Skins – Volume One (BBC TV DVD)
Picture: C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: C+
The BBC
has a hit on its hands with Skins in
part because of its boldness to show teen acting out of turn in abusing
parents, teachers, drugs and their bodies.
The show has its share of teen nudity you would never see in U.S.
productions and as a result is not as phony as most U.S. teen shows that think
they are realistic. That does not make
the show the TV version of Larry Clark film like Kids or Bully, et al, especially
since the BBC is not a pay cable service.
They would like you to think that, but it is not that edgy, though it
can be bold at times.
Unfortunately,
the 9 episodes (over 3 DVDs) don’t offer too much more than we have already
seen and the show is really part of a declining cycle of teen fiction where
childhood is dead and life is a free-for-all too much. The sad results need not be explained, yet it
is often honest and there is some good casting and acting throughout. There is conflict and it is well written
enough, but will they be able to keep this up?
I was reminded of At Home With
The Braithwaites starting out even more strongly and holding up for a
while. Can Skins avoid being a soap opera and implode before it gets
started? We’ll see. This is worth a look if you are
interested. If not, wait and see how the
show goes.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is good, but a little softer throughout
than a new production should be and not the best-looking of the recent BBC
productions we’ve been covering. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is also not bad, but has no surrounds and is nothing
more than a modern-style TV recording.
Extras are few and include video diaries and an ancillary storyline
section, which is disappointing.
- Nicholas Sheffo
