A catchy theme song and a girl walking through New York in high heels until she's splashed by a passing bus heralded a different kind of television for women.
The series "Sex and the City" seemed revolutionary at the time - the stories of four women who openly discuss love, sex, friendship and life in New York.
Today, Marina Đurić from Belgrade is 36 years old and clearly remembers the first time she watched the series "Sex and the City" on television.
"It's that episode when Carrie drops her purse full of condoms on the street while she's dating The beast", Đurić recalled for the BBC in Serbian.
At a time when there were no streaming platforms and binging (watching the new season of the series at once, after paying on the Internet), Marina sat in front of the TV and patiently waited for the new episode to start,
"It seemed that for the first time many topics were being opened up that were not talked about or at least not talked about in that way, such as the fact that a woman can and should carry condoms in her purse," says Đurić.
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The first episode premiered in 1998 on the HBO channel.
The series, based on the book of the same name by writer and journalist Kendas Bushnell, aired in six seasons until 2004 and follows the lives of four friends in Manhattan.
Friendship, love and sex are the main motives.
Who are Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha
Although the four of them are best friends, they are very different.
Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, is the narrator and main protagonist of the series.
Each episode is built around her preparing the weekly column Sex and the City, for the New York Star newspaper.
Keri is a regular guest of popular New York clubs, bars and restaurants.
She has a large collection of shoes, she lives as a tenant in Manhattan and her greatest love is a rich investment banker, who was given the nickname Zverka (MrBig).
"Until then, there were no heroines who did not fit into moral and beauty standards, and whom the audience loved so much," says Đurić, whose favorite "girl from Sex and the City" was Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall).
She is Keri's best friend and the most sexually liberal character in the show.
Samanta deals with public relations and has her own agency.
Keri's best friend is Miranda Hobbs, a successful lawyer who is dedicated to her career.
At some point, she marries bartender Steve, with whom she has a child.
Charlotte York, played by actress Kristin Davis, is part of the famous foursome.
Charlotte works in a gallery and is an art lover. After marriage, she leaves her job to devote herself to family life.
She is the most conservative, traditional and optimistic character in the series who believes in true love.
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Fashion, as a character in itself
During the 25 years of the series, the fashion has changed many times.
Still, some pieces that set trends back then, like Keri's name necklace and the tulle skirt she wears in the opening credits, are still relevant today.
An indispensable detail are the "Manolices", shoes by the fashion designer Manolo Blahnik, which Keri loves to wear and has them in several colors.
Good and bad outfits are covered on the Instagram account All outfits in Sex and the City.
"promiscuity"
There are also those who do not like the series, because it "sends bad messages".
Among them is Ksenija Živojinović, a hairdresser from Belgrade who says that Keri, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda are snobs and only worry about what they will wear, where they will go and who they will meet.
"They show that independence and position of independent women more through sexual adventures than through business success. I think they are very promiscuous," says Živojinović.
The series goes hand in hand with feminist understandings of women and their sexual liberation, according to sociologist Tracy L. Scott for Amory University in Atlanta.
"But in other ways Sex and the City is pretty traditional and centered around women in romantic relationships," he adds.
That ambiguity, says Scott, can be explained by the fact that fans of this series wear flip-flops and sneakers, but want Carrie Bradshaw in her glamorous Magnolias.
"Sex and the City is what we call a cultural product, which can be viewed by different people and enjoyed for different reasons. And those are usually the most successful cultural products," he concludes.
After the end of the series, two films Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010) were shot, and the continuation of the series "Exactly" (And Just Like That) divided critics.
While some said that it should never have been filmed, because without Samantha (Kim Cattrall), everything seems more like a "cold, cynical business move than a real comeback", others praised it and said that "Samantha must be pulling her hair out now" ".
"Never Friends"
Although they were presented in the series as inseparable and supporting and complementing each other, behind the scenes it was different.
At least that's what Kim Cattrall claimed.
The 66-year-old Liverpool-born actress, who won a Golden Globe for best supporting actress in 2002, said a few years ago that there was a "toxic relationship" between them.
The actress initially refused to appear in the sequel to "Sex and the City" and denied that her decision was financially motivated and that she had "diva" demands.
After many rumors about fights between her and Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall said in 2017 that she could not remember the last time she spoke to the other main stars of the series.
"We were never friends.
"We were colleagues and in a way it was healthy, because then you have a clear line between your professional life and your private life," she said at the time.
However, six years later, Katral announced that she is returning to Sex and the City, which delighted many fans of the series.
Quotable
There were many of them. Here are a few that are about safe enough to publish:
- "Maybe we can be each other soul mates", Charlotte on female friendship
- "The fact is, sometimes it's really hard to walk in the shoes of a single woman. That's why from time to time we need really special ones to make the walk a little more fun", Keri, on the single life and shoes
- "Maybe some women are not meant to be domesticated. Maybe they should go wild until they find someone equally wild to be with biti", Keri says about her relationship with Zverka
- "The most exciting, challenging and meaningful relationship of all is the one you have with yourself", Carrie on valuing yourself
- "I love you, but myself i love more I have been in a relationship with myself for 49 years and this is what I need to work on", Samantha on priorities
Sex and the City the Serbian way
The series "Foxes" is considered by many to be the Serbian answer to "Sex and the City".
It was broadcast in 2002, based on the script by Ana Rodić and directed by Gorčin Stojanović.
This series also follows the lives of four women - Hana Jovičić (Mima, the cafe owner), Nataša Marković (Branka, the city face), Radmila Tomović (Nada, a girl from the provinces trying to make it in Belgrade) and Jelena Stupljanin (Staša, extremely romantic).
They live in Belgrade and regularly meet at Fox cafe, owned by Mima.
The main goal of the protagonists, who are on the threshold of thirty, in this series it is summarized in the following sentence: "Let's swear that next year at this same time, at this same bar, we will all have rings on our hands".
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