Monday, February 23, 2004

How to fill the void after ’Sex’

By D. PARVAZ

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

I got to thinking about relationships and partial lobotomies: Two seemingly different ideas that might just be perfect together — like chocolate and peanut butter.

— The Tao of Carrie Bradshaw

It’s odd to admit that a seemingly fluffy little show about four single chicks in New York filled quite the sociological void. But there you have it. Until "Sex and the City," we’d never seen the likes of Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon).

Although the stylish quad will primarily be remembered for their clothes and frank sex talks over brunch — where else could you possible hear a discussion open with "My vagina is depressed"? — there was much more to the show. Together, the four very different characters represented being chronically single, married, divorced, engaged, separated and everything in between. They struggled with longings for the unattainable — failing to appreciate the attainable — and they gave us a front seat to their hilarious (often sad) travails.

Where to go to get the things we got from "SATC"? Tough call, but here are some contenders:

HBO "Sex and the City" stars, from left, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Sarah Jessica Parker created TV characters who’ll be hard to match. Female friendship: Yeah, yeah, there’s always been the comedic duo — the Lavern and Shirley, the Mary and Rhoda. But when Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha came on the scene, they raised the bar for TV friendships. There’s very little these women didn’t do for each other, and Lord, almost nothing they wouldn’t share.

Fill the void with: "Girlfriends." While not as saucy as HBO’s "Sex," the UPN sitcom still manages to present us with four diverse women struggling with love, careers, single parenthood and the nightmare that is our modern drive of wanting it all. "The L Word" also is promising, but the show is too young to be a serious contender just yet.

Fashionista fix: Listen, if you’re a "SATC" fan, don’t even pretend you didn’t pay attention to what the girls were wearing. Sure, sometimes it seemed like the show’s stylist was on crack (some of Carrie’s poodle skirts and accessories ... oh boy), but still — it was great fun to watch.

Fill the void with: Don’t laugh, but we’re pitching The WB’s "O.C." as the next best place for style tips (or a good laugh). The rich teens — and their parents — know how to dress. The younger characters — Seth, Ryan, Marissa, Summer and Anna — provide the edgier fashions while the older ones strut around in stuff only true fashionphiles can identify.

The seriously flawed heroine: We’re not just talking a quirky flaw here and there. We’re talking about cheating on your fiance and (alternately) being the other woman. And so not being there for Miranda when she had her baby. And ... well, you get the picture. But dammit, she managed to be likable despite all that — someone you’d want as your friend.

Fill the void with: Ugh, this is sad because frankly, there’s no one like Carrie out there — most heroines are either cutesy or bitchy. If "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was still on, a clear winner would be Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy as a wrong ’n’ strong choice. But, given that we no longer have Buffy, we’ll offer you two, two heroines for the price of one: Grace Adler (Debra Messing) and Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) of "Will & Grace." Grace is a neurotic, self-centered pain-in-the-butt while Karen is just a mean drunk, really. And yet, they’re somehow likable.

The dark horse: Who could match Mr. Big’s (Chris Noth) enigmatic charm? Sure, he’s flaky, unavailable and seriously sketchy when it comes to important issues (trust, commitment, etc.), but come on. It’s not like you had to date him — you watched poor Carrie put herself through that mill a few times.

Fill the void with: Nick Fallin (Simon Baker) on "The Guardian" and his on-and-off relationship with Lulu Archer (Wendy Moniz). He’s complicated, yet compelling and he sure is nice to look at. Runner-up: Goran Visnjic as "E.R." Dr. Luka Kovac.

The girls look like they’re living the fab life — what with their great apartments, swish wardrobes and invites to the opening night of every hot spot in Manhattan. Still, inside every Gucci bag you’ll find a few crumbs of misery. Carrie is lonely and confused, Charlotte doesn’t know what she wants, Samantha runs from anything resembling a real relationship and Miranda is unable to face the fact that she’s not an island.

Fill the void with: Heh, heh. Think being young and loaded in New York means the world is your oyster? Not quite. MTV’s "Rich Girls" shows Ally Hilfiger (daughter of Tommy) and Jaime Gleicher (luggage heiress) bumble their way through shopping, boys and therapy (apparently, even rich girls get dissed at the prom). Don’t give a rip about teen life? Then watch for glimpses of Daddy Hilfiger turning puce at the mention of archrival Ralph Lauren. First runner-up in this category: "The Osbournes" — for all the reasons you’ve read in US Weekly and more.