'Sex and the City 2': Can TV really ruin a relationship?

Image Credit: Craig Blankenhorn

I suppose I've always related most to Miranda, but I've never felt like less of a Carrie than I did watching Sex and the City 2. SPOILER ALERT: Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) gets upset when husband Big (Chris Noth) buys her a flat-screen TV for their bedroom for their second anniversary. (Cut to my friend Sheila leaning over and saying, "A man can buy me a flat-screen TV," and me agreeing.) In Carrie's mind, they're going to become a boring old married couple that no longer talks. In Big's mind, it would be nice to occasionally stay home and cuddle with Carrie and watch black-and-white movies. One night, he dares to turn on the TV as Carrie is trying (and failing) to change out of a gown. That's not a black-and-white movie, she says. "It's Deadliest Catch, Carrie, and it's awesome. Let him watch it if he wants to," I thought and possibly said aloud.

Now I'll admit that TV is a sensitive subject for me. Partly because I watch so much of it — it's my job, but I'd be doing it anyway — and partly because I know someone who used to enjoy television, but since her husband doesn't, now lives in a home without cable. They just moved the TV downstairs where they never go. She says she's too busy to watch it now anyway, which for her is actually true. But she acquiesced to him long before that.

Can TV really ruin a relationship? If someone really doesn't want a TV in the bedroom — and promises to be entertainment enough there — I can see that being negotiable. (Not for me, but maybe for you.) But I got the feeling that Carrie wouldn't have liked Big watching Deadliest Catch on the couch either (maybe even at the end of the movie?). How much should one negotiate in a relationship when it comes to TV?

P.S. Deadliest Catch marathon on Discovery today. And tomorrow. Deal with it, Carrie.

More Sex and the City:

EW's Sex and the City Central

Lisa Schwarzbaum reviews Sex and the City 2

Gallery: Carrie's Best and Worst Looks

Gallery: The stars and creators name their most memorable moments

PopWatch Confessional: The moment you actually related to Sex and the City