Skins (TV series)
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| Skins | |
|---|---|
| Image:SkinsC4 450x562.jpg Main cast of Skins | |
| Genre | Dramedy |
| Created by | Jamie Brittain Bryan Elsley[1] |
| Starring | Mike Bailey Joseph Dempsie Mitch Hewer Nicholas Hoult Hannah Murray Dev Patel April Pearson Larissa Wilson[1] |
| Theme music composer | Fat Segal |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 9 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Bryan Elsley George Faber Charles Pattinson[1] |
| Producer(s) | Chris Clough[1] |
| Location(s) | Bristol |
| Running time | 45 minutes approximately, 60 minutes with adverts |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | E4 |
| Picture format | PAL (576i) |
| Audio format | Surround sound |
| Original run | 25 January 2007 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Skins is a British teen drama from Company Pictures which premiered on E4 on 25 January 2007. Skins is one of the first programmes at the forefront of the network Channel 4 who aim to start showing more British content on their channels. A second series of ten episodes has been commissioned[2] which is due to start showing in February 2008[3].
The writing team includes the Dawson brothers, Steve, Andrew and Tim (Balls of Steel, Dirty Tricks), Jack Thorne (Shameless) and Josie Long.[4] They also have guest writers for certain episodes, such as Simon Amstell (Popworld, Never Mind The Buzzcocks). Skins is filmed in Bristol; the school scenes are all filmed at John Cabot Academy. It was shot entirely in High Definition though is currently only being broadcast in Standard Definition.
The first series of Skins has now come to an end but Channel 4 showed a rerun of the first series which started 21 August, 2007.[5] The complete first series became available on DVD from 24 September 2007[6], however much of the popular music used in the original broadcasts is not found in the DVD episodes. The original music is available in the series soundtrack.[7]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Skins revolves around the lives of a group of 16-18-year-old friends who live in Bristol. The Dawson Brothers claim the series represents the everyday lives of adolescents. The group includes a popular boy, his girlfriend, a Muslim boy, a gay character, a girl with eating disorder, a boy who is desperate to lose his virginity, an intelligent and privileged girl with family problems, and a party animal in love with his teacher. These characters attend a sixth form college in Bristol. Each installment has a self-contained theme focusing on each different character respectively, but there are several story arcs that span different episodes.
[edit] Episodes
In the first series, Skins episodes followed the pattern of being named after central characters, whom the episode primarily focused on. Accompanying the episode title at the beginning of each episode is a short few second montage of that episode's central character. Episode one, "Tony" is more of an ensemble piece, introducing the characters, format, and themes. Subsequent episodes "Cassie", "Jal", "Chris", "Sid" and "Michelle" focus on specific characters, and "Maxxie and Anwar" was a shared episode between characters whose stories were interlinked. Episode eight "Effy" also focuses less on its namesake, and more on the central characters' search for her. The series finale is an ensemble piece like the pilot and make no reference to the title for the episode.
A special one-off short episode of Skins ("Skins Secret Party Special") was filmed on the 2 August 2007 and was aired nightly on MySpace in late August. The episode fictionally charts the build up to and the events at the Skins "Secret Party".
Channel 4 have confirmed that skins series 2 will be aired in the early new year on E4.[3][8]. The first episode will be all about Maxxie and will feature comedian Bill Bailey playing his father.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main characters
- Nicholas Hoult as Tony Stonem
- Mike Bailey as Sid Jenkins
- April Pearson as Michelle Richardson
- Hannah Murray as Cassie
- Joseph Dempsie as Chris Miles
- Mitch Hewer as Maxxie
- Larissa Wilson as Jal Fazer
- Dev Patel as Anwar Kharral
[edit] Supporting characters
- Siwan Morris as Angie
- Georgina Moffat as Abigail Stock
- Kaya Scodelario as Effy Stonem
- Daniel Kaluuya as Kenneth
[edit] Special guests
In addition to the regular cast, there have been a number of guest appearances in almost every episode:
[edit] Series 1
|
"Episode 1"
"Episode 2"
"Episode 3"
|
"Episode 4"
"Episode 5"
"Episode 6"
|
"Episode 7"
"Episode 8"
"Episode 9"
|
[edit] Series 2
|
Skins will return to E4 in February 2008 for a second series[9]. The series will again feature adult guest stars, including Bill Bailey as Maxxie's Dad and Shane Richie as a college lecturer. |
[edit] Online presence
[edit] Unseen Skins
Accompanying each episode of the program was an online mini-episode, released after first broadcast. The storyline of this mini-episode interweaves with the main episode and shows parts of the story that may not have been elaborated upon before. The mini-episodes for the final two episodes have not been released online and are only available on the series' DVD.[10]
- Episode 1 - "I Mostly Do" - Cassie is released from the hospital and meets Michelle who has a favour to ask
- Episode 2 - "Careers Advice" - The main characters get careers advice
- Episode 3 - "Shoot 'Em Up Bang Bang Props To The Hood" - Jal's brothers try to get onto the radio with the help of a new unexpected friend
- Episode 4 - "A Friend In Need" - The group try to get Chris some clothes after he turns up naked to school
- Episode 5 - "Careers Advice II" - It's Anwar, Tony and Michelle's turn to hear some careers advice, but this time the advisor seems to have given up
- Episode 6 - "To Russia with Love..." - The boys see a porn star and Chris needs some money
- Episode 7 - "The Cat & The Duck" - Michelle and Jal drink away their problems in a pub and liken friends to inanimate objects
- Episode 8 - "Pop" - Effy tells a story about a girl who became dependent on lemonade.
- Episode 9 - "Bye" - Cassie and her friend from the therapy centre discuss all the things she will miss, including Sid.
[edit] Secret Party
E4 launched a "Secret Party" and invited fans to get involved. This was the second time the show has offered UGC competitions to encourage the involvement of creative and talented fans. The competitions involved the chance to design a projection for the party, to interview the cast or to take official photographs at the event. A competition was also launched on MySpace to win tickets for the event, that would give fans a chance to be spotted by members of the casting team who would be on the lookout for extras at the event.
[edit] The Lost Weeks
During January 2008, E4 began publishing webisodes to bridge the gap between Series 1 and 2. The few minute episodes are designed to show various developments of the characters in order to enhance the understanding of the events that have taken place between the first two series. As of 4th January 2008, 3 editions have been published on the website.
- Episode 1 - The Skins main characters, excluding Tony, celebrate Christmas.
- Episode 2 - Effy films herself in Tony's room, reminiscing about the accident.
- Episode 3 - Michelle dresses herself in a funeral outfit, while gazing upon a picture of Tony.
[edit] Cultural influence
During the 2007 Easter holiday a girl in County Durham threw a house party; it was advertised on her Myspace as an Unofficial Skins party, referring to the party in the first episode, with the subtitle "Let's trash the average family-sized house disco party". 200 people turned up, causing over £20,000 of seemingly deliberate damage and breaking into the house. She alleges that her account was hacked and someone else placed the ad.
Due to the 'Secret' Skins Party the programme has given rise to the term a 'skins' party, referring to a debauched night of heavy drinking and light drug usage. [11]
[edit] Criticism
Critics have complained that the series depicts an unrealistic and stereotypical portrayal of teenagers[12] and that it indulges a "teenage fantasy world" portrayed as being close to realistic. It has also been criticised for excessive promoting of the show using new media and many TV trailers, whilst other critics criticised the writing as poor in comparison to other similarly themed series.[13]
Comedian and writer Stewart Lee has remarked that he feels lucky for having been a teenager watching TV for teenagers in the 1970s and not the 2000s as he believes that, "there was something really comforting for nerds and weirdos about programmes like Children of the Stones and The Changes," and that such programmes, "made you feel less alone," whereas he says of Skins that it would make him feel more alone.[14]
[edit] International
Skins is also broadcast in Australia on SBS, Brazil on HBO-PLUS, Belgium on Jim TV, Sweden on Kanal 5, France on Canal+ and Virgin 17, Canada on Super Channel, Latin America on HBO, New Zealand on C4, Israel on yes stars 2,in Slovenia on Kanal A and in Italy on MTV Italia.
[edit] DVD releases
| The Complete First Series | |||||
| Set Details | Special Features | ||||
|
| ||||
| Release Date | |||||
| Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom | 24 September 2007 | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d http://www.companypictures.co.uk/production.aspx?code=skins
- ^ Channel 4 confirms more 'Skins', Digital Spy
- ^ a b Skins Special Episode
- ^ 'About A Boy' star for new teen TV series, Digital Spy
- ^ http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2029596,00.html
- ^ Skins DVD Release, play.com. URL last accessed 2007-03-17.
- ^ Skins CD Release, play.com. URL last accessed 2007-03-17.
- ^ MySpace
- ^ Skins series 2
- ^ "Channel 4 Forums - Unseen Skins News", 2007-03-22. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ http://www.sunderland-echo.co.uk/news?ArticleID=2701454
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv_and_radio/story/0,,1998933,00.html
- ^ http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/organgrinder/2007/01/first_night_skins_on_e4.html
- ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=XWcpkNbIJZg
[edit] External links
- Skins at the Internet Movie Database
- Skins Page also has entry details for User Generated Content Competitions
- Skins at Channel4.com
- Company Pictures
- Get ready for a skin full from Canvas Magazine
- Official Skins mySpace
- Official Skins Bebo Page
| Skins | ||
| General | Episode list • Unseen Skins episodes | |
| Characters | Tony Stonem • Sid Jenkins • Cassie • Jal Fazer • Chris Miles Maxxie • Anwar Kharral • Michelle Richardson • Effy Stonem • Abigail Stock | |
es:Skins fr:Skins (série télévisée) pl:Skins (serial telewizyjny) ru:Skins (ТВ сериал)
