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Sex and the City

The Man, The Myth, The Viagra

Season 2, Episode 8, Aired Jul 25, 1999

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Carrie continues her relationship with Mr. Big, but wants him to get to know her friends better. Samantha starts spending time with a wealthy seventy-something. Miranda has a bad experience with a married man, and starts seeing a bartender, Steve Brady.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Bruce MacVittie

Allan Miller
GUEST STAR
Spiro Malas

Carlo
GUEST STAR
Bill McHugh

Ed

Sarah Jessica Parker

Carrie Bradshaw
Kristin Davis

Charlotte York McDougal
Kim Cattrall

Samantha Jones
Cynthia Nixon

Miranda Hobbes

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Samantha meets a seventy something millionaire. Miranda meets a cute bartender. Carrie wants Big to meet the girls.

9.0

"Superb"

By ShoegirlSpain, Feb 12, 2011

I have spent many hours pondering this episode, the one according to 'St. Paul Pioneer Press' that illustrates why Carrie is so into Mr Big. It was number 5 on it's list of 10 essential Sex and the City episodes. Apparently, it's meant to show us the pull the often slimy Mr. Big has over Carrie. Their words, not mine. So what's the big deal then? Well, let's see. He takes her to a cute little Italian place, serenades her, cooks dinner in his apartment, and seems to display all the qualities you would want in a great boyfriend. That is until Carrie wants him to do something he doesn't feel comfortable doing. Meet her friends. Now the thing I can't figure out here is whether or not Big is being an idiot, or if he is just nervous. That's what I find so frustrating about the man. I can never work out what he is thinking. He gives nothing away, you can't read him, even with supersonic specs on, or under a microscope. Is he simply not interested in her friends, or is he is just worried what they might think of him? Too many questions! The thing that really gets me here, is when he agrees to the dinner, then, when Carrie shows up at his apartment he isn't dressed to go out, and decides that because it's going to rain that he isn't going. I don't get it. Carrie who normally responds by yelling at him, simply leaves, her departing thought that she was afraid that if she looked into his eyes she would turn to stone. Instead of whining to her friends about it, she keeps quiet in the restaurant and pretends that he can't make it, but doesn't tell them the real reason why. As she says, as long as she was in 'Denial' she may as well stay there. At this point I want to climb into the television and kill him. Of course it is all okay in the end. He shows up, and all is forgiven, and Carrie tells herself that it was the moment, when they stopped being a myth and became real. So okay, he showed up in the end, but is it really that 'Big' a deal? It feels like it is, because it is 'Big' showing up and for him to do something he doesn't want to do, is pretty incredible, but then I think to myself, he is only doing what a normal boyfriend would do. Putting his girlfriends feeling first, before his own. I guess that's the thing about 'Big', you never know what he is going to do next. One minute he is all over Carrie like a rash and the next he is as cold as ice. Is that the attraction for Carrie? The fact that Big is emotionally unavailable, and unpredictable? Maybe. Does it make me see this as one of the greatest episodes, no. The thing that makes the episode great is the effect that Big showing up has on Miranda. There is a lovely scene in this episode, when Big turns up at the restaurant Miranda realises that miracles do happen sometimes, lets down her guard, and let's Steve in. Yes it's true he had already been 'inside' her, but she agrees to give him a chance at actually dating her. After being horrible to him in the restaurant, she sees Big show up, and her faith is men is restored. She runs out into the street and her and Steve kiss in the rain. It is the beginning of a great television romance. These two are one of my favourite couples. I like the way this episode illustrates that we are a product of our environment and past experiences. Miranda thinks that Steve is like all other men, and she can't be bothered to have a relationship with him, but then seeing Big show up for Carrie that way makes her stop and think, just for a split second, that maybe she has been too hasty. It illustrates well that no matter how much we try to make our own decisions, and listen to our own inner voice, we can't help but be influenced by others, and the things that go on around us. In my opinion that is what makes the episode great. That and the look on Samantha's face when she sees the old mans wrinkled bottom!!!moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (3)
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- Goof: You can see a boom mic reflected on the cover of Samantha's meal tray.
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- The flabby butt of Samantha's partner doesn't belong to the actual actor, it belongs to a double who was 75 years old.
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- In this episode Carrie owns a cell phone. However, until season 5 she has never owned a cell phone of her own as Miranda points out! At the end of season 4, however, Miranda gives Carrie a cell phone temporarly so that she can call her when she goes into labor.
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QUOTES (7)
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- Carrie: I want you to know my friends better. Big: I know your friends fine. Charlotte is the brunette, Miranda is the redhead, and Samantha is trouble.
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- Carrie: Are you telling me that you're seriously capable of having sex with a senior? Samantha: Well, you know the saying, "All cats look the same in the dark."
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- Samantha: What's your age ceiling for men? Carrie: Fifty. Samantha: Factor in millions and millions of dollars. Carrie: Fifty Samantha: Well, I just met the cutest older man. Carrie: How old, fifty, sixty? Sweetie is he on medicare? Samantha: I'm guessing seventy-two, a young seventy-two.
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- Miranda: The gods are punishing me for having casual sex.
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- Miranda: Men are such liars. Samantha: And ninety-seven percent of them can't fuck you worth a damn.
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- Miranda: If they're not married, they're gay or burned from a divorce, or aliens from the planet don't date me.
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- Carrie: You've never called me your girlfriend before? Mr Big: Of course I have, just not to your face.
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NOTES (3)
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- In a fifth-season look back at the best of the first four seasons, the St. Paul Pioneer Press named this episode #5 on its list of 10 essential Sex and the City episodes, observing "If you're puzzled by the pull the often-slimy Mr. Big has over Carrie, this episode reveals his charm."
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- The episode earned Victoria Hochberg a nomination from the Directors Guild of America for Best Direction of a Comedy Series.
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- First appearance of Steve Brady
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Cyclops A Cyclops is a part of the Greek -mythical race of giants with a single eye in the middle of their forehead. The word means round eyes.
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