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Skins (TV series)
Genre	Teen drama
Created by	Jamie Brittain Bryan Elsley
Starring	Kaya Scodelario Lisa Backwell Jack O'Connell Luke Pasqualino Ollie Barbieri Lily Loveless Kathryn Prescott Megan Prescott Merveille Lukeba Previous cast
Theme music composer	Fat Segal
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	29 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Bryan Elsley George Faber [1]
Producer(s)	Chris Clough
Location(s)	Bristol
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	approx. 47 minutes
Production company(s)	Company Pictures
Broadcast
Original channel	E4
Picture format	HDTV 720p
Audio format	Surround
Original run	January 25, 2007 (2007-01-25) – present
External links
Official website
Production website

Skins is a BAFTA-winning teen drama that follows a group of teenagers from Bristol, England as they grow up. Now in its third series, the show was created by father and son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures,^[1] and premiered on E4 on 25 January 2007.

Contents 1 Characters 1.1 First generation 1.2 Second generation 2 Plot 2.1 Series 1 2.2 Series 2 2.3 Series 3 3 Production 3.1 Casting 3.2 Location 3.3 Technical 4 Online presence 4.1 Unseen Skins 4.2 Secret Party 4.3 The Lost Weeks 4.4 Christmas Special 4.5 Skinscast 5 Reception 5.1 Awards 5.2 Ratings 6 Cultural influence 7 DVD releases 7.1 Music replacement 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Characters

Open auditions for the second generation of cast members were held in Bristol (where the show is set), which attracted 1,500 16 to 18 year-olds, followed by a further 2 days of auditions in London.

After the end of Series 2, the creators of the show announced that there would be an entire new cast for Series 3 except for Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario) and Pandora Moon (Lisa Backwell). They further announced that after every two Series, there would be an entire cast change introducing a whole new group of youngsters. However, the creators also said there will be connections to the previous Series whenever there is a cast change.

[edit] First generation

Tony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult) is an attractive, intelligent, popular boy, whose manipulative ways go unnoticed by many. He is well cultured and knowledgeable. Often Tony's intentions can be guessed from the books he reads (e.g. his desire to 'get off' with Maxxie in Russia comes from the book he is reading). He enjoys manipulating his friends claiming that with him life isn't dull. However it pushes his relationships with both Sid and Michelle. He has a special relationship with his younger sister, Effy, whom he looks out for, sometimes to his detriment.

Michelle Richardson (April Pearson) is Tony's on/off girlfriend who never stays angry at his mischievous behaviour for long. She describes her main skill as "looking shaggable", but goes on to achieve the second best A-level results in the group, she gets two As and a B, Tony receives 3 As and a B. She has issues with her mother's numerous boyfriends/marriages, but despite this has a close relationship with her. Michelle can at times seem shallow, caring more about good looks and sex than a relationship with real substance.

Sid Jenkins (Mike Bailey) is Tony's best friend, but has an entirely different personality. He lacks confidence, is socially uneasy and struggles with school. He deeply admires Tony, and has a crush on his girlfriend Michelle, but thinks he has no chance with her. He is affected by his unstable home life; his mother walks out on his father, whom Sid dislikes but is forced to put up with. Sid initially appears ignorant of Cassie's affections, but later falls for her.

Cassie Ainsworth (Hannah Murray) is an unstable girl who suffers from an eating disorder. Her flamboyant parents ignore her in favour of their new baby, and her deep affection for Sid goes unnoticed for some time. Her personality appears optimistic but inside she is rather depressed and unhappy. She can be quite impulsive, but also shows a love of order (as shown by the re-arranging of Abigail's kitchen in the first episode).

Chris Miles (Joe Dempsie) is the party animal of the group. He has a difficult home life, and has a crush on his psychology teacher Angie (Siwan Morris). In the second series, he has a relationship with Jal. Chris has problems with drugs, notably in the episode 5 of the 1st series spending the last of the money he has on LSD. He had an older brother who died of a blood clot on the brain. His mother walks out on him and his father refuses to have a relationship with him. He dies of a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a hereditory condition that his brother died of previously, at the end of the second series.

Jal Fazer (Larissa Wilson) is an intelligent girl who is also a talented musician who plays the clarinet. She spends much of her time practising for the Musician of the Year, but does not win. She lives with her dad and two brothers, Lynton and Ace. Her mother left when she was young, which frequently causes tension within the family. Jal's best friend is Michelle, who frequently takes Jal for granted. Jal is often forced to be the kill-joy of the group due to the others' recklessness, giving her a label of the boring one which she resents and tries to shed. She starts a relationship with Chris in the second series and becomes pregnant. After his death she then has an abortion.

Maxxie Oliver (Mitch Hewer) is an openly gay character who loves to dance and, unlike many gay teenagers on British television, is still considered "one of the lads". He is often one of the more cheery members of the group and is the one who helps Tony the most after the accident. His relationship with best friend Anwar is regularly strained; Anwar had a relationship with Maxxie's stalker, Sketch, and has issues with Maxxie's homosexuality. Maxxie comes from a loving family but tension with his father is caused when feels he is not academic enough and would prefer to drop out of college to become a full-time dancer in London. He is also hassled by a group of homophobes on the estate he lives on.

Anwar Kharral (Dev Patel) is best friends with Maxxie. He is a Muslim with a selective approach to his faith; he has no qualms about indulging in pre-marital sex, alcohol, drugs and pork, although has issues with Maxxie's homosexuality, until his father accepts it. He has a slightly off-the-wall personality, known for silly antics and sense of humour. He starts a relationship with Sketch in second series which upsets Maxxie. Anwar shows little ambition or drive, optimistically preferring to maintain his current lifestyle in the long term.

Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario) is Tony's sister, and shares many of the same qualities as him. She used to talk very rarely, but has opened up after Tony's accident. She is extremely intelligent and prefers to keep her emotions mostly hidden (as shown in the second series by her inability to produce art coursework on the topic of emotion). Her behaviour is often outrageous and goes rather un-noticed by her parents, who blame Tony when they see glimpses of it. Tony loves his sister and goes a long way to cover up her behaviour, and in return she helps him in recovering from his accident. Effy regularly breaks the fourth wall.

Lucy Sketch (Aimee-Ffion Edwards), is a Welsh girl who lives in the opposite block of flats to Maxxie, whom she stalks. She is a young carer for her mother, who has multiple sclerosis, and does not seem to have much, if any, social contact. Sketch's actions can often seem malicious and grasping, but are underpinned by a troubling naivety and loneliness. Sketch is her nickname, Lucy being her real first name. It is not known how she got her nick-name, nor what her surname is.

As well as the regular cast, there are several important recurring characters. Daniel Kaluuya plays "Posh" Kenneth, who goes to the same college as the main cast. Georgina Moffat portrays Tony Stonem's mistress, Abigail Stock, a posh school girl with psychotic tendencies. British comedian and co-writer Josie Long appears as the college's careers counselor. There is also Madison Twatter, Sid's psychotic drug dealer, Angie, the psychology teacher, and Doug, a senior teacher at the school.

The central cast's parents are recurring characters in the series, and are often played by well-known British actors credited in a guest starring role. These include Harry Enfield and Nina Wadia, both known as actors and comedians, whilst Danny Dyer is a well-known British film actor. Harry Enfield portrays Tony and Effy's father, Jim Stonem, with Morwenna Banks playing his wife Anthea Stonem. Peter Capaldi and Josie Lawrence acts as Sid's parents, Mark and Liz Jenkins. Kevin Eldon portrays Manfred, who Liz has an affair with. Neil Morrissey and Naomi Allisstone play Marcus and Margeritte, Cassie's parents. Arabella Weir acts as Michelle's mother, Anna Richardson. Danny Dyer portrays Michelle's step father Malcolm, until his relationship ends with Anna. Mark Monero as acts as musician, Ronnie Fazer, who is Jal's father. Josette Simon plays Jal's estranged mother, Elaine in the second series. Mark Heap portrays Graham Miles, Chris' father, and Sarah Lancashire portrays Chris' stepmother, Mary. Inder Manocha plays Istiak Kharral, Anwar's father, with Nina Wadia playing Anwar's mother. Heidi Monsen acts as Dr. Victoria Stock, Abigail and Josh's mother. In the second series, Maxxie‘s parents are introduced and played by Bill Bailey and Fiona Allen as Walter and Jackie Oliver.

[edit] Second generation

Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario) is Tony's sister, and shares many of the same qualities as him. She used to talk very rarely, and saw a counsellor about this, but is now the leader of her group of friends; a very popular and desirable girl. On the first day of term she compiled a list for either Cook or Freddie to complete, in order to sleep with her. Effy has struggled to deal with the divorce of her parents sending her, in her own words 'officially off the rails'. She has also had to deal with conflicting feelings for Freddie and Cook as well as alienation from her friends after an incident with Katie.

Pandora Moon (Lisa Backwell) is Effy's best friend. She is sweet and naïve to the modern teenage world, hence often uneasy about Effy's daring exploits. She describes herself as useless, but grows up considerably throughout the series. She is involved with Thomas, but almost ruins it by having an affair with Cook.

Thomas Tomone (Merveille Lukeba) is an African boy, who recently emigrated from the Congo. Morally upright and good-hearted, he was instantly drawn to Pandora. Thomas was taken back home by his mother after she became disgusted with what she felt were the lax morals of British teenage culture, only to return a few days later. He struggled to deal with his girlfriend Pandora's infidelity but agreed to start again with her, by echoing the sentence he first shared with her.

James Cook (Jack O'Connell) is charismatic and sociable, but boisterous and not afraid to break rules. On the first day of College, he broke every school rule in order to sleep with Effy, the first episode ended with a nervous teacher screaming as she heard Cook and Effy having sex in the medical room. He has proved to be something of a womanizer and ruined his friendships with his best friends JJ and Freddie in the process as well as causing friction for Pandora and Thomas along the way.

Freddie Mclair (Luke Pasqualino) is an easy-going skater who likes to smoke weed, and often gets caught up in Cook's troublemaking but is thought to be the more sensible and responsible one. He is the person JJ calls upon if Cook is about to do something daring or risky. He has a strained relationship with his father and sister, Karen, after he openly disagrees with Karen's method of boosting her status on the "Search for a Sexxbomb" singing contest. He has struggled to contain his love for Effy throughout the series and has caused heated friction and the breakdown of his friendship with Cook because of it. He embarked on a short lived relationship with Katie, which ended after Effy and Freddie had sex with each other.

JJ Jones (Ollie Barbieri) doesn't know how to deal with people, and uses his magic tricks to attempt to make friends. It is revealed later in the series that JJ has mental health issues, possibly Asperger syndrome, and is prescribed a plethora of pharmaceuticals to cope. He grows up considerably throughout the series, finally taking charge of his friends in his unique manner, and losing his virginity to Emily in a "once only charity event".

Naomi Campbell (Lily Loveless) is a fiery, passionate young woman with idealistic views and lots of ambition. She has a complex relationship with twins due to an incident with her and Emily when they were younger, although it is later revealed that it may not have been entirely her fault. One the main focuses of the series has been Naomi's relationship with Emily and her struggle to come to terms with her own sexuality, although the two girls finally became a couple and left the college ball holding hands.

Katie Fitch (Megan Prescott) thinks herself something of a WAG and is keen on being Effy's best friend in order to bolster her own popularity. Believing that Naomi is a lesbian, she often homophobically tries to exclude her from activities. To Katie her status is the most important thing to her and tries to establish herself as the queen bee when she begins a relationship with Freddie. Their relationship doesn't survive after Freddie admits his feelings for Effy, and Katie is forced to accept her sister's sexuality after a failed scheme to try and keep Emily from breaking away from her.

Emily Fitch (Kathryn Prescott) is crippled by her own shyness. Emily is much more down-to-earth than her identical twin sister Katie but also insecure, and is experiencing difficulty coming to terms with her own homosexuality due to her sister's homophobia directed at Emily's object of affection, Naomi. Emily constantly tries to break away from her sisters shadow as her and Naomi grow closer. She sleeps with JJ to help cheer him up, but Katie's scheming almost ruins her relationship with Naomi. After a fist fight with her sister, she told Katie to let her be the person she really is, rather than the person Katie wants her to be.

Karen Mclair (Klariza Clayton) is Freddie's sister, and has big dreams of being famous.^[2] She upsets her brother, however, by using their late mother as a sob story to further her singing career.

Mackenzie Crook guest stars, playing psychotic Bristol gangster Johnny White. Comedians Jordan Long and Justin Edwards feature as his inept henchmen Lucas and Benny.^[3] Scott Mills said on Chris Moyles's Radio 1 show on July 8, 2008 that he would be auditioning for the role of a television presenter on Skins, which he later was succesful for. Ardal O'Hanlon will have a regular role as the gang's careless Northern Irish form tutor, Keiran MacFoeinaiugh (pronounced Mac-Phew).

As with the first two series, the third series central cast's parents are played by established British comedic actors credited in a guest starring role. Harry Enfield returns alongside Morwenna Banks as Effy's parents "Jim and Anthea Stonem". Sally Phillips appears as Pandora's Mother "Angela" and her "Aunt Elizabeth" is played by Maureen Lipman. Matt King features as Cook's Father, Juliet Cowan acts as JJ's mother "Cecilia", whilst Simon Day plays Freddie's Dad "Leo". Olivia Colman plays Naomi's Mother "Gina" with impressionist Ronni Ancona and stand-up comedian John Bishop staring as Katie and Emily's parents "Jenna and Rob Fitch".

[edit] Plot

The Dawson Bros, co-writers of Skins, say the series represents the everyday lives of adolescents: Skins revolves around the lives of a group of 16–19 year-old friends who live in Bristol and attend the fictional Roundview Sixth Form College. Each episode has a self-contained theme and focuses on a different character, although several story arcs span different episodes. Accompanying the episode title at the beginning of each episode is a short montage of that episode's central character.

[edit] Series 1

Series 1 introduces the series' first generation of main characters. Tony is a popular but manipulative boy, who is fiercely protective of his mysterious younger sister Effy. His best friend Sid is too quiet to stand up for anything, but is in love with Tony's girlfriend Michelle. Her best friend Jal is an overbearing and talented clarinet player, Anwar is a Muslim who struggles to follow his faith, Maxxie an openly gay boy and Chris is their party animal friend who has family problems, so far unknown to the others. Cassie is a mentally unstable girl with an eating disorder and drug problems.

Episode one, "Tony", is an ensemble piece, which introduces the characters and the format. Episodes two ("Cassie"), three ("Jal"), four ("Chris"), five ("Sid") and seven ("Michelle") focus on specific characters, whereas episode six ("Maxxie and Anwar") focusses on both the two named characters and nine ("Finale") focus on the group in general. Each episode starts with the eyes of the main character. Episode eight, "Effy", focuses less on its namesake than on the central characters' search for her. The series finishes with the main cast singing the Cat Stevens 1970 classic "Wild World."

[edit] Series 2

The second series premièred on E4 on 11 February 2008, however the first episode was available in four parts to MySpace users prior to airing.

The series is set six months after the conclusion of the first. Tony is alive after being hit by a bus, but he is now severely mentally impaired despite having no apparent physical injuries. The first episode focuses on Maxxie and Tony and features comedian Bill Bailey as Maxxie's father. Shane Richie stars in Episode 2 as a college drama lecturer, Bruce, who is producing the school play Osama: The Musical, in which Maxxie and Michelle have lead roles. Working on the production as a lighting technician is Sketch, a student who has been stalking Maxxie. She dramatically disrupts the play to get him to kiss her.

Sid has not been the same since his girlfriend Cassie moved to Scotland and his best friend Tony suffered brain damage. In Episode 3 a chaotic visit from his — ironically — Scottish relatives ends in disaster as his father dies in his armchair. Episode 4 sees the group take a camping trip to Wales with Michelle's new step-sister Scarlet, where Sid and Michelle end up having sex, leading to a short lived relationship. Cassie returns from Scotland to visit Sid, but is heartbroken when she discovers him kissing Michelle and becomes a much darker version of her former self. Maxxie discovers Anwar's relationship with Sketch, causing a falling out of the two best friends.

In Episode 5 Chris is expelled from college, and is forced to get a job. He becomes Jal's boyfriend, and after failing at several jobs recommended by the college careers adviser (played by Josie Long), Chris becomes a successful estate agent. This gives him access to the keys for a small flat, but this leads to being reluctantly fired after a client comes to visit the flat he is living in post-party. At the party, he cheats on Jal with his old psychology teacher Angie. Jal later discovers she is pregnant. Anwar splits up with Sketch after Maxxie shows him he is being manipulated by her.

Tony continues his recovery in his third featured episode, Episode 6, which is a metaphor for several elements of Jungian psychology. He visits the University of Exeter to attend an interview, but meets a strange, possibly imaginary girl who helps him sort out the physical co-ordination issues he has been having since his accident. Many of the teens' relationship problems are resolved in Episode 7, as Sid reconciles with Cassie, and Tony with Michelle. Episode 8 was written by Daniel Kaluuya, who plays "Posh" Kenneth. In this episode Jal continues to do battle with her conscience over her pregnancy, while Chris is rushed to hospital with a blood clot in his brain. We learn that Maxxie has found a boyfriend, James.

In Episode 9, Chris has discharged himself from hospital and seems well. Cassie attends her exams, but later Chris has another brain haemorrhage and dies in Cassie's arms. Cassie simply packs her bags and runs, ending up in New York. She makes a friend called Adam, who lets her stay in his flat, and takes her out to a nightclub. However, one morning, she wakes up to find he has left her.

In Episode 10 Chris's father visits Sid to explain that he does not want any of Chris' friends at his funeral. Upon hearing this Sid and Tony decide to steal Chris's coffin, but Jal finds out and forces them to return it before the funeral. In the same episode during the evening the central characters sit around a campfire and read out each others' results. Everyone gets the grades they need apart from Anwar who goes missing. Maxxie becomes upset that he is leaving to London without saying goodbye to his best friend. Sketch seemingly fancies Anwar more than Maxxie now and attempts to persuade Anwar to be friends with her in Bristol. However, Maxxie manages to convince him to go to London with him and James, leaving Sketch behind in tears. Tony buys Sid a ticket to New York and after an emotional farewell, sends him off to find Cassie. After this, Tony, headed for Cardiff University, and Michelle, who has a place at the University of York, come to terms with the inevitable end of their relationship and decide they were "better than" a good couple.

The last scenes are of Sid searching for Cassie in New York, ambiguously stopping in front of the cafe she is working in. Finally, we return to the first shot of Series 1 Episode 1, an overhead shot of Tony's bed, but this time it is Effy in the bed. She stares directly at the camera, breaking the fourth wall, smiles and arches her eyebrows.

[edit] Series 3

Series 3 introduces the second generation of the cast main characters. Freddie is skating his way through life, but on the way he is getting stopped by his best friends JJ and Cook. JJ has child like dreams and loves magic, he is mildly autistic, as he has Asperger's Syndrome. However Cook knows that whenever he gets into trouble Freddie will always be there to bail him out. Smoking spliffs at an outside bar, they run into Effy and her Dad Harry Enfield who Cook gets into troble with. Effy then gets out the car, walks up to Cook and says "Sweet".

Then we get to meet Emily putting clothes out for college. She gets in the shower, goes out and then we meet Katie who shadows Emily and tries to be best friends to Effy. Now in school we see Pandora who is set on loosing her virginity, but she hasnt got a boyfriend. Finally in the assembly hall we meet Naomi who is passionate about political issues and hates her hippy mum who brings strangers to her house all the time.

In episode 2 we get to meet Karen, Freddie's sister who wants to be famous in episode 5 she enters a talent contest called "Search for a Sexxbomb" but in the end, loses.

Episode 3 focuses on Thomas who comes from the Congo. Once his mother see's what the kids of England get up too, he is forced to leave home, he finally returns to be with Pandora, but soon realises she had a relationship with Cook and they split. They finally get back together and everything is okay again.

[edit] Production

[edit] Casting

It was announced in April 2008 that all of the original cast (except Kaya Scodelario and Lisa Backwell) will be replaced for series 3. Bryan Elsley said: "There are risks associated with dumping a cast, but we just did it. There was some disquiet at the channel, but then they told us just to go with it." Speaking at Broadcast's television drama conference, he also confirmed the show would stick to its pattern of introducing college-age characters, moving them on in the next series, then letting them go. "The first year is about getting to know the kids, and the second gives us the advantage of being able to explore their psyches a little more," said Elsley. Creator Jamie Brittain said that the next cast would be quite different from the original characters, although people may still spot some similarities. The new cast were revealed through online teaser videos on 19 December 2008.^[4]

Filming of the third series began on 23 July 2008. It premiered on the 22nd January 2009 at 10:00pm on E4,^[5] and the first part of episode one has been available for viewing on the E4 website since 15 January.^[6] Trailers began across the Channel 4 family of channels on 2 January 2009, showing the new cast creating havoc in a pub.^[4]

Series 4 has been announced, but it is unsure if any of te previous series cast will return.

[edit] Location

The show is filmed in Bristol; school scenes are shot at John Cabot Academy, and many scenes are located on College Green. Local landmarks can be glimpsed in the opening credits, including Bristol Cathedral on Series 1, and Pur Down BT Tower on series 2. Special locations for individual episodes have included the Gower Peninsula, the University of Exeter and New York City. Many of the other locations used, such as the cafe and diner, are real locations in Bristol where people eat.

[edit] Technical

Skins was shot entirely in High Definition with Sony HDW-750P cameras, and edited using Avid Film Composer, Autodesk Lustre and Autodesk Smoke.

[edit] Online presence

[edit] Unseen Skins

Accompanying each episode of the programme 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.^[7]

A second series of Unseen Skins has been released on the official Skins website.

[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. The Oxford band Foals are featured on the episode performing the song "Hummer" at the party.

[edit] The Lost Weeks

During January 2008, E4 began publishing webisodes (web episodes) 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 and second series. As of 4 February 2008, all episodes have been released on the website.

[edit] Christmas Special

Not much is mentioned in this feature (7.22) about Tony so it is thought he is still in hospital. It opens with the gang in a pub having a talk about the turkey they're going to have. Chris and Anwar do not want to celebrate Christmas so decide to go off on their own. It mainly follows them throughout, until they join the others. Kenneth and Maxxie do the infamous "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" dance. Anwar also proceeds to 'tongue', 'chew' and 'fondle' the turkey.

[edit] Skinscast

E4 releases a companion podcast after each show, downloadable from both the E4 website and iTunes. It features inside gossip and interviews with the cast on their specific episodes. It is hosted by Daniel Kaluuya (aka Posh Kenneth) and often includes a lot of humour and banter. Fans are also given the chance to ask questions and win prizes. Guest appearances will be happening through out the series starting with Ballymena boy John Costello.

[edit] Reception

The first series received positive reviews, although some critics complained that the series depicts teenagers unrealistically and stereotypically.^[8] Others criticised the excessive promoting of the show (specifically, in the U.K.) and having relatively mediocre writing in comparison to other similarly themed shows. Actor Nicholas Hoult defended criticism of the extreme storylines, saying they would not reflect "everyone's teenage life", adding "It is maybe heightened for entertainment but all of it is believable."^[9]

Writer and producer Marieke Hardy was extremely admiring of the show, and particularly enjoyed the fact that the show was "beautiful and sad and poignant and perfectly hurtful", while also managing to give impression of being drama that is "edgy, funny and rude". However, she did state that she was unsure whether the show was meant for teenagers or not.^[10]

Comedian and writer Stewart Lee has remarked during an interview on the BBC4 programme Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe that he feels lucky for having been a teenager watching TV for teenagers in the 1970s and not the 2000s as "there was something really comforting for nerds and weirdos about programmes like Children of the Stones and The Changes." He said that watching Skins as a teenager today would make him feel lonelier than he already would have been.^[11] However, Brooker himself gave the programme a positive review in his Guardian column "Screen Burn",^[12] and specifically stated that "the series had wrong-footed me", comparing his initial expectation of Skins as a shallow show to after he had finished watching the series.

Gordon Farrer writing in Melbourne's The Age called it a "refreshing, entertaining and worthy series" and wrote it was "compulsory viewing for parents of teenagers as much as for teens."^[13]

[edit] Awards

The programme won the Best Drama prize at the 2008 Rose d'Or ceremony.^[14] It also won Best Production Design (Drama) for Amelia Shankland's work on "Cassie", at the Royal Television Society Awards 2007, in addition to being nominated for Best Photography (Drama). Tal Rosner's graphics for Skins won a BAFTA for Best Title Sequence at the British Academy Television Craft Awards in May 2008.^[15]

It was announced on 18 March 2008 that the show had been nominated for Best Drama Series in the British Academy Television Awards 2008.^[16]

The show's innovative marketing was awarded Best Advertising Campaign at the MediaGuardian Awards for Innovation in 2008.^[17] The viral marketing preluding the second series won the Entertainment category at the Interactive Marketing and Advertising Awards 2008.^[18]

[edit] Ratings

The pilot episode of Skins averaged 1.5 million viewers.^[19]

The ratings for the second series which launched on E4 on 11 February 2008 peaked at 884,000 viewers (a further 160,000 watched it an hour later on E4+1) which gave it 5.9% audience share and taking 60% of the 16-24 demographic, however this was still more than 500,000 viewers down on its series one premiere.^[20] 809,300 tuned in to the second episode, which aired one week later in the 10 p.m. slot. The series finale attracted an audience of 740,000 on E4, equating to a 4.65% share of the audience.^[21]

The start of the third series drew in 877,000 and 1139000 including E4+1[4], which did well with its key audience demographic of younger viewers (56.2% were aged between 16 and 34).^[22] The second episode was up in figures as 889,000 watched (including E4+1).^[23] Episode three drew 857,000 on e4[5]</ref> Episode four drew 866,000 viewers on E4 (including E4+1).Holmwood, Leigh (2009-02-13). "TV ratings: Bumper harvest for Victorian Farm". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/13/tv-ratings-victorian-farm. Retrieved on 2009-02-21. </ref>

[edit] Cultural influence

The programme has given rise to the term 'skins party', referring to a debauched night of heavy drinking and recreational drug use.^[24]

During the 2007 Easter holiday a girl in County Durham threw a house party; it was advertised on her MySpace profile as a "Skins Unofficial 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, breaking into the house and causing over £20,000 of seemingly deliberate damage. She alleges that her account was hacked and someone else placed the ad.^[25][26]

Similar incidents have taken place in the Republic of Ireland, with major household damage and theft of personal property being reported in Firhouse and Foxrock. Although these attacks have not been conclusively linked to the show, news outlets have reported that they are called Skins parties.^[27]

Club nights marketed as 'Skins Secret Parties' have also taken shape in Leicester.^[28] Following this, a series of parties were run by Company Pictures in spring 2008.^[29]

[edit] DVD releases

The Complete First Series
9 episodes English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Subtitles: English
Special features
9 Unseen Skins episodes Video diaries Music video for "Standing in the Way of Control" Director's cut trailer Broadcast trailers
Release dates
United Kingdom  Ireland	Australia	New Zealand	France	United States
24 September, 2007[30]	20 February 2008	27 February 2008	25 March 2008	13 January 2009
Rated 18	Rated R18+	Rated R16[31]	Rated PG -12[32]	Not Rated
The Complete Second Series
10 episodes English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Subtitles: English
Special features
Behind the scenes Interviews with cast & crew Skins Secret Party special episode 6 bonus Skins stories: "Cassandra", "Christmas with Skins", "Musical Audition", "Tony Nightmare", "When Maxxie Met James" and "Maxxie’s Dance" Broadcast trailer Writer Daniel Kaluuya’s story of working on Skins Skins in New York City
Release dates
United Kingdom  Ireland	Australia	New Zealand	France	United States
5 May 2008[33]	20 August 2008[34]	18 September 2008[35]	26 May 2009	14 April 2009
Rated 18	Rated MA15+	Rated R16	Rated PG -12[36]	Not Rated
The Complete Third Series
10 episodes English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Subtitles: English
Special features
TBA
Release dates
United Kingdom  Ireland	Australia	New Zealand	France	United States
6 April 2009	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Rated 18	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
The Complete Fourth Series
10 episodes English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Subtitles: English
Special features
TBA
Release dates
United Kingdom  Ireland	Australia	New Zealand	France	United States
TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
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[edit] Music replacement

Much of the popular music used in the original broadcasts is not found in the DVD episodes,^[37] although the original music is available in the series soundtrack.^[38]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Skins (TV series)

• E4's official Skins website
• Skins at the Internet Movie Database
• Skins (TV series) at TV.com
• TCA ’09: BBC America Slips Into New Skins

v • d • e Skins First generation Episodes Series 1 · Unseen Skins 1 · Video Diaries 1 · Lost Weeks · Secret Party · Series 2 · Unseen Skins 2 Characters Tony Stonem · Michelle Richardson · Sid Jenkins · Cassie Ainsworth · Chris Miles · Jal Fazer · Maxxie Oliver · Anwar Kharral · Sketch (Lucy) Cast Nicholas Hoult · April Pearson · Mike Bailey · Hannah Murray · Joe Dempsie · Larissa Wilson · Mitch Hewer · Dev Patel · Aimee-Ffion Edwards Second generation Episodes Series 3 · Unseen Skins 3 · Video Diaries 3 · Series 4 Characters Effy Stonem · Pandora Moon · James Cook · Freddie Mclair · JJ Jones · Naomi Campbell · Emily Fitch · Katie Fitch · Thomas Tomone Cast Kaya Scodelario · Lisa Backwell · Jack O'Connell · Luke Pasqualino · Ollie Barbieri · Lily Loveless · Megan Prescott · Kathryn Prescott · Merveille Lukeba E4 · Company Pictures · Jamie Brittain · Bryan Elsley · George Faber · Charles Pattinson · Chris Clough · Daniel Kaluuya · Fat Segal