Skins (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Skins | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of the opening sequence. |
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| Genre | Dramedy |
| Creator(s) | Jamie Brittain Bryan Elsley[1] |
| Starring | Mike Bailey Joseph Dempsie Mitch Hewer Nicholas Hoult Hannah Murray Dev Patel April Pearson Larissa Wilson[1] |
| Theme music composer | Fat Segal |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 9 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Chris Clough[1] |
| Executive producer(s) | Bryan Elsley George Faber Charles Pattinson[1] |
| Location | Bristol |
| Running time | 45 minutes approximately |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | E4 |
| Picture format | PAL (576i) |
| Audio format | Surround sound |
| Original run | January 25 2007 – present |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Skins is a British teen drama from Company Pictures which premiered on E4 on January 25, 2007. Skins is one of the first programmes at the forefront of the network Channel 4's aim to start showing more British content on its channels. A second series of ten episodes has been commissioned [2] due to its high ratings on E4 (in excess of 1.4 million viewers for episode one).[3] with filming to begin in June 2007.
The writing team includes The Dawson brothers, Steve, Andrew and Tim (Balls of Steel, Dirty Tricks), Jack Thorne (Shameless) and Josie Long[4]. They also have guest writers for certain episodes, such as Simon Amstell (Popworld, Never Mind The Buzzcocks). Skins is filmed in Bristol; the school scenes are all filmed at John Cabot CTC. It was shot entirely in High Definition though is currently only being broadcast in Standard Definition.
The first series of Skins has now come to an end but Channel 4 have confirmed a re-run on the main channel in the Summer.[5] The complete first series will be available on DVD from 3 September 2007.[6]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Skins is focused around the lives of a group of 16-18 year old friends who live in Bristol. The drama is meant to represent the daily lives of adolescents. The group includes an attractive and popular boy; his girlfriend.; a drug-taking Muslim boy; a gay character; a girl with an eating disorder; a boy who is desperate to lose his virginity; an intelligent and privileged girl with family problems; and a party animal in love with his teacher. These characters attend a Sixth form college in Bristol. Each installment has a self-contained theme, but there are several story arcs that span different episodes.
[edit] Episodes
Skins episodes follow the pattern of being named after central characters, whom the episode will primarily focus on. Accompanying the episode title at the beginning of each episode is a short few second montage of that episode's central characters. Episode one, "Tony" was more of an ensemble piece, introducing the characters, format and themes. Subsequent episodes "Cassie", "Jal", "Chris", "Sid" and "Michelle" focused on specific characters, and "Maxxie and Anwar" was a shared episode, between characters whose stories were interlinked. Episode eight "Effy" also focused less on its namesake, and more on the central characters' search for her. The series finale was an ensemble piece like the pilot and made no reference to the title for the episode.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Main characters
- Tony Stonem (Nicholas Hoult) — Philosophy-reading, manipulating and womanising hedonist.
- Sid Jenkins (Mike Bailey) — Frequently unlucky virgin and much-abused best friend of Tony.
- Michelle Richardson (April Pearson) — Tony's adoring girlfriend and the object of Sid's affections.
- Cassie (Hannah Murray) — Anorexic and emotionally fragile girl in love with Sid.
- Chris Miles (Joseph Dempsie) — Complicated party animal with an eye for psychology teacher, Angie.
- Maxxie (Mitch Hewer) — A member of the gang who happens to be gay.
- Jal Fazer (Larissa Wilson) — Highly intelligent and caring black aspiring musician.
- Anwar Kharral (Dev Patel) — Muslim boy who finds his faith and his lifestyle do not mix well.
[edit] Supporting characters
- Abigail Stock (Georgina Moffat) — Highly medicated rich girl.
- Kenneth (Daniel Kaluuya) — Soft spoken and articulate. Wishes he was a gangsta.
- Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario) - Tony's tearaway sister. Remains silent through most of her screen time.
- Angie (Siwan Morris) - Welsh Psychology teacher who notices and returns Chris' affections
[edit] Special guests
In addition to the regular cast, there have been a number of guest appearances in almost every episode:
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"Tony"
"Chris"
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"Sid"
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[edit] Unseen Skins
Accompanying each episode of the program 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]
- Episode 1 - "I Mostly Do"
- Episode 2 - "Careers Advice"
- Episode 3 - "Shoot 'Em Up Bang Bang Props To The Hood"
- Episode 4 - "A Friend In Need"
- Episode 5 - "Careers Advice II"
- Episode 6 - "To Russia with Love..."
- Episode 7 - "The Cat & The Duck"
[edit] Music featured in Skins
[edit] Trailer music
- The song playing during the Skins trailers is "Standing in the Way of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)" by The Gossip.
[edit] Theme music
- The opening music to Skins is by Fat Segal.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d http://www.companypictures.co.uk/production.aspx?code=skins
- ^ Channel 4 confirms more 'Skins', Digital Spy
- ^ 'Skins' pulls in 1.4 million, Digital Spy
- ^ 'About A Boy' star for new teen TV series, Digital Spy
- ^ http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,,2029596,00.html
- ^ Skins DVD Release, play.com. URL last accessed 2007-03-17.
- ^ "Channel 4 Forums - Unseen Skins News", 2007-03-22. Retrieved on March 23, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Skins at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Channel4 site
- Official Myspace site
- Company Pictures
- Get ready for a skin full from Canvas Magazine
| Skins | ||
| General | Episode list • Unseen Skins episodes • Soundtrack | |
| Characters | Tony Stonem • Sid Jenkins • Cassie • Jal Fazer • Chris Miles Maxxie • Anwar Kharral • Michelle Richardson • Effy Stonem • Abigail Stock |
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