Sex and the City: The Complete Fourth Season

The fourth season dramatically raised the stakes for HBO's Golden Globe award-winning series, with Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon--this quartet ensemble's better half--carrying the brunt of the drama. Among the most resonant developments: sex columnist Carrie (Parker) accepts a marriage proposal, Miranda (Nixon) becomes pregnant and mourns the death of her mother, Charlotte (Kristin Davis) struggles with fertility issues and further estrangement from husband Trey (Kyle MacLachlan), and "Mr. Big" (Chris Noth) leaves the City. On the lighter side, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) flirts with being a lesbian, and Carrie disastrously participates in a fashion show. As this series matures, it is tackling issues that are real comedy-killers, such as abortion and cancer, but rather than being exploitative, these episodes reveal further dimensions of these already iconic characters. The season-ending episode, "I Heart NY," takes on added poignancy in the wake of 9/11 ("Seasons change," Carrie muses, "so do cities"). Featuring audio commentaries on three episodes, as well as episode synopses and previews, this is a vital chapter in the Sex saga and is sure to be popular. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)