The Alternate Intro They Shot For ‘Sex And The City’ Is Pure Heat

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Correct me if I’m wrong – which I’m prone to basically all the time – but I’m convinced everyone watched Sex and the City, either on HBO or the syndicated versions. Like literally everyone. You, your mom, your dad, your little siblings, that creepy homeless dude on the corner. Whether you were open about your viewing habits or abashedly quiet about your guilty pleasure, you know you’re well versed in the lives of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte. (If you’re wondering, I’m a Charlotte).

So it’s pretty big news out of Cosmo that they shot TWO opening credits for the show, the one we’re all used to, with Carrie waltzing through the streets in a pink tutu where she ends up getting splashed by a bus with her picture on it, and another never-before-seen version.

Per Cosmopolitan:

Sex and the City’s opening credits might just be one of TV’s most iconic of all time — but as recently uncovered by Entertainment Weekly, Carrie Bradshaw’s white tutu and unfortunate run-in with a NYC puddle were almost left on the cutting room floor.

“There were two wardrobes. One was the tutu, and we did one pass where Sarah Jessica [Parker] was wearing a blue dress and didn’t get splashed; instead, she trips when she sees the ad [on the bus for her column],” show creator Darren Star told EW. “In my mind, it was a nod to The Dick Van Dyke show, but we didn’t use it. It’s in the archives.”

In honor of the show’s almost 20 year anniversary, however, HBO decided to dig out the alternate opening credits for SATC super-fans everywhere — and it’s absolutely surreal to watch.

Let’s break down which version is better. As a refresher, here’s the one you’re used to seeing:

There’s obviously something very dainty about the tutu look, with the symbolism being that it gets absolutely ruined when a bus bearing her image splashes muddy puddle water on her pristine look. It’s implying that basically that her internal choices are the factors at play for “muddying” her life. Because her image is on the bus, we’re supposed to assume that the things that don’t quite go her way – the mud on the tutu – is likely because of the choices she makes. Symbolic, true to the story of her and her friends, blah blah blah.

Now let’s look at the alternate intro credits.

Obviously it’s a little weird without the sound, but of course the most striking difference off that bat is that Carrie’s in a normal blue dress, as opposed to a tutu. Instead of being splashed by the bus, she actually trips (symbolizing that perhaps she can’t get out of her own way), sees herself on the bus advertisement, wonders if any passersby notice she’s on the bus and tripping on the street, does some kind of weird pirouette move, and then with a smug shit eating grin on her face, makes her way down the street. One thing of note was that as she’s moving closer to the camera, you see her nipples poking through her shirt like diamond cutters. I guess that was a thing in the late 90s. What a time.

Symbolically, I like the original. The slow reveal of the tutu. Her bus splashing her. The credits ending with a distraught look on her face. It’s way more on-brand. But the alternate intro? Those nips, man. They win 11/10 times. And SJP’s smug ass grin is kind of hot. I guess you can’t go wrong with either of them. The original is smarter, but the alternate makes it move. It’s the never ending chess match between brain and penis.

So who you got? Original or alternate?.

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Boston Max

Spending my retirement fund at Trader Joe's and trying to remember to check my mailbox semi-regularly

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