The Last of the Red Hot Mamas

NIXON I loved the vomit -- it was so fantastic. But I think they decided it was just one stage too far in terms of making Miranda pathetic. The humiliation factor was just too high.

V: Why Ask 'Y' (as in Chromosome)?

With the exception of Carrie's gay pal Stanford (Willie Garson), men have not lasted long on Sex -- literally or figuratively.

STAR I really wanted to do a show that objectified men.

DAVID EIGENBERG (Steve) The thing with the guys is, you gotta make the finale. If you start out early in the season, sometimes you don't make it to the end of the season. If you make the finale, then you've got like a 75 percent chance of coming back. It's like waiting for the [results] of the tryouts for the high school play.

CHRIS NOTH Man, you're a guy in a girl's show, and sometimes it's like, gimme an M16, not a hairbrush. This guy likes good wines, he's spoiled and smokes cigars and is worried about his relationship. Meanwhile, Tony Soprano's out there killing people and screwing whores, and you feel like, God, I'm such a wuss.

JOHN CORBETT (Aidan) I don't think people warmed up to me until the second season. The first season I'd get a lot of people in the street saying ''Hey, Aidan. We like you. But you know she's going to end up with Big.'' And I'd say, ''I know it!''

KYLE MACLACHLAN (Trey, Charlotte's impotent husband) I definitely went through ''Oh, God, does it have to be that?'' Then I thought, ''I sort of made my career playing characters that are suffering from some interior darkness.'' If I can make it through Showgirls and still be working, I can make it through a silly impotence problem.

NOTH I find it remarkable that people keep wondering what Big's real name is. As if it matters... The fact is, his name is Freddy.

VI: Hot 'Sex,' Coming Through!

During the second season in 1999, the show picked up steam -- and only heated up from there. The women introduced phrases like ''funky spunk'' into the vernacular, snagged the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy in 2001 (a first for a cable show), and were pulling in 7 million viewers a week by season 5.

PARKER Two years ago, there was a really important election in Israel. And [Barak], the prime minister who was not reelected, said, ''I will have more time to watch Sex and the City.'' And I thought, ''Well, that's it. That is it. This is huge.''

CATTRALL We said that wheat grass was supposed to change the taste of a man's [well, you know...]. Apparently wheat grass sales went skyrocketing. But women all over reached out in fan mail and grabbed me on the street and said, ''Honey, it's pineapple juice! It's not the green crap!''

NIXON There's a soap store near my house called Soap in the City. You've really got to reach for that.

VII: Fashion as Fetish

Carrie's remarkably extensive and forward wardrobe (orchestrated by costume designer Patricia Field) begat several national fads, like personalized nameplate necklaces and oversize flower accessories. Manolo Blahnik even introduced an SJP stiletto.