Brownie points if you can guess who is Cassie’s replacement!
It’s no secret that I’m a little obsessed with Skins, the UK show about cheeky teenagers with a little too much time on their hands. MTV is now bringing us Skins US, a US show about cheeky teenagers with a little too much time on their hands.
The preview for Skins US is here. I was pretty pumped for the preview, because Skins UK is such an intense representation of teen life — maybe a bit sensationalized, but that’s what makes it fun – and manages to be somewhat artsy. There are so many possibilities for a US version: surely kids here are just as crazy as they are across the pond, right? There must be tons of interesting stories to tell about the lives of teens in a larger city. Or…not.
Skins US is an exact copy of Skins UK, down to the characters’ lines. Sure, “Sid” is now “Stanley” (because that’s more American?), and “Tea” will replace “Maxxie” as a lesbian (…cheerleader…such an edgy choice) character instead of the token gay character (and why, seriously, if you’re copying the UK version, would you replace one of the best characters?) – but really? It’s the same, all the way down to the terrible nickname Tony gives Michelle (uh, yeah. It’s “nips.”).
I hate to say it, but they’re totally Office-ing this one. The first several episodes of the US Office were exact replicas of the UK Office, and it simply didn’t work. Luckily, the US Office worked its way out of that rut and into something more original and, let’s admit it, American. Shows from the UK can do well here – obviously there was a following of the Office before it ever showed up on NBC’s schedule, and Skins has a pretty strong cult following here. But The Office was able to deviate from copying UK scripts, which was really important to its success. The Skins preview, based on my copious consumption of the UK’s first season, is a start-to-finish American copy of the original. It makes me sad. Frowns to you, MTV. Frowns.
I’ll still watch the first few episodes, but I’ll probably bitch about what they did to Sid and Cassie the entire time. I can’t seem to stop watching the occasional Glee episode even though it’s ceaselessly obnoxious. Why can’t I quit you, terrible TV about teenagers?
I know just how you feel, Cass.
i totally agree with everything you just posted. At first when I heard skins was coming to the US i was kind of excited because me being from the US I had watched every single episode of skins online. Buuuut then i saw the preview to the US skins and i was a tad pissed. I mean your taking a famous british british teen drama and then using the exact story line and making it an American show?! And I mean common if u want to atleast copy it you can atleast keep maxxie .