybe I’m the only one who gulped down tears at that scene. Ah, well. Today, I am no longer broken up about SJP and John Corbett, and the humidity has dissipated. Maybe I’ll rent the SATC movie someday, when thunder is in the forecast, and JG has finally built me that soundproof room.
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I loved John Corbett’s character on the show. It’s a shame they had to go and ruin it.
Also? The movie kinda stank.
We watched that episode last night too!
I kind of love SATC, and the movie got me all emotional. I don’t quite understand why, because I think the characters are shallow, and the fashion doesn’t interest me. Then I had the realization that the show is like The Bible: it’s not meant to be taken literally.
I’ve seen a couple episodes here and there but nothing dramatic like crying! I am almost glad that I never got sucked in only because it would mean another DVD boxed set to Netflix or buy.
I’m a big SATC fan, but I totally understand your feelings. Since I don’t have TV I rarely know what people are talking about when they mention how excited they are about certain shows. I always have to wait until the shows get to Netflix and then the wave of excitement is over and it’s no biggie.
Oh! And I liked the movie. But I was a Big (Chris Noth) fan all along.
Oh, you found season 3! That’s my favorite season! Those are some great episodes you watched.
Also, we had that same crazy thunderstorm last night. But it broke the heat wave, so I’m okay with it.
I originally wasn’t into SATC. I didn’t have HBO, and it just didn’t look like my kind of show. One summer, when we had unlimited movie rentals at our local video store, I rented Season 1 to watch while Ted delivered pizzas. The first few episodes weren’t fantastic, but funny enough to keep my attention. By the end of the first season, though, I was hooked. I own all 6 seasons on DVD now. I love watching them, even though it’s still not really my kind of show.
that is one of my favorite episodes! although i was pretty heartbroken aiden and carrie broke up. you really should rent some of the episodes. it’s easy to get hooked!
I wan’t into SATC until we signed up for cable (finally) at the very end of my senior year, and were thus treated to three months of free HBO. I was immediately hooked. I don’t care about the fashion either, so I’m not sure how to explain my love for the show. Even though lifestyle of $400 shoes and clubbing is about as far away from my lets-make-a-pizza-and-watch-some-Tivo reality, I still identified with the more realistic aspects of the characters. They did stupid things, they broke people’s hearts (I’ll never forgive Carrie for not marrying Aiden!), they married people for the wrong reasons. It’s sort of like Gilmore Girls in that respect: sure, no one talks like that… but it doesn’t make you love the show any less.
I’m not a huge fan of the “I’m a Carrie/Miranda/etc” thing, but if you had to be one of the four, it would certainly be Charlotte!
You’ve definitely hit on (one of) the attractions of SATC. When it wasn’t all about the “S” of SATC, it could be very moving. The best episode of the show, in my opinion, is called “My Motherboard, My Self” and it brings me to tears every time! It is also a fairly stand alone episode. I’d recommend it if you’re ever flipping past and spot it.
that episode was one of my favorites. i always tear up during it too. i love that show.
I love the show. But mostly for the strong women and their friendships that weather anything.
Everything else is so unrealistic.
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