1 “The Carrie Diaries”
Before feeding her couture shopping fetish, before living in a peanut-sized apartment in the city, before being one of the most admired New York newspaper columnists to ever walk the streets of Manhattan in a pair of bright blue Manolos, Carrie Bradshaw was just another 16-year-old living in the suburbs. A cross between the family-oriented classic “Full House” and the modern spice and sass of today’s “Suburgatory,” while throwing in a little “Gossip Girl” action, “The Carrie Diaries” is a drama the whole family can watch together. High school: a bustling environment where some of the best, worst, and not to mention most embarrassing moments occur. There’s the typical “mean girl” you find strolling through the halls, the dreamy boy or girl who’s off limits, and those few good friends who stick by your side. High school has its flaws and perks, but it’s a time of selfdiscovery, and we see this take place every Monday night in “The Carrie Diaries” on the CW network. Baby Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) thrusts us into her life growing up as a teen in 1984, back when Ronald Reagan was president and shoulder pads were all the rage, molding into the grown-up Carrie whom women aspire to be in “Sex and the City.” Who would have thought grown-up Carrie would ever be caught wearing shoulder pads? “Before there was sex, before there was the city, there was just me: Carrie, Carrie Bradshaw. And lots of things are changing, for all of us.” Young Bradshaw introduces us with those words at the start of each episode, and like “Sex and the City,” she narrates her many journeys. Carrie, starting her junior year of high school without a mother, is having trouble adapting to her new life. Tom Bradshaw (Matt Letscher), Carrie’s father, is also having a difficult time adjusting to his wife’s lost battle with cancer and his role as both father and now mother. Carrie’s rebellious younger sister, Dorrit (Stefania Owen), is trying to find her place in the family by dressing in all black, wearing thick gooey eyeliner and acting older than her 14-year-old self by sneaking out and causing ruckus. Although Carrie has a lot going on at home, she also has tons going on outside the walls of her Connecticut cookie cutter house, but there are those few good friends to keep her grounded. “Sex and the City” usually starts out with Carrie and her best friends Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte gossiping over a decent cup of coffee at a local Manhattan diner, but this young Carrie has a different set of pals. Courageous Maggie (Katie Findlay), one of Carrie’s bests, is struggling with her relationship with Walt (Brendan Dooling), another one of Carrie’s closest buds. Walt’s character is sassy, and he knows a thing or two about cashmere sweaters and Nordstrom sales, but struggles with his own identity. He think’s he might be gay, but he’s not