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CNN Live Today

Interview With Donna Freydkin

Aired January 05, 2004 - 10:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And it is sex and the season finale. The women of HBO's "Sex in The City" are back for the final episodes of the hit show. You can expect more talk about shoes, suitors, and, of course, about sex.
Donna Freydkin of "USA Today" joins us from New York with more. Wrote the huge cover story in Friday's edition. I bet people all over the country saw that one. Good morning.

DONNA FREYDKIN, "USA TODAY": Hi. Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Well it feels like we're starting to break up with some of our best girlfriends. That's what I felt like at 9:00 last night and turned on HBO.

FREYDKIN: I know, seven more episodes and they are gone for good in February. Can you believe it?

KAGAN: Yes. I mean, I guess it's time. And there's been a number of interviews where they talk about how they want to go out on top and they don't want to stretch it out.

And clearly the premise of the show did have a time line because now the women are starting to move on to the next phase of their lives. But as they wrap up the story lines with each of these character, do you think there's any way that they can do it that will make most of the fans happy?

FREYDKIN: I don't know, especially when it comes to Carrie because she started the show single and fans are pretty divided over whether they want her to end up either married or engaged to Mr. Big or Aleksander, her Russian boyfriend. Or to go out the way she came in, single and still kind of sort of searching for Mr. Right.

KAGAN: Yes, because the whole premise of the series was that it was OK that you could have a full life being a single woman. And so if you betray that kind of betrays the series. But there's always that part of us in the back of the head that wants you to go find the perfect guy.

FREYDKIN: Well in a way these women did find the perfect guy. They found each other. They are each other's soul mates. They're there for each other, they unconditionally love each other, even as Miranda had her baby, even as Charlotte got married for the second time, even as Samantha -- against all odds -- seems to have found love with a man half her age. But they're the ones that support each other. KAGAN: You've seen that man?

FREYDKIN: Oh, yes.

KAGAN: Not too hard to find love with him.

FREYDKIN: I know.

KAGAN: Five or ten years from now when people look back at this show, now significant will be it be in the television landscape, do you think? And how it portrayed single women?

FREYDKIN: I think it is significant and it's going to get more significant because this is really the first show that not only made being single a viable lifestyle but it made it appealing and attractive and funny. And it made it OK for these women to act like Joey on friends and to hook up with different guys and data bit of different guys. It didn't make them sluts, it just made them women who were experimenting and trying to find whatever works for them.

KAGAN: It did present women in a light that showed they are comfortable with their sexuality. But there are also critics out there that said this was a pretty vapid lifestyle of that it really wasn't representative of women in New York City or any other major city for that matter.

FREYDKIN: Well, all I can tell you is I live in New York City and it seems to be pretty representative of what I've seen. I mean certainly it's taken to the extreme where I don't know too many freelance writers who could spend $500 on a pair of shoes on a whim.

KAGAN: Donna says, "Where do I sign up for that?"

FREYDKIN: Exactly. I want that job.

KAGAN: Absolutely.

And finally, this is moving on into syndication which seems odd to me. This is coming off of cable. I mean, it won't be on HBO, it's going to be on TBS, our sister station here on CNN. But they're going kind of to sanitize it a little bit. So will it still have the same charm and be as fun to watch, do you think?

FREYDKIN: That'll be up to the fans. I personally wonder about that. But then again so many of the terms on the show weren't really that dirty. I mean "manthrax" -- which was their great term for a guy that's appealing but you know is going to break your heart. That'll work on any network.

KAGAN: Well some of the terms but some of the scenes. You know, come on.

FREYDKIN: Well I think they shot alternate scenes when they shot a lot of the episodes so they can swap them in when they doing the sanitized versions.

KAGAN: Very good. Well and then if you ever need the real thing they eventually come out on DVD.

FREYDKIN: Exactly.

KAGAN: Will the final episode be sad for you or do you think it's time to say good-bye?

FREYDKIN: Well, I mean, you have women that are either going into middle age or are already middle age. So it's starting to become a little bit, you know, maybe the party is over.

KAGAN: It might be. But it's been a fun party, has it not?

FREYDKIN: Oh, it's fabulous.

KAGAN: It's been a great run. Donna Freydkin with "USA Today," thank you.

FREYDKIN: Thank you.

KAGAN: Enjoy those final episodes.

FREYDKIN: You too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 5, 2004 - 10:48   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And it is sex and the season finale. The women of HBO's "Sex in The City" are back for the final episodes of the hit show. You can expect more talk about shoes, suitors, and, of course, about sex.
Donna Freydkin of "USA Today" joins us from New York with more. Wrote the huge cover story in Friday's edition. I bet people all over the country saw that one. Good morning.

DONNA FREYDKIN, "USA TODAY": Hi. Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: Well it feels like we're starting to break up with some of our best girlfriends. That's what I felt like at 9:00 last night and turned on HBO.

FREYDKIN: I know, seven more episodes and they are gone for good in February. Can you believe it?

KAGAN: Yes. I mean, I guess it's time. And there's been a number of interviews where they talk about how they want to go out on top and they don't want to stretch it out.

And clearly the premise of the show did have a time line because now the women are starting to move on to the next phase of their lives. But as they wrap up the story lines with each of these character, do you think there's any way that they can do it that will make most of the fans happy?

FREYDKIN: I don't know, especially when it comes to Carrie because she started the show single and fans are pretty divided over whether they want her to end up either married or engaged to Mr. Big or Aleksander, her Russian boyfriend. Or to go out the way she came in, single and still kind of sort of searching for Mr. Right.

KAGAN: Yes, because the whole premise of the series was that it was OK that you could have a full life being a single woman. And so if you betray that kind of betrays the series. But there's always that part of us in the back of the head that wants you to go find the perfect guy.

FREYDKIN: Well in a way these women did find the perfect guy. They found each other. They are each other's soul mates. They're there for each other, they unconditionally love each other, even as Miranda had her baby, even as Charlotte got married for the second time, even as Samantha -- against all odds -- seems to have found love with a man half her age. But they're the ones that support each other. KAGAN: You've seen that man?

FREYDKIN: Oh, yes.

KAGAN: Not too hard to find love with him.

FREYDKIN: I know.

KAGAN: Five or ten years from now when people look back at this show, now significant will be it be in the television landscape, do you think? And how it portrayed single women?

FREYDKIN: I think it is significant and it's going to get more significant because this is really the first show that not only made being single a viable lifestyle but it made it appealing and attractive and funny. And it made it OK for these women to act like Joey on friends and to hook up with different guys and data bit of different guys. It didn't make them sluts, it just made them women who were experimenting and trying to find whatever works for them.

KAGAN: It did present women in a light that showed they are comfortable with their sexuality. But there are also critics out there that said this was a pretty vapid lifestyle of that it really wasn't representative of women in New York City or any other major city for that matter.

FREYDKIN: Well, all I can tell you is I live in New York City and it seems to be pretty representative of what I've seen. I mean certainly it's taken to the extreme where I don't know too many freelance writers who could spend $500 on a pair of shoes on a whim.

KAGAN: Donna says, "Where do I sign up for that?"

FREYDKIN: Exactly. I want that job.

KAGAN: Absolutely.

And finally, this is moving on into syndication which seems odd to me. This is coming off of cable. I mean, it won't be on HBO, it's going to be on TBS, our sister station here on CNN. But they're going kind of to sanitize it a little bit. So will it still have the same charm and be as fun to watch, do you think?

FREYDKIN: That'll be up to the fans. I personally wonder about that. But then again so many of the terms on the show weren't really that dirty. I mean "manthrax" -- which was their great term for a guy that's appealing but you know is going to break your heart. That'll work on any network.

KAGAN: Well some of the terms but some of the scenes. You know, come on.

FREYDKIN: Well I think they shot alternate scenes when they shot a lot of the episodes so they can swap them in when they doing the sanitized versions.

KAGAN: Very good. Well and then if you ever need the real thing they eventually come out on DVD.

FREYDKIN: Exactly.

KAGAN: Will the final episode be sad for you or do you think it's time to say good-bye?

FREYDKIN: Well, I mean, you have women that are either going into middle age or are already middle age. So it's starting to become a little bit, you know, maybe the party is over.

KAGAN: It might be. But it's been a fun party, has it not?

FREYDKIN: Oh, it's fabulous.

KAGAN: It's been a great run. Donna Freydkin with "USA Today," thank you.

FREYDKIN: Thank you.

KAGAN: Enjoy those final episodes.

FREYDKIN: You too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com