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Baryshnikov on "Sex & the City"


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Thanks, piccolo. Uh, not a match made in heaven, I would think. I love the character of Carrie on her own terms, but setting her up with an Anselm Kiefer type doesn't really seem the way to go. What are they going to talk about? Her eye shadow?

I'll miss the show, but thank goodness they're shutting it down after this season. Along with Miranda's baby, this gimmick of bringing in famous faces is another indicator of serious We're-Completely-Out-of-Ideas desperation. However, I'll keep watching anyway......

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It seems a little strange to me to get the most famous dancer alive today and not have him portray a dancer -- particularly since the character's name, Alexander Petrovsky, is somewhat reminiscent of one Fred Astaire played long ago. But, speaking as a certifiable Dirty Old Man, I love Sex and the City too. :rolleyes:

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You know, Farrell Fan, that name did ring a distant bell for me, too, and your post reminded me -- Astaire was a ballet dancer, "the great Petrov" -- Peter P. Peters, I think his 'real' name was -- in "Shall We Dance." One of only two times I can recall Astaire looking a tad silly (the other time was when Ginger and he essayed a fiery Spanish dance in "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle." Too funny.

It may be appropriate, in a way, that Baryshnikov's character is not a dancer, since he is appearing here in the avatar of A Celebrity, which is his true value to the show.

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He debuted on the show last night, and it's a new major role, not just a cameo. My hunch is they're setting up a situation where Carrie decides between Petrovsky and Big for the finale in January. I missed chunks of dialogue owing to chronic Comcast transmission difficulties – may you rot in Hell, Brian Roberts, and your daddy along with you – but my impression was that he did okay. He's no more an actor for the camera than he ever was, but he wasn't bad and the writers carefully avoided giving him anything to do that might require actual comic timing. He definitely looks his age, which is fine but a tad depressing for this viewer. Not much chemistry between him and SJP, so far. His character hasn't changed much, in a sense – he's still playing the exotic Russki womanizer familiar from his flicks (we're told Petrovsky used to hang out at Studio 54 with lots of supermodels – what a deep guy).

No references to dance of any kind (again, I did not catch all the words, so there may have been something I didn't get), and it occurred to me while watching that many younger viewers of the show may have no clear idea of who he is. There is one big acrobatic leap to retrieve Carrie's purse. Anyway, while he will not distract me from ogling Blair Underwood, it was very nice to see him.

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:huepfen: Oh my goodness.....the steam was rolling off my TV.....Sorry, but this guy has the definite IT factor...his character and SJP's Carrie are miles apart and I found myself laughing the whole way thru and adored his attraction to Carrie.......his white knight purse retrival scene was super. This role is perfect for Misha and his age didn't phase me (maybe cause I am older too!) .....can't wait 'til next year....and more of him...I cannot imagine that they will end up together at the close of the season however.....and yes, I hope they will do a fantasy dance scene - What a fun idea :thumbsup: Now, I must ask my daugher what her take was....I am sure it was different than mom's :lol:

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Socalgal, it may be me. I must confess that even as a preteen/teen I was unimpressed with Baryshnikov, lookswise. I mean, he was cute enough in a blond fresh-faced way in The Turning Point, but even as my sister was raving about him I was thinking he couldn't compare to Rudi. Nureyev was for women of the world, which I liked to pretend I was. :rolleyes: Baryshnikov was Tiger Beat. (I hadn't seen either man live, of course, I was just going by pictures.)

glebb, you're more charitable than I. I thought it was product placement. :wink:

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I was disappointed with last night's premiere - not particuarly funny or cute...and he is! :yes: The only thing captured to perfection is Alex/Misha's Russian "insiders only" retinue.

The truth is that I've never been a fan of the show. For the most part, the ladies look cheap (Why is Cynthia Nixon never styled when she's so pretty? Why is Sarah-Jessica dressed like a rag doll?) and act vapid when they're supposed to be "smart" and "sophisiticated." I'm at a loss to understand the fascination with those ugly, overpriced, turnout-destroying shoes. I know it's just a television show but it turns out a bleak message.

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The show has always had a kind of split personality -- debunking feminine Prince Charming fantasies while simultaneously reinforcing them. This made for an interesting kind of tension in the first few seasons. (Fantasy dominates these days.) I saw only part of last night's episode because of a time conflict with Laurence Olivier's death throes in "Brideshead Revisited," but last night seemed like one of the blah ones. And what on earth did they think they were doing with Blair Underwood's character? But that's off topic.

In re Baryshnikov, my impression is they just don't seem to know what to do with him. And up against actors well versed in this kind of badinage, he looks awkward. He's no great actor, but watching Nureyev destroy himself in "Valentino," which I saw again on cable recently, reminded me of MB's onscreen virtues – his naturalness on camera and relative ease with dialogue, for example, and his humor.

Sarah Jessica co-produces the show, so I imagine she dresses that way because she wants to. She certainly has years of back pain and foot problems to look forward to with those shoes.

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Well, I'll provide an update for non-watchers, I guess. Bizet's "Jeux d'Enfants" music played in the background of one scene a couple of episodes ago – a reference to Steadfast Tin Soldier, perhaps? Baryshnikov read Parker a poem by Joseph Brodsky, with Brodsky's name on the book clearly visible to the camera. Finally, product placement of which I can enthusiastically approve. Still very hard to understand what these two characters are doing together. The writers seem to be focused on Carrie's problems with Petrovsky, when it seems to me it would make much better sense to have a scene in which Baryshnikov wonders aloud what he's doing with this aging birdbrain with nothing on her mind but his vasectomy and accessorizing, not necessarily in that order. And I really used to like this series....

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As finales of TV series go, I thought this was a good one. There was a reasonbly happy ending for everyone except Alexander Petrovsky. Charlotte and Harry have a Chinese baby on the way; Miranda has welcomed her dotty mother-in-law into her spacious Brooklyn house and earned the affection of her housekeeper; Samantha has regained her libido; And Carrie's Big appeared like Prince Charming to rescue her from Paris and Petrovsky. In that case it was a bit of a fairy-tale stretch, but what went before with her wandering Paris alone and missing a party in her honor was poignant and believable. As Petrovsky, I thought Baryshnikov acquitted himself very well in this episode. And now it's time for Sarah Jessica Parker to get back to the stage.

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My ex- favorite show concluded not with a bang but a whimper, as it were. Tears, rather -- this was the most lachrymosal 45 minutes I've seen in a series not in the category of "daytime drama." I stuck it out to the bitter end, even though this last mini-season wasn't so much Sex and the City as a made-for-Lifetime soap opera. Baryshnikov, after lavishing all manner of expensive gifts on our heroine, turns neglectful brute and slaps her, causing her to run into the arms of Chris Noth. The End.

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He really wasn't bad, but his character existed only as power boyfriend and plot point – he went from being an oversolicitous Mr. Romantic in the early episodes to Robert Mitchum in Cape Fear. Very odd, but they needed to wrap things up fast, I guess.

Farrell Fan, thank you for providing another view. I thought the writers had it in for Miranda, myself. :)

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Baryshnikov's role in this series has been curious. When he was brought in, all the publicity indicated that Carrie was supposed to end up with him -- that he would open her eyes to a world beyond Cosmopolitans and Manolos. But when he actually began filming the show, it became more and more apparent that he wasn't working out. He had a distant and lachrymose quality that was offputting -- there was nothing joyful or life-affirming for Carrie (and the audience) to embrace. So they seem to have altered their original plan and turned him into a selfish artist from whom Carrie had to liberate herself.

Everyone seems to be assuming that Carrie walked off into the sunset with Big (or should I call him John? :) ). But I'm not so sure about that . . . he's moving back to New York, but they've still got a feature film to plot, and I can't see a happily ever after for those two.

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One of the devices television shows on their last legs resort to is the bringing in of "name" guest stars like Duchovny and Baryshnikov. In its glory days, the show didn't need that.

I thought Petrovsky came off quite well in comparison to Carrie, until the writers began stacking the deck so you had to dislike him, which backfired on occasion. You had no idea what would bring these two together in the first place, and there was zero chemistry between the two actors, which I didn't think was Baryshnikov's fault – Parker's performance has become increasingly self-regarding, and I assume they knew when they hired him that he wasn't exactly Cary Grant with a quip.

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I was rather offended that they brought the Petrovsky character down so low to justify why Carrie chose Big, when the obvious reason is that they have the same level of superficiality and the maturity of a pair of 16-year-olds. On the way to Cape Fear, Petrovsky had to pass through Jeroen Krabbe's chracter in Crossing Delancey. Could he have been any more manipulative and passive-aggressive, at least in a 30-minute comedy?

I think it's ironic, though, that Baryshnikov's character turned out to be an older version of the cad-about-town that he portrayed in his early dance movies, Turning Point and Dancers. The character could have had so much more stature in exposing Carrie to a bigger world without being condescending to her and her friends. Or to her city, which she vowed in the Fleet Week episode, she would never let anyone bad mouth.

BTW, there was a news item on IMDB.com under "Celebrity News" for 9 March 04 that

A movie version of hit show Sex And The City will never be made, according to producers.

It goes on to say that the series will be watered down for general syndication. (I wonder what will be left of the earlier episodes.)

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It goes on to say that the series will be watered down for general syndication.  (I wonder what will be left of the earlier episodes.)

From the NY Times, March 9 -- "But after the censors have their way, said Cindy Chupak, one of the writers, in a reference to the uninhibited character played by Kim Cattrall, 'We joke there will be no Samantha.'"

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