Well, I’ve at least reached the end of this long, 94-episode trip though the lives of Carrie Bradshaw and her three fabulous NYC pals.  I’ve laughed a lot, groaned a lot and actually felt the odd tug and my heartstrings here and there.

There’s no question that I entered into this series expecting one thing only to watch it become something entirely else over its six-season run.  Having now seen the least 20 episodes, I can understand why longtime fans were frustrated by the recent film version, as Michael Patrick King wound up undoing some of the bold creative decisions he made in the series finale.  Chief among these was breaking up Samantha and Smith Jerrod, an odd story arc that set the character of Samantha back to her season one setting of a cougar on the prowl.  One of the strongest storylines of the sixth season was watching this battle-tested publicist slowly, but surely give her heart over to a guy who–let’s face it–was always too good to be true.  Up until the final episode, I wasn’t sure that Samantha was actually going to stay with Smith and I was genuinely surprised when she acknowledged that she was in a happy, loving relationship.  That’s why it’s a shame that King couldn’t leave well enough alone and felt obligated to end the film with Sam a single gal again.   It smacks a little too much of desperation on his part–he knew he had to give Cattrall something meaty to play and that’s the best he could come up with.  Personally, I’ll try and mentally erase the Smith/Samantha breakup from the film and pretend that they are still together somewhere out there.

The final season found Miranda and Charlotte settling into new permanent relationships as well, although in Miranda’s case, she was really just picking up where she left off with bartender Steve.  After a brief dalliance with a handsome sports doctor (Blair Underwood), Miranda realizes that she really does love the man that fathered her child and the two of them finally tie the knot in a simple, unadorned ceremony that’s one of the season’s best moments.  The only thing that rankles me about Steve and Miranda–who are otherwise my favorite couple–is Miranda’s relentless Brooklyn bashing.  Priced out of Manhattan, Steve convinces her to plunk down for a townhouse in Park Slope.  Sorry Miranda, but I got no sympathy for you since I’ll most likely be retirement age before I can even thing of affording the kind of property you turn your nose up at!  Charlotte, meanwhile, officially converts to Judaism and marries kind-hearted slob Harry (a character who was also shafted by the movie–I had no idea he even had a personality until I actually saw him in the show).  Her baby fever also comes to a sweet ending as she and her new husband successfully apply for adoption.

And finally there’s a heroine Carrie, who experiences two very different relationships in the sixth season before inevitably finding her way back to Big.  The first is with fellow author Jack Berger (Ron Livingstone, very good in a difficult role), who seems like a perfect guy until his deep-seating insecurities raise their ugly head, leading to a memorable break-up by post it note.  Next up is fiftysomething Russian artist Aleksandr Petrovsky (played by Mikhail Baryshnikov in an inspired casting choice) who sweeps Carrie off her feet with an old-fashioned courtship and shows her what life would be like as the muse of a famous creator.  Her feelings for Aleksandr are so strong, she actually follows him to Paris, where the reality of their life together smacks her rudely in the face.  The Carrie/Aleksanr arc spans the entire run of the last eight episodes and it’s a very well-written, well-acted plot that shows us why these two would initially be drawn to each other and also why a long-term relationship would never work out.  Less convincing is why Carrie and Big would be a better fit based on their past history, but I’m willing to give King a pass here as he clearly wanted to send viewers off with a happy ending all around.  Looking back at the show’s first season, I never would have expected to come away as a modest admirer, but you know what?  For at least three out of its six seasons, Sex and the City was a darn good show.  And not every series can say that.

Best Episode: “Catch-38″ in which Carrie wrestles with the idea of becoming a mother.  An extremely well-written take on this difficult life decision.

Worst Episode: “To Market, To Market” the overly busy season premiere that rushes through a crazy amount of exposition.