Skins (TV series)

Skins is a BAFTA-winning British comedic teen drama from Company Pictures which premièred on E4 on 25 January 2007. Skins is one of E4's flagship programmes in their attempt to start showing more British content on their channels.² Channel 4 reran the first series beginning 21 August 2007. A second series of ten episodes began airing on E4 on 11 February 2008 and Channel 4 on 14 February 2008.³

Production

The show is filmed in Bristol; the school scenes are all filmed at John Cabot Academy, and multiple scenes are located on College Green. In addition, Bristol landmarks can be glimpsed in the opening credits, such as (Bristol Cathedral on Series 1, and Pur Down BT Tower on series 2. Most of Series 2 Episode 4 was shot at the Gower Peninsula, and Series 2 Episode 6 was shot at The University of Exeter. A few scenes from Series 2 Episode 9 were shot in New York City in December 2007. Many of the other locations used during filming, such as the cafe and diner, are real locations in Bristol.

Filming of the third series began on 23 July 2008. It was announced in 2008 that all of the original cast (except Kaya Scodelario and Lisa Backwell) will be replaced for series 3. Bryan Elsley said: "There are risks associated with dumping a cast, but we just did it. There was some disquiet at the channel, but then they told us just to go with it." Speaking at Broadcast's television drama conference, he also confirmed the show would stick to its pattern of introducing college-age characters, moving them on in the next series, then letting them go. "The first year is about getting to know the kids, and the second gives us the advantage of being able to explore their psyches a little more," said Elsey.

Open auditions were held in Bristol (where the show is set), which attracted 1,500 16 to 18 year-olds, followed by a further 2 days of auditions in London. Creator Jamie Brittain has said that the new cast will be quite different from the original cast, but people may see some similarities.

Plot

The Dawson Bros claim the series represents the everyday lives of adolescents: Skins revolves around the lives of a group of 16–19 year-old friends who live in Bristol and attend the fictional Roundview Sixth Form College. Each episode has a self-contained theme and focuses on a different character, although several story arcs span different episodes. Accompanying the episode title at the beginning of each episode is a short montage of that episode's central character. The show follows each set of characters for two series.

Series 1

Series 1 introduces the main characters. Tony is a popular but manipulative boy, who is hugely protective of his mysterious and powerful sister Effy. His best friend Sid is too quiet to stand up for anything, but is in love with Tony's girlfriend Michelle. Her best friend Jal is an overbearing and talented clarinet player, Anwar is a Muslim who struggles to follow his faith, Maxxie an openly gay boy and Chris is their party animal friend with family problems. Cassie is a mentally unstable girl with an eating disorder, and the group later discover Sketch, who is a young carer and has an infatuation with a certain boy.

Episode one, "Tony", is an ensemble piece, which introduces the characters and the format. Episodes two (Cassie), three (Jal), 4four (Chris), five (Sid) and seven (Michelle) focus on specific characters, whereas episodes six (Maxxie and Anwar) and nine (Finale) focus on multiple characters whose stories are interlinked. Each episode starts with the eyes of the main character. Episode eight, "Effy", focuses less on its namesake than on the central characters' search for her. The series finishes with the main cast singing Wild World.

Series 2

The second series premièred on E4 on 11 February 2008, however the first epsiode was available in four parts to MySpace users prior to airing.

The series is set six months after the conclusion of the first. Tony is alive after being hit by a bus, but he is now severely mentally impaired despite having no apparent physical injuries. The first episode focuses on Maxxie and Tony and features comedian Bill Bailey as Maxxie's father. Shane Richie stars in Episode 2 as a college drama lecturer, Bruce, who is producing the school play Osama: The Musical. Working on the production as a lighting technician is Sketch, who is a young carer who has been stalking Maxxie. She dramatically disrupts the play to get him to kiss her.

Sid has not been the same since his girlfriend Cassie moved to Scotland his best friend Tony suffered brain damage. In Episode 3 a chaotic visit from his — ironically — Scottish relatives ends in disaster as his father dies in his armchair. Episode 4 sees the group take a camping trip to Wales with Michelle's new step-sister Scarlet, where Sid and Michelle end up having sex, leading to a short lived relationship. Cassie returns from Scotland to visit Sid, but is heartbroken when she discovers him kissing Michelle and becomes a much darker version of her former self.

In Episode 5 Chris is expelled from college, and is forced to get a job. He becomes Jal's boyfriend, and after failing at several jobs reccommended by the college careers adviser (played by Josie Long), Chris becomes a successful estate agent. This gives him access to the keys for a small flat, but this leads to being reluctantly firedafter a client comes to visit the flat he is living in post-party. At the party, he cheats on Jal with his old psychology teacher Angie. Jal later discovers she is pregnant.

Tony continues his recovery in his third featured episode, Episode 6, which is a metaphor for several elements of Jungian psychology. He visits the University of Exeter to attend an interview, but meets a strange, possibly imaginary girl who helps him sort out the physical co-ordination issues he has been having since his accident. Many of the teens' relationship problems are resolved in Episode 7, as Sid reconciles with Cassie, and Tony with Michelle. Episode 8 was written by Daniel Kaluuya, who plays "Posh" Kenneth. In this episode Jal continues to do battle with her conscience over her pregnancy, while Chris is rushed to hospital with a blood clot in his brain.

In Episode 9, Chris has discharged himself from hospital and seems well. Cassie attends her exams, but later Chris has another brain haemorrhage and dies in Cassie's arms. Cassie simply packs her bags and runs, ending up in New York. She makes a friend called Adam, who lets her stay in his flat, and takes her out to a nightclub. However, one morning, she wakes up to find he has left her.

In Episode 10 Chris's father visits Sid to explain that he does not want any of Chris' friends at his funeral. Upon hearing this Sid and Tony decide to steal Chris's coffin, but Jal finds out and forces them to return it before the funeral. In the same episode during the evening the central characters sit around a campfire and read out each others' results. Everyone gets the grades they need apart from Anwar who spontaneously heads off to London with Maxxie and his boyfriend, James, leaving Sketch behind in tears. Tony buys Sid a ticket to New York and after an emotional farewell, sends him off to find Cassie. After this, Tony, headed for Cardiff University, and Michelle, who has a place at the University of York, come to terms with the inevitable end of their relationship and decide they were "better than" a good couple.

The last scenes are of Sid searching for Cassie in New York, passing by the cafe she is working in. Finally, we return to the first shot of Series 1 Episode 1, an overhead shot of Tony's bed, but this time it is Effy in the bed. She stares directly at the camera, breaking the infamous fourth wall, and smiles and raises her eyebrows.

Series 3

Series 3 is expected to begin airing in early 2009 with the new characters. Producers have said that while the new series will focus on a new cast, some old faces may make occasional appearances.^{citation needed}

Cast

First generation

Second generation

Online presence

Unseen Skins

Accompanying each episode of the program was an online mini-episode, released after first broadcast. The storyline of this mini-episode interweaves with the main episode and shows parts of the story that may not have been elaborated upon before. The mini-episodes for the final two episodes have not been released online and are only available on the series' DVD.⁸

A second series of Unseen Skins has been released on the official Skins website.

Secret Party

E4 launched a "Secret Party" and invited fans to get involved. This was the second time the show has offered UGC competitions to encourage the involvement of creative and talented fans. The competitions involved the chance to design a projection for the party, to interview the cast or to take official photographs at the event. A competition was also launched on MySpace to win tickets for the event, that would give fans a chance to be spotted by members of the casting team who would be on the lookout for extras at the event. The Oxford band Foals are featured on the episode performing the song "Hummer" at the party.

The Lost Weeks

During January 2008, E4 began publishing webisodes (web episodes) to bridge the gap between Series 1 and 2. The few minute episodes are designed to show various developments of the characters in order to enhance the understanding of the events that have taken place between the first and second series. As of 4 February 2008, all episodes have been released on the website.

Skins Christmas Special

Not much is mentioned in this feature (7.22) about Tony so it is thought he is still in hospital. It opens with the gang in a pub having a talk about the turkey they're going to have. Chris and Anwar do not want to celebrate Christmas so decide to go off on their own. It mainly follows them throughout, until they join the others. Kenneth and Maxxie do the infamous "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" dance. Anwar also proceeds to 'tongue', 'chew' and 'fondle' the turkey.

Skinscast

E4 releases a companion podcast after each show, downloadable from both the E4 website and iTunes. It features inside gossip and interviews with the cast on their specific episodes. It is hosted by Daniel Kaluuya (aka Posh Kenneth) and often includes a lot of humour and banter. Fans are also given the chance to ask questions and win prizes.

Reception

The first series received positive reviews, although some critics complained that the series depicts teenagers unrealistically and stereotypically.⁹ Others criticised the excessive promoting of the show (specifically, in the U.K.) and having relatively mediocre writing in comparison to other similarly themed shows. Actor Nicholas Hoult defended criticism of the extreme storylines, saying they would not reflect "everyone's teenage life", adding "It is maybe heightened for entertainment but all of it is believable."¹⁰

Writer and producer Marieke Hardy was extremely admiring of the show, and particularly enjoyed the fact that the show was "beautiful and sad and poignant and perfectly hurtful", while also managing to give impression of being drama that is "edgy, funny and rude". However, she did state that she was unsure whether the show was meant for teenagers or not.¹¹

Comedian and writer Stewart Lee has remarked during an interview on the BBC4 programme Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe that he feels lucky for having been a teenager watching TV for teenagers in the 1970s and not the 2000s as "there was something really comforting for nerds and weirdos about programmes like Children of the Stones and The Changes." He said that watching Skins as a teenager today would make him feel lonelier than he already would have been.¹² However, Brooker himself gave the programme a positive review in his Guardian column "Screen Burn",¹³ and specifically stated that "The series had wrong-footed me", comparing his initial expectation of Skins as a shallow show to after he had finished watching the series.

Gordon Farrer writing in Melbourne's The Age called it a "refreshing, entertaining and worthy series" and wrote it was "compulsory viewing for parents of teenagers as much as for teens."¹⁴

Ratings

The ratings for the second series which launched on E4 on 11 February 2008 peaked at 884,000 viewers (a further 160,000 watched it an hour later on E4+1) which gave it 5.9% audience share and taking 60% of the 16-24 demographic, however this was still more than 500,000 viewers down on its series one premiere.¹⁷ 809,300 tuned in to the second episode, which aired one week later in the 10 p.m. slot. The series finale attracted an audience of 740,000 on E4, equating to a 4.65% share of the audience.¹⁸

Cultural influence

During the 2007 Easter holiday a girl in County Durham threw a house party; it was advertised on her MySpace profile as a "Skins Unofficial Party," referring to the party in the first episode, with the subtitle "Let's trash the average family-sized house disco party". 200 people turned up, breaking into the house and causing over £20,000 of seemingly deliberate damage. She alleges that her account was hacked and someone else placed the ad.²⁰²¹

Similar incidents have taken place in the Republic of Ireland, with major household damage and theft of personal property being reported in Bray and Foxrock. Although these attacks have not been conclusively linked to the show, news outlets have reported that they are called Skins parties.²²

Club nights marketed as 'Skins Secret Parties' have also taken shape in Leicester.²³ Following this, a series of parties were run by Company Pictures in spring 2008.²⁴

DVD releases

Music replacement

Much of the popular music used in the original broadcasts is not found in the DVD episodes,³¹ although the original music is available in the series soundtrack.³²

International

Contents

Production

Plot

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Cast

First generation

Second generation

Online presence

Unseen Skins

Secret Party

The Lost Weeks

Skins Christmas Special

Skinscast

Reception

Ratings

Cultural influence

DVD releases

The Complete First Series

The Complete Second Series

Music replacement

International

See also

References

External links