Sex and the City
The Ick Factor
TV Flash files “The Ick Factor” as hour 88 of 94 in the TV Flash guide — Sex and the City (1998–2004) on HBO, season 6, episode 14, aired 2004-01-11, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S06E14: listed hour 88 of 94 in the Sex and the City guide, hour 14 of 20 in season 6. It aired 2004-01-11 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Let There Be Light” (S06E13). Next is “Catch-38” (S06E15).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The relationship between Carrie and Petrovsky continues to develop, but one thing continues to nag at Carrie. Petrovsky is given to grand gestures of affection (including poetry reading and the composition of original love songs), and that's a bit too much for this slightly cynical New York girl. When Petrovsky takes Carrie to a premiere at the Met, she literally swoons. To balance things out, the artist takes her to McDonald's, where the pair become the most elegantly dressed duo in the establishment's history. Steve and Miranda decide to finally tie the knot, but vow not to have an elaborate wedding. Keeping things low-key isn't as easy as it sounds, but they eventually manage to work things out, finding a perfect community garden in which to hold their ceremony. Not to be left behind in the romance department, Harry takes Charlotte to an upscale French restauarant. The meal is wonderful, but later that night, the newlyweds both come down with acute food poisoning. The romantic evening breaks down, as the pair alternates dashes to the restroom. The experience may not be the most intimate, but it does make clear their genuine love and caring for each other. After seeing herself pictured in In Touch magazine, Samantha decides to get breast augmentation. However, during her initial consultation with a plastic surgeon, a lump is found in her breast. The biopsy reveals that the growth is cancerous, and Samantha realizes that she's in for the fight of her life. The day of Steve and Miranda's wedding arrives, but before they get to the ceremony, Samantha discloses her condition to Carrie. Samantha is very matter-of-fact, and swears Carrie to temporary secrecy, as not to ruin Miranda's big day. The ceremony is beautiful, but during the reception, both Charlotte and Miranda discover Samantha's secret. The four friends then spend some sobering time preparing for what will no doubt be a long journey for all of them.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Ick Factor sit in the Sex and the City guide?
S06E14 is listed hour 88 of 94 — hour 14 of 20 in season 6, season 6 episode 14.
When did Sex and the City S06E14 air?
The Ick Factor aired 2004-01-11 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Season 1, episode 1. The voiceover and the four-silhouette contract are the whole machine.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Watch it as the original big-city look book: four women, a voiceover, and shoes that did more character work than half the boyfriends. Manhattan is a lighting setup. The reboot noise is later; this run is the template every brunch-core series still copies.
The first thing you see is a woman on a street that is really a runway. Carrie Bradshaw’s voiceover is a fashion dispatch with dating as the alibi. HBO at the end of the 1990s did not accidentally invent the look book as comedy-drama. Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon made Manhattan photograph as a weekly fitting: four silhouettes, four theories of sex, one city that never dressed casual unless the casual cost more. Style is the plot. The shoe is not a punchline. The shoe is a…
Filed against
- Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw typed Manhattan desire into a global lifestyle franchise — Sex and the City as fashion, friendship, brunch as appointment TV, and shoes that did more character work than half the boyfriends. Reboots…
- Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones
Kim Cattrall’s Samantha Jones made brunch into a press strategy on Sex and the City — four women, a voiceover, shoes that did more character work than half the boyfriends. Skin as branding, Manhattan as a campaign. On TV Flash she is the…
- Kristin Davis as Charlotte York
Kristin Davis’s Charlotte York is Sex and the City’s corporate sheath — architecture in a brunch quartet, shoes as character work, Manhattan sidewalk as campaign. Four women and a voiceover; her column is the manners. On TV Flash she is…
- Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes
Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda Hobbes was Sex and the City’s sharpest counterweight — lawyer skepticism, Brooklyn realism, friendship as lifestyle franchise. A practical coat doing more character work than half the boyfriends. TV Flash still…
- Chris Noth as Mr. Big
Chris Noth’s Det. Mike Logan helped launch Law & Order’s dun-dun empire before Mr. Big made him Sex and the City’s emotional cliffhanger machine. Sparse Manhattan cool and endless will-they discourse built a dual-brand career. TV Flash…