With its ruffled skirts, leg warmers, leopard-print bracelets and crimped hair, the 1984 in The Carrie Diaries is a far cry from the dismal society once imagined by George Orwell, but it's the perfect world for the 16-year-old Carrie Bradshaw who is about to fall head over heels for the most important man in her life - Manhattan.
This highly anticipated prequel to Sex and the City reminds viewers that in 1984, Girls Just Want to Have Fun was more than a feminine anthem - it was a lifestyle choice that takes all the energy and enthusiasm that Carrie and her coterie of high-school besties can muster, as the Big Apple bends her persona on the path to womanhood.
"Carrie's a junior in high school, so she's very vivacious, friendly and she's a little bit tormented, because her mum just passed away," says the series star AnnaSophia Robb, whose feathery blonde hair and angelic features evoke a Botticelli painting of Venus.
As the series begins at her home, in the fictitious town of Castlebury, Connecticut, the smart, witty and somewhat naive Carrie finds herself locking horns almost daily with her little 14-year-old sister Dorrit (Stefania Owen).
"Her relationship with Dorrit is very sensitive," says Robb, "and I think Dorrit and Carrie respond very differently to their mother's death. Carrie's also having a rough time at school and her dad is being overprotective. He thinks that she needs a distraction, which is fine by Carrie, because it ends up being in Manhattan" (as an intern at a law firm).
"During her first visit, she meets Larissa (Freema Agyeman), who works at Interview magazine, and is introduced into this whole new, wild world of fashion, interesting people, nightlife and all the sort of mischievous experiences that she absolutely loves - and are completely new to her."
Keeping Carrie grounded are her junior-high friends, the sensitive Mouse (Ellen Wong), the spitfire Maggie (Katie Findlay) and the thoughtful Walt (Brendan Dooling). Plus, the arrival of new hunk Sebastian (Austin Butler) brings Carrie a surge of romantic spark.
Dooling says his Walt "is best described, actually, as one of the girls. He's that close to her".
And he cautions viewers not to expect to see Samantha, Charlotte or Miranda - her later-in-life friends - huddled at the junior-high lockers. "[The Carrie Diaries] is a completely separate plot - she hasn't met the Sex and the City girls yet. It's just her in her adolescence, becoming a young woman."
When one recalls how pre-internet teenage life in the 1980s was portrayed as hectic, crazy, angst in John Hughes movies such as Sixteen Candles or Pretty in Pink, the teenagers of The Carrie Diaries come across as a tad more sophisticated and worldly and appear to take life much more in earnest.
This also reflects how, in recent years, The CW network has fostered a gift for storytelling in the teenage and young adult arenas, with popular series such as The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, Arrow, Beauty and the Beast, Prom Queen and Supernatural on its roster.
Odds are, The Carrie Diaries could soon eclipse them all in viewership and popularity - judging by the online and social media buzz - if this series can engage the, original series' older viewers as well as teenagers.
After all, the original Sex and the City comedy-drama series - based on the book by Candace Bushnell - proved a cultural touchstone from 1998 until 2004 as it explored hot-button sexual topics and the differences between friendships and relationships in the span of its six-year, 94-episode run on HBO, then spawned two feature films.
But it all begins here, as Carrie reflects in voice-over as she crosses a bridge towards that famous skyline: "I have arrived, to the place so many before me have come to live out their dreams. It was the beginning of my Manhattan love story."
* The Carrie Diaries premieres at 11pm on Wednesday on OSN First HD
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
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- Flexible work arrangements
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About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
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Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
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Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'
Huddersfield 0
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The%20specs
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The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
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- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- 600-seat auditorium
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request