Skins, Vol. 1

Come for the nudity, stay for the stories!
I've been watching TV for as long as I can remember, and I've never seen a show quite like "Skins".

The program centers around a group of teenage friends living in England. They smoke, they drink, they do drugs, they party, they have sex. They do what teenagers around the world do (or more often, especially with the sex part, merely wish they were doing). Pretty standard fare for most teenage dramas, actually, except that since this is British TV, they don't censor everything; you actually get to see bits of the sex, hear lots of the swearing and see quite a bit of naked flesh.

Nothing like a bit of titilation.

But had the show been nothing but titilation, it wouldn't have kept my interest. From the very first episode, I found myself really drawn into the storylines, and coming to like most of the characters. I started to care about them and their lives.

Consider for example the character of Tony. He seems initially to be just a total...

Amazing show, but what about the DVD?
"Skins" is one of the best "teen dramas" in existence, and one of the few for which this label isn't actually an insult. Intelligent, gritty, unpredictable and sporting one of the most likable casts in existence, it's a must-watch, no matter what type of shows you normally like.

BUT the Region 2 DVD editions of First AND Second Seasons are missing about 80% of the original music. It's replaced by cheap "background" songs. And the music is a vital part of what makes "Skins" so special. Without them the DVDs are only worth so much as the extras on them. I really hope the Region 1 edition will have the normal OST. If that's the case, I'm buying it, even though I already have the UK DVDs.

What! Missing Final Scene.
I watched this show all first season and fell in love with it during the trippy final scene of the season (episode 9). I have recomended it to many friends. Just got the DVD set today and guess what? That scene, THE scene that pushed the show way above the usual. has been edited out for the dvd release! how could they? To see it you'll have to catch a rerun on BBC america. I would have given this 5 stars but with all the editing 3 is all it gets. How dissapointing!

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