Continuing my search through the land of Twitter, I have found that fans of Skins can follow the gang as they struggle through their day to day lives, just follow the links below:
OK I have tried… really I have! I tried, and I tried and I tried again, but no matter how hard I try, I still cannot get into the new Skins.
I wish I could, but for some reason, the producers of the show have taken what was once the best teen drama on UK television, and dumbed it down to the point where I suspect that even the teens who the show is intended for are switching off!
I miss Tony, Sid, Chelle, and even Amed. I miss the whole gang… why oh why did they have to go off and find lives out in Tellyland! Seriously did Amed have to go and make perhaps the greatest British film of the last 25 years? Why could they not have stayed and made Skins watchable still?
Sure Effy is still around… and looking mighty tasty (I will probably go to hell for saying that as I am probably 20 years older then her)… but the rest of these people PLEASE! They are the television equivalent of Spam, they look tasty but contain nothing you actually want to digest!
There is Pandora, the virgin who is so irritatingly stupid, that even if she found a ‘boy’ she probably would have to get a manual to discover what do do. Cook, who just a walking, talking knob joke which isn’t very funny. Freddie, who is as boring as an iceberg. Katie and Emily the twins, who were probably created by some mad scientist who wanted to create a cute and cuddly version of Jekyll and Hyde. And then there is JJ… a character so irritating that he makes me wish one of the gang would turn violent and rid the world of this magic boy!
In fact, of the whole gang, there is only one of them that I would want to spend any time with, Naomi, the lesbian, and she’s a bitch!
So please E4 can you arrange some sort of disaster down there in Bristol to wipe these people out, maybe a gang of Welsh terrorists or something. Then you can bring the old gang back for the funeral and get the show back on track!!!
When Skins first aired on E4 a couple of years ago, I knew teen telly had taken a turn for the better. It was fresh, entertaining, cutting-edge television, and it was the first series for a long time designed for the late-teen, 20-ish demographic that didn’t hold back in fear of corrupting our youth. Skins was essentially almost perfect television for the young and people like me who wishes they were still young and wants to keep in touch with the youth of today!
Then the news arrived that after series two the whole cast would be leaving for new lives, and in the process leaving our screens. No more Tony, Sid, Michelle, Cassie, Anwar, Jal or Max. And I for one was in shock!
Why would a successful series want to rip out it’s heart, and start over again?
To keep it fresh, and to allow the writers to take the series into a brave new world I assume, but it is still a decision that I think is a major gamble on the part of producers, who insist the change of cast was always part of the plan. It is also a decision that the producers are going to either celebrate or regret Thursday (22.1.2009) when series three of Skins finally arrives on our telly boxes, and reveals the new cast of characters to the world.
Admittedly this is a bit late, but I have been busy, and just got around to watching the last two episodes of this silly BBC3 action drama in the last few days.
If you have never seen Spooks Code 9, and a friend lends you the inevitable DVD release in the future (I don’t advise wasting your own money, let a friend buy it then borrow their copy) you might want to skip the first four episodes and just watch the last two. Don’t worry the story is pretty easy to figure out… it is a bit like Scooby Doo but without the dog, or the cool van, or the unmasking endings. Oh, and Daphne is now a blond with pumped up lips and Velma has dropped the glasses and well looks a bit sexier, but other then those changes it is just like Scooby Doo.
So as I was saying…
… If you borrow this series skip to the last two episodes. They were the best ones by far and episode five features Effy (Kaya Scodelario) from Skins, and Uday (Philip Arditti) from House of Saddam (who also appears in episode 6). The main story line regards some silly plot by a lone terrorist to blow up a bank for environmental reasons, but the interesting action, and really the only reason one can think of to watch this show, comes from the continuation of the investigation into Hannah’s death. A story line which has been running throughout the series.
We watched Charlie and big-lipped Rachel ran a covert operation to enter into the often mentioned but never seen Guantonomo Bay-like Camp Windmere (I know it sounds like the Cumbrian Lake, but the writers of this series really didn’t work that hard – at least it had windmills). The operation, part of Charlie’s investigation into Hannah’s ‘assassination’, was so Charlie could talk to the elusive Dr Malik, who they believe was framed for the London 2012 bomb. As you could imagine it all went smoothly, and in typical Code 9 fashion within five minutes they got the information “two bombs… two bombs!!) that they were looking for, and smoothly headed for the exit.
Meanwhile back at the bank, the Scooby gang successfully kept it from blowing up, and everyone went home happy as pie… except of course for Effy, who was dragged away to prison, and the eco-terrorist, who was shot dead!
One question did arise in my mind though watching this episode; do the Scooby kids have a teleportation machine? Maybe it is my imagination, but they do seem to move in and about England at a very rapid pace!
Anyhow, swiftly moving along that takes us to the last episode of the series, and if critics have their way, the last episode ever. (Personally I think that would be a bit harsh, because if the series was given a bit of TLC I think it could be fixed and made into a credible and entertaining show… sadly though I don’t work for the BBC, who may be happy to just continue as they were.) Arguably the best episode of the series, not only did we get some background information on the nuclear bomb that exploded in London in 2012 but we got to see the Scooby gang use several “Bond” like gadgets… technology in 2012 is going to great! Too bad about the radiation though…
Episode six (still available on the BBC iPlayer) also had a “Bond-style baddie” in the form of Yates, who not only was a MI5 mole, but also discusses her plans to irradiate London in such a long-winded rant that it gives the Scooby gang time to catch her.
The episode ended with a clever cliff-hanger. As the digital timer on the nuclear bomb ticked down to zero, the credits rolled, so we will never know if they stopped the bomb from exploding or not. My guess though it that if the critics have their way, then all involved with Spooks Code 9 were turned to dust, but if BBC3 needs some programming then the kids stopped the bomb and will be back for series 2.
Chris is gone, Tony and Michelle got their grades and are off to Uni in Cardiff and York, Max and Anwar are off to London, Jal is leaving some highbrow music academy, Cassie has fucked off to New York, and Sid is in NYC looking for Cassie… and so ends series two of the best teen show on the telly.
Series three is already in the planning stages, but the show will feature a new cast, though I do have a sneaky suspicion that Tony’s sister Effy may feature as a main character in series three. For Tony and company though, it is goodbye and good luck, and thanks for all the great TV moments!
The great thing about Skins is you are never quite sure where the show is going to lead you. This week it focused mainly on Cassie and Chris, who if you think about it are almost related. I mean they are both off with the fairies on the outside and living with demons on the inside. So it is only right that the show spends some time focusing on them together… and let me tell you in this episode they both went trippy.
Chris went some place I hope I don’t go for a long time, and Cassie went to New York, to find herself. I am not sure what she discovered, I guess we will have to wait until next week to hopefully find out… but if you want to know what I know about Cassie here it is in a nutshell!
My Guide to Cassie
For more on Cassie check out her profile on the Skins website.
What is it with teen dramas these days? They used to be crap when I was a teenager, now they are gritty, edgy and well pretty damn good!
dis/connected (don’t ask me why there are no capital letters in the title) was another pilot made for the teen to twenties demographic BBC3 channel. It was so good I will be shocked and outraged if they don’t make it into a full series. This is the type of show BBC3 needs to finally get people watching this ailing channel.
dis/connected, was originally planned to air a month or so ago, but the broadcast was delayed because of the string of teen suicides in Bridgend Wales. The show focused on the lives of a small group of ‘dis/connected’ teens in southeast London, who are brought together when a mutual friend commits suicide. Not exactly the happiest show I have ever seen, but the writing and the acting was top-notch stuff, and the cast of mostly unknowns was stellar… it did have a girl who appeared in the ‘Tony in Wonderland’ Skins episode as a minor character, and that girl who plays Violets sister on Corry as well.
Speaking of Skins, I am sure dis/connected will be compared to that wonderful show, but really I think they are only similar in that they deal with young people. dis/connected was far grittier, darker, and a whole lot more depressing then Skins, but given time, I am sure it can be as good and as popular as that show on E4.
If you missed dis/connected, I highly suggest you watch it either on April 6 @ 10pm when it is repeated or pop over to the BBC website and check it out on the iPlayer.
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