Skins: The Series So Far

It seems remarkable to think for the obsessed fans that we are halfway through the fourth series of E4’s award-winning teen drama Skins.  With only four episodes left for the current cast, before they all get replaced, I felt it was a good opportunity to sum up my feelings on the current series.

All fans were promised at the start of this series that Skins was going to be darker, deeper and grittier than ever before and there is no doubt that this has turned out to be the case.  The death of a random girl, Sophia at a club night just two minutes into episode 1 highlighted the consequential actions that many have felt already throughout the series.

Episode one focused on Sophia’s death and held some severe ramifications for Thomas.  Thomas (Merveille Lukaba) was under-used in the last series, so it was only right for him to have the first episode this time around.  It showed his weaknesses and struggles, which left him questioning his beliefs, friends and family.  He then strayed away from Pandora (Lisa Blackwell) with the beautiful vicar’s daughter Andrea.  Well there are some uses for a hospital laundry room I guess…It spelt the end for Thomas and Pandora’s relationship and probably best, it had been going downhill ever since Pandora ended up being charmed by the Cookie Monster, Cook (Jack O’Connell). 

If the first episode was a little bit vague for a few, the second episode reminded the viewers of the drama and emotion that can be felt through watching a TV programme religiously.  For Emily (Kathryn Prescott), the second episode saw her character go through a vast amount of feelings and expressions, which led to the unravelling for a dark secret.  Emily and her new sweetheart, Naomi (Lily Loveless) return from the summer break as loved-up as ever.  However, Naomi is being haunted by Sophia’s death, as she dealt the MDMLA which sent Sophia to the balcony pole in the nightclub that resulted in her death.  Immediately, ‘Naomily’ is put under scrutiny, as Emily tries to get to the bottom of Sophia’s demise, as she is convinced Naomi is hiding something from her.  Along with leaving home, the stress piles up on Emily and in a dramatic rooftop scene, sees a sketchbook which confirms the worst suspicions for her and to the shock of the audience, reveals that Naomi had an affair with Sophia.  For now, ‘Naomily’ is another relationship that has taken a battering from shocking revelations, but unlike Thomas & Pandora, has more chance of surviving.

Episode three saw attention turn to the volatile Cook, and his downward spiral, which began with him beating up an unlucky individual infront of 83 witnesses at a house party.  We meet Cook’s mum, whose lack of parenting skills have meant that Cook has had to grow up the hard way, probably leading to his violent swings in behaviour.  After smashing up a Bentley, he confides in Naomi, who is still hurting from previous revelations.  Cook realises he must start taking responsibility for his actions, and not only admits the assault at the party; he reveals to the police that he dealt Sophia the powder, not Naomi.  A two-week sentence in custody follows, but will it see a different Cookie when he leaves.

Last night, Katie (Megan Prescott) got her turn to star in her own episode.  Once again, it was a one-hour madness peak, which saw the Fitch family go through an emotional rollercoaster, leading to the repossession of their house.  Katie is also told that she can’t have any kids in the future, devastating her, but rather than going on a complete downward spiral, she works especially hard to get all the Fitch family, including the out-of-control Emily back together as one, strong unit.  It was the best episode by far in the series, possibly in Skins history, as it was full of emotion, drama, funny lines and quirks and for once, a satisfactory ending.

In the coming weeks, Freddie, JJ & Effy will all have their turns to star in their own episodes, before the finale, but there seems to be more questions than answers developing so far in this series.  Is JJ going to get his girl?  Can Naomi & Emily sort out their differences?  Will Cook be a better person for his stint in jail?  Has Effy gone too far and blown her love dream with Freddie?  The next month is bound to answer all these questions and more.  There is no doubt however, that ‘Generation 2’ of Skins have left their mark on the show and hopefully, very prosperous acting careers in the future.  

Skins 4
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'Naomily' - A Perfect Match

This blog was first published on February 4th at http://happydude88.livejournal.com/

 

Sometimes in drama, soap operas and comedies, you get perfect pairings that the audience knows works absolutely perfectly together – whether it may be as a double act or as a couple. Examples would include Morecambe and Wise, Max & O.B from Hollyoaks and Ricky & Bianca in EastEnders. Another match made in heaven is the relationship between two girls in E4’s award-winning teen drama Skins, which has been winning acclaim in all areas. The question is, will they have a happy ending?

When the fans of Skins first met the Series 3 cast – there was bound to be a lot of trepidation, especially as all the previous cast except Effy Stonem (Kaya Schnoldario) had been axed. Right from the start, it was clear to many that there had been previous between two female characters, Naomi Campbell (no, not the fashion icon!) and Emily Finch.

Played by talented actresses Lily Loveless and Kathryn Prescott, their storyline has captured the hearts of many last series, winning over many new viewers and promoting a teenage issue that has been dealt with from the male gender, but not the female side. Sexuality is always quite a tricky role, to write for and to act, but last year, Skins broke new ground by centring this storyline around two beautiful, if confused college students. This was something that has really not been experimented in UK TV shows, especially between two youngsters, with similar feelings. The only mild possible comparison would be the storylines around Beth Jordache, played by Anna Friel in Brookside throughout 1993-1995, when her character was engaged in several relationships with other women.

To begin with, everyone saw Emily as a shy, quiet girl, living in the shadow of her twin sister, Katy, played by actual off-screen sister Megan Prescott. On the other hand, Naomi was idealistic, strongly opinionated and didn’t really care what anyone else thought of her. Consequently, they went like chalk and cheese together. Emily had liked girls for a while, and had fancied Naomi ages, even if she was denying that in public. As the pair spent more time together, Emily saw something in Naomi that others at Roundsview College did not. This was truly a match made in heaven.

For the whole of last series, the storyline was about the ups and downs of becoming a lesbian couple. Naomi’s denial that she was a lesbian traditionally getting in the way of what Emily actually wanted. When it was revealed to Naomi but the interfering Katy that Emily had broken away from her and slept with JJ in episode 7, it really got to Naomi and the audience was finally able to see that she didn’t just care for Emily, she loved her and wanted to be with her. At the College end-of-term Love Ball, Katy was still doing her best to keep Emily under her control, which led to some of the best scenes of the entire series. However, after a brawl in the school hall between the twins, it was the fans that got what they wanted – a happy ending as Naomi and Emily walked off together, hand-in-hand having declared their love for one another to everyone. ‘Naomily’ as the fan fiction and website term has been used was well and truly born.

So, Series 3 may have had a happy ending for ‘Naomily,’ but what about Series 4? It started last week, with Naomi hiding a dark secret. After a blissful and happy summer where they almost couldn’t keep their hands off one another (read the Skins novel for proof), Naomi was struggling for cash and sold some MDMLA which led to the tragic death of another young girl, Sophia at a nightclub. Keen to protect her new romance, Naomi does everything to stay out of trouble, including lying to the police about her whereabouts with Sophia’s suspicious death, to keep her relationship with Emily intact. For fans watching tonight’s episode, all we know is that Emily does some investigating which could ruin their happiness – for now at least. How will it end is unknown and needs to be found out on E4 tonight at 10pm.

For the future, everyone including myself will want a happy ending, but most shows end with a sad or downbeat conclusion between a couple/double act. Let’s all hope that ‘Naomily’ bucks the trend. The Skins writers and crew need to take great credit for capturing such a dramatic and well-loved storyline, full of romance and passion, to emotion and contemplation and portraying it in such brilliant fashion. Massive credit also needs to go out to the actresses Lily and Kathryn, who have played these roles with such grace, enjoyment and confidence. The general public have been critically impressed with Skins for dealing so brilliantly on such a sensitive issue, and then taking it onto a new level that rarely, if ever has been seen before on British TV. The storyline is up for selection of awards and I personally hope it gets the award recognition it truly deserves.

Series 4 may be the end for the current cast, so there will be no more Emily and Naomi next year, but both Lily Loveless and Kathryn Prescott are bound to have very successful acting careers in the future. I can only wish them the best and really hope they get the breaks they deserve for the future. ‘Naomily’ is truly a perfect match! 

Skins: Can It Get Even Better?

This was first posted on January 22nd at http://happydude88.livejournal.com/

Next Thursday sees the return of E4’s award-winning teen hit, Skins. The show, returning for its fourth series follows a gang of teenagers embarking on sixth form life at Roundsview College in Bristol. Skins deals with sensitive issues such as use and effects of drugs, sexuality, disability, anorexia and disfunctionality within the teen’s families, with each character taking a starring role in an episode. So what is in store for Series 4? If Series 3 has anything to go by, this could be the best one yet….

The crème de le crème of Series 3 are back for seconds out, round two and in their graduation year, there are sure to be plenty of fireworks, agony, tears and drama. First up, is Effy (Kaya Scodelario). Effy is the only character to still be remaining from the original cast and had a turbulent time last year, enduring a bitter divorce between her parents, plus the nagging attentions and rivalry from Katy (Megan Prescott). That ended in episode 8, when Effy ended up whacking Katy round the head with a rock. Effy also ended up playing a significant part in the series finale, as she was caught in a complicated love triangle with best buddies, Cook (Jack O’Connell) & Freddie (Luke Pasqualino). Initially, she isn't around to begin with, but when she returns to college, expect the usual load of mischief and torment from her.

Pandora (Lisa Blackwell) is the sweetheart of the group. Seen as naïve and enthusiastic, with a weird sense of imagination, her on-off romance with Thomas (Merveille Lukaba) was one of the highlights of last series. This year, an incident at a club night in the very first episode leaves Thomas questioning his beliefs and aspects of his life. It sees a complete change in his character, which means he freezes out his mates. This leaves Pandora with a lot of problems and growing up to do.

The volatile, but cheeky Cook is back and up to his usual way of dealing with life. Smashing up cars, partying all night and never afraid to love the ladies, viewers will meet Cook’s mum this year, will this mark a drastic change? Can Cook also forgive and hang onto his strong friendship with Freddie? At times last year, Freddie kept Cook from completely losing his cool, but ended up stealing Effy away from him. Has that love triangle concluded? I doubt it, so Freddie could have a fight on his hands, to hold onto the girl of his dreams. Completing the dream team is the funny, but always unlucky in love JJ (Ollie Barbieri). JJ is forced to deal with asperger’s syndrome (a scenario that hasn’t really been tackled by anyone other TV drama) and at times, his disability was put to the test by the constant bickering between Cook & Freddie. As childhood friends, will the three be able to stick together forever? JJ’s amazing magical tricks have failed to impress the women, despite a one-off with Emily (Kathryn Prescott), but he does find new love this series in the form of new character Lara (Georgia Henshaw). Will this bring new responsibility to JJ’s life, or will it just make him more vulnerable.

Katy (Megan Prescott) is still feeling vulnerable after the events of last series. Her pride and confidence were dealt a huge blow by a failed relationship with Freddie, the attack by Effy on her and Emily’s determination to move out of her shadow. This series, Katy has taken a new look, will it turn her fortunes around.

Her twin sister on-screen and off-screen Emily (Kathryn Prescott) is less popular with the college, but found a new friend, in more ways than one. Emily’s lesbian relationship with the idealistic and opinionated Naomi (Lily Loveless) was another stand-out storyline of the third series. Emily’s reluctance to admit her sexuality early on, coupled with Naomi’s fear of being unable to keep their relationship a secret saw the two win fans over for some of the most powerful, romantic and juicy scenes of Series 3. So much so, a website named after the couple ‘Naomily’ has been set-up and the writers of Skins, plus both actresses deserve to take a load of credit for dealing brilliantly with a tricky storyline. The fans got their happy ending last time, as Emily & Naomi admitted their love for one another at the College Love Ball. At the start of this series, their romance moves onto another level, all loved-up and happy and Emily even leaves home, in an attempt to become more independent. However, the honeymoon doesn't last as Naomi is hiding a dark secret, which threatens to ruin everything between them. Can they weather the storm and stick together?

Maureen Lipman, Harry Enfield, Sally Phillips & David Baddiel were amongst the guest stars in the third series. Already confirmed for guests roles this time round are the likes of Pauline Quirke, Will Young and Chris Addison.

This year marks the end for the current cast, as they move on after two years. If the success of Dev Patel, who took the lead role in the Oscar winner ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is anything to go by, I predict a bright future for the likes of Lisa Blackwell, Lily Loveless, Ollie Barbieri and Kathryn Prescott, all having star acting quality. Talk of a movie for the future which could see both generations of characters meeting would be interesting if it came true. As for the future of the show, that remains in the balance, as it should do when a whole cast leaves for pastures new. However, the ingredients have been made for what could well be the best series of Skins yet. I personally can’t wait for it to begin….

More info can be found on Skins at www.e4.com/skins
Fans of 'Naomily' should check out www.naomily.com for exclusive Emily & Naomi content.