“You can’t keep doing just whatever you want you know. Things can’t always work out for you.” -Cadie
I need to preface this review by stating that I will be making no more comparison’s to the British version of Skins. It’s unfair to both shows.
That being said, there’s not much to discuss about this episode of Skins. We learn that Cadie is clinically depressed and obsessive compulsive. She craves happiness so she looks for it in companionship, but her companions just seem to want her for the free drugs she can score. I was beginning to wonder if Cadie could pick up on social cues or if she was just playing dumb to Stanley when he asked for the drugs. Cadie’s home life appears to be adding to her stress and anxiety. She has beautiful mom who wants nothing more than for Cadie to just be pretty. She tells her that emotions aren’t real and feelings are batty. Her dad, a taxidermist, is a bit cooky too. I don’t like that the home life is a partial cause. Seems like it would be more interesting if she had a supportive home life and she was still this way. The current situation seems to allow Cadie an excuse and let the readers think she can be cured.
The other thing happening in this episode is that the status quo is being upset. After Tony’s hot encounter with Tea, he is beginning to obsess over her. He goes so far as to confront her and tell her of his feelings. Tea turns him down, but it didn’t appear to be cut and try as she admitted that she felt something too. Cadie sees Stan with Michelle and decides to try and sleep with Michelle’s mom’s boyfriend. Stan sees that and scolds Cadie saying that she always flips out. The interesting part is that he says he cares when she does it. It was a nice moment after he said he cared when he realized after saying it, that he actually does care.
The big issue is that I don’t feel connected to any of the characters or any of their relationships, so I don’t feel any empathy toward their plights. I’m almost rooting for the upheaval, which sounds devilish, but I think something needs to get shaken up or else the show will stagnate.
Showing posts with label Skins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skins. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Skins - "Chris" Review
“Do you want to know about the best day of my life?” - Chris
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:
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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