3. Sex And The City
Much like Entourage, Sex And The City is lauded for its comedic value. Much like Girls, SATC is critically adored for its attempts to foreground the lives of women in a largely patriarchal world. Much like both, it is nowhere near as successful in either category as it is made out to be. Firstly, while SATC was undeniably influential and had some genuinely funny moments, it was in no way consistently funny enough to merit its popularity. It was HBO's answer to the hugely-popular Friends and, whatever your opinion of that show, its humour rate was infinitely superior to that of SATC. Gags in Friends came thick and fast (even if they weren't always funny). Gags in SATC show up occasionally, but feel like jokes between the characters rather than moments that an audience can truly relate to. It all feels a bit forced. The major problem with SATC is that it is effectively a consumerist nightmare playing out onscreen. Its classist (it may highlight the experiences of women, but they're unbelievably wealthy women who clearly aren't as marginalised as those from poorer backgrounds) and often feels like watching a televisual adaptation of Hello magazine. Of course it would be stupid to suggest that SATC can be everything. It can't - it is what it is, a study of a group of well-off women and their social interactions. But it's nothing more than that, despite the protestations of the film's many admirers.