Skins, Vol. 1
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DVD details
Actor: April Pearson, Hannah Murray, Mike Bailey, Nicholas HoultBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 425 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-01-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Product features:
- Skins. A brand new British drama follows a group of raucous teenagers who get high, get drunk, get laid and get up for their A levels. They really grab life by the balls and give it a twirl. Tony (Nicholas Hoult, About a Boy) is the best looking boy in town. His sidekick Sid is less successful with the ladies, much less until bonkers anorexic case Cassie turns up. But Sid's in love with Michelle,
DVD Reviews of Skins, Vol. 1
DVD Review: Kicks the hiney of all US sexy-teen programming
Summary: 4 Stars
The teen sex-craze television programming phenomenon has existed and thrived for the last 20 years. In its heyday the genre had titles like 90210, Melrose Place, Dawson's Creek and Party of Five. Its library has since evolved into a more exploitative monster, one content with infusing teen culture with more sexual tension than it knows what to do with. The OC, The Hills and Gossip Girl have made sexual explicitness their calling card and leave little room for competition unwilling to push the envelope quite as far themselves - so what possibility for competition exists?
Portraying sexuality in a way that more closely mirrors what exists within the culture.
BBC America's Skins, while still a work of fiction, possesses an entirely different view on teenaged sexuality based on one simple criterion: it's not American based - it's British. While I dislike making the distinction between quality of features purely based on regional origin, when it comes to teen dramas involving sexuality it's hard not to. The European take on sexuality is wholly different from the American stage wherein it's a taboo subject matter that must be embraced with a very sterile and exploitative fashion. When sexuality is allowed to run rampant on American TV screens it's a very manipulative process with no intention beyond ratings grabbing. Skins has sexuality written into its very title and from the pilot episode's outset there's no mistaking that sex is on the mind of the main characters in this very lean and character driven television series.
Once you get past the sex - and believe me, it's such a large part of the show that it takes a few episodes - you find yourself embroiled in the lives of 8 very distinct characters each with their own set of insecurities and neuroses.
Tony (Nicholas Hoult) - the ladies man of teenaged men everywhere but with a borderline sociopathic twinge. Content with his "chaos is everywhere" philosophy, Tony masterminds the mayhem that usually takes him and Sid into areas few would be comfortable with. While Tony starts at the middle of everything, by the end of the series it becomes quite clear just how far outside himself he really is.
Sid (Mike Bailey) - the definition of teen insecurity, a boy unable to voice his own wants and desires while at the same time incapable of believing he deserves those things. While initially the sidekick to Tony, Sid seems to get the most attention in the series and ends up the protagonist that everyone else comes to rely on.
Michelle (April Pearson) - Tony's girlfriend of seemingly endless patience - until about halfway through the first season. If Sid is incapable of believing he deserves the things he wants, Michelle is incapable of realizing she deserves better than what she settles for. Struggling to find an identity between herself and her relationship with Tony, Michelle, along with Sid, proves to be the second true protagonist of Skins.
Chris (Joseph Dempsie) - the experimental, pill-popping, always ready for a party individual quietly masking all the messed up drama in his life. Chris supplies Skins' more obvious comic relief and has some of the most interesting storylines to boot. Honestly, this kid reminds me of Ricky Gervais - I'm not quite sure why though.
Jal (Larissa Wilson) - probably the sanest character in Skins. Despite a tricky home life, Jal proves to be the grounded character forcing those around her to see reason where they would otherwise indulge in teenage whimsy. In a series seemingly devoid of responsible adults, Jal fills in and gives those around her something to emulate.
Cassie (Hannah Murray) - one of the most interesting characters in the show is also the one they tell us the least about. Cassie is introduced with the hushed air of someone who's suffered a variety of hardships that no one wants to talk about. While her eating disorder issues become apparent, he very nymph-like personality and waif appearance instantly endear her to the audience and key characters.
Anwar (Dev Patel) - a self-professed hypocritical Muslim attempting to balance the expectations of his religion against the behaviors and hobbies of his social circles. How does one fully engage the sexual and chemical culture of young Britain without sacrificing one's moral convictions? Anwar struggles with that on a daily basis.
Maxxie (Mitch Hewer) - along with Anwar, Maxxie's relegated to the sidelines most of the time although his struggles with his homosexuality and societal and peer judgment get their fair share of screen time.
While the first season of Skins has many possible plotlines to follow the basic concept behind the show follows the love triangle/square of Tony, Michelle, Sid and Cassie. While Sid's feelings go unexpressed for Tony's girlfriend Michelle, Cassie attempts to bring Sid's attention to her. Meanwhile, in a series of experiments and stunts Tony toys with his relationship with Michelle for a variety of perverse private reasons.
In terms of the supporting cast, Chris finds himself an unexpected orphan all the while pursuing a relationship one of his teachers. Jal finds herself slipping through the cracks as everyone who should care about her seems to be content looking the other way allowing her accomplishments to go unnoticed. Finally, Anwar and Maxxie find their longtime friendship and camaraderie threatened by Anwar's religious beliefs.
With plotlines as twisted as most American teen dramas, Skins comes out on top thanks to a factor that rings true with each and every episode: it doesn't feel forced. As much as Gossip Girl or The Hills would try to present themselves as a fictional spin on reality - it's a reality that no American youth experiences on a daily basis. Skins on the other hand remands itself into the hands of a more limited reality - choosing to spin drama not from outrageous situations but more from the daily underpinnings of drama common to the life of any teenager. Parental divorce. Drug and alcohol use. Romantic entanglements. Envy. Neglect.
Skins reflects BBC America's tendency for choosing above-par programming (in this case Skins originally aired on Brit channel E4. For your average American viewer I'd categorize this as a sexed up Nickelodeon meets Gossip Girl. While I'd hesitate to recommend it to anyone under 13 (for content issues) I'd be hard-pressed to say anyone over 18 or 19 would be quite so taken with it. But for those within the 5-6 year window, Skins represents a terrific sampling of British television.
DVD Extra Features:
Video Diaries:
The majority of the Skins cast participates in this DVD extra feature. Each of the cast members records a special message to complement the main season programming. While very typical in nature, some of the performances reallllly stand out. Kaya Scodelario (Tony's sister, Effy) takes a few minutes to burn a wax effigy with oddly disturbing soundtracks playing in the background. The Maxxie installment is equally disturbing but for entirely different reasons - those being his adaptation of a helium-voice as he dances around lip-syncing a chipmunk song.
Ancillary Storylines:
Translating loosely as "deleted scenes", the ancillary storylines offer small pieces of comedy that just didn't quite fit into the episodes they corresponded to. Sometimes this is because it's too long and other times because they're somewhat irrelevant. In any case, some of these little bits have brilliant moments while a few just don't really go anywhere. To demonstrate this, I've decided to list a few quotes from the more memorable bits:
"I Mostly Do" - "You've just made us the most high-profile fugitives ever"
"Careers Office" - "Where it says describe your ideal career, you've just drawn a picture of a snail...?" "Yeah."
"Shoot `Em Up" - Nothing to quote here really, but not for a lack of quoatable nature, but because I couldn't really understand what was being said 100% of the time. Reminds me of that scene in airplane where the nun says "Ma'am, I speak Jive"
"Careers Office: Part 2" - "Brown man can't be a ninja huh?"
"To Russia With Love" - "Having sex with porn stars doesn't count"
Skins: Season 1 will be available January 13, 2009 so get out there and pick up the first season of this rather remarkable television series - it's available, so buy it now!
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