Skins series 2 in review

If you're a fan of "Skins," you probably noticed the lack of posts after the second season premiere. What happened was, I got several episodes behind, and would always get a few sentences into a multi-ep review post before I got sidetracked. Eventually, I decided to just wait until the season was over, especially since so many of the commenters were people who had seen the whole thing ahead of me. So, after the jump, some general thoughts on the final storylines for Tony, Sid, Chris and company...

I'd heard and read so many vague but ominous warnings about the direction of series 2 that my expectations were sufficiently lowered for me to enjoy most of it. But I can see where the complaints were coming from, as the show takes a turn into much more adult territory. That's not "adult" as in "adult content -- how much more adult could "Skins" get after the sexcapades of the first series? -- but as in the characters all started acting like adults. Parents either died, ran off, or proved themselves so oblivious that most of the kids had to grow up in a hurry and fend for themselves.

Between the abandonment issues, several tragedies (particularly the death of Chris) and the introduction of the very troubled Sketch (whose brief imprisonment of her ill mother saw the show veering into Stephen King territory), this was a much bleaker series than the first, with the carefree moments far less frequent and usually interrupted by another piece of bad news.

Now, there were times when all the misery felt like piling on -- the death of Sid's dad in particular triggered an "Oh, come on!" reaction -- but I thought it was all wonderfully played by the young ensemble. I thought Hannah Murray was especially great as this dark and bitter new incarnation of Cassie, and Joe Dempsie and Larissa Wilson made Chris and Jal's attempts to play house seem somehow fitting in this world.

But I'm glad that the producers chose to do two years and out with these characters, and to re-set with a new batch of kids a few years younger, using Tony's sister Effy as the bridge point. We all know how much trouble American teen dramas run into after the characters go off to college, and the change in tone and substance in "Skins" series 2 suggests that the writers were running out of material for this gang. Better to remember them as they were, for the most part, then to see them hang around past the point of being interesting.

What did everybody else think? And are you looking forward to the new Effy-centric incarnation of the show?

Skins, "Tony and Maxxie": Putting down his John Hancock

Spoilers for the start of "Skins" season two coming up just as soon as I dance with a dog...

Now what was that I was saying about the writers not really punishing Tony for all his sins of season one? Um... oops?

While the moment of Tony getting hit by the bus still makes me laugh thinking about it, the start of season two doesn't shy away from the implications of it. Though Tony doesn't have any obvious physical scars, no one would easily bounce back from an injury like that. Seeing Tony laid so low -- struggling to remember faces and names, cringing every time traffic gets too close, barely able to scrawl out his own name -- was such a shocking contrast to the Tony of season one that there wasn't even an opportunity for schadenfreude; I genuinely felt sorry for him.

As for Maxxie, this was a much more interesting showcase than the Russia trip. I'm not much of a dance fan, but Mitch Hewer has some moves; the sequence of Maxxie leaping around the roof of his apartment building was just beautiful to look at, and summed up nicely both the world Maxxie's trying to escape from and the one he's trying to escape to. In some ways, Maxxie seems to have taken up Tony's mantle as the fearless kid who can get away with anything he wants, while not being a bastard about it. The moment where he decided to scrap the morality lesson and just make out with the bully seemed very much the sort of thing Tony would do, and Maxxie in general carried himself with a grace that has as much to do with his confidence as with his dancing skills.

Since it seems the majority of people commenting have already seen the entire series, I'll remind you as usual not to talk about anything from upcoming episodes. I don't care how cleverly you feel you're hiding something; I'm going to delete any comment that so much as alludes to things down the road.

What did everybody else think?

Skins, series 1 finale: Look both ways before crossing

Spoilers for the first season finale of "Skins" (which will be immediately followed here next week by season two) coming up just as soon as I find my Best of Starship CD...

Pretty much since "Skins" began airing here in the States, people who had watched the entire British run have been warning me that it would go to some stupid places late in season one and definitely in season two. If Tony getting hit by the JJ Abrams special bus is a sign of things to come, I'm beginning to understand those warnings.

(And here is where I remind you, once again, to not post anything remotely specific about what's coming up in series two. For the most part, you've behaved on this subject, and I want it to stay that way. Any comment I find remotely questionable is getting deleted, regardless of what else is in said comment.)

Beyond being one of the more unintentionally funny TV cliches of late, Tony getting hit by the bus was a continuation of that bothersome trend of the last few episodes of trying to get us to feel bad for Tony in spite of him being a complete sociopath. It's supposed to be poignant that he's suddenly run over by a bus just as he's started to behave better, but beyond the unavoidable silliness of the bus thing, it just felt like the writers really, really want me to like Tony when they just need to acknowledge that he's a total bastard.

And yet, in spite of the writers' unwavering love of their hero, in spite of the bus, and the spring break trip to Russia, and all the warnings I've gotten about the second series, I'm going to stick with the show for moments like Cassie reading Sid's letter or Anwar's father surprising him (and us) by taking such an empathetic approach to the news of Maxxie being gay. (He was, by far, the most well-rounded adult we've met so far.) I never imagined I would get choked up watching a scene of anything that was scored to "We Built This City," and yet...

What did everybody else think?

Skins, "Effy": Love thy sister

Spoilers for the penultimate episode of "Skins" season one coming up just as soon as I sculpt my food...

One of the things that's really drawn me to "Skins" is its ability to create a mood through its visual style. Not a lot of TV producers have the time (or directorial talent) to do that properly, so they put most of the burden on the dialogue. But "Skins" always has one or two sequences per episode that are striking both for their beauty and for the way they put you completely in a character's head.

Here, it was the two party scenes, first at the warehouse, then at the sports clubs. The warehouse party is like magic -- kids with this huge space all to themselves, zipping around (or, in the case of Effy and her boyfriend, flying around) -- while the sports club rave appears to Tony to be a descent into Hell itself. Really effectively done on both points.

I'm not sure I feel, though, about Josh's revenge and Sid's reconciliation with Tony. Getting back to the question of how enamored the "Skins" writers are with Tony, we have an entire episode where he deservedly suffers for all the crap he's pulled on the people around him, but then Josh takes things so far (hurting Effy in the process) that Tony begins to look sympathetic again. You know, "Sure, Tony's a rascal, but he'd never stoop that low, right?" Sid being nice to Tony at a moment of family crisis speaks well of Sid, but the last 10 minutes or so of the episode felt like the show trying to take Tony off the hook for everything.

And that makes me uncomfortable, no matter how visually impressive the hour was or how good Nicholas Hoult is as Tony.

What did everybody else think?

Skins, "Michelle": Leave it to beaver

Quick spoilers for the latest episode of "Skins" coming up just as soon as I go watch a field hockey game...

"Michelle" was much more in the style of the series than the Russian field trip episode, though the events of that trip (Tony and Maxxie's failed hook up, Chris finally getting with Angie) reverbated here.

We're now deep enough into the series that it's getting harder and harder for anything to be as surprising as the first few character spotlights, but that's okay. I don't think I know anything more about Michelle than I did before, but it was still gratifying to see her stand up for herself, even in the face of Tony's latest manipulations.

And speaking of which, I'm gratified to see the producers allow Tony to be this much of a bastard. Frequently cheating on Michelle is one thing, but the cameraphone stunt was some twisted, unexpected stuff. Someone mentioned in the comments last week that the producers are a little overly enamored of Tony, but if that was the case, I can't imagine they'd allow him to look this bad.

Meanwhile, poor Sid. He finally realizes he likes Cass at the exact moment when Michelle throws herself at him, and of course Cass is both "dating" someone else and no longer giving her goodies away.

What did everybody else think?

Skins, "Maxxie & Anwar": From Russia with love

Spoilers for the latest episode of "Skins" coming up just as soon as I get some firewood...

What a bizarre episode. Sort of a college spring break movie on borscht: cold and bleak and silly and strange. Every episode of "Skins" is in some way showing the kids' skewed viewpoint of events, but this one -- which featured Chris finally seducing Angie, Anwar losing his virginity (three times or more!) to the wood-choppin' Russian babe, Maxxie pulling a shotgun on the abusive husband, Tony throwing himself unsuccessfully at Maxxie, etc. -- felt almost like it was every character's (save Sid's) fantasy of what this trip to post-Soviet industrialist Russia would be like.

The Anwar/Maxxie schism anchored the fantasy stuff to a point, and I appreciated Maxxie calling Anwar on his hypocrisy. (He's against homosexuality because his religion says so, but he's not against drinking or drug use or premarital sex, all of which the Koran is also not in favor of.) It did seem odd, though, that they had been close friends for so long without it ever coming up before. Maybe they never shared a room together in the past, but Anwar's had no problem going along to the Big Gay Night Out, or in any other way being best mates with Maxxie, and only now does he voice an objection? Seemed less a result of the living quarters than of this being the first episode of the series to focus on these two.

Still, I had fun even as my eyebrows kept raising. What did everybody else think?

Skins, "Sid": Dancing cheek to cheek

Quick spoilers for the latest episode of "Skins" coming up just as soon as I find a clean t-shirt...

Given that Sid has been one of my favorite characters to date -- and by far the character with the most combined screen time to date -- his spotlight episode was a disappointment. Or maybe it's because he had been featured so much that it was a disappointment. The Cass, Jal and Chris episodes were good because they were good, but also because they told us so much we didn't know or realize about each character. We've gotten so much Sid in the previous four episodes that I don't feel like I know him any better after last night than I did before.

I feel like I know Tony better, though, as he's gone from obnoxious user to complete bastard. And I feel like I know Michelle better, because if her self-esteem is so low that she'd take Tony back even after his latest stunt, there's no saving her anytime soon. (And Sid's a fool -- albeit a very typical teenage fool -- in thinking he would ever, ever have a shot with her.)

Not much else to say. Continued good performances from all the kids, particularly Hannah Murray as Cass, but this was the first episode of the show that felt predictable.

What did everybody else think?

Skins, "Chris": The naked gun

Spoilers for episode four of "Skins" coming up just as soon as I find a better place to store my Pop Tarts...

"Chris" was the first episode I watched live on BBC America instead of on a screener, and it was amusing for two reasons: 1)The title card explaining exactly why they're subtitling some of the dialogue, and 2)The previews for next week's episode, which continue to push the show as some kind of giddy sex romp, when it so clearly isn't.

Yes, Chris spends large chunks of this episode either naked or tumescent, and there's a wild party sequence, but it's a terribly sad episode. From the minute Chris wakes up to find the cash envelope from his mom, it's clear something isn't right, and as the party goes on, even Chris' friends can tell he's out of control. And the nudity, though played for laughs at first, turns into an easy symbol of how much Chris has lost. Older brother, dead. Dad, wants nothing to do with him. Mom, nuts and on walkabout. House, wrecked and taken over by a hippie squatter. Clothes, no doubt being worn by the hippie. And when he starts popping the Viagra again at the end, it's no longer a joke, but a sign that, even after all this loss, after his friends and Angie warning him that he has to change, he still can't resist popping those pills, even with no girl around to use them on.

(By the way, exactly how cheap and available is Viagra in the UK? Chris is popping them like candy, and the teacher who previously occupied that dorm room doesn't even think to take his supply with him, where I'd think any American guy who needed the stuff wouldn't dream of leaving them behind.)

We've been talking about how each episode is told (mostly; see the ongoing Tony/Michelle/Sid/Cassie comedy) from the main character's point of view, and that's why the adults are so often two-dimensional (or, in the case of Chris' biological parents, not seen at all), and I thought the sequence with Chris' stepmom really brought that home. Yes, she's British and therefore genetically required to be polite at all costs (or so pop culture has taught me), but when somebody drops your baby, I would think the maternal genetic programming would override the British stuff.

And that scene led to the episode's highlight: Chris at his brother's grave (which I didn't realize was Peter's, even as I figured Peter was dead) telling Jal about the best day of his life, which would qualify as most people's worst. But Chris so clearly loved his brother -- who, from what we can see here, was the only member of the family to give a toss about him -- that Peter's moment of kindness mattered far more to Chris than his public humiliation. Chris' life is still one of constant humiliation (and still often penis-related), and now he doesn't have his brother to bail him out. Really well-played by Joe Dempsie.

What did everybody else think?

Skins, "Jal": In the woodwinds

Spoilers for "Skins" episode three coming up just as soon as I get my sound system fixed...

Another strong episode, and one that again confirms that, despite the show's title and hype, it has far more on its mind than sex. Yes, Jal is uncomfortable with being a virgin and feels inferior to Michelle (even though, in the grand scheme of things, she has far more going for her than Michelle does), but she's far more preoccupied with kicking butt at the music competition, and with getting the respect and affection of her father. I'm in a hurry -- and I'm still not clear how many of you are watching for the first time versus revisiting the show to see how BBC America cut it -- so let's do this bullet point-style:

• "Jal" also continues the trend of making Sid the secondary character (I wonder how Sid's own episode will be structured), then has Jal's father apparently take care of his Mad Twatter problem once and for all. (It's at this point I want to remind you again to respect the American air order, and not discuss -- or even hint at -- plot developments from episodes that haven't aired here yet.)

• I love the moment in the hospital when Jal's brothers (and Don) are begging for Michelle to kiss them, because it suggests that for all their rapping bravado, they're just as inexperienced as Jal.

• Can someone who understands the British school system explain exactly what kind of "college" these kids are going to? Somebody tried to tell me a week or two ago that they're at the equivalent of a vocational school, but that doesn't seem to fit with either them taking psych classes or with the presence of Jal, who comes from far more money than somebody like Sid or Tony.

• Also, what's the deal with the principal talking about Jal's "handicap"? Is this supposed to suggest the woman's so clueless she doesn't even realize what student she's talking to, or am I missing something?

• I got a huge kick out of Claire the profane music teacher, though of course she'd be much funnier in the original, non-bleeped British version.

• Sid's theory of how he might actually have sex with Michelle (largely involving booze and mistaken identity) was profoundly sad and profoundly funny.

• Two of the three episodes so far end right before the central character is about to perform the action the entire hour has been building towards (Cassie eating something, Jal playing her clarinet), and even "Tony" ends with Sid acknowledging that he's still a virgin, even though the majority of the episode was devoted to Tony trying to change that. Interesting that a show so allegedly obsessed with sex keeps designing its episodes to eliminate gratification.

What did everybody else think?

Skins, "Tony" & "Cassie": Horny guy, hungry girl

Spoilers for the first two episodes of "Skins" coming up just as soon as I play with my food...

As I discussed in my column on Friday, I'm really glad I got to see more than the first episode of "Skins," and that BBC America was wise enough to show these two back to back.

By itself, "Tony" suggests a kind of show I'm not sure I would have much patience for, in an old man, "Get off my lawn, ya punks!" sort of way, that it's just going to be another tale of kids gone wild and the adults too clueless to understand or control them. Even though "Cassie" opens up with the kids waking up after a night of unsupervised hedonism, it quickly makes clear that the show doesn't have one specific worldview, or one specific style. The surreal qualities of "Cassie" provide a stark and intriguing contrast to the sniggering farce of sexual manners of "Tony," and made me look back on the first episode in a new light.

Outside of occasional interludes like the guys in the locker room with a naked Angie, "Cassie" is told so clearly from the point of view of its title character that it made me re-examine "Tony" and realize that this must be what life looks like through his eyes. He's young, he's handsome, he's clever and talented and can talk his way out of trouble, and he's got a hot girlfriend whose self-esteem is low enough that he can treat her shabbily (calling her "Nips" over her repeated protests, for instance) and she won't mind. Why wouldn't he view life as a never-ending party? Why wouldn't he assume that every woman, of every age, wants him?

"Cassie," meanwhile, unfolds with the logic of a dream. We don't know what's happened, how Cassie found herself in this place, or, initially, what that gooey substance dripping off her hands is. As often happens on this show, it seems, we're supposed to think of sex first when the real answer is something stranger or more innocent, like a massive food fight. It isn't clear at first that Cassie is hallucinating all those "EAT!" messages, but there comes a point where you begin to question the reality of anything happening here. Is Alan the cab driver even real? If so, is he really so sweet and innocent in his affection for Cassie, or is he a dirty old man and she's too hungry and tired to notice? Are her parents really the oblivious but well-meaning nymphomaniacs we see, or has Cassie chosen to view them entirely through that lens? Does she even really take a bite of that pub burger at the end?

Once I got past the point of view issue, I really grew to like the show's narrative and visual style, and the performances by most of these young actors. (One of the reasons Tony irritates me so much is because Nicholas Hoult is really good at playing that type of boy.) There's a playfulness to it that undercuts all the OMFG/end-times nature of the trouble the kids get into, like the way everybody's busy watching Anwar fail to pee when the car starts rolling into the harbor, or the way the one black student (is he Jal's brother?) shifts back into a proper British accent when none of the kids can decipher his hip-hop patois.

Some people who have seen the entirety of the series claims it falls off in quality after the first few episodes, or after the first season. (BBC America is going to show both seasons consecutively over the next few months.) I don't know -- and, as I did with "Doctor Who," I'm going to ask that nobody discuss or even allude to any plot details from episodes that have yet to air in America, or I'll delete those comments and get very cross -- but I'm intrigued to find out.

Some other thoughts on these two episodes:

� Like I said in the review, the stuff with Mad(ison) Twatter worked largely because the character is so strange and so funny. I sure didn't expect to see him at Cassie's support group, but the guy's so skinny that it makes sense.

� Cassie's demonstration to Sid of how she keeps her parents from noticing that she doesn't eat was both brilliant and terrifying. I feel like I'm going to spend the next 15 years of my daughter's life with my eyes glued to her plate at the dining room table.

� Other than the bleeping and some of the pixellation in scenes like Angie in the locker room, the most obvious difference between the British telecasts and the BBC America versions is that they slap on the subtitles whenever someone's accent gets especially thick. I first remember encountering that technique when I was in college reviewing a British indie film called "Riff-Raff" (with a young Robert Carlyle), and the entire movie had to be subtitled, because even though it was all in English, the distributor feared (in that case, quite rightly) that nobody would understand the dialogue otherwise. I do like how the subtitles here aren't confined to the minority or working-class characters, but that they pop up whenever Tony's around the rich girl from the other school.

� One thing I didn't pay attention to when I watched the original cut of "Tony": the music. Was BBC America able to use the original soundtrack, or did they have to swap out a lot of the tracks?

� It's a good thing Chris has no idea what "Dawson's Creek" is, or else he'd be embarrassed to realize that his crush on Angie is uncomfortably close to the story where Pacey slept with the hot teacher. (But the story works beause, as with Mad, Angie is written almost entirely for laughs.)

� Given my love of "Freaks and Geeks," "Undeclared," Brian Krakow, et al, it should be no surprise that I really enjoyed all the stuff with Sid, and am looking forward to his spotlight episode.

What did everybody else think?

andreikirilenkotattoo on TV: 'Skins' review

Today's column reviews BBC America's new teen drama "Skins":

"Skins," the British teen drama that storms our shores on Sunday night at 9 on BBC America, starts off seeming determined to make "Gossip Girl" and its "Every parents' worst nightmare" billboards seem positively quaint. Compared with the amount of sex, booze and drugs - in both talk and deed - in the "Skins" pilot, "Gossip Girl" is a Parents Television Council gold star winner.

But then "Skins" takes a very interesting left turn in its later episodes. It doesn't go all prudish - because, let's be frank, most teenagers of every generation spend a whole lot of time thinking about, talking about and finding ways to do things kids their age aren't supposed to - but it finds ways to tell other truths about its characters besides who they're trying to shag.

To read the full thing, click here. The show grew on me over the course of the three episodes I watched, so I imagine I'll work it into the blog rotation for the time being, starting Sunday night.