The Carrie Diaries

I mean, what can I say? My, God, THE HAIR.

IT IS HYPNOTIC.

Look at it. So curly. So bouncy. I think I have to keep watching this show just for Carrie's hair alone. It was always c-c-c-curly, but when you combine it with the 80s fashions, how can you NOT watch?

Ok, so The Carrie Diaries. I don't really consider Carrie Bradshaw one of the pop culture icons of the ages that the world was just begging to know more about...but if you think about it from the CW's perspective, it's perfect. Teenage girl, awesome fashion sense, just beginning to learn about life and love. DONE AND DONE.

Oh, and did I mention it's set in the 80s? Neon eyeshadow! High top sneakers! Walkmans! It's all there--and sure, sometimes the fashion looks a little too 80s by way of the 2000s...but that's ok. The point is the show is bright and colorful and fun. And that's what it comes down to: it's frothy fun. If you're an older dude and don't really care about the romantic entanglements of a bunch of teenage girls, this is probably not the show for you, but for me it's like a Twinkie (tastes great, less filling). And I mean that as a compliment.

When we first meet Carrie, it's 1984 and she is 16 years old and living in Connecticut, getting ready for the first day of a new school year. Her mother has just passed away during the summer, so Carrie finds herself somewhat adrift, and trying to find her place in the house with her Dad and younger sister. But she's got a good group of friends, and there's the sexy new guy at school (Sebastian) to deal with....

Her Dad also manages to score her an internship at a Manhattan law firm one day a week...so Carrie begins her (mostly chaste) love affair with New York City. And while there she meets the BEST part of the show. Freema Agyeman. For those of you that pay attention, that's Martha from Doctor Who. She plays Larissa Loughton, a style editor at Interview magazine, who takes Carrie under her wing. Of course, she doesn't exactly know that Carrie is still in high school, but Larissa is like an 80s version of Samantha from Sex and the City and injects some very welcome energy (and color--literally in all senses of the word) into the show. She's living the high life and enjoying every second of it. Oh, and she also uses her British accent. I hate it when Brits have to adopt an American accent for tv--let your English flag fly, girl!

At the end of the day, The Carrie Diaries isn't going to blow your mind or keep you on the edge of your seat. But it's a fun look back at a specific period in America and a specific period in a girl's life that I find wildly enjoyable. The stakes may not seem super high; there's no world to save or murders to solve. But if you were ever a teenage girl then you know that when it comes to your heart, the stakes couldn't get much higher.

Oh, and did I mention the hair?

The Carrie Diaries airs Mondays at 8:00 on the CW.