• by Mike Bloxham , Op-Ed Contributor, May 28, 2008

Reading the advance press on this week's big-screen debut of "Sex and the City," it's clear that it's not exactly expected to send what was a spectacularly successful TV franchise off into the sunset in a blaze of glory.

Whereas many mourned the passing of the show from the air waves, the underlying tone of commentary from within and without the movie industry seems to suggest that the time to go was well-chosen. This is borne out by the reported performance of the syndicated reruns on TBS, which have not fared well against reruns of "Family Guy" and "Everybody Loves Raymond."

But there are other questions related to the longevity of any franchise centered round a group of young-ish, attractive and sexually active characters in pursuit of a combination of soulmates and / or gratification. Just how long can the franchise run before the audience outgrows it, and a younger audience that is interested in the subject can't relate to the characters (after all, Samantha turns 50 in the movie, which makes it that much harder for a 30-year-old to relate to). The R rating won't help ticket sales, either. Of course, "Sex and the City" is not the first show to call out from the TV Hall of Fame in an attempt to relive past glories (and revenues), but like so many others it smacks a little of the desperation so often displayed by the central characters -- wanting nothing more than love and attention but simply not able to attract and hold on to it.

There is a financial silver lining here, however, for the movies stakeholders. The large and loyal following the series generated will pretty much guarantee halfway decent receipts for the first week or two (though there's some pretty stiff competition now coming to theaters), but beyond that, there will be DVD sales and TV rights to help offset the enormous amount of hype that Warner has invested in to support the movie. There are also the lucrative deals that have been done with the likes of Mercedes and Skyy Vodka -- deals without which so many movies would struggle for funding (the James Bond movies, for example, probably wouldn't even get made).

For "Sex" fans, however, I'm not sure the picture is as rosy. Would it have been better to let the franchise go out on a high -- or is it worth risking the show's legacy with this attempt at one last night on the town?