Skins - Series 4 [DVD]

 

 

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I am, as you all know, referring to Skins series 3, a program I have watched more than any other and even written a 16000 word review/recap of it. It was a series that reached out and touched people. Like Glee, it transcended its target demographic. It was important television and Series 4 was the most anticipated (by me anyway) program ever since the moon landing.
And then we got Skins series 4 which was like being slapped with a wet piece of cod. It wasn't all bad, not by a long way, and did have some good stuff. But what it didn't have was the magic of Series 3. So, what happened? And I should add that in my attempt to find out, we'll doing serious spoilers, so if you aren't already familiar with it, you'd be best off reading another review.
It opened promisingly if grimly. Sophia, a girl unknown to us wanders through a heaving club, walking by or bumping into our friends. After walking past a snogging Naomi and Emily she climbs onto a balcony and jumps off. The first two episode are about the aftermath. When Naomi lies to the police in front of Emily, Emily starts digging into what really happened. What she finds out shatters her relationship with Naomi, even though they've just moved in together, and they spend the rest of the series in a living hell as Emily is full of anger and resentment and Naomi is full of guilt and self-pity.
Thomas, who had been running the club night is expelled from Roundview by the new ruthless head who speaks softly and carries a bull-pizzle whip with which to lash recalcitrant students. Actually that's a metaphor, or maybe just a fantasy of mine. Thomas then undergoes his own journey into the heart of darkness by foolishly if understandably (she's hot, she's talented, she's from the Congo, and she wants him anyway) having sex with his minister's daughter and then, stupidly, tells Pandora who won't, at Effy's urging, forgive him.
So far, so glum.
On the other hand, Katie 4king Fitch comes up trumps. When her family starts to collapse around her due to her father's incompetent financial dealings, it's Katie who holds everything together even to the extent of getting them to movie in with Naomi and Emily. What do you think, Mysterious Voice-over from The Weakest Link? "Well Ian, from the weakest player in the last round, Katie has become the strongest in this one." Thank you, sir. Katie, unlike some of our characters, is growing up and doing a good job it it.
The next biggest surprise is Cook. An even bigger one is his mother who is just as selfish a monster as his father was in series 3. Except she's a millionaire conceptual artist who has loud sex within the hearing of Cook and his 10 year old half-brother. Cook comes to learn that his actions have consequences which he finally faces up to and it appears that he too is beginning to grow up. Sadly it doesn't last.
Thank god we get some well-earned light relief with JJ falling in love with a single mother who cute and pretty and bright enough to realise that a gentle 18 year old who flirts with old ladies at a checkout is a better bet than her chav ex-boyfriend. There are lots of funny scenes and painful ones too, plus an encounter with JJ's quiet father who has always thought that JJ would do just fine even while he tolerates JJ's mum dragging him to see dopy shrinks. And it has a happy end.
Meanwhile, Freddie and Effy (my two least favourite characters) are living in a haze of drugs, sex, and madness. Freddie blames his father for his mother's suicide and when Effy develops similar symptoms he can't cope. This leaves Effy at the mercy of an obsessive psycho-shrink who makes her even worse and who, when it seems she's out of his clutches, murders Freddie and Series 4 jumps the shark. Madness is a serious and important subject and it was right to tackle it in Skins. But what they should not have done was to introduce a genuinely homicidal psychologist into the mix and reduce it to cheapest and crudest of melodrama. More than anything else, this ruined series 4 for me. And getting his comeuppance from Cook didn't help any either.
And so to the last episodes when loose ends are tied up and relationships are resolved. Like you, I desperately wanted Naomi and Emily to get back together properly and if they hadn't I would probably have destroyed the television set and stalked the writers with a baseball bat. That's another metaphor; I wouldn't really. So, no surprise, they did get back together with lots of crying and some kissing (not enough). Thomas, in the space of five minutes is seen running by a coach who tells him he's international class and fixes him up with a sports scholarship at Harvard. Wow! And they say fairy tales don't happen. Pandora, who was always cleverer than she admitted to be, has got several squillion A*s and a history to scholarship to- Oh, you'll never guess.
Outside the party in Freddie's shed where all this has been happening, lurks psycho-shrink who is followed home by Cook who finds, all neatly laid out in the living room, the evidence that his best mate has been murdered. Violence is about to ensue when the credits come up.
Great cast, great acting, great adult guest stars, and some bloody horrible plot developments. Still, we'll always have Skins 3.

Unlike a lot of people, I welcomed the change of cast at the end of Series 2. I never really "connected" with any of the characters from the first generation, so for me the change wasn't unwanted.
When I first saw series 3 - and this may have been because of my low expectations - I was instantly impressed. The characters seemed a lot more interesting, genuine, and it was also nice to see the characters actually meet and become friends (which we didn't get to see in 1 and 2).
Having seen all of the episodes of Series 4, I think it's fair to say that this series is not as good. This is ironic, as this is probably the most ambitious of all of the series so far. The main problem is that, like the previous three series, each episode focuses on a character, but in this case there is too much focus, almost to the point that it excludes the other characters. Obviously, if you like the character, you will probably enjoy the episode, but if you don't care for them, you probably won't. For example, I watched Thomas' episode on television as it was the first episode, but probably will avoid it when watching the series again on DVD.
For me, the Emily/Naomi relationship is the most interesting storyline of the show, and whilst Emily's episode was good, I felt annoyed that Naomi wasn't given her own episode this series (and contrary to what people claim, the last episode is not "mainly" Naomi's). To me, it just seems strange that the creators chose to give Thomas and Katie their own episodes, yet Naomi and Pandora - who are, in my opinion, much more interesting and entertaining characters - don't. Pandora was extremely underused this series, which is a shame.
The Freddy/Effy/Cook triangle is also more interesting and emotive this series, which is a good thing as it is the main focus of at least three episodes.
Ultimately Series 4 is better than most things on TV despite its flaws, and in my opinion, is better than Series 1 and 2. It just doesn't live up to the high of Series 3.

***WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!***

I had high hopes for this series that unfortunately went unfulfilled. One of the main flaws of Series 4 is that it's just too bleak. Skins is a drama but in it's early days the dark bits were balanced out with some very light-hearted scenes. This is not the case for Series 4. Right from the off we are bombarded relentlessly with suicide, adultery, more adultery, mental illness, attempted suicide, and (inexplicably) memory erasure. Having said that, episode 6 is outstanding. Although it's clearly a 'filler' episode, it's unashamedly charming and heartwarming. Episodes 1 - 4 are entertaining enough in their own right but seem to be a little lacking in some areas. Episode 5 is just horrendous and is an outrageously blatant case of 'jumping the shark'. As I mentioned before, episode 6 is excellent. Episode 7 is far too angsty and takes a ridiculous look at mental illness (a scene featuring mental patients on space hoppers comes to mind) and throws logic out of the window. This is where the aforementioned memory erasure comes in. Episode 8 is the crowning turd in the water pipe. It contains some of the laziest writing I've ever seen in my life. Bringing in random plot elements that make no sense and are factually incorrect (Bryan Elsley could have at least bothered to do some basic research), turning the episode into some kind of fantasy horror film (You'll understand when you see the last few minutes of the episode) and leaving absolutely everything up in the air on an exceptionally irritating cliffhanger. The cast give reasonable performances but then again if you give a writer bad material, it's not going to turn out well. The phrase "you can't polish a turd" is particularly apt here. The guest stars are mainly good but not really up to the standard of the previous series (unfortunately Harry Enfield has vanished despite playing the father of the main character). Those of paticular note are Chris Addison, Paul Kaye, Georgia Henshaw, and Margaret John. While I'm on the subject of guest stars, there's another thing that really got my goat: stunt casting. For reasons beyond the sphere of human knowledge, Will Young is a guest star in episode 5.

The series as a whole is worth a watch but I'm warning you, don't get your hopes up.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Poor very poor.
Well i through series 3 was bad, this is just the worst series of skins ever. And they plan to make a movies based around this gen why. Read more

Published 10 months ago by 7leke9

5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT!
So far, this is the best skins. The story was far more interesting and the acting has improved ALOT. the characters are likeable and relatable. Read more

Published 12 months ago

2.0 out of 5 stars Buy if you liked series 3, don't expect it to satisfy you.
I must start off by saying that in my opinion, series 3 was excellent. Like many others, I wasn't really keen on the idea of a completely new cast. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Joe

5.0 out of 5 stars skins 4
Another great series. Expect it to get a little more bizarre than ever before. Definately a darker, more grown up series. Stick it in your player, sit back and enjoy the ride!

Published 14 months ago by M. Harwin

5.0 out of 5 stars Great !
Amazing stories, amazing characters, and beautiful actors ! As sad as funny... Best TV show ever !!!

Published 17 months ago by Marie CB

4.0 out of 5 stars Still awesome
Skins still has that awesome formula that works so well, perhaps not quite as good as the first 2 seasons that where truly inspired but that is a very hard act to follow :)... Read more

Published 20 months ago by G. Babington

5.0 out of 5 stars Epicc :)
Skins: Series 4 is darker and deeper than ever as the gang - led by the irrepressible Cook (Jack O'Connell) - return for their second year at college. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Whitney S. Cunninham

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely now a Skins Addict
Thought I might be getting on a bit for this teen series but was persuaded by my daughter to watch it. Read more

Published 21 months ago by Kammylamby

5.0 out of 5 stars Skins the best there is!
Skins se 4, is amazing! Its twisted and totally sick! You cant not love it!

Published 21 months ago by Therese Thomassen

5.0 out of 5 stars Skins Series 4
For the money this is a great relaxant. All the usual Skins elements are present (humour,irony,close observation) with the undeniable plus of a lot of Effie-time.

Published 21 months ago by Stephen Lovelock

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