This post is part of a series on celebrity spokespeople who ended up doing serious harm to the brands they were hired to promote, or vice versa. See our list of the 20 top spokesperson fiascos.

Back in 2005, for Sarah Jessica Parker's 40th birthday, The Gap (NYSE: GPS) got her something brand new: a pink slip. Then they hired a 17-year-old to replace her.

Now, I've never been a fan of Sex in the City, the hugely popular TV show where Parker starred as gossip columnist Carrie Bradshow. Even though I spent my late 20s as a single woman in New York City, I spent my 30s -- when the show was hot -- as a staid married woman, with a baby either in tow or on the way most of the time. In fact, the few times I watched the steamy show, I found it so embarrassing I had to turn it off.

However, Sarah Jessica Parker and I are just a year apart in age. So it still makes my blood boil to think that the Gap (they were lucky to have her!) replaced her with 17-year-old singer (Joss Stone), right after her 40th birthday in March, 2005.

But who got the last laugh? It certainly isn't The Gap, which has seen its stock price fall nearly 25% in the past three years to a current $15.90 a share.

After years of speculation, rumors and negotiations, a film version of beloved HBO series Sex and the City is set to start shooting in the fall.

New Line Cinema, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), is said to be near a deal to finance and distribute the picture, and the leading cast is ready to go. All four major players -- Sarah Jessica Parker, the reportedly hardball-playing Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon -- have agreed to reprise their respective roles as Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. The show's executive producer, Michael Patrick King, is set to write and direct.

When television audiences bid adieu to the ladies in early 2004, things were fairly neatly knotted up (spoiler alert!). Carrie's character had reunited with on-again, off-again love "Mr. Big" (aka "John," as we find out). Samantha was cancer-free and in a healthy relationship with a much younger man; Charlotte and new husband Harry were looking forward to adopting a baby girl; and newlywed Miranda was raising her son with husband Steve and caring for his ailing mother.

One can only speculate where the movie will take the ladies. Will it pick up in real-time, three years after the events of the series finale? Will the foursome's leading men also be back in their roles? Finally, will anyone still care to see 90 minutes into these ladies' lives, now that they are all settled down and monogamous? Michael Patrick King is a fantastic writer of dramedy, and the actresses are a fabulous ensemble. Here's hoping the cosmopolitans continue to flow for one more chapter of their collective tale.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Along with Samantha, Charlotte, Miranda and of course Carrie, there was an ever-present fifth character from the popular HBO comedy Sex and the City, and I'm not talking about Mr. Big. Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe -- from season one's "naked dress" to the short formal/long faux-fur coat combo in the series finale -- was always a topic of discussion and debate (along with the characters' many conquests.)

Sarah Jessica Parker, the woman who breathed life into our favorite New York City singleton, has launched her own clothing line, Bitten, which promises to deliver fashionable choices at a very modest price. The name comes from the concept of being "bitten" by the theater bug. With this new business venture, the petite actress (and Mrs. Matthew Broderick) joins the ranks of other multi-hyphenates that have entered the fashion world, including Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and the Olsen twins.

Unlike other celebrity-branded clothing lines, however, Parker's designs come with more reasonable price tags. In fact, none of the 500 pieces in the Bitten collection costs more than $19.98. The line, which can outfit one's entire wardrobe, from suit separates to lingerie to swimwear, is available exclusively at the privately held Steve & Barry's chain, which operates 200 stores in 33 states.

Don't expect to see many of the wild fashion choices that made Carrie such a whimsical gal. Bitten largely focuses on the basic staples, including simple slacks and sweaters, jeans, and T-shirts.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.