Skins, Vol. 2
by Simon Massey, Adam Smith
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DVD details
Actor: Joseph Dempsie, Mike Bailey, Mitch Hewer, Nicholas HoultDirector: Adam Smith, Simon Massey
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Stereo; English (Original Language), Stereo
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 460 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-04-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Product features:
- It's been six months since Tony's collision with a bus - remarkably, he isn't dead, but he sure isn't the same person. Sid can't get his head around the fact that his best mate is a shadow of the man he's always looked up to. And to top it off he finally got the girl, Cassie, only to have her whisked off to Scotland. Sod's law! Michelle is lost without Tony, too. Maxxie's got hell at home because
DVD Reviews of Skins, Vol. 2
DVD Review: More balanced than the first season, still quite good
Summary: 4 Stars
The American edit of Skins: Volume 1 left off a rather sublime ending of Sid singing "Wild World" by Cat Stevens as the gang finishes out their night's activities. The ending takes on a decidedly different, cheerier feeling but was it more appropriate than the US version? After a crazy night of debauchery, there were friendships broken, lives imperiled and so forth - but most importantly Tony has been hit by a bus. Walking around singing a Cat Stevens song is interesting, though a bit corny, and doesn't quite end on the melancholy note required for a proper transition into Skins: Volume 2. Considering the events of Skins: Volume 2 the upbeat UK ending seems even more deceptive and inappropriate; maybe that was the series' creators' attempts at Shakespearian levity between bouts of tragedy or maybe it was genuinely a moment of corny weakness - whatever the case, the lighthearted cheer of Skins: Volume 1 takes a backseat for a more drama-packed second installment.
Where the first season felt uneven in its coverage of the characters beyond Tony, Michelle, Sid and Cassie, the second season shifts its focus between two separate and almost entirely divergent storylines.
On one hand we have the evolving love square of Tony (Nicholas Hoult), Michelle (April Pearson), Sid (Mike Bailey) and Cassie (Hannah Murray) complicated even further by Tony's new mental status. As Sid and Michelle deal with their puppy-love inspired guilt, Tony skulks about in the background attempting to recover his mental capacities; meanwhile Cassie becomes a devious heart breaker with little shame. No one involved can claim to be happy, but then again it's Skins, being happy has little to do with life or romance.
The biggest emergence (and improvement) to the second volume of Skins is the storyline of Chris (Joseph Dempsie) and Jal (Larissa Wilson). Living on his own, Chris struggles with a plethora of issues: abandonment, questioning his self-worth and motivation. With his touchstone of stability out of his life, Chris has come detached from any and all semblance of responsibility. Jal steps in and extends the shine of her stability over yet another soul. The quality that had so many people walking all over her now opens her up to the most meaningful relationship she's ever had. The Chris and Jal relationship brings a breath of fresh air to Skins. Having to watch the wringing of garments that was the Tony/Sid/Michelle/Cassie show had run its course halfway through the first season - this unexpected relationship opens up and changes the show for the better.
In Skins, some things change and some don't. While Chris and Jal got taken into the limelight, Anwar (Dev Patel) and Maxxie (Mitch Hewer) stayed consistently in the background. Even with the odd Maxxie-stalker plotline, the dynamic goofy duo never really rises above the depth of coverage they received in the first season. Frankly, that's not such a bad thing. These two were interesting to a point but never developed to a point that necessitated their presence in the series. Oddly, the most interesting addition to the Maxxie and Anwar storyline was the presence of comedian Bill Bailey as the blue-collar and disproving father of Maxxie.
Initially Skins: Volume 2 seems like it's going to follow the formulaic route it established in the original series, but the arc of Chris and Jal saves the series. Without their characters it would have been almost unbearably similar to the first - again, narrowly avoided. Of course, were it not for the genuine likeability of the Chris character and the incessantly patient Jal the end of Skins: Volume 2 wouldn't feel half as fulfilling as it does. After two seasons of seeing these characters flail about in their circumstances, the closure they get, as bittersweet as it is, satisfies; even if the satisfaction is wrapped in emotional barbed wire.
DVD Extra Features:
There's a hefty heaping of little extra featurettes on the final disc of Skins: Volume 2. First off we have "Christmas with Skins", a "Night Before Christmas" parody following Chris and Anwar who have a decidedly disappointing Christmas with an over-the-top cheesy ending. "Musical Auditions" is a slightly humorous sketch piece of numerous comical personalities trying out for the college musical. It's never quite as funny as it wants to be - like Carlos Mencia. "Tony's Nightmare", an interestingly tortured piece, has a Tony and Sid moment that's decidedly odd. Tony attempts to put together a puzzle of himself (such a clever metaphor) as Sid delivers foreboding lines of a remarkably unfriendly nature. The piece titled "Cassandra" keeps up with the odd nature of Cassie's character in the second volume of Skins. There are a few other features, and overall they're only for the true fans of the show. If you're watching Skins: Volume 2 to waste time the extra features will be more involved than you want to get.
Skins: Volume 2 avoided the gaping maw of a trap that, by all accounts, it should have fallen in to. Following the Tony, Sid, Michelle and Cassie love triangle to a point where the audience couldn't care less would have been easy; instead they gradually retired that plot in favor of a deeper exploration of characters that deserved it after a season of supporting roles. Skins: Volume 2 feels different from the first in all the ways required for a series to survive and stay fresh - it dialed back the sheer chaos and debauchery in favor of a more mature course of drama.
Description of Skins, Vol. 2
Volume 2 of the Brit-teen cult favorite is finally here, and there's a lot of drama in store as the Skins gang takes a turn for the worst. Our old crew is back with a vengeance as they desperately try to figure out their place in the world, but all while having a spectacularly explosive time. After all, it's not considered living without drugs, stalkers, deep dark secrets, contorted romantic entanglements, and, oh yes, school.British drama Skins remains leagues above U.S. teen shows like Gossip Girl and the revised 90210 in quality, emotional impact, and fun. Teen dramas don?t generally get a lot of acclaim from critics (and usually they don?t deserve any) but the surprisingly great Skins returns for Volume 2 with a whole lot more sex, drugs and angsty confusion, neatly conveyed via sharply written dialogue, spot-on performances and absorbing plotlines. The show has gotten a lot of press for the racier scenes and questionable (mostly bad) choices made by the teens, but there?s a tender and sweet side to these characters. It?s impossible not to empathize when party-boy Chris faces parental abandonment with no explanation; or Sid?s heart breaks over Cassie?s departure and their mutual difficulty in successfully pursing a long-distance relationship at 16. In general, Cassie remains in a state of complete disaster, fighting an eating disorder, loneliness and mostly, not fitting in wherever she is. After Volume 1?s shocking ending where Tony (About a Boy & A Single Man?s Nicholas Hoult) gets abruptly hit by a bus, his character has the most compelling journey in Volume 2, as he works to rebuild not only his physical strength, but all those relationships his arrogance and selfishness destroyed in Volume 1. Whether it?s because they?re all just trying to make their way in a world that?s not very accommodating or because everyone can relate to being young and miserable, Skins is mostly about finding joy in those in-between moments with your friends, and remains relatable well beyond adolescence. Skins continued on BBC America after the final episode featured here, but with a new set of teens, led by Effie, the mostly mute younger sister of Tony. It?s an exciting and interesting concept, but also really sad to say goodbye to this specific cast after these two compelling seasons. --Kira Canny
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