Call it the season of desperation. Season five of Sex and the City was easily the least satisfying of the entire series, for both the fans and the characters. Gone were the days of tart cocktails and frothy girl talk. Now the ladies were too busy dealing with babies, divorces, and book tours to remember to put the "sex" in the city.

Having said goodbye to both Aidan and Mr. Big last season, Carrie was as single as ever this time around, only it wasn’t as much fun as she’d remembered. Not even the arrival of the navy for New York's Fleet Week could get her in the mood to party. Luckily, her blooming career helped to take some of the pain out of her wilting love life. Amy Sedaris and Molly Shannon joined the cast on a recurring basis as a team of book editors wanting to publish a compilation of Carrie’s columns. Samantha put her PR expertise to use to help Carrie pick out an outfit for the book jacket photo and to plan a fabulous book launch party. The only thing Samantha couldn’t help her out with was a date. Carrie clicked with Jack Berger, a comic novelist (played by Ron Livingston of Office Space fame) she met at her publisher’s office. But after an afternoon of hanging out with Berger, which included a fast food lunch and a run to the dry cleaners, Berger revealed that he had a girlfriend. Carrie was crushed and confused. How could she have misread the signals?

The disappointment with Berger seemed to throw Carrie off for the rest of the season. She went into a depressing dating drought, which she didn’t think would end until her book tour brought her to San Francisco, the new home of Mr. Big. Carrie was excited about what was sure to be a casual romp with her ex, but Big’s head was in another place. He’d read her book, and for the first time truly realized how much he’d hurt her. After a night of analyzing their history in excruciating detail, Big finally agreed to give Carrie what she wanted -- material for her next book.

An unusual wedding in The Hamptons brought Carrie and a newly single Berger back together. He was hesitant to jump into another relationship so soon, especially after an “emotionally slutty” Carrie accidentally reminded him how frustrating it is for relationships to keep failing now that they’re getting older. But as he told Carrie during their romantic slow dance, “We should go on a date first before we break up.”

Miranda at least had a new man permanently in her life -- her son, Brady. Determined not to become the kind of mother who can only talk about her kid, Miranda instead seemed to become the type of mother who resents her kid for interfering with her social life. Miranda was so giddy every time she got to ditch the baby for a party or a weekend in Atlantic City, you had to wonder if she had any affection for the adorable little tyke at all. But her maternal instincts eventually seemed to kick in, and she even cracked a smile or two in the baby’s general direction by the end of the season. She also warmed up to Steve again, and they were back in bed together in the season finale, leaving Miranda to wonder if the three of them really could become a family after all.

Samantha and Charlotte were both recovering from broken hearts for much of the season. Samantha was intent on getting revenge on Richard for cheating on her, but he desperately wanted her back. She agreed to meet him for a drink, only to literally throw it in his face. She then papered her neighborhood with flyers declaring him to be a liar. (Grey’s Anatomy’s Chandra Wilson briefly appeared as a cop who asked Samantha to cease and desist, until she found out Sam’s motive for the flyers). The couple briefly reunited, only to break up again when Samantha realized she’d always be worrying about what he’d be doing when she wasn’t around. But the billionaire would leave her one last gift in the season finale, the use of his beach house in The Hamptons for a weekend. Samantha used it to throw a fabulous pool party and didn't invite him.

Charlotte didn’t want revenge on her estranged husband, Trey. She just wanted the Park Avenue apartment he’d promised she could keep. When Trey’s mother put up a fight, Charlotte hired a ruthless divorce lawyer. But he was too cute for Charlotte to feel comfortable showing her aggressive side to. When she caught sight of the cute lawyer’s bald, crass partner, Harry Goldenblatt, she realized he was the man for the job. In the end, Charlotte got her apartment, but she also got more than she bargained for when Harry confessed to having feelings for her. Harry was as far from her type as he could be, and Charlotte resisted taking their relationship public until he waxed his back. But in the season finale, she realized she was falling for him. There was just one problem: Harry needed to marry a Jew.

New Characters We Met: Ma Brady, who Miranda aptly described as “Steve in a wig and a dress. Drunk.”

Best Hookup: Stanford scored the catch of the season with his new boyfriend, hunky dancer Marcus.

Fashion Highlight: The flirty, yet intelligent, black dress and jacket Carrie wore for her book cover.

Best Quote: Carrie, on her future tombstone: “Here lies Carrie. She had two loves and lots of shoes.”

Coming up in season six: Two weddings, a trip to Paris, and the arrival of Smith Jerrod!