Decades after its debut, Sex and the City continues to bring people together through movie nights, rewatch marathons, heated debates, or in this case a themed trivia night.
However, this wasn’t just any trivia night. Dolly’s united a room with cosmos, camaraderie and competition. Sex and the City (SATC), a show with six seasons, two movies and a reboot, is now once again a cultural phenomenon.
The Setting
Held at a classic Canberra institution such as Dolly’s, I knew it was going to be a great night. With a heap of access to parking and public transport Dolly’s is located in the perfect area to get swept up in fun and have a cheeky drink or two.
It was a chilly autumn night, but Dolly’s took care of everything. A perfectly crafted, easy going warm space. The type of place to forget about your troubles and focus on just having a good time.
The bar could have been taken straight out of an episode of Sex and the City. It buzzed with groups of friends chatting about their lives, SATC or strategising how to win. Each group truly displaying the kind of friendship Samantha, Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda have in the show.
Whilst some patrons in the bar were wearing chic pieces that would have Carrie Bradshaw begging for details, others joined the scene recreating iconic outfits worn by the beloved characters themselves.
For a Monday night, the bar staff were busy mixing up a storm of cocktails. Including the classic Sex and the City Cosmopolitan.
Although I’ll be thinking about how tasty that ‘Cosmo’ was, it wasn’t the only delicious drink option. Margaritas, martinis and any drink of your desire were ready to be made at the bar. Combined with delicious food from the kitchen, Dolly’s was the place to be.
As the bar continued to buzz in anticipation, the iconic Sex and the City theme song played out to capture everyone’s attention, and the competition began.
The Competition
With a team name referencing one of our favourite Sex and the City quotes, a combination of diehard fans and trivial talents “The Try-sexuals” were ready for our trophy.
Our trivia host was also a diehard Sex and the City fan. She looked over all of us ready to destroy our confidence.
We knew the first trivia questions were going to ask us to detail the most basic information from the show. This was going to be an absolute breeze.
“First question. Who are the four main characters in Sex and the City?”
Easy.
“…And in what order do they appear in the first episode?”
Oh no. If this was a taster for the rest of the trivia night, this was definitely going to be a journey.
Thankfully, with even more diehard fans other than myself on our team, we had confidence in our answer, or so we thought.
The first round of questions continued in the same format as the first. Basic knowledge with a secondary twist.
Unfortunately, the twists continued to stump us and we realised well into the round that we needed a chance at redemption.
Our first chance arose after the first nine questions. Every tenth question would involve a ‘Pic a Pic’ question.
“Question 10: What is the first and last name of all these characters?”
This we could answer. Before one of us even had the chance to begin writing a name, our table erupted in the shouting of answers.
“Steve Brady, Jerry ‘Smith’ Jerrod, Harry Goldenblatt and Aidan Shaw!”
However, realising how easy this was, we knew it would have been just as easy for all the other competitors.
Now, along came another chance at glory. We weren’t aiming to win the round anymore. We had the chance to win something even greater: a Dolly’s drink voucher.
Unsurprisingly, a group of 21- and 22-year-old university students jumped at the chance to score some free drinks. The first to run to the host with the answer to this next question would score the voucher.
I was in charge of writing it down on a piece of paper and passing it to our runner as fast as possible. No pressure.
“What item did Carrie lose in the series finale?”
My hand quickly scribbled something borderline incoherent. While my friends screamed the answer.
“HER NECKLACE!”
I passed the paper onto our runner as quickly as possible. I watched as she sprinted across the bar in shoes borderline impossible to run in.
Only a mere second earlier, another team threw their paper into the host’s hands. They snagged the drink voucher.
I won’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed, but the utter excitement of it all boosted our motivation to correctly answer the next 10 questions.
We completed the first round of the competition with a score of 24 of 35.
With another half of the night to go we knew the questions were about to go up a notch.
For some of the other competitors, these next few questions would have been easy.
“Why was Season 5 cut short at only 8 episodes?”
However, you must remember as a group of people in our 20s, we were barely able to speak when the show was airing, let alone keep up to date on the political, cultural climate and celebrity culture in the 2000s. We were at a complete loss.
A million different answers floated around our group.
“I don’t know the specifics, but it would have come out in the early 2000’s? Maybe the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York cut it short?”
“I feel like one of the cast was sick or pregnant?”
Unfortunately, we were a group divided. Majority voted for the attack in New York, but a few of us were left with the inkling the answer involved a cast member.
Unfortunately, for majority of our group we would boast about it for the rest of the evening. We were right! Sarah Jessica Parker was pregnant at the time of filming, and it didn’t make sense for her character to be pregnant.
Throughout the rounds, our trivia host would stump us with musical questions. A simple song would play, and we’d have to guess: What is the name of this song? Who is the artist? When was it released?
For someone who rarely listens to ’90s music, I sure had a gift at guessing ’90s artists correctly.
This talent would manage to swindle us a few points each round, but unfortunately, it was never quite enough. In the final round we scored a 29 of 40.
In theory, 54 out of 75 doesn’t sound like too much of a loss. However, we quickly discovered the bar was covered with a lot more devoted fans than ourselves, with the winning team scoring an extraordinary 73 of 75.
Ultimately, we realised we didn’t stand a chance at winning and in fairness it was never really about winning for me.
It was about supporting a local business, having a drink and demonstrating the kind of camaraderie in friendships that remind you of your favourite television characters.
It’s unsurprising Sex and the City has remained a cultural phenomenon after all these years.
It’s underlying story details that while life can be complex, having friends that show you unwavering support and a great time make it all the better.
With the endless fun coming to an end, our group decided that we would become regular patrons, opting to attend some of Dolly’s future themed trivia nights.
Photos by Roisin Garton