HBO presents

Sex and the City: Season Six, Part One (2003)

Charlotte: How'd you do it?
Miranda: Well, I got pregnant, became a single mother, and stopped having any time to eat.
Samantha: Oh, that's a diet I won't be trying.- Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Catrall

Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Catrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristen Davis
Other Stars: David Duchovny, Ron Livingston, Evan Handler, Blair Underwood, John Corbett
Director: various

Manufacturer: WAMO
MPAA Rating: Not Rated for crude and sexualy frank dialogue, nudity, language
Run Time: 06h:20m:00s
Release Date: 2004-05-18
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	A	A-	B+	B

 

DVD Review

I came into Sex and the City late, long after the series had catapulted to a pop culture phenomenon and long after it had become a staple at annual award ceremonies. So, after being introduced to Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte, I started to religiously watch the series while catching up with the help of both DVD and reruns. Normally, this fixation would be fleeting, as after a period of time most television series lose the quality and sheen that their early seasons offer; with this lively series, that falloff never happened.

Over the course of it six seasons (some split due to star Sarah Jessica Parker's pregnancy), the creators kept up the quality, and this series stands as one of the most consistently entertaining shows in television history. It offers a mature view of lives that may seem very similar to our own. The situations, from sex to dating to pregnancy and childbirth, are handled with a delicate class and sensibility that is often times both touching and heartbreaking.

In the sixth season, the series would begin its wind down to its final episode with an opener that brings everything up to speed from the previous season. Carrie (Parker) finally gets a date with fellow author, Jack Berger (Livingston), but soon her nerves get in the way of her excitement. Charlotte (Davis) is deeply in love with Harry (Handler), but his Jewish heritage prevents his getting close to her. Samantha (Catrall) and Miranda (Nixon) are more or less thrown to the side in the premiere episode, as Miranda is saddled with a subplot involving her maybe or maybe not relaionship with the father of her child.

While all of this may seem rather pedestrian, the way in which the series is written makes each and every situation feel exciting and fresh. The next several episodes are more of a return to the typical antics and situations that made the series so famous: Samantha hitting on and sleeping with every man she has an interest in, and Carrie dealing with life in the single world.

As the series progresses, Samantha meets a waiter at a raw foods restaurant and the pair begin to date (or at least Samantha's version of dating), Miranda begins a relationship with her TIVO while Charlotte desperately converts to Judaism in order to marry Harry. While the show ventures into more tame situations in its final season, it still presents the saucier side of the single life, especially in the case of Samantha.

While Sex and the City exceeds at conveying emotions as well as other shows, the comical side also shines brightly. The conversations, while rather frank when it comes to sex and relationships, have the spark and wit that makes one wish people in real life would speak that way. Many of the show's best moments occur when Carrie is writing her column and spouting off on the trials and tribulations of sex and love.

It is a forgone conclusion that over the course of six seasons the central group of characters has grown and expanded, but luckily those playing them have grown as well. At this point, the foursome work so well together the chemistry is electric. Parker, Nixon, Davis, and Catrall interact so well together that the scenes featuring all of them together are undeniably the best. Throw in fine supporting turns by Ron Livingston, David Duchovny, and Evan Handler, and this is some of the best ensemble acting on television.

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: A

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Presented in the same full-frame aspect ratio as its original broadcast, the sixth season of Sex and the City looks just as good as it did in the original broadcast. Colors are vibrant, with pastels and earth tones coming off very well. There are some scenes where softness and a slight amount of grain are evident, but it is never much of a problem.

Image Transfer Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English, Spanish	yes
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is very much anchored to the center channel and dialogue sounds crisp and clear throughout. There are a few instances of ambient sounds coming from the surround speakers, but, for the most part, this is a dialogue-heavy mix.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 12 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, French, Spanish with remote access
1 Documentaries
4 Feature/Episode commentaries by director Michael Patrick King
Packaging: Tri-Fold Amaray with slipcase
Picture Disc
3 Discs
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: RSDL

Extras Review: Executive producer, writer, and director Michael Patrick King offers fascinating commentary on three episodes including To Market, to Market, Great Sexpectations, Boy, Interrupted, and One. In each track, he delves into the casting, how Parker and the others change their looks in very subtle ways from episode to episode, and the little "in" jokes included in each episode.

A thirty-minute roundtable discussion from the National Museum of Television and Radio is informative if also a tad boring. The group and King discuss the impact of the series in the U.S., as well as the characters and their motivations.

Extras Grade: B
 

Final Comments

Sex and the City is pretty much the best show of its type to have ever aired on television, and, like a good wine, the series just gets better with age. It is fabulous from start to finish. Highly recommended.

Kevin Clemons 2004-05-17