Yesterday, Channel 4 TV showed the penultimate episode of Sex and the City, and tomorrow night, they have their first showing of the very last episode of this show.

Here is one of those articles which explains why its author likes the show.

I, however, am in no position to write such an article, because I don't know why I like Sex and the City so much. And what is more, I think that if I did know why I like (or liked - see the rest of this sentence) this show, that might diminish the pleasure which I now, still, get from it.

American TV series tend to follow a certain formula, presumably because they tend to be written by so many different writers. There has to be a formula, to make sure they are all doing the same thing. They need to have common principles of what the show is all about and how it works. But once the viewer works out what this formula is, the magic for that viewer begins to fade. Suddenly, you see the wheels turning over. You see this bit coming, and the bit where ... coming, and before you know it, all see is machine.

I have never got to this state while watching Sex and the City, perhaps because I have not been attending carefully enough, or maybe because in this show the machine is quite well concealed.

I will not read that Telegraph piece until I have watched the final episode.

Critics who explain why TV shows are so good are the most dangerous kind, because they stop you ever enjoying it again. Discuss.