Colette Brottman
Contributing Writer

I spent my entire summer watching every episode of “Sex and the City,” plus both movies, which turns out to be about 53 hours of one show. Embarrassing. But during those two and a half total days, I watched Carrie Bradshaw fall in and out of love, Miranda have a baby, Charlotte continuously believe in soul mates, and Samantha be Samantha. It was an escape for me, a way to avoid any stress or anxiety.

As I finished the final few episodes (I’m sorry, but the final episodes of the season were horrible–thank goodness for the movie!), I was disappointed and also a little lost on what was next for me. Fortunately, the CW picked up “The Carrie Diaries” which is based off the books, the prequel to Carrie’s take-over of New York City.

“The Carrie Diaries” has already deterred from the books (yes, I read them), but I am sucked in. I look forward to my break on Tuesdays when I can watch the episode from the night before.

Carrie has three best friends: Mouse, Maggie and Walt. Maggie and Walt are dating, Mouse has a long distance boyfriend and Carrie is falling in love with the new boy, Sebastian Kydd. From the first episode, Carrie has faced drama. Her mother recently passed away, so she must deal with her struggling sister Dorrit and overprotective (and confused) father. She has a new dream internship in New York City and meets Larissa, an editor from her dream magazine. Her father bans Carrie’s involvement with Sebastian, Walt is struggling with his sexuality and Maggie hides her secret affair.

“The Carrie Diaries” is incomparable to “Sex and the City.” First off, Carrie doesn’t have a sister or an existent father in “Sex and the City.” Second, many high school life experiences that Carrie mentions in the HBO series don’t happen in the new series.

It is a CW show, the home of “Gossip Girl” and “90210,” so we expect constant drama and crazy fashion, but “The Carrie Diaries” is one of the first shows I have seen where the high school girls look like they are actually in high school and the storyline is more realistic. The fashion is crazy and the music is a total throwback. Maybe I have found my new escape. How could I not love the subtle references to “Sex and the City,” like “maybe one day you’ll end up on the side of a bus” or the classic Carrie mannerisms. I will always root for Aidan, but for the time being, I guess I’ll settle for Sebastian.