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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Skins

14:27 / 30.01.07

So did anyone in the UK catch this last week? Channel 4's new 'youth of today' show from the people that brought you Shameless. Guaranteed to terrify parents or actually quite a cosy, idealised view of growing up? There's a microsite here

I actually really enjoyed the first episode. Clearly central characterTony (alpha dog sex-Bueller wannabe) is a bit too cool for school: hipster, ladies' man, dope fiend, angelic chorister, karate black belt, packs a mean right hook, drives like a demon, everyone loves him. But it was the quiet moments with the other characters that really impressed, largely Cassie and Sid, to be fair, in the kitchen, Cassie arranging rather than eating food, on the trampoline at the end, Cassie's emotional maturity cutting through her pill haze, engaging Sid genuinely about his feelings, so different to the quippy bravado that surrounds him most of the time. I'm sure this is the intent, but Sid and Cassie seem to be the heart of it?

Next week's episode, focusing on Cassie's anorexia is already being hailed as special.

It's funny also, very in parts and certainly had me tittering throughout.

It could be, quite easily though, so much huff and puff. Vicarious rebellion for office bound TV junkies (moi? non!) And it's not entirely clear who it's for? Nostalgia for oldies, aspirational for the kids?

What did everyone else think?

14:46 / 30.01.07

FP, you have absolutely lost your mind.

I might come back to this, but at the moment I can't even think about Skins without sinking into a mild depression.

Jawsus-son Starship

21:09 / 11.02.08

I guess this series got what it deserved here - two posts?

I like it - brought the box set after my fiance's sister raved about it, and with the second series starting tonight, maybe it's worth a second look?

It's not nearly as vapid as the Gossip themed American Apparel advert suggested. It is a little much at times; it's the standard putting twenties experiences into sixteen year old mouths. But it's better than Dawson's OC.

Any one else?

Dark side of the Moonfrog1

12:05 / 22.02.08

Not ashamed to say I LOVE skins. It's just getting beter and better with the second series.

I can understand why the idea of it rankles a lot of people. It does look like a facile generation offending tale of ker-azy, mouthy kids doings lots of sex, drugs and rock n' roll, but it's got so much more going for it and has some really touchiing and mature character moments.
Last nights episode was a perfect example - ridiculous premise with the Osama musical and Maxie's stalker, but grounded by Sketch's situation caring for her disabled mother. Along with Tony and Michelle's scene in the toilets, I felt a couple of well-deserved mantears slip out during last night's ep.

All Acting Regiment

13:02 / 22.02.08

Watched some of this. Much, much better than Hollyoaks.

I can understand why the idea of it rankles a lot of people. It does look like a facile generation offending tale of ker-azy, mouthy kids doings lots of sex, drugs and rock n' roll

The complaints I've heard are less about this than that it was full of 'aspirational marketing', which, well, who knows. Would someone who has watched more of this than me agree or disagree?

I think you could also draw a line between, I suppose, 'good facile' - irreverent fun - and 'bad facile' - South Park, mainly.

It certainly seems to involve a lot of pretty rich kids, which immediately makes them less interesting than the cast of Shameless (at least back in that show's salad days), although again I might be missing something. There's also my usual problem with this sort of show which is that none of them ever seem to find all the drugs and blah blah boring or frightening. I think this element needs to be covered as well as the fun to make for a good drama, seeing as the dangerous side of the entertainment is its raison d'etre. I'll give it a go before forming any stronger opinions, however.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

23:08 / 14.05.08

I'm in the middle of series two and I am ashamed to say that I find it totally addictive.

23:39 / 14.05.08

It certainly seems to involve a lot of pretty rich kids, which immediately makes them less interesting than the cast of Shameless

Why do you think that's true, Legba?

Surely it's down to the script-writing, mainly? In terms of why either of these ghastly shows are of interest to man, or beast?

I feel, seriously, that you have to abandon all this quasi-Marxist crap, at least when it comes to telly. 11.

00:20 / 15.05.08

'Skins' and 'Shameless' are simply the kind of classist, bourgeois, Channel 4 wank that no college revolutionary should have jack to do with, yeah?

01:09 / 15.05.08

I think Alex is hinting that we look to a television drama series with a multi-axial understanding of power, one that eschews traditional binaries of minority/majority as represented in ... um .... Emmerdale.
For, indeed, other factors including 'race', 'class', 'religion' and 'generation' may overlap and intersect more discreetly with minority dialogues making apparent that while one group may be posited as 'minority' along one dimension of differentiation it may also be constructed as 'majority' along another.
For example, the multiple modalities represented within Emmerdale's 'King' / 'Dingle' interaction or earlier 'Tate' / 'Dingle' interaction within the framing of village society.
Um.... clearly.

(Oh dear time for bed)

I did quite like the 2nd series of Skins (more so than the 1st, certainly). In ways because it denied any heavily moralistic judgement on any of the characters for their various proclivities (which had it been an American drama would've been intolerable), in others because it was a bit 'fuck yeah', in others because in a couple of episodes it was a well written drama series with great character moments.
Plus, Chris, Cassie and Jal, at least, had some salient likeable qualities that kept me watching.
It was, also, genuinely comedic when it wasn't being completely implausible (and sometimes when it was). I'm quite fond of the scenes with Josie the guidance counsellor, if you've chanced upon them yet, Kali?

Er.... imho, the poor quality of Skins in parts were similar to those reasons encountered in poorer episodes of something like Teachers which at their worst worked as an uncomfortable mix of wacky/surreal humour and po-face issue tackling and at their best utilized the same concepts but employed in a less jarring manner. Although, probably a bad example, but assuming that Teacher's dealt with mid-late twenties malaise and Skins explored similar territory except with teenage alterity and did so using a comparable blending of comedy/drama.

(yeah)

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

08:34 / 15.05.08

The last episode of Skins I finished was the one where Chris is expelled from college so yes, I have seen the bits with Josie the careers counsellor. Honestly, the very first episode of the first series made me go, "Um, I'm not sure if I'm going to like this," but then after watching the second (Cassie and her anorexia)I found myself warming to it.

10:22 / 15.05.08

Well the tiring, irritating character dies at the end of series two.

In some shows, this would be a spoiler.

All Acting Regiment

13:15 / 15.05.08

Aware that this wasn't said entirely in seriousness, but still ...

Me:It certainly seems to involve a lot of pretty rich kids, which immediately makes them less interesting than the cast of Shameless

Aggy:Why do you think that's true, Legba?

Surely it's down to the script-writing, mainly? In terms of why either of these ghastly shows are of interest to man, or beast?

...

'Skins' and 'Shameless' are simply the kind of classist, bourgeois, Channel 4 wank that no college revolutionary should have jack to do with, yeah?

Yes, it probably is more about the writing than anything else. On the other hand, I think there's a point where, if you're going to write about pretty rich kids, there needs to be some realisation on the part of the writer if not the characters that the kids are in fact rich. As opposed to just taking their world for normalcy/taking it for granted. That is, if the audience is going to be laughing with the program and not against it. I don't think this is the same as irony.

I mean, these are very well-off kids, aren't they? Computers and going to college and spending parent's money on drugs. The whole fact just seemed to be ignored, though, a bit like a program about a man who lives with penguins but which doesn't seem to see this as worthy of comment. Whereas in ... well I'm angling now, but Brideshead Revisited seemed to have some awareness of what was going on, money-wise.

Ah, but hang on, isn't that taking-for-granted and living in total ignorance what teenagers basically do? The ones who get to go to parties, anyway? Not the college revolutionaries, who live a life of noble suffering.

Kali, Queen of Kitteh

21:53 / 15.05.08

The friend of mine who recommended Skins to me said, "I think it's awesome but not very believable." "Why is that?" I replied. "Well, they seem to hang out in a lot of bars and they're underage."

Thus I began gently explaining English drinking ages.

16:20 / 23.05.08

My problem with Skins is that it could have been great but is crap.

The first few episodes were passable but it just got worse and worse. The Cassie character was quite interesting but the writers clearly didn’t know what to do with her.

I tried the second series but it was even worse than the first.

What a shame Channel 4 has stooped to making garbage like this. It’s just Grange Hill with some soft drugs and a bit of nudity. Skins has been a waste of money, talent and opportunity.