For those that don't watch, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is a columnist for a New York newspaper and she writes about the sex and relation of her and her three friends; PR woman Samantha (Kim Cattrall), art gallery curator Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and lawyer Miranda (Cynthia Nixon). The group work their way through the New York single scene as independent, thirty-something women can.

Following are brief summaries of the episodes included in Season 3, which will try to be vauge and as spoiler free as possible:

Where There's Smoke: Carrie and the crew attend a fireman's ball in Staten Island where, in typical fashion, one event plays into all of their lives. Carrie meets up with local politician Bill Kelly, Charlotte declares this is the year she will get married, Samantha finds her firehouse fantasies shattered y reality and Miranda learns that sometimes it's okay to be rescued.

Politically Erect: Carries three-week romance comes to a hilarious and golden close with the politician with her column "To pee, or not to pee." Charlotte tries another plot to produce husband worthy material by throwing a used date party where previous relations show up and blow up. The first hint of the long-term commitment lingers as Steve declares his commitment to her.

Attack of the Five-Foot Ten Woman: Carrie's long-time flame Big (Chris Noth) is getting married to a young and successful model and Carrie's feelings of insecurity flare up. Samantha decides to treat the rest of the girls to a day at the spa. Samantha acts upon a rumor and winds up being thrown out of the spa and getting an employee fired. Charlotte confronts her feeling of public exposure head and with complimentary results in easily the most hilarious sequence of the show. Miranda has to lay down the law when her cleaning lady replaces one of her "toys" with a statue of the Virgin Mary and Carrie's insecurities go away after realizing that Natasha is human too after she misspells a simple word, therefore proving her intellectually superior.

Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl: Carrie has to deal with new feelings when she learns that her new boyfriend is bisexual. Feelings of doubt overcome her again as she wonders whether she's better than his other lovers. Samantha hires and fires an assistant in order to feel comfortable about her feelings and Miranda and Steve's relationship takes a few twists and turns. Charlotte's husband searching seems to take a backseat as she indulges in a photography session. Carrie decides to explore her own sexuality at the end and discovers that she's definitely old fashioned.

No Ifs, Ands or Butts: Samantha encounters a little reverse racism when she's informed that she can't date a certain person and the tables are turned on Miranda when she realizes that she must return the support that Steve often gives her. Carrie makes major steps as she tries to quit smoking in order to carry on a relation with furniture-making beau Aidan. More hilarity is focused upon Charlotte as she continues in the husband search and infrequent character Stanford finally thinks he has found the right man with doll collector Marty.

Are We Sluts?: It's time for an episode on the sex that happens in the city, or the lack of. After Carrie's new boyfriend staves off sex she wonders what's wrong and Charlotte must deal with the degradation that accompanies her now frequent sex. Miranda is forced to face her past sexploits when she learns she has an STD and must contact her past lovers. Likewise, Samantha is forced to reevaluate her frequent encounters when a robber sneaks into her building late at night behind her.

Drama Queens: Carrie is still working out the kinks in her first long relationship in a while and freaks when Aidan asks her to meet his parents. Charlotte may have finally found husband material in Trey McDougal, whom she met while stumbling in front of a cab. This was a great meeting that I had forgotten about that echoes how things often happen in life when you least expect. Samantha becomes somewhat addicted to a new drug that begins to dominate her sex life and Miranda and Steve comically experience the trials of living together.

The Big Time: Charlotte and Samantha experience similar results for separate reasons. Charlotte worries about her virginity on her wedding night and Samantha worries about her lack of action. Reality sets in on Steve and Miranda as she's forced to examine their relation from a new perspective and Big shows up on Carrie's door at the worst time possible.

Easy Come, Easy Go: Definitely one of the most boundary pushing episodes, this time Miranda and Steve conclude their relation despite their living conditions being the same. Samantha must deals with her new partners rather odd tasting taste and finally challenges him to taste for himself when he doubts her. Big and Aidan meet at a furniture, but real names are still not exchanged and Carrie winds up trying two things again that she had been trying to quit, Big and smoking.

All or Nothing: The girls are all faced with doubt as they celebrate a having everything at a party in Samantha's new apartment. Faced with reality, they learn that statement is far from truth. Samantha cannot find a single man to comfort her while she has the flu, Carrie's fling with Big continues to eat away at her; Charlotte is faced with a nasty prenuptial agreement from Trey, and Miranda attempts to date, post-Steve. The ending is a harrowing play on words as Aidan confronts Carrie and she confesses something to him.

Running with Scissors: Samantha is confronted with the terrible reality of her lifestyle as she partners up with her newest lover and Carrie is facing the reality of her cheating. Things come to an explosive climax as Carrie once again returns to big and is caught leaving his company by two important people on separate occasions.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell: It's an episode of unplanned events and miscalculations as Charlotte's wedding nears. Miranda, still struggling for a date, comes to the realization that being a lawyer doesn't help her image at all and quickly picks up a date after pretending to be an airline stewardess. Charlotte has a case of the nerves when she reveals that her and Trey have not had sex and Samantha balks by relating that you wouldn't buy a car without driving it first. Likewise, Carrie is nervous about her relation with Aidan and must decide whether to tell him about Big.

Escape from New York: As the gang, minus Charlotte, head to LA for an entertainment meeting on Carrie's column they split up and have separate adventures after starting at an unusual model party. Matthew McConaughey makes several passes at Carrie as he attempts to sway her into letting him produce her column as a movie. As Miranda vows to assert her sexuality Charlotte performs an experiment to see if Trey's sexual problems are physical or not.

Sex and Another City: The LA trip continues as Charlotte catches a plane and joins her friends in California. Carrie meets a guy who seems to have it all, but really has a lot to hide. In an attempt to do all things LA, they head to a party at the Playboy mansion where Charlotte receives and interesting offer and Samantha lets her vanity cloud her judgment and if affects them all.

Hot Child in the City: The cast reverts to teen insecurities in an episode that find's Samantha heading up a top-notch Bat Mitzvah for a 13-year old. The culture shock of young and old prompts the group to take a look at themselves. Miranda has a high-school flashback as she fears getting her new braces entangled with her new boyfriend. Meanwhile, Carries dates a young man that still lives at home and runs a comic shop. The two live the typical loser life and smoke a joint in one of the great scenes of the season. As the episode ends, Charlotte finally sees just what Trey's problem is.

Frenemies: Carrie is tapped to teach a relationship class, but the students revolt when they find their teacher is less than qualified. Charlotte and Trey continue their hilarious ride into marital bliss as they try desperately to "dock the ship in the harbor." Samantha has a learning experience when she befriends a kindred soul that is willing to go farther that she and Carrie winds up taking her class on a field trip.

What Goes Around, Comes Around: As the season nears it's end things begin to wrap up and change even more. Continually frustrated with Trey, Charlotte learns that relations in upper-class society can be very different from everyday relations. Things continue on a downtrend with everyone ending up alone. Carrie s is mugged and the detective gets the wrong impression from a drunk Miranda. Carrie also learns the fate of Big and his wife and a harsh rebuttal is directed her way.

Cock A Doodle Do: The girls gather for a self-pity cookout at Samantha's and bond with the local transvestite prostitutes. Carrie and Miranda run into their exes (Steve and Aidan) and realize that life must go on. Along the same lines, Carries has a revelation about her and Big's relation. Charlotte and Trey manage to have a midnight encounter and a heartfelt talk, but things are left undecided for the season. Things are left marginally unchanged for the beginning of the next season, but the seeds have been planted for even bigger events.

Video: Thanks to HBO's wonderful production values, the video is a step above the average TV fare. Though a wide screen format similar to the Sopranos would be nice, it's not necessary for the small screen adventures that rarely stray to far from home. There is a slight but of grain and noise available, but the transfer is spotless with little to no noise. Colors could be a bit brighter at times, but this may come from the series cinematography, because the menus look great.

Audio: The English Dolby Surround track is used sparingly, with only occasional city noises piped in for effect. Dialog is understandable and easily heard. No harm, no foul in this department.

Extras: Disc 2 has four full-length commentaries with producer/writer/director Michael Patrick King. It's not a stellar commentary, but interesting enough. There is only one person, so there are lapses in the comments and fewer interesting stories like you get when there are multiple people. Most of the commentary is centered upon production details and things that were done while filming. Comments are made on scenes that made producers and other squirm and the status for events to make into the show are detailed. There are DVD-Rom features as well that require the install of the Interactual Player, which I can never get to work.

Overall: The award winning show is shown appropriately in this 3-disc set and enough extras are there to please the casual fans. The sharp dialog and strong female characters are the reason this show won an Emmy Award for best television comedy in 2001. The situations are not for the faint of heart at times and always seem to push the boundaries of HBO at the time. This season led into an amazing and short fourth season that changes many of the characters.