Here in the United States shows like Gossip Girl and the new 90210 serve to give television viewers a healthy dose of teen angst, sex and debauchery. For years, networks have tried to deal with issues concerning teens openly and honestly. However, FCC rules about what can and can’t be shown; said and not said, have confined producers and writers in their use of sexuality and language. Just across the pond in The United Kingdom, where broadcast standards are very different, Skins provides a frank, provocative look at the life of eight British teenagers.
Created by Bryan Elsley (40, Nature Boy) and his twenty-three year old son Jamie Brittain, Skins focuses on a group of middle class teenagers from Bristol England. Tony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult) is the leader of the group. Intelligent, popular and attractive, adults seem oblivious to his manipulative nature and wish their kids would be just like him. Sid Jenkins (Mike Bailey) is Tony’s best friend but the two could be more different. Shy and lacking self confidence, Sid rarely questions Tony’s orders and often finds himself in trouble because of it. Cassie Ainsworth (Hannah Murray) is by far the saddest character on the show. Hospitalized repeatedly for an eating disorder among other things, her parents ignore her in favor of their new baby and their libidos. Chris Miles (Joe Dempsie) is the kooky, freewheeling party boy of the group. We learn a couple of episodes into the first series that Chris has a very difficult home life which he’s chosen to keep a secret from friends. Jal Fazer (Larissa Wilson) the only African-American in the group, is also the most affluent. The daughter of a celebrity, Jal is smart, driven and one of the best clarinet players in the country. Maxxie Oliver (Mitch Hewer) and Anwar Kharral (Dev Patel) are best friends. Maxxie is openly gay and loves to dance, whilst Anwar is a Muslim boy with a selective approach to his faith: he has no qualms about indulging in sex, alcohol, drugs and pork. Despite both boys laissez faire attitudes towards life both find themselves questioning their faith and friendship at different points throughout the series.
As anyone who has watched Skins on BBC America knows, this is a show that pulls no punches. Graphic sex (The kind Americans might expect to see on Showtime’s Californication) is the norm, as is graphic drug use, profanity and some violence. Be warned, this is no One Tree Hill. At a mere nine episodes, Skins – Volume 1 is amazingly short. Even so, I found myself engrossed in these kids’ lives; caring about what was going to happen to them. Given a short time span the series writers successfully crafted a group of flawed characters that are interesting to watch as they move through the transition from child to adult.
Is Skins for everyone? The answer without a doubt is no. Undoubtedly, some will see the series as trash. While Skins certainly doesn’t portray the lives of all teenagers, the show does have such a dark, realistic and gritty tone that some teenagers will easily relate, while others will recognize a friend in one of the characters.
Skins – Volume 1 doesn’t boast what I would call a stellar video transfer. The widescreen format does allow for a fairly solid transfer, unfortunately there is some noticeable grain and noticeably dull coloring.
The stereo soundtrack is good but not great. You will notice occasional volume drops throughout the set. While the soundtrack boasts some of the best up-and-coming artists in music, the music for the final scene in episode nine has been edited due to music clearance issues.
Skins – Volume 1 does include some extras. First, is a series of video diaries which have the actors staying in character. They’re kind of neat and run a total of about 25 minutes. We also get ancillary storylines which is about 45 minutes of deleted scenes for the entire seasons run. While not a lot, the extras offer more insight into the show.
