Prematurely Aged Snarky Englanders Gather to Anticipate EDGY-as-fuck new C4 drama: SKINS

me = sid btw

I've seen the trailers for Skins, and it looks a bit shite. Is it supposed to be a sort of Hollyoaks thing but with more sex?

It's like Little Britain never happened.

Shameless meets Hollyoaks I think. Or Chav This Life.

Cosign.

xpost

Was it called "What-everrrrr"?

Have seen more ELECTRIC BLUE LEGGINGS recently - can I blame Skins?

We are old, we can't be expected to know what's on telly when.

And zebra print smock top!

I REALLY WANT TO MOVE AWAY FROM NEW CROSS NOW

Anyway, I get the creeps when I see the About a Boy kid too. I think I will watch it in a state of revulsion.

My style hasn't changed in 30 years. Damn.

please to make website to house drawings done by you of numerous tv shows ala the this life one

It's not!

OTM

I only just noticed the similarity of repulsion and revulsion.

"What fucking hospital is that supposed to be?"
"Hang on, how the fuck did they drive there?"
"I reckon that's Montpelier."
"Haha, Channel 4 hate Bradley Stoke too."

The overall impression I got was it was a bit like that scene in Road Trip (which only springs to mind because I accidentally saw 5 minutes of it the other night which flicking channels) where Tom Green is telling the story to the crowd in the football station and the girl points out how unlikely it is the woman in the story would be topless. Green answers something like "She was too, in fact she was totally naked and had a hott body. That's completely believable and justified by the story."

Trailer for next week: Teens, TITS, teens, TITS, DRUQS, TITS, teens, moping, NUDDY TEECHER. Can't wait.

Hmm, that was also this week's episode, but with added everyone self-consiously swearing into their mobile phones for the first 20 minutes.

Amazingly Harry Enfield's vast, hairy beer gut wasn't the most awful thing about this.

I did not watch it, the programme.

Is it like KIDS? I liked that, back in the day.

guardian hated it. i didn't see it.

What I don't understand - how did they watch it before coming on air when it was on while they were on air? Have they got some kind of digital recording device that accelerates... erm... particles?

;_;

Actually, I made Michelle look like Robert Smith from the Cure.

I watched this programme last night, second half first (after Benidorm) and then the first half of the first half on E4+1. Good system. Anyway, I thought it was quite good, considering. Certainly nowhere near as bad as I expected. It made me laugh a few times, and I thought some of the actors were good. It made me want to put little stickers on my mobile phone.

I was wondering how they would get round the problem of teen nudity, and it turns out they get round it by having the teachers in the nude instead. Yay, everyone's a winner, etc.

I hope it comes in to be subtitled. Have you had it, Michael?

NB - I have not seen Skins and don't really intend to.

There was a bit last night where she stuck a post-it to the bus window that was, um, really good, proper good.

I couldn't find myself objecting to the Tony character in the way DavidM did, because he seemed so evidently to be a proper plank as well as all those other things. (proper xpost)

*cough* you never saw Metrosexuality then?

It's a lot more leisurely than I would of expected. Not neccessarily a bad thing, though it could do with some more gags to hold the attention. The broadly caricatured marginal characters (the drug dealer, Cassie's parents) really didn't work. Cassie and Sid, on the other hand, are both very likeable and convincing (I swear half the girls at my sixth form were a bit like Cassie). In conclusion: undecided, will watch next week.

http://www.myspace.com/e4skins2

Also I am thinking of joining MySpace just so I can "add" Cassie:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=140518778

I guess if you're not drawing any more, I'll have to watch it.

Or not.

I quite like how the Mad Twatter charecter is portrayed. Other than looking like a Crimean War deserter, the actor seems to have made him more than the Begbie-alike the script seems to want him to be.

"Look up if you like me"

And those taxi driver scenes.

Talk about bizarre tonal swings, though. One minute it's like that, and the next there's some totally OTT scene with the comic book head of the anorexia clinic. And then Mad Twatter turns up in some group therapy session wtf.

I wonder if da kids like it.

Still, Cassie's brief appearance last night was superb, the resentment sneaking through quietly and the "yeah, wow" seeming more obviously a veiled threat than it had previously done. The "Tony sneaking off with one-note posh bint behind Michelle's back" also seems interesting - my girlfriend reckons that Tony's good side will eventually come out, but I'm really not sure that it will, or should. To be fair, I would kind of like Tony to fall under a truck.

The trailer for next week seemed a bit worrying - it's Chris-centric, which means either pills or psychology teacher or, er, both.

lol my gran watches this

adverts make it look so bad

lol at the one band that makers of this show have decided to push as The Skins Band for major mainstream fame being FOALS

Maybe they should have used MIA/The Horrors/other punchline

is this show funnier than Shameless?

The actress who plays Jal was on Channel 4 last week meeting Amerie. She was so unstarlike it was beyond endearing, more WTF: "OMG I can't believe I'm meeting you, I love your music so much, me and my friends learn all your dance routines, we practice them everyday"

I'm rather enjoying this and I usually hate similar programmes. Despite it being clumsy, rough around the edges and utter bollocks in places I do actually care what happens to the characters.

I quite like the one Foals record I've heard as well and wouldn't be particularly surprised if they ended up selling a fair few records.

So is there a new series or what? I'm confused by all this multi-platform multi-media meganet secret episode stuff the kids are into these days.

am i alone i thinking that the male school teacher looks like ilx poster jaymc? i think it is at this point i realize i look at ilx too much.

Seems to be received wisdom but I'll say it anyway: the Cassie and Chris episodes of season 1 were amazing. What's the second series been like so far?

Prematurely Aged Snarky Englanders

PASE never really took off as a term like LBZC did.

I don't think the second series has started has it?

I enjoyed all the first series, even the bits that were a bit bollocks.

http://i8.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/af/8b/70d0_1.JPG

Am I too aged to wear this hoodie (you can't see but the spots are red).

Wiki sez "Channel 4 have confirmed that skins season 2 will be aired in the early new year on E4."

But I doubt they said "season."

I am working through the first series after someone gave me the DVD, and I've seen 3 eps so far: Tony; Cassie; Jal. The Cassie ep. was excellent, and the Jal ep is some of the worst writing I have ever seen in my life. The hip-hop brothers/father; the "Three's Company" style overheard-shop-dressing-room-innuendo routine; etc. I don't know why they have to direct all the teachers to be so BROAD.

Will it get better and go back to some of the good "look up if you like me" Cassie stuff, or should I cut my losses and get out now?

I like the thing they've done in 2 eps where the ending cuts to black just as the focal character is about to launch into something (Cassie biting the burger; Jal playing her concert)

The new promo with Radiohead's "Nude" playing and the teenorgy in full swing is pretty great.

I'd stick with it, I enjoyed it more and more as the series progressed.

You might want to skip the one where they go to Russia though, that one was embarrassing.

this isn't the police academy thread.

The Cassie episode beat all others, but there was at least one other really good espisode. The first episode and the Simon Amstel written episode (the trip) were by far the worst.
Series 2 tonight!

Really?

You're lying, it's monday.

Cassie episode was the best. I think the Chris episode was pretty good, and the Effy one as well.

Charlie Brooker on the new series (spoilers for first series):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/columnists/story/0,,2253804,00.html

This show missed out on some hugs.

Cassie, Chris and Effy definitely the best three (in that order). I saw the Series 2 trailer in the cinema last week, along with the Dr Who one. It was very odd. I think it was inspired by the bizarreness of the Lost trailer with them all ballroom dancing on the beach.

this show sucked <---truth

i didn't watch much of it (because it's for teenagers guys srsly) but what this guy said^^

I rather enjoyed that. Maxxie still can't act particularly well, the main plotline was, well, not much of a main plotline, but it set things up nicely, there were some pretty decent jokes, and, implausible as the introduction of Anwar was, the use of "I Wanna Fuck You" was probably as appropriate as it will ever be. Thumbs up, more or less.

It was good. Thoroughly engaging and very confident. I have high hopes for this series.

As someone who enjoyed even the bits of series one that were a bit rubbish, I thought this was a bit of a mess. Seemed oddly disjointed and the comedy was weaker and jarred with the (rather good) emo bits. Harry Enfield was terrible again, Bill Bailey did gamely enough but was miscast. Some of the setpieces didn't work particularly well - the Cassie video WTF? Sid with a giant picture of Cassie above his bed WTF?

Also, the trend of fleshing out characters only to reduce them to ridiculous caricatures the following week looks set to continue, possibly more annoyingly this time.

That said, the scene with Tony trying to write his name and then smashing the place up really got to me. Good work in turning him from arsehole to sympathy figure, but can't help thinking the show needs a new arsehole for balance.

That party looked fun though.

Actually some new characters would probably help full stop what with the various relationships having altered so much.

Tonight's episode, thus far, is really very good. New character!

Plus also LAURA MUTHA-FUCKIN' CANTRELL on the soundtrack!

OK, and now it's got kinda scary.

Yeah that one was so much better than the first. Skins does pathos very well anyway, especially that scene where she lashed out at her mum, but the comedy matched up in that one as well, mostly because the musical was roffles.

The amount of screen time the different characters get feels a bit weird so far - Maxxie's been kind of the central character and we've had about five minutes of Sid.

Actually, thinking about it a bit more, I'm not sure it was that great: the late swerves with Sketch's character seemed a bit too easy, putting her outside the main gang and thus making her an irredeemable weirdo. I was kinda hoping it'd go a bit Heathers, really (which it probably will, eventually).

I felt you still kind of empathised with Sketch throughout because they spent such a long time setting her up. We ain't seen the last of her, anyway.

I continue to be impressed. It's very good on parent/child realionships.

She's not quite outside the main gang - Maxxie and Michelle probably won't want to go anywhere near her, Anwar might well be a bit lost puppy and the others probably aren't that bothered.

Is it wrong to like Sketch. I loved that look in her eyes in the end, especially when matched to the Aqualung song.

Dear me, but I do believe this series is actually getting better and better. Peter Capaldi is pretty ruddy brilliant. He's sort of like Dennis the Menace's Dad in an actual mid-life crisis. Which is good. No, really.

"Crystal Castles! Woo!"

oh no i missed another episode

Yeah that one was fantastic, the scene where Sid and Tony are at the gig and Sid just loses it but it's all drowned out by that rubbish Crystal Castles song = one of those great setpieces that Skins seemingly spends entire epsides trying to set up.

Peter Capaldi is by miles the best dad in this.

Last night's episode was one of the best bits of television I've seen in a long time. This show still ain't old.

You're right about that club scene though Matt - the shitness of that Crystal Castles track almost makes the scene even more messed up and horrible.

Uneven episode that. 'Bitch not actually a bitch' plot was incredibly predictable, and the sex scene was straight out of a cheesy Channel 5 TV movie. Great cliffhanger though, and the beach scenes were surprisingly beautifully shot.

Aye, probably weakest episode thus far, if only cos Michelle... well, she's never really had much of a character, has she? I just see her stropping about the place looking miffed and I feel like I've missed some massive reason as to why I should care about this. Yes, boyfriend in a coma then out of coma but with memory impaired etc. etc., but there seems to be a serious lack of motive or compulsion about her. I think it might be that April Pearson isn't really a good enough actress to be bringing out the various shades that seem to be lurking within Michelle, but also that the scripts seem to just veer away from leading her into really deep waters; for instance, her sudden decision to befriend Sketch after the alleged Shane Richie incident - there was an opportunity to show up the more shallow, patronising side to Michelle there, that she only wanted to get to know Sketch because she thinks she's been through something horrible, but doesn't have any interest in Sketch as a person - but instead it got overtaken by the whole OMG Sketch is teh creepy thing.

This episode was one where the caricatures that Skins has done a very effective job of using this series didn't work. I am really, really hoping Michelle's stepdad doesn't come up again, he was rubbish - I mean, it's good that he wasn't a complete bastard or anything, so there's less obvious reason to root against him, but he just didn't add anything when he was on screen. Like you say, Scarlett's initial plot arc was very by-numbers, like all those kids' shows where Lead Kid's single parent starts seeing someone else and Lead Kid gets resentful but then comes round in the end - there didn't seem to be any reason why she puts on the act, it's just "Oh I am putting it on I am actually dead emo inside" and then Michelle is like "Hey I also am dead emo too perhaps we have something in common after all" "Yes" "Yes". Still, there's time for her character to grow, though what avenues are open for her at present I am not sure.

I am also still hoping there is some kind of redemptive swerve for Sketch. She is getting way too THE PREFECTS ARE THE VOICE OF THE HEADMASTER now, even if this is bringing much Anwar-related lolz ("I've transferred my affections." "You see Max? She's transferred her affections!"). I suspect that a swerve of some kind is coming, it seems too obvious not to, but Skins has bottled out of these types of things before, and I suspect it might do here too.

Still, the Sid-Mich-Cassie triangle does look promising, just cos when Cassie turned up at the end, she was wearing that sort of dazed, imperceptible smile she does when she doesn't want to let people in. Cassie is still the best character on this programme, cos you never know quite where she's standing, or what she's thinking. Her reaction to them kissing was not to immediately unleash wrath or anything, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she's not angry... It's a nice wee set-up.

That shot of the sun rising/setting behind Michelle as she sat up with Sid asleep next to her was gorgeous, yes. Possibly they were showing off a bit, mind, but it did look very swishy.

That shot of the sun rising/setting behind Michelle as she sat up with Sid asleep next to her was gorgeous, yes.

There were also some shots of Michelle walking moodily between two dunes which were really nicely composed and colour saturated.

Josie Long's turned up. Joe Dempsie is quite comprehensively out-funnying her thus far.

Hmmm... I am now slightly worried that this series is starting to veer off the rails a little. That one seemed to be having a lot of trouble keeping its continuity together. There were some very good moments, but there was a lot that felt it needed more fleshing out. The dramatic elements... I dunno, the Chris-Jal thing felt (again) like it had been sprung on the viewer without giving them a reason to care. Jal's positive pregnancy test was a swerve that just felt like it didn't have any weight to it, and Jal's acting didn't feel like it did either. She's been treated like too much of a subsidiary character, even in this episode, so she's not had room to really develop character at all.

There were some very good bits, though - Cassie's really, really evil bit to Jal was fantastically done. Anwar's dumping of Sketch was very nicely handled, too. Still, though. Hmm.

I can see most of your complaints are valid. However, everything continues to be handled with such confidence and verve that I'm still enjoying it pretty much unreservedly. I find Jal to be very sympathetic - obviously such a good-hearted girl, which is as much down to the performance as the writing. I like how last episode's Big Development (ie Sid/Michele) was very much kept in the background; solid, patient storytelling.

That one was directed by Harry Enfield, in case no one else noticed.

Yeah, I agree with chap. A lot of critics seem to be shooting the writing down before it's even had a chance to get up.

I think said confidence and verve was very evident in all the episodes thus far, but not this one. Something just wasn't right with this, and I don't know if it was the writing or what, but things just seemed to happen without a huge amount of rationale. Jal's pregnancy just came up and then nothing else was related to it for the rest of the episode. The cliffhanger from last episode seemed to get bodged together in this one - last episode leaves Sid, Michelle and Cassie in the bedroom together, and then they all bump into each other at the club and there's this air of awkwardness about it like Cassie hadn't seem them together before, like absolutely nothing happened after the closing shot of the previous episode.

And I don't know if it's just because Skins leans too heavily on Joe Dempsie as a comic actor, but the depths he was meant to be plumbing didn't seem especially deep. I bought him and Jal as a couple, yes, but I didn't really feel anything for them, and I'm not sure why this is. There felt like a lack of history or reason for it happening.

Cassie was fantastic. Her little bit of expositionary dialogue at the end kind of clunked, but the way her dazed shield was starting to slip, and she made her contempt for people increasingly obvious, was brilliant. You never know if you're meant to be on her side or not, and that ambiguity makes her fascinating - the sense that in her, there is a character who can get really deeply nasty, but at the same time remains highly sympathetic, too.

Confidence and verve is working best with Anwar, though. He's painted very broadly, but he's doing a brilliant job this series - one could argue that his "reciting the films of Hugh Grant" thing seemed kinda tacked on, but they sold it perfectly, and it just carried through. The reveal of Sketch trying to turn him into Maxxie was run fantastically through the episode, too, such that it really was hilarious when Anwar turned up with his blond hair and it all became clear.

anwar is the funniest thing in this.

i dont get all the hype about skins, esp this new series. what the fuck are all the critics seeing that im not? its best when its just funny, cos this series has next to NO depth from where im standing. i hate it when they try to get 'deep' about a character or something, it just fails miserably. it needs to just be happy being a lighthearted dramedy about not very much, rather than trying to Say Something Important About Modern Teenagers.

W10 last night on bbc3 was better than this shit.

anyone know where i can stream these? i liked the episodes i saw from the first season

"critics seem to be shooting the writing down before it's even had a chance to get up."

its not going up anywhere.

W10 last night on bbc3 was better than this shit.

There was that one mega, mega LOL (when the dealer was explaining his Caribbean Pizza Idea) and decent enough plotting ...

... Actually, come to think of it, plot is what made it feel like actual television. Skins seems like something else entirely, based on its complete lack of interest in triggering any of the common reactions (such as sympathy/antipathy/surprise/laughter/interest) I've come to expect from television over the past 20+ years. It is completely dimensionless, as lacking in ulterior motives as it is in genuine efforts to entertain, and it simply makes no attempt to reward a viewer for sticking around longer than the initial episode.

No, Skins is more like a database object, a browser plug-in, or a spreadsheet listing aggregated consumer preferences. But it's certainly not television, whatever it is.

^^^ So rong. I really care about the characters even when this feels half-arsed or cobbled together. Tony in the swimming pool with his dad, wearing arm bands and being slower than all the little kids = the sort of detail this show does really well.

The Jal pregnancy story has a way left to run before it's filled out, almost certainly, she'll get her own episode right? Bearing in mind she hasn't even told Chris yet.

Tony's awful. I won't be conned by his "recovery."

Imagine if series 2 ended with him getting hit by a bus AGAIN.

You see now THAT would be good television.

Spose you've gotta give them some credit for having the balls to try out vaguely Lynchian narrative experiments in a teen soap, but that didn't really work, did it? Like, at all.

I liked segments 1, 2, and 4.

Segments 1 and 4 were fine.

I was mostly freaked out that he was wandering around Exeter University, where I spent extremely unhappy year a decade ago and the music was reflecting that. When the Sparklehorse song came on I thought someone was having a laugh at my expense.

Presumably that was Tony's reaction to the pill and most of that episode happened when he was hiding under the bed? I was a bit disappointed that the episode didn't end with him freaking out totally and being sectioned or something, that seemed to be where it was going.

The middle section was all a bit of a mess but the bit with the dude on the train was genuinely creepy. The rest was fine, once again Anwar brings the lols.

Yeah, it was obviously all taking place in his head (chuckles to be had from stupid literal-minded Guide reviewer complaining that we never find out who the girl is).

Oh, I loved that episode. Come on, no one else is doing this. In the past, the super-heightened parts have been in short bursts that have sometimes jarred, but to have the whole hour in that kind of daze was much more satisfying.

The writers seem to be kind of as in love with Effy as Tony is. It's sweet. Looking forward to her episode next week.

No, this episode kind of irked me somewhat. Not really an awful lot of lols, and I really really don't like Effy's character. Plus I'm not even sure Tony really deserves Michelle. I wish Effy would just turn round to her brother and tell him to stop being a dick, but then I guess they've always stuck up for each other despite the fact they're both insufferable sociopaths.

Ugh, with the exception of Sketch's storyline all of the season 2 episodes have been quite boring. I just think the characters from season 1 have been played out. Time for a new batch.

So far the Sid dead dad episode has been the best so far. Hopefully the series hasn't peaked quite yet. There are new characters, specifically Sketch and that obnoxious new girl who has to hang out with Effy.

Kind of harsh how no one really seems to give a shit about Sid's dad dying.

The scenes with the art teacher reminded me of my A-Level English teacher who used to gratuitously mention the times she fucked Oliver Reed, usually in reference to Heathcliff/Stanley/other popular violent misogynists in literature.

How old was she meant to be? Her talk of modelling for Braque seemed a little far-fetched. Oh, what am I on about, it's Skins.

OK wow that episode, best of the series I think - the scene with Jal in the hospital as they pulled Chris away, with Low playing in the background = amazing TV. They're really good at scenes like that.

I hope Chris is okay, although I'd gone through most of that episode expecting Jal to come home and just find him dead in flat.

<3<3<3

;_;

I am left rather bemused. Last episode was pretty great - written entirely by Posh Kenneth, too - but this one... hmm.

Yeah, I know xpost.

Really? I feel the opposite, I think.

It seemed to be building to something and then straight after Chris's death with all the New York stuff I was all "look get the fuck back to Bristol so we can see what's happening". The first half was great though.

I just don't like Cassie's S2 character at all, really. Presumably that's it for her? Jal's character, on the other hand, has really come on in this series - she's up for something big next week.

Anwar seems a funny character to end the series on but that stalker storyline still needs resolution.

Also that death scene was like Danny Kendall levels of disturbing.

yeah, the amount of teenage passive-aggressive selfishness in this episode was rather hard to bear. Plus the New York thing was just... silly, no?

ONe thing, though - Cassie's face is pretty amazing. The scene at the end when she's crying, and the way it seems to keep hovering on the verge of laughing, or trying to form that mask... she's a bloody good actress when she's not being given the dialogue she got given in the exam room.

Yeah, I finally 'get' Cassie as a good character. I thought the New York part was great--the whole episode's extremity seemed to mirror Cassie's character--tho I can see getting annoyed with only one episode left that it's a total digression.

I was actually kind of angry with Cassie for COMPLETELY failing to look after Chris properly and I couldn't work out whether I was meant to sympathise with her at all. In the first series I did, now I just think she's selfish.

Ah, yeah, I need to watch the 1st series. I think she's a total selfish bastard; this episode has strangely made her like her anyway.

The girl playing Cassie has clearly been pissing off the writers in some way, because Cassie went from my most favorite character in Series 1 to my least favorite in Series 2. Jal on the other hand has shot up to the top.

I was already spoiled with Chris' death last week, but how was the scene depicted. Am I going to cry? :(

Maybe.

Also, new series with an entirely new cast next year apparently. I thought they might build it around Effy to give it a bit of continuity but maybe not.

I was trying to watch the plus-one, but it hit that dinner party scene and the problem with the one-episode-per-character structure of the series leapt out - there has not been any progression in the MichelleSidCassieTony love quadrangle for ages, and the dialogue they were going over was the same bloody thing, and it was just dragging like a wounded limb. Nearly two series and Michelle still does not have a character. Cassie still moaning in the same manner she has done for four whole episodes and it hasn't moved on even slightly.

Having read the Radio Times description, next week's episode does not appear to even slightly be about Anwar.

What?! Jeez.

I'm gonna rent S1 dvds...apparently a lot of the music's different because of licensing issues?

xpost agreed completely about michelle/sid/tony

That'd be a bit harsh on the kid that plays Anwar. I suspect they might do what they did with Maxxie, kind of make him the character that other situations resolve themself around?

Agree with what most people are saying - Bristol bit pretty bloody good, Chris' death devastating. It was baffling how anyone thought the NY section was a good idea - did they just have a big spare chunk of budget lying around or what? Adam was a tit. I know realism isn't the programme's strong point, but it's really stretching it to expect us to believe Cassie had the wherewithall or the means to just hop on a transatlantic flight.

Well we don't really know anything about her parents, or what they do.

I think her parents were hippy artists who has sex all the time and were neglecting Cassie and her baby brother/sister. One of them was Neil Morrissey.

I didn't really get the NY thing, at first I thought it was Cassie retreating to some fantasy where she's in another country and has a nice fuzzy American bloke looking after her and not wanting sex, but maybe not.

'ere us go.

"Rockin' With The Toes", blimey, not heard that in yonks. Saw them play live once. Disappointing.

Ad for "The Inbetweeners". It looks, it is fair to say, terrible.

I feel weirdly empty.

Last shot=lame

Chris' funeral was pure cheese, though Mark Heap was a pleasure as always. Tony and Sid's farewell got me a bit choked up. And yeah, the last shot was totally 'please please watch the next series, look, it's got Effie in!'.

despite how shit it was, i'll miss it.

there's no pleasing some people. Okay quite a lot of the last part of this season dragged, there were a few continuity problems and the odd bit of insincerity, but this is still the best thing on UK telly in ages bar, well, not a lot.

The scene when the penny dropped with Anwar that he was the one being left behind was kind of poignant. Kind of glad they didn't go for a Sid and Cassie reunion at the end. The coffin stealing scenes were bollocks but fun nonetheless.

So Effy is definitely in the next series then?

The scene when the penny dropped with Anwar that he was the one being left behind was kind of poignant

Also the shot of him opening his marks > the shot of Jal waking up set to Elliott Smith.

Where '>' means 'into'.

I almost expected Sid and Tony to make out a few times.

ive asked this before but... anyone know of a hulu type joint that has these episodes available to stream? if not, what's the best torrent place to get them?

wow they rescreened an episode from s2 on e4 last night

but no, don't know about torrents; I'd just do rapidshare searches and the like

http://www.veoh.com/search.html?type=v&searchId=948135922546456804&search=skins

http://i33.tinypic.com/2ntg47q.jpg

Effy and friends are coming to fuck shit up!

Series 3 trailer

www.myspace.com/skinseffy

Unnecessary imo

I’m Effy. It’s a shit name but it’s short for Elizabeth which is even worse. I live with my Mum and Dad. My brother used to live here too but now he’s gone. On the day he left he gave me his duvet cover, half a bottle of Peach Schnapps, and his bedroom. Well, he doesn’t need it any more does he? So now it’s my kingdom. I drank the Schnapps and gave the duvet to Oxfam.

this is bush.

was it a duvet or a duvet cover?

She gave her duvet to Oxfam but kept his cover?

she just doesn't give a fuck.

Okay. So. Paris Hilton isn't an It Girl. Clara Bow was an It Girl. She was one of the biggest silent film stars ever. The Brooklyn Bonfire. I think we're really similar. She's a brunette. I'm a brunette. Her Dad was mentally impaired. My Dad is mentally impaired. She was really good at poker. I'm really good at poker. She married a cowboy. I don't think I'm getting married but if I did it would probably be to a cowboy.

Does this mean this "Effy" will be getting gangraped by a touring NFL team next season?

Plus CGI John Wayne.

Get off your horse and drink your milk (semen!)

No, you don't understand! "The starting line-up of the 1927 University of Southern California American Football Team" is the name of my dog!

this show can suck it

the ad has a bunch of indie kids causing a ruckus and punching people out in a chavvy bar. sheah right.

This show is great, even when it's a bit crap. When it's good, it's genuinely affecting.

BAAAAAAACK

NOWWWWWWW

(on E4)

(or an hour from now on E4+1)

Don't know if I can make it through the full hour.

In a way, I sort of liked it. Some of the characters look fairly interesting, no plots have really been established as such, not an awful lot happened, the stuff with the teachers was overlong and rubbish (albeit that Ardal O'Hanlon was pretty good), and the episode ended with two of the characters having sex to the Klaxons.

It's not gonna change anyone's mind on it, put it that way.

Identical twins. How dare they do that to me. Don't they know I'm nearly 30?

pretty awful, but the 'coming on...' bit during the credits seemed okay. reckon autistic/asbergers/whatever guy might be this year's cassie (i.e. annoying right out the gate but a proper episode devoted to him might swing it round)

It's definitely still Skins. Telling that the most most likable kid so far (Cook) seems to be pretty much identical to Chris. Ardal O'Hanlon was easily the best thing in it.

Scene-setting episode really, it only gets good once we get inside the characters' heads, which presumably starts next week.

Favourite bit was probably Pandora skipping off down the corridor to the strains of The Singing Nun.

Just caught this. Am surprised that I like Cook as much as I do, from the previews I thought I would hate him. Effy is lucky she is gorg, otherwise her character would be boring as shit. She does best when she acts with her eyes.

Naomi is fly.

JJ needs to shut up.

Scene-setting episode really, it only gets good once we get inside the characters' heads, which presumably starts next week.

I'm hoping you're right. I thought the writing was shit, way worse than I remember from last season (but I could be misremembering), but the characters have potential, so we'll see.

Quite enjoyed the second one. I think Cook is a well thought-out character, he's got recognisable elements of various charismatically self-destructive people I've known. I'm not really feeling anyone else yet though, particularly not JJ who seems poorly played so far.

The first half of that second episode had me a bit bored, felt like they'd done it all before, but then when he went all psycho it got very dark very quickly. It sort of assuaged my concerns that they were just going for like-for-like replacements for most of the S1 cast.

even the ads make the new kids seem like theyve a quarter of the charisma of the old cast

Thing is that Effy's got to be the lead role, sort of, as she's the only link to previous seasons, and though she's attractive, she just seems so... pointless. There's no rhyme or reason to her nihilism / self-indulgence. Chris, for instance, seemed much more well-rounded. I know it's early days.

Also, fucking hate Mackenzie Crook, and hate him too much for the visual of him being beaten up to make his presence worthwhile, especially as trailers have made it clear he'll be a major player in this series. Just cos of his fucking accent. Hearing him interviewed when he played that underground train driver in the suicide film made it abundantly clear that he's a fucking moron.

i think the JJ character isn't too far off the aspie stereotype really.

Everyone looked like a lazy stereotype by this stage of the first season as well though, except perhaps Cassie.

nick's right about effy. never liked her as a character and always saw her as pointless.

She was best in S1 when she didn't talk.

then when he went all psycho it got very dark very quickly. It sort of assuaged my concerns that they were just going for like-for-like replacements for most of the S1 cast.

So in episode 3 of series 1, threatening gangster dude is overcome when he gets bundled into the back of a car by Jal's dad and is never seen again.

And in episode 3 of series 3, different threatening gangster dude is overcome after being humiliated in a chili-eating contest, which, minus the profanity, could have basically been lifted from The Beano.

Maureen Lipman's wall of chainsaws was quite fun, but aside from that...

Should have had an actual fight instead of a chilli-eating contest.

I thought the first half, with Thomas trying to find his feet, was lovely. Then it descended into cartoon silliness. I hope Thomas comes back - he's a nice character, and the kid playing him did a good job.

OK, very good episode, that one. Apart from the godawful Philip Larkin bit.

Aye, enjoyed last night's quite a lot. Can see glimmers of Effie's wanton indulgent cockness coming down. Looking forward to a JJ episode just to see how much they can actually flesh him out into something other than a caricature.

I didn't like that one, I keep comparing the fleshing out of the characters unfavourably to how they did it in season one. So... Pandora is upset because her boyfriend has left and, that's it? It's hardly what they did with Cassie or Chris.

There's some good JJ stuff to come I think - the best scene was the bit with Freddie rescuing him from the party as he was freaking out. He and Naomi are the best characters by some distance.

JJ really reminds me of someone I know, almost scarily so.

I like the fact in this one Panda and JJ reflect a less streetwise type of character than the previous cast. Pandora especially is still a little girl compared to her mates and doesn't really show an interest in dressing sexily or even indulging in drink/drugs in the same way. It's a lot more realistic therefore, because not everyone in 6th form was some sort of topshop wearing, ecstasy-taking electrodribbler at the end of the day.

Naomi hasn't really done anything yet has she Matt?

Whoa. I appreciate pretty much all of the characters (save Freddie) after this past episode. Damn, Pandora.

Naomi is still my favorite.

Not great, but an improvement upon the gangster storyline at least. Mostly watching this for the eventual JJ episode, as (and I'm sure I mentioned upthread) the only thing that has brought me back was that season preview featuring (what I assume was) JJ's social organizing wall chart.

Lost track of this halfway through series 2 and never got back into it. Caught the last few minutes this week and, though I didn't know what the hell was going on, the use of low's breaker was v well done. The music in this show (when not indie yoof standards) seems to be a+

I'd forgotten I really loved this show sometimes (like Sid and Tony at gig after Capaldi kicked the bucket - heartbreaking) Should I play catch up and start watching again?

worth finishing up the second series. vote still not in on these new kids.

Yeah if you loved the Sid and Tony scene I'd really recommend watching the rest of series two - there are some even more heatbreaking moments in there. And if you liked the Breaker bit, wait til you see how they use another Low song. Might be a bit weird seeing it again now that one of the original kids is an proper internationally famous celebrity.

I'm persuaded - will resume series 2. Annoyingly my sister sms-spoilered someone dying towards the end, which I imagine is amongst the heartbreak to which you allude..

(Is there a thread for incongruous music on teen fluff? Not so much skins which I actually like, but this reminded me of seeing an episode of hollyoaks fading out to I see a Darkness.)

Enjoyable episode, yeah. Though the subplot about Pandora's mum actually being a sex person (to paraphrase Alan Partridge) seemed a bit obvious and didn't really pay off. Getting good chuckles from the stupid footballer boyfriend of whichever twin it is.

apparently Two of the girls snog to the sounds of Katy Perry

how do they come up with this stuff??!

Ah, that was just in the preview clip - by the time the show aired, it had been changed to Lily Allen instead.

I am not completely sure why.

Eww, incest.

^Please explain

It wasn't exactly explicit, but it was pretty heavily-handedly implied that Freddy had fucked (or at the very least wanted to fuck) his sister. Possibly the bit when he was sitting down in English discussing Hamlet with the word INCEST posted on a wall above him might have been a giveaway, I don't know.

Still, best episode yet. I've kind of only just got that the reason the first season seemed to work immediately was because the kids were all friends beforehand, whereas this is a new group coming together, except the three central boys who sort of hate each other. The Freddy vs Cook rivalry is interesting especially because it has JJ as this vulnerable influence in the middle of it. The girls don't quite seem to relate to the story properly yet though, except Effy.

JJ is definitely my favourite character so far, and Cooky's affection for him is really touching - the fire breathing thing, the "Naomi backwards is I Moan" thing - it's not just carrying along a stooge, a sidekick; he really loves him. I find the dynamic of the three boys' relationship really compelling, actually; Cooky kissing Freddie rather than hitting him, the "'ave a tickle" call to the girl walking past JJ. It's taken a little while to get going, but I'm really enjoying it now.

As a vaguely related aside; does anyone else find themselves nearly rupturing recently-repaired hernias at The Inbetweeners? I've seen the whole series before, but it still makes me laugh like a drain.

Blimey, Effie's a flaky bitch isn't she? Shouldn't be surprising being Tony's sister. But I wonder if she's as calculating as her brother or just hopelessly self-obsessed and directionless.

I'm developing quite a crush on Naomi.

OTM. I think I might be in love with Naomi.

Damn good episode.

Also, fuck an Effy - Naomi is the real beaut in this show.

finally. hope JJ's next week continues the trend.

also: grouper!

I really enjoyed last night's, and it made Emma cry too.

I think Skins at its best uses hyper-real scenarios and outside characters to emphasise really quite realistic emotional situations;beautiful cast, college riots, ridiculous teachers, cliched parents, etc etc, but really quite common adolescent insecurities; loneliness, family troubles, etc etc. No, I don't imagine many Bristolian teenagers go to underground raves accessed via manhole covers, or spend autumn nights lezzing up by picturesque lakes, or beat up gangsters...

I tell you what as well; this cast is definitely working, because I'm not thinking about the old cast at all. And none of them are as dislikable as Tony Stonem.

i thought that episode was rubbish apart from a couple of titilating scenes.

i think JJ's will be awesomahj next week though.

I thought they played the Naomi slowly coming to terms with the fact she's a lesbian thing very well actually, the way she kept freaking out and running away from Emily again and again.

Is she a lesbian, though? Or is she just a lonely, confused adolescent without a stable masculine influence in her life and who therefore doesn't feel comfortable with boys, especially ones her own age, at the moment? I thought her attraction to Emily was more to do with companionship than teenage lust.

yeah, nick otm. i guess i was just a bit disappointed by this one because you didn't learn much more about the characters. Emily fancies Naomi, and the jury's still out on the latter. Cookie's still a cock. Teachers are still ridiculous. i still enjoyed the episode, but this is the first one of this series i wasn't so hot on.

that said, this series is equally as good as the first batch. in fact i think i relate more to some of these characters (or at least my past self does) than tony et al.

You're an autistic lesbian with a severe alcohol problem who wants to fuck their sister?

what's all this fucking the sister thing about Matt? i watched that episode again and i couldn't work out where you were getting this from.

Dude he freaked out and pulled her skirt down, at the age of what 16 or 17? And he got *really* pissed off when he found out Cookie had slept with her. And he was stroking her hair in a creepy way. And he was sitting there in class with the word INCEST written on the wall right behind him.

It was laid on pretty thick.

With hindsight, I think Matt's right, although I imagine that the writers are going to see those facts as red herrings rather than plot indicators. Surely they wouldn't touch incest so soon after Holyoaks - there's no way out of it apart from killing off a cast member.

I enjoyed that one a lot, Naomi's certainly one of the more interesting characters (not to mention the hottest). Good turn from Dougal.

Two points:
1. Somebody's seen Election.
2. Seemed a bit of a cheat to leave Katie out of the episode altogether, though I can see why they did; her reactions to all that was going on may have been a narrative thread too many.

I'm assuming they're saving that for the Katie & Emily episode, whenever that happens.

Re; Cook - he IS a cunt, yes, a mouthy, violent, lustful, alcoholic cunt at that, too; but there's just enough glimpses of a decent bloke underneath for him not to be a total caricature or cliche.

Effie's really starting to piss me off with with her smouldering and mysterious sideways glances.

And yes, Cook is an increasingly well-drawn and well-played character.

Effie reminds me of a girl I knew at school, who was both very sweet and very smart, nice family (that didn't split up); seemingly a very nice girl set on a nice course to go through A Levels and to uni and a nice job / family blah blah etc but who went totally off the rails with sex and drugs and drink at about 17-19 for no apparent traumatic reason. I remember her telling me that she'd slept with two men in one day once, and her being really excited about it, like it was an achievement, but there being a real sense of desperation and sadness to it, too.

I "get" Cook, if that makes any sense. He's very well-played. Freddy, on the other hand, makes no sense at all.

Aspects of Cook remind me of a couple of people, one of whom now pulls in £50k a year in a very high-powered IT job, despite never finishing his degree (cos he was too busy drinking and fighting!).

Freddie... his episode didn't flesh him out enough, and he's been very peripheral in the other episodes so far, too. I want to like him, and I think there's a degree of sense there in the characterisation, but just. not. quite. enough.

Katie is the only one so far who makes no sense to me, but she's only been peripheral. Panda remains amusing and sweet peripheral, too. Hoping for big things from the JJ episode.

Freddie just comes across as a vacuous, moany good-looking guy TBH.

I got incest vibes from Freddy too. He shouted at Cook after he found out he'd slept with her, which seems normal and protective, but then he went and did the same to her as if she'd betrayed him in some way aswell. It was more like he was finding out about his best mate sleeping with his girlfriend than with his sister. Having your sister fancy your mates at that age isn't that odd really. Unless it was just a bit of a clumsy way of building up the "Freddie feels constantly betrayed by Cook" stuff, which I can see going somewhere.

Freddie's mum has died in the recent past,prior to the series beginning... Effie's flaking out on him by running off and fucking Cook at any given opportunity, even though Cook (at present) offers her no emotional support... I think Freddie's got panic issues with the idea of women leaving him for nothingness, whether that be death or vacuous physical romps with Cook. As such he feels inferior and betrayed and isolated. Perhaps.

NB - I have not seen Skins and don't really intend to.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, February 2, 2007 10:21 AM (2 years ago)

Fail.

i empathised/identified with freddy for a while but when bob fossil asked "how's being an angsty little prick working out for ya?" i think he hit the nail on the head. there's only so much party-pooping he can do, although everyone gets fed up of their best friend from time to time. glimmers of the tony/sid relationship going on here. cook is a brilliant character. his nasty little vampire grin makes me want to smash his head in.

i'm still not bought on the incest thing, although you do have a point matt... we'll have to see where that one goes.

one thing that kind of bugs me is that now Thomas is enrolled at their school when he was previously the janitor. I know his mum is there now and he moved back to the UK and I guess is somehow a proper resident (???) now, but it was much more interesting before. Guess that's nitpicking, but I wish they would have run with that.

yeah, that was a bit wtf..

Wow. Best Skins ever. That made me cry, like, twice. Awesome.

That shot of JJ's mum at the end had the kind of subtlety you forget Skins is allowed to do sometimes. She was the one they'd all forgotten. Her mouth flickering into a smile was beautiful.

Please not to let Emily's lesbianings be this series' equivalent of Tony's brain damage tho.

Think I might have preferred it to Red Riding, all told. The lollipop scene was marvellous, too.

Don't really watch tv but I saw this and it was good.

Gah, just saw this. Debussy + JJ's mom = TEARS.

holy fuckballs that was good.

Yeah, Red Riding was good, but I feel, with the ending, it bottled it and went for unfeasible resolutions rather than realism; which I thought was the point?

Yes the shot of JJ's mother at the end, looking at him laughing with Emily, with tears welling up and that Debussy piece playing in the background, was incredibly moving. This is partly because she'd hardly been seen at all beforehand - it's very rare in Skins to see a parent who isn't a ridiculous overbearing comedy caricature of a fuck-up and it was pretty refreshing really.

Emily is lovely. I am so over Naomi.

Having been coerced into watching last week's by my flatmate and been utterly captivated by riverbank frolicking I am now a card-carrying convert to this.

Matt DC mega otm. Although I'm not quite over Naomi.

Watched it again. Welled up three times. Awesome episode.

echoes of the crystal castles scene from series 2, what with that soundalike band (I think they're called You Love Her Cos She's Dead (yeah I know)). Overall, I thought the episode was okay, but found a few of the comedy aspects of JJ's condition slightly irksome (fainting when he sees some boobs etc). the shrink was really well acted.

Hmm. Dunno about that one.

Freddie's little shake of the head at Effy at the end, the one that said "Woman, you have declined in my estimation" - practically Zoolander, that.

It was a decent episode, but was always going to feel below par after JJ's. Still think this cast are inherently more... I dunno if likeable is right, but recognisable, to me.

The mushroom scene with Gang Gang Dance playing was the best bit.

(I think they're called You Love Her Cos She's Dead (yeah I know)

this band are the pits. did visuals at a gig they played at a few months ago and the girls voice gave me a splitting headache

sticking that band scene in there ruined a great episode for me, to repeat something like that from the first series felt like such a blatant bit of product placement(someones music PR must have been owned a BIG favour). i have now actually warmed to the new generation now though (other than freddy, put a bloody shirt on you iron)

Agree that this was a bit so-so compared to the previous three or four eps. Also agree that the shrooming scene was the best, they captured the psychedelic experience pretty well.

Does anyone find Effy fit? I think she's a bit funny looking.

funny looking yes as in 'funny this looks like a child'

Very pleased with them playing the Travelling Band and Susan Cadogan in that ep. Mind you it does frustrate me that whoever's in charge of the music seems to be rifling through my M3 hard drive at will.

'k, new favourite episode.

so effy is the weak link?

I dunno, this episode did not strike me as much as JJ's episode, but whatever. I just cannot stand Katie, she needs to stop hitting people.

so effy is the weak link?

No, I think it was that her episode suffered from being a bit dodgily structured. Effy and Freddie are pretty reasonable characters, kids whose self-possession is dragging them down rather a lot. Though to what extent this is intentional on the writers' parts I'm really not sure - see Freddie agreeing with JJ that they weren't getting any this evening in a manner that suggested that this situation was in some way JJ's fault, despite Freddie being the one that told Katie.

Steve Reich!

Good episode last night, second favourite of the series so far after JJ's (which I just think was magical, a triumph of television). The whole "I'm not you" bit was emotionally interesting, older twin using younger as some kind of Dorian Grey type device, a hidden aspect of her personality that absorbs all the meekness and insecurity so the older one can be dominatrix bitch with footballer boyf, etc. Agree that Effie's not the weak link, I don't think, nor Freddie; as long, that is, as next week's episode works.

I didn't really like that one, it felt a bit convoluted.

This series has been pretty good but there hasn't been an episode that even came close to the original Effy and Chris ones in terms of emotional clout.

^^ Totally agreed Matt. The first series had episodes and scenes that let me thinking for days: The entire Effy episode, the end of Chris' episode, the scene where Cassie showed Sid how she gets away with not eating at lunch (the scene that got me hooked to the first series).....With the exception of JJ's episode and its ending I have not gotten that from this series. I still like it though, its better than any teen show in America, that's for sure.

So, has Skins taken over from Hollyoakes in the "OMG, My parents will be watching it oops, but then again it's my big chance to be the next "get him/her for the lead in my next movie" window/opportunity" for young actors?

the difference is though, that hollyoaks is unmitigated shit.

i prefer this bunch just slightly over the previous ones, but no episode will beat the sid's dead dad one.

The difference is that no Hollyoaks actor has ever gone onto anything much bigger than Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps whereas Skins has already spawned one lead in a internationally massive Oscar-winning film.

That's sort of what I mean:

"Hollyoaks! Next stop Corrie"

as opposed to "Skins! Next stop Hollywood!"

This is such a consistently great and funny show. Of course, as other have pointed out, this series hasn't reached the heights of the second series, but it's still one of the best shows around, and most def the best teen drama I've seen. What else could come close?

The sad thing is that I think the show is promoted the complete wrong way. Most people who don't watch it just assume that the show is about "cool teenagers who drink and do drugs" and it's all clichés and stuff, and that's obvioulsy down to the promotion of the show. I wish more people would give this show a chance.

Naomi -> Effy

Lovelace OTM. I only came around to Skins quite recently and i remember being totally turned off by the marketing of the first series.

So, season finale last night.

Em hadn't seen last weeks, so downloaded and watched it while I listened to SFA in the next room before we watched last night's episode. She said she cried "all the way through" last week's episode. I cried loads during JJ's episode.

Neither of us cried at the finale, though.

I thought Super Hans was a great piece of casting, and there were several really poignant moments between him and Cook, where you could see Cook... nearly giving in to baser instincts, to genetic compulsion, to "blood is the most important thing". There were a couple of glances of pure admiration from Cook at Super Hans that really terrified me; "why are you in awe of this man? I know he's your dad but can you not see?" JJ's "I'm not better than your dad. You are" line summed it up nicely.

The problem with last night's episode, though, was the problem with the whole season. I just don't really care about Freddie and Effie. As Em said of Effie; "your pretty, your popular, get the fuck over it". She's spent 3 seasons now being a self-obsessed, wantonly destructive minx, and I'm seeing precious little personality behind that. Freddie's obviously only been around this season, and has his mother's death as some kind of emotional context, but I find him pretty absent as a character; he's just a dull stoner, like pretty much every other dull stoner I've ever meant. JJ, as usual, nails it when he says it's "just boring". Freddie & Effie's will-they-wont-they relationship seems to be wanted, by the producers, to be the spur of the whole season, but it's relying purely on the fact that they're (read in a Zoolander voice) really, really, really, really goodlooking, rather than compelling as characters.

Wheres I think Cook's near descent into hell, and the Naomi / Emily / Katie "love triangle" has been far more moving and compelling. Oh, and just everything JJ does. He's awesome.

So, a good episode, but not a patch on the season 1 or 2 finale, and nowhere near the peak of this season.

Otm.

Effie seems to have been poorly written but she at least seems like a character they could do something with. I'm ready and raring to sympathise with her (probably is just cuz she's nice to look at, but I've convinced myself there's more to it than that), just give me a fuckin' reason to do so. Flashbacks to an abusive childhood or something? I dunno.

Finale left me very very meh. "So what do we do now?" Not sure i'm that bothered tbh.

You're not really supposed to care that much about Freddie and Effy, it's mostly about the way their relationship impacts upon Cook I think. You can tell because he got virtually all the best bits in yesterday's episode.

Superhans = inspired bit of casting. Would have liked to see the other half of the cast though, it felt like they got relegated to second tier a bit.

I'm wondering if the actual 'key' relationship to the season is that between Freddie, Cook, and JJ; the dissolution of adolescent male friendships?

Of course, the 'real story' or 'actual key' or whatever needn't actually exist, and it could just be an ensemble drama without some kind of overriding ulterior motive or grand narrative to tell...

I'm wondering if the actual 'key' relationship to the season is that between Freddie, Cook, and JJ; the dissolution of adolescent male friendships?

Maybe. I found myself constantly wondering why any of these people were friends with each other but of course, at that age, you have a much smaller pool of people do draw your friendships from. Proximity and convenience tend to be the primary factors, with whether or not you actually like each other largely secondary. They're friends because they always have been and only JJ is starting to question whether or not that's actually enough.

Aye; I think back to the people I was friends with at that age, and I don't really se any of them anymore, despite thinking, at 15 / 16 / 17, that these were the most important relationships ever. Having met up with a few of them at occasions over the last few years, we have very little in common now.

Incidentally, what does anyone think of The Inbetweeners, which is back for a second season next week? I found the first series to be a great adjunct to Skins; where Skins is far more poignant, it's also a much more unrealistic, dramatic, and aspirational way of looking at teenage life - exciting adventures and sexual discoveries that my own teenage years were pretty lacking in. Whereas The Inbetweeners is, while totally lacking in the characterisation and emotion and so on, much more like what my sixth form was like; boring, embarrassing, etc; and as a result it made me laugh like a drain far more than pretty much any other teen comedy I've seen. It got the awkwardness and impotence of teenage male friendship just right, in a very different way to how Skins did it with Cook, Freddie, and JJ. Not saying it's better, or even as good, just... a nice alternative view.

Inbetweeners kicks Skins ass imo

^^ watched Inbetweeners (first in new series) last night because of this post. Funniest thing I've seen for a long long time. Shall be watching the first series this weekend.

I've seen one episode of Inbetweeners, and found it chucklesome and annoying in equal measures. On the basis of that I can't imagine it being better than Skins, but maybe I should revisit it.

Inbetweeners last night was hilarious. I haven't laughed as much at one programme since I don't know when.

two of the guys in it are writers on it, I read an interview with them in some supplement magazine, they seemed like guys I'd kick it with.

Should have their own thread.

All 4 leads are played brilliantly.

And now it has...
The Inbetweeners - a UK comedy that is actually funny.

just heard phil 'hollyoaks' redmond say this isn't really for 16-24-year-olds but 'twentysomething young men obtaining much hard one for kaya scodelario'. good to know.

Just got the Season 1 box set and watched the first disc last night (first 4 episodes). I like. Having to try quite hard to resist the urge to use my day off watching the rest.

Redmond is right but it should be 30-something men.

No, it applies to us twentysomething young men too. When does the new series start?

Aye, I'm only 28. For me these things are a vicarious living of a life I never had because I was an up tight saddo.

Oh and 'was' can be replaced by 'am' quite easily, without removing any truthful emo self-awareness.

never lived the skins teenage life more on account of i had no idea where to get fun drugs. still don't.

In which case I direct you here - The Inbetweeners - a UK comedy that is actually funny.

Quick look at wiki tells me the new series is set for January. Also apparently there's going to be a movie and an American version, naturally enough.

Hope Cassie is in the American version, so I can swoon some more.

8 episodes in 2 days. Just watched Effie's episode, which was pretty dark & different. Interesting.

Scored the complete Series 1-3 boxset, so everything's looking golden for continued Skins action now that I've finished the 1st.

DVDs have different music from the original airings I think, which is a shame. Probably wouldn't care if you never noticed, but Cassie waking up to Mogwai's "Cody" or Chris taking that viagra to Spiritualized's "Do It All Over Again" were pretty quality moments that I think would be let down without the choons.

Just starting Series 3...

Surprisingly really liking Series 3. I was sceptical before hand with the character change, but 3 episodes in and I'm converted.

Cook is a great character, the kid who plays him excellent. Can't stand Effie, though - maybe she's due a Tony-like comeuppance in S4.

One last episode left for me tonight... I'm actually excited.

There's trailers and stuff for the new series up on the E4 website now

Anticipation mounts...

Leon Small - Leon, a boxer, is described as "Sexy and effortlessly cool [with] a short fuse and a lack of respect for those in authority." His mother died when he was a child and he was left in charge of his alcoholic father.

Arthur "Fatboy" Chubb - Fatboy is described as having "invented all manner of personas since he was seven years old – in an attempt to avoid being his real self. His current and most sustained self-creation is brash wheeler-dealer Fatboy."

Mercy Olubunmi - Mercy lives with her grandmother from whom she is keeping a huge secret. She is described as having "always been a good girl, but when her parents head back to Nigeria she feels abandoned."

Zsa Zsa Carter - Blue-haired Zsa Zsa is described as "Beautiful, funky and an outspoken tomboy. [...] She's very bright, but likes to think she doesn't need help from anyone."

Arthur "Fatboy" Chubb? I suppose Lardass "Fatboy" Chubb would have been just a tad too much.

Arthur "Fatboy" Chubb

creative naming there

lol xpost

don't shoot the messenger

its like they try harder and harder every year to make me hate it and i still keep coming back

Haha, I just love picturing the guys working on the new characters.

"Alight, back to Fatboy. Has anyone been able to come up with a better surname than 'Chubb'? No one? Not one person can think of a slightly less obvious last name? Really? Oh for fuck's sake, I guess 'Chubb' it is."

yeah it's a bit weak

Hang on, is it an all new cast again?

http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2009-12-11_e_20_cast.jpg

seems like it :S

Nah, it's last years cast with some new ones thrown into the mix

Alot of the press leading up to this has been about how the plotline involving Naomi and the twins was the best thing from last season, and it seems like the producers have realised it. If I was going to hazard a guess why this worked I'd have said it was because they weren't unrealistically self assured / attractive which made the "lead" characters so teeth grindingly annoying.

If they focus the season around the girls, make Thomas a more believable character and introduce some good characters this could be a hell of a season. If it revolves around effie and freddie frowning and staring into space I'll stop watching quick enough.

fatboy might save this show

Well, it's had Pauline Quirke so far...

Haha, I just love picturing the guys working on the new characters.

"Alight, back to Fatboy. Has anyone been able to come up with a better surname than 'Chubb'? No one? Not one person can think of a slightly less obvious last name? Really? Oh for fuck's sake, I guess 'Chubb' it is."

― you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 12 January 2010 00:22 (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

It's Poochie all over again.

Yeah, you realise those are characters from EastEnders E20?

Not keen on new theme.

Ach, I have no TV and 4OD is nowhere near as handy as iPlayer. I can't wait for this to appear in a few days or weeks... any nefarious sources would be appreciated (via pm if desired, of course).

All is good in the world, it's online on 4OD now. Phew.

Yes, they put things like Skins and Inbetweeners up right after (or at the same time as?) it airs on TV.

:(

whatsamatter? You disappointed that Effy came back so early and didn't just stay far far away until the very end of the season, too?

no fatboy

don't watch this prog btw

Wow, this was a downer. Doesn't look like it'll be lightening up much next week either.

For an episode where a girl died while off her face on powdered spliff, two teenagers fucked to Ladysmith Black Mambazo (at least, I think it was Ladysmith Black Mambazo), two other teenagers turned out to be dealing drugs, and a deposit for a new three-bed house in Bristol is apparently somewhere in the region of £600... it didn't feel like very much happened, did it?

Although, if I knew how to do animated gifs, I'd do one of Freddie making his "Mate, sort it out, yeah?" face at Thomas.

I thought this was a very week opener. I was not engaged at all.

Bad move to make it too single-character-centric in the first episode. Would have been much better to have a group oriented episode with plenty more amusing shenanigans.

Disappointed.

*weak

This series is a massive downer and not that engaging so far... :-(

It's always been a bit fraught, but where's the fun???

Plus none of the characters seem to really hang out with each other any more.

I liked Thursday's Emily episode more than any of the other episodes since JJ's one last season.

Fatboy has turned up in actual EastEnders now.

Ollie from The Thick of It was great in this though.

So it was him... I wasn't sure without the glasses. Yeah, I'm waiting for him to become a proper problem for da kidz.

BEZ? FUCKING BEZ?

I cannot watch this new series, it's awful. I don't know if it is worse than the others, or if it was always bad but I just couldn't see it for all the drugged-up teenagers cavorting in their pants.

The constant layering of misery upon more misery upon more misery in this series is pretty difficult to bear. Freddie and Katie are the only characters who've come over at all sympathetically so far. Maybe JJ as well but we pretty much never see him.

This set of kids are pretty awful compared to the first lot.

There isn't as much group interaction as there used to be. It's too fragmeneted.

This JJ episode is the best one so far... Actually probably the only good one.

Easily the best of this series, certainly, though there was still the odd wobbly moment. Also, "realises their parents are alright after all at the 45-minute mark" is becoming quite the drinking game. Still, that first segment was as good as the show's ever been - arguably one of the funniest bits of telly this year. It really is a lot better when it's not all "Effy refuses to play dodgeball because she is sad". Which, unfortunately, appears to be a reasonable summary of the next episode.

It really is a lot better when it's not all "Effy refuses to play dodgeball because she is sad". Which, unfortunately, appears to be a reasonable summary of the next episode.

lol wut?

is this series worth watching or should i just watch the jj one?

I dunno, do you like misery piled on with a trowel and lots of self-indulgent teenagers scowling at one another? If so you'll love the rest of the series - there's already been one suicide and once suicide attempt.

If not, just watch the JJ one. It's pretty self-contained, doesn't relate to much of the rest of the story and is better than all the others.

who died?

okay I LOVE JJ but that episode's ending was

SO

STUPID

!!!!!!!!!!!!????????

I'm not being funny.

But.

FOR.

FUCK'S.

SAKES.

It was almost not as bad as I assumed it was going to be. I mean, it was looking very ropey at points. But the ending... fuck's sakes.

I mean, that was Tony cures his brain tumour by MANNING UP levels of rubbishness.

Am I just really bad at reading characters or did they just really badly develop this John Foster guy? I got the feeling he had a bit of a thing for Effy all throughout but I didn't get the feeling that he's more of a nutcase than she is. The ending just didn't fit for me? I don't know. Seems like kind of a shock tactic to make up for an otherwise blah-y episode (and season, in a lot of parts).

So, so shit.

Yeah, a lot of TV has been letting me down this year. This, Lost, 24, I'm sure other stuff too. I'm just watching cos I've invested so much time previously at this point.

I was dreading the Effy (surely one of the most annoying TV characters ever) episode after the near-brilliance of the JJ one but that was on another level of awfulness. I assume this is the last we'll be seeing of these lot? I get the feeling from the preview of the final episode that they might be setting up Freddie's sister as the "bridge" to a new set of characters.

This show is seriously running out of steam. I've been following it but the writing just seems phoned-in, the characters have become unrealistic fleshbots with reflex lines and actions. They don't interact with each other any more unless they're treating each other like shit, hopping into bed with each other or downing pills together as if they were Smarties. The kids are angsty and most of them are mentally ill. The parents are flawed and self-absorbed, but the moral of bad-parenting is still being applied with a mallet. They've completely ruined Naomi's character - I just don't see her as being realistic at all any more. Not to mention the serious lack of catharsis you'd normally expect from Skins... There's little light relief from the depressiveness of it all.

On that last point - anyone wonder whether this series is setting out to do exactly what it's done and bring everyone down? Maybe the writers felt that in a recession period people wouldn't want to watch happy-go-lucky kids in new clothes from Topshop, so they ruddied em up and made them angry and depressed? Maybe this is going to lead to a lighter fifth series?

It's less to do with recession and more to do with plain bad writing. I can't think of many dramas that would suddenly see a major character beaten to death out of the blue by new and totally undeveloped character for the flimsiest of reasons. I think the mental health issues are being dealt with totally hamfistedly and possibly damagingly as well.

Also take one drink every time an authority figure dances embarassingly to an 80s pop star as soon as they're left alone.

This season's been short by previous standards too, hasn't it? Only 7 episodes?

I think the writing has gone to pot, true. Too much Max G0g@rty? (Joke.) The JJ episode was almost great but too much Effy, too much 80s dancing by adults, too much of the main characters not being in it; halfway through last season I thought this lot was going to be better than the first bunch, but that feeling has gone now.

This show is seriously running out of steam. I've been following it but the writing just seems phoned-in, the characters have become unrealistic fleshbots with reflex lines and actions. They don't interact with each other any more unless they're treating each other like shit, hopping into bed with each other or downing pills together as if they were Smarties
This sfm!

This series to quote Beyonce has just been an all round 'disastuh'.
Imo except for Naomi, Emily, that goddamn Effy (who I used to like when she shut the hell up) and Pandora the characters could be quite likeable and believable (Cook would need some extra work obvs) but they've all turned into raging chumps because the writers have no idea how to develop ideas. The only epi that stood out to me was Cook's, it seemed quite interesting but poorly developed yet again.
I miss Misfits.

Cook's was okay I suppose, but like many of the other characters he's gone from being a complicated character with enough interesting quirks to a predictable 2D caricature. I did like the kid brother idea though, but as you say, the story needed a lot more work.

This is all starting to feel a bit like what happened with Peep Show in its fourth series. Over-awkward and unrealistic premises, characters turning into caricatures, depressive mood-wise, lacking in real fun. It's why I'm hoping S5 bounces back a bit brighter.

(what does sfm stand for?)

There's no way this lot are better than the first set of kids. They were despite everything a lot more believable - this set of kids just don't seem like a believable friendship group.

Also the first lot succeeded because they only had one Cassie and one Chris, now seemingly everyone is a combination of both.

OTM

SFM=so fucking much.
I do think tho that if we are worried that this series was godawful, wait till the American version starts up. They've already cast it, it's set in Toronto which apparently the equivalent of Bristol.
Peep Show at least is maybe, maybe salvagable. I don't think Skins is at all.

So lol if it's set in Toronto then it is not the American equivalent....but it is being made by BBC America.

This season is definitely shorter than the others... it doesn't look like they'll be doing a Naomi ep or a Pandora ep, though I'm not sure where they'd be able to go with Pandora. Naomi though, I think she could probably use an episode to redeem herself, and given that the fanbase of this show is largely teenagers who are obSESSED with 'Naomily' (I used to work on the E4 site during the show and there was a LOT of love for Emily/Naomi) I don't think the decision to not give her an episode of her own will fare well with a lot of viewers. I'm a bit annoyed by it, but I'm also kind of glad for this season to wrap up soon. Ultimately I'm more pissed off about Freddie's ending than I am Naomi's lack of episode.

Bring on the Inbetweeners!

also lol Toronto

hang on... aren't there 8 episodes this season, same as before?

don't tell me that Freddie getting beaten up is the last in the series???

no last one is Thursday, which makes 8 for this season (but last one had 10? dont know about the s1/s2 run though)

I'd kind of assumed Naomi's episode was a joint episode with Emily's but good god do we really need another episode of self-indulgent sulking and paying a bit of lipservice to the dead girl?

no, def not -- but some closure on what happens with naomi/emily would be good (though maybe they'll cram it into the final ep)

Were the first set a more believable group of characters because many of them were actual real local Bristol kids rather than actors? (At least at the start.)

Cook & JJ have been the only good things about this season, and then only in fits and spats.

Agreed^.
Self indulgent sulking IS what this series is about tho. I cannot bear anymore of Naomi and Emily and that hideous plotline about the soldier girl which imo still doesn't make a lick of sense. I just felt like the dead girl plot was a way for the writers to be all 'SEE we can write about attractive teen lesbians without resorting to the same old hackneyed storylines and gratuitious sex scenes! Ours will have meaning and layers. Look we killed someone! That is an UNEXPECTED element'

I wonder who will be the next Dev/Nick Holt of this cast career wise.
The twins who seem to hate each other irl might do well if they use their twin..ness as a shtick.

Even JJ's character sometimes overdoes the whole comedy-aspie thing. I do like it, but there's only so many times I can put up with him fainting after glancing at some boobs.

Which he didn't do at all this series. In fact he was revealed as a champion shagger thanks to Cook's advice.

I think Cook will have a decent post-Skins career. Not sure about any of the others. Effie turned up for 10 seconds in Moon.

i swear he did do it at some point. oh well.

i think the thing about the dead girl was that i don't care about her at all.

Well, in some ways the series finale was a big step-up (more character interaction, which has been sorely missing this season, for one), and in others ways it was complete pants. Much like the rest of this season.

Naomi's big heartstrings moment had Em welling up but, while I was moved, I thought it went about 2 steps too far. JJ wasn't in it enough. Freddie's sister could be a possible bridge to next season I guess, although last season I assumed she was older.

Hugo Speer's character still rubbishly underdrawn; if I was being MEGA charitable I might say that was the point, that he's just a cypher for the message they've been sending out for 4 years now; i.e. that Effy's the most lustsome thing ever, and that everyone who meets her falls hopelessly in love with her, from adolescent chumps to middle-aged chumps. Which is an interesting idea when you're about 16 but total bollocks afterwards.

The Cook / Speer showdown at the end was... well, it could have been a lot worse, but I was also left feeling thoroughly let down by it too. Nowhere near the Chris finale of season 2.

Panda spacehopping with the mentals was probably the best moment of the episode.

I liked when Panda announced she was going to Harvard. It was so farfetched, but compared to some of the other stuff that happened recently it actually seemed feasible, somehow.

I'm pretty sure Freddy's sister is older so I don't think there's a link there they can use for next season.

is it getting another season?

fifth and sixth series already commissioned. I actually thought it ended pretty well, freddie is not going to be missed and his sister should be on screen pretty much all the time.

Had time to watch the final episode last night. This whole season feels glossed over. It's as though I were watching an adaptation of a relatively complex novel but the producers ran out of time to fill out some of the scenes and had to make heavy cuts. Not only is the writing poor, but the editing is sloppy, the acting wooden, the plot is by the numbers, even the music in this episode was weak. And that ending was so weak, it looked like Cook was about to have a pillow fight with Dr Foster, not deck the shit out of him.

I quite liked the VERY ending, the idea that they stopped the clock just before everyone found out about Freddie. But the whole thing felt like an afterthought, like they hadn't bothered to work out how they were going to tie these characters stories up. The last one made perfect sense (everyone goes off to university and we get that great scene with Anwar suddenly realising all his friends are leaving him behind). This time:

Freddie - dead for no apparent reason
Cook - presumably kicks the shit out of Dr Foster and eventually gets banged up
Thomas and Panda - suddenly get to go to Harvard at five seconds notice because they've magically become really good at things we've never seen them do before
Katie - doesn't get to do much really
Effy - well they didn't really bother to write her an ending
JJ - gets to have a girlfriend and to look after a baby, that's okay I suppose
Emily and Naomi - and then they all lez up on a beach in Goa

Thomas and Panda - suddenly get to go to Harvard at five seconds notice because they've magically become really good at things we've never seen them do before

This - since when was Thomas brilliant at running (iz it cos 'e iz black, yeah?)? And what is the business he runs? I liked Panda on the spacehopper ("I'm not mental!") and the smoking jogger.

All the emotive scenes have fallen flat for me this season. There hasn't been anything as powerful as the "Sid's Dad" episode.

I'd really lost the strand of what was going on between Naomi and Emily by the end but it looked like they made up, so well, yeah i guess that's good.

Fatboy - continues wheelin and dealin

I gave up halfway through S4, not that I wasn't enjoying it at all, but blah. Should I resume?

It gets worse from then on, maybe worth watching just for the WTF factor.

S4 is the biggest drop in quality I've seen in a TV series. Really hope they inject it with a bit of entertainment next series or I'm not watching.

Yeah, don't think I'll bother.

S4 is the biggest drop in quality I've seen in a TV series. Really hope they inject it with a bit of entertainment next series or I'm not watching.

― village idiot (dog latin), Friday, 23 July 2010 13:52 (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

never seen Entourage then?

When did Entourage have quality?

Just got round to watching the first series of this on DVD. 8 episodes in. Some of the acting's really... inconsistent. Guy who plays Maxxi can be laughable at times, but really sweet and convincing at others. Michelle likewise. Sid and Cassie rule. And Chris. Jal's tutting at everything and everyone is getting a bit tiresome, but she's a cutey so all's forgiven right. Actually felt sorry for Tony in Effy's episode.

Expect similar mixed feelings for the next couple of series.

Cassie seems so familiar to me. No idea why, I don't recall ever meeting anyone quite like her.

I knew loads of girls a bit like Cassie at sixth form and uni.

You know, pretty, vague, ethereal and kind of fucked up. All over the shop at that age.

yeah, she seemed a type i met in some form or another quite bit as a teenager. key to the series for me was giving her a real personality in the second episode so she wasn't just the flighty annoying one.

Also it was impressive that the producers picked up on and portrayed that type accurately at all, as it hadn't really been shown on TV before.

I love Cassie. Totally my kind of girl. The bit where Sid tells/asks (?) her to kiss him again in the cafe in Effy's ep - the way she says "No" and brushes him off is spot on. [obsessing over her every word/]

Girls like that tended to like me, though I was way more interested in the cool sultry Jal types, who couldn't give a shit.

Watched the last ep last night. I guess Tony's still alive because he's on the cover of the Series 2 DVD, but don't tell me just in case that's a clever ploy by the DVD people. Sid and Cassie! So cute. I really liked the closing montage. I wanna be mates with Sid. The Maxxie/Anwar storyline was a bit iffy. Like how long have they been mates? Then he suddenly realises he can't be his friend cos he's gay and his parents wouldn't like it. I still enjoyed it though. Fills me with a horrible sense of... longing, though. Like the last scene where Cassie and Sid are on the bench looking out over the city. I'm a sucker for cities at night and street lights and that feeling of 'potential'. Drives home how utterly dull my time in 6th form was, or how dull I was. Happy days.

USA! USA!

Bleugh, talk about contrived.

what has america ever done to deserve this

Really, there's zero spontaneity or energy to that trailer, which were the things which made the original enjoyable.

What is the US equivalent of Bristol, BTW?

Baltimore, in this case

ha i was just about to post about this

obv this will be 70% pointless since there's no nudity on american cable

wow this looks like the fucking worst

Baltimore? Really?

on one hand, baltimore, sure, why not. on the other hand, you didn't cast one black kid? really?

ppl have been saying that the first episode was terrible, and you'd think a shot-for-shot remake couldn't be THAT bad, but holy hell was it really that bad

yeah, i turned this on for a bit last night and couldn't handle much more than a couple minutes, so awful

the main problem is that there's an inherent cynicism in mtv doing this remake, but also the acting is bad, there is no nudity, there's less cursing etc -- this only would've worked on hbo where it would've had necessary freedom and been handled by people that don't suck at scripted shows

Is there as much drug taking?

shouldn't it be called BLUNTS in america?

that, i believe, is allowed -- i didn't watch the whole thing tho so i couldn't give you a straight answer

ha, is that what skins is a reference too? i just thought it was a thing about being naked & what not

I've always thought it's about rizla.

Probably DOUBLE MEANING, wooo.

deep

this shit sucked.

who plays ws11?

also for those that don't know, they turned maxxie's character into a lesbian of course

This mainly just made me want to rewatch the original one. I notice they cut out all references to Cassie being anorexic for some reason, and she seems to be a potential serial killer now.

One Guardian writer's opinion, attempts to contrast portrayal of social class between UK/US versions, somewhat interesting: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/19/mtv-skins-us-remake-class

The "class discussion" element of the original series is being kind of over-magnified by the Graun there. There's basically the posh kids and everyone else and the treatment of the former doesn't extend much beyond "lol comedy poshos".

this is really, really terrible

http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/altreport/2011/01/mtvs-skins-considered-child-pornography-loses-advertisers.html

New UK series with new cast starting soon by the way, if anyone still cares in the slightest.

Waiting for the spoof about well behaved teenagers, called "Shirts"

The "class discussion" element of the original series is being kind of over-magnified by the Graun there. There's basically the posh kids and everyone else and the treatment of the former doesn't extend much beyond "lol comedy poshos".

― Matt DC, Wednesday, 19 January 2011

new uk one has potential no? a complete non-episode plot wise but the characters dont fill me with seething rage as they did last season

is the UK one back?

The ginger kid's called Aloysius, which is a winner. Frankie is thew girl from The Golden Compass; freaky. Who the fuck played her older dad?!

But yes Gukbe, first episode last night on E4.

http://sickmouthy.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/show-me-some-skins/

Pretty ropey I thought, I'd consider it good manners for a TV show with an all-new cast to actually introduce them properly rather than going straight into one person's angst. Needed a bit more ensemble action, camaraderie and laughs and less emo.

Rocker dude and his ginger sidekick have potential but it doesn't really have the feeling of being one big gang. Rugby dude is so wooden.

Also, do A-Level students really get thrown straight into PE on the first day at a new college?

do a-level students even do PE at all?

more pertinently, why am i clicking on a thread about a show i haven't seen in four years?

I think the PE scene was an excuse to show a roomfull of girls getting changed.

Was that John Sessions playing her dad? It's bugging the shit out of me.

I think there's potential here, but yeah, it's gonna take a few episodes to get to know them. Not having any bridge from last cohort to this cohort is a trouble; we had Effie and thingy last time.

They could have used Freddie's little sister I suppose, although that might have been a bit of a shadow over the story what with her brother having been pointlessly beaten to death the previous year.

I've blotted those last two episodes out of my mind. Total shark-jump-fest.

Needed a bit more ensemble action, camaraderie and laughs and less emo.

Rocker dude and his ginger sidekick have potential but it doesn't really have the feeling of being one big gang. Rugby dude is so wooden.

Saw it last night. Def more potential than last season (which was just dreadful, so it's not saying that much. Some parts didn't ring too true. I was never sure what was going on with the group of girls Frankie falls in with. They seem to be led by a bullying alpha-female type, yet the rest of their gang are pretty much nice-but-dim types who appear to be kind of dorky. I couldn't quite understand how their allegiance to Minnie worked.

Really looking forward to the Beavis and Butthead episodes. They seem like fun dudes.

OK so I've only just started watching this now from the beginning and I realize that it's probably way too late to start a discussion about the first series but a) I feel like I'm the only person who is extremely annoyed by Cassie and b) I just saw this

am i alone i thinking that the male school teacher looks like ilx poster jaymc? i think it is at this point i realize i look at ilx too much.

― acrobat, Wednesday, September 26, 2007 10:58 AM (3 years ago) Bookmark

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! In fact, I can't get over how much they look alike. It was freaking me out last night.

Ok I have watched all of series one in the last 2 days. It's sort of trashy and awful at times but other moments are amazing and I'm hooked. I love this fucking show.

And I don't hate Cassie anymore.

Series 2 is the best iirc

Watching the 1st ep now. I didn't expect to see Bill Bailey in this. lol.

Series 2 is indeed the best, although don't expect to go on not hating Cassie for long.

Second episode was a lot better I thought, there seems to be a lot less sex, drugs and cool people in this series and a lot more of the crippling social awkwardness of being a teenager.

Seems to be a bit short on dudes so far though, are there some cast members we haven't seen yet?

nice to see a program say look its not that you listen to metal its that youre a bellend ok

theres more guys in it but theyre at the periphery at the moment think the rugby boyfriend is a character and theres the mysterious guy who talked to frankie at the end of the first ep

I thought mysterious guy and rugby boyfriend were the same person, maybe I wasn't paying attention.

Saw the metal episode on catchup. best Skins in a very long time, and plenty of LOL moments. I've known people so precisely like the main character in my life, that it was scathingly close to real life. Love the idea of a record that is so metal it instantly makes you deaf.

Yeah, I really liked that ep, it stands out as one of the best ones for sure. Agreed about the LOLs and character accuracy. There are a couple dudes I know who were probably very much like this Rich dude when they were 16/17 (and to a degree still are now).

Apparently the deafness-inducing song is called Misplaced Abortion and was made by the same dude who did the show's intros.

I enjoyed the first episode actually. It seems like they're taking a more straightfoward tack, with more believable characters and less wacky shit. Frankie's coming out of her shell has the potential to be a very sweet plot thread.

I was never sure what was going on with the group of girls Frankie falls in with. They seem to be led by a bullying alpha-female type, yet the rest of their gang are pretty much nice-but-dim types who appear to be kind of dorky. I couldn't quite understand how their allegiance to Minnie worked.

Nah, made sense to me - they are old friends, the other two like Minnie but have grown up faster than her. They despair of her but indulge her sometimes. They never actually joined in the bullying aside from a bit of mild piss-taking.

Anyway, I'll probably watch the second episode this evening.

The first episode was a mess, in going immediately through Frankie's eyes they glossed over all the characters and yeah the relationship between the three girls just looked like these idiots running round doing stuff. Second one a lot better but really they should have gone for some kind of scene-setting episode first.

I dunno, I like the fact they're being introduced slowly to the audience and to each other. A first day at school is confusing, so it kind of mimics this. It means there's a certain amount of uncertainty among the characters, and this works since none of them are exactly social magnets (even Minnie seems to be kidding herself on this front).

But I did think the first episode was a bit messy and unparsable. I guess and hope it'll make more sense in context with this week's ep.

any thoughts on this week's episode?

As predicted, it shed a bit of light on the relationship with the girls' gang. Not a revelatory plotline though.

Saw some of the Skins kids walking through the corridor at work yesterday, whcih was quite amusing.

I was really worried that skins had jumped the shark when they announced the characters for this season. Youve got the androgynous one, the jock, the crazy bitch, the metal head etc. I'm really glad to be proved wrong, in season 3-4 you had very "normal" characters, less stereotypical and it sucked. Skins is really good at taking a common teenage stereotype and saying look these people aren't molded in some factory, they want to be something, try really hard to the extent it fucks up their own lives and relationships and when they get to where they want to be it wasn't worth the journey.

Good episode I thought, not exactly classic but it seems like its waiting to set up confrontations between characters after we get to know whats inside their heads rather than say having effie jump cook in episode one and then never explain why other than haha theyre both sociopaths or something.

The precocious child in this one is reading Infinite Jest!

I really really hate the way every younger brother/sister character in these shows has to be wise beyond their years

I didn't notice that Matt, glad you pointed it out.

First two episodes of this were fun, but these ones have just felt... I dunno, functional maybe? I don't feel as emotionally involved with the characters as I did in, say, series 1. I do like Grace and metal dude though - please don't let them break up, that would suck.

Wahey, that's what I think about it anyway...

Some good tunes on this one though - Charles B's Lack Of Love particularly

Was that the one playing in the club scene? Meant to find out what it was

I think so...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1CU14lP-ik

Also - what was that remix of Grinderman's "No Pussy Blues" at the end? Was that an in-house production?

Cool, thanks. Think there were a few remixes of "No Pussy Blues", couldn't tell you who it was by though

Aloysius = best Skins character ever.

missed it this week... catch up over the weekend.

It's great, closest in spirit to the first series.

SPOILER - at one point a cow gets blown up.

Not my favorite episode but Alo is a good good character and series is still quite good. Lacking something though, not sure what it is.

So, the series has ended. I don't dislike any of the characters, and several of them (Min and Nick) have clearly been on (short) journeys, but yeah, I've been pretty underwhelmed. Just no emotional connection. Even if the last cohort got screwed up by focusing on Effie / Freddie and the stupid murder, it still had JJ, Cook, Emily and Naomi, all of whom hit really big emotional peaks in certain episodes. I never felt even remotely close to tears this season.

The final scene sucked big time - "you're a beautiful headfuck" or whatever. I ended up watching this series after vowing not to in the wake of the ridiculousness of the last one and in comparison to that it was alright.

I enjoyed this season, aiming less for emotional intensity throughout was definitely the way to go. They just seem like an ordinary bunch of kids by and large and it's made it more entertaining.

argh why did they turn rich into nicholas hoult?

i loved this season - a bit underwhelming yeah but much, much prefer this to the non-stop wangst of the last crew. These guys are at least funny.

"My teacher asked us to describe something beautiful, and I said 9/11... I saw it happening on TV in the carehome when I was 6."

This was the biggest WTF moment of Skins ever TBH.

Started watching the Series 2 box set the other night. Cassie's slap on Sid is the best TV slap I've ever seen.

I should probably stop watching this. Getting a bit OTT even for Skins...

aw, i miss cook

WAAAAAAYYYYY too many advert breaks these days too. Last night's episode was pretty dull TBH.

just started on s1. (Library DVDs are scratched up, I suspect some fundamentalist New York lunatic.)

actors are p damn good, I can't imagine any US teen shows have matched it lately even w/ the slickness.

Shame to miss out on the original music

you mean they altered the sndtrk re rights?

"Totally Wired" was on the first ep.

Yeah, at least on the UK DVD I saw.

Cassie is in the next episode of the news series! I haven't watched beyond series 2 but I am so watching that.