When discussing MTV’s remake of Skins it’s very difficult to not compare it to the British version. MTV makes it even harder when they do a shot for shot, beat for beat, line for line remake of the same episode. I really liked the “Tea” episode last week where they had to branch out and make some new story lines up. However, episodes like tonight just remind me of how inferior the cast of the American Skins is. Chris is my favorite character from the BBC version, so it’s especially tough to watch one of the finest pieces of acting from the previous show fall short in this version.
I applaud MTV for casting no name actors in all the roles, and Jesse Carere puts up a noble effort in this episode. Here we learn about why Chris is the way he is. His older brother, Peter, who was the father’s favorite, passed away and we learn that the father still resents Chris. Chris sought refuge in his father’s house after his mother left him. Chris delivers a great monologue in front of Peter’s grave to Daisy* in which he describes the best day of his life, which, of course, was about his older brother sticking up for him. But ultimately, I never felt complete compassion for Chris in the episode. He seemed more just like a screw up that takes Viagra and parties too hard. We need to see something redeeming in all of these characters or else the show falls flat.
*The relationship between Daisy and Chris seemed forced. They had barely interacted yet she was the one to go with Chris to his dad’s house. Curious.
I started to like Stanley more in this episode. We saw that he had a bit of a mind of his own tonight when he talked about investing his birthday money. That’s a departure from the BBC where the character did not have much smarts. I still think they’re trying hard to make Cadie seem crazy. You show crazy by how others react, not how you act. A bit lazy on the writers part.
My thoughts on Skins remains the same since the first episode. If the show is going to be successful, it needs to start finding a new life of its own, sooner rather than later.
Other thoughts:
- Stanley needs to get his hair out of his eyes
- Why could they only find one brown and one black shoe for Chris?
- Pretty sure Chris’s pee was two different colors.
- The homeless hipster sleeping in Chris’s tub is a great small role.
- We’ve missed the scene from the original where all the students walk in on the teacher naked. It really helped fuel Chris’s lust for what he can’t have.
- This was the episode that had people saying child pornography laws could be broken. Chris walks naked down the street and we see his backside exposed. It’s a non issue.
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