Skins

I will keep this simple.

The first few minutes hold the secret to the show's failure. Tony looks out the window and sees his neighbor, a naked older woman, about to get dressed. She has bigger and nicer breasts than her UK counterpart, but we do not see these breasts. I hope you understand that this is not about breasts but solely a metaphor for the whole show.

Even though, some minor details were brushed up, the rest plays out exactly the same as the UK version; only more rushed and soulless. Tony, the main protagonist of the first episode, is supposed to be manipulative but interesting. In this version, he's merely a douche.

This show lacks new ideas as well the vigor and the originality from its predecessor. A total failure.

Once I saw the preview for this "American" - *cough* Canadian *cough* version of Skins, I knew it would be bad. But I didn't expect it to be THIS horrible. The acting is atrocious and so poor. These "actors" (and I use that term lightly) are definitely doing this for the money because there is no way anyone who wants to seriously be an actor/actress is going to do this awful. Anyone who has passion for acting wouldn't do THIS poor of a job. When they rehearse, do their scripts just say their lines and have footnotes telling them to have no emotion whatsoever? This cast is so pathetic. It could be a hit if some big changes occur. If it continues to be as crappy as the pilot, it will not be a success. "MTV's highly anticipated Skins..."? Yeah right. Anything you consider bad acting cannot compare to this. It simply cannot.

Every line seems rehearsed and unnatural. Instead of trying to own up to the original actors, they should have made it somewhat their own. Hopefully, they'll become more comfortable with these roles and grow into them in time or something because this show just has FAIL tattooed ALL OVER IT.

I'm a big fan of the UK Skins. So when I heard there was going to be a US version I was a little apprehensive.

After watching the first episode, well, I was just disappointed. The entire episode, while exactly the same as the UK one, just didn't have the necessary spark to it.

The acting is very mediocre and needs to be improved on greatly. I get that this is the first acting gig that they've had, so I'll let that slid just a little. Some of the actors aren't necessarily as bad as the other, which gives the show some tolerability.

Having watched the second episode, which is completely new, I can say that some faith is restored. This episode is better than the first and gives a story line that I personally can't wait to see expanded on.

All I can say is that, I hope by season 2 (should it get that far!) the actors will have improved and will win over the viewers more.

With a little more work, this show could potentially catch up to the UK one.

...and they succeeded in satisfying them. I'm a Brit implant, so I love to watch my BBC America shows and I loved the original Skins (I even think Season 3's episodes were less than the original cast, but way better than this American/Canadian version). I do remember hearing that maybe Nicholas Hoult (Tony) was the only person that had any real acting experience (from what i remember reading, i may be wrong). The second thing is, like everyone said, they were British teenagers: Skins plots were relevant to growing up over there--they were slightly over the top, but any English kid could relate.

The way the characters act are the way British kids act growing up: that delivery, the tones, the attitudes from Tony and Jai. ALL the characters stood out. In this USA version, it does come off as plodding and dull-i've traveled all over the US (Canada too) and like England, there is a distinctness about they way kids are...so like everyone said, they should take the overall theme and make it American.

The Office is probably the only recent offering that stands on its own as an English concept with American humor. They should talk to those writers.

Having seen every episode of both versions, I can categorically say that Skins should not have been remade in America... If you've seen both versions, you'll most likely understand what I mean when I say that the show just doesn't work for the United States. It was originally an England based show, and it was written with the habits and mannerisms of English teenagers in mind. The way the script and everything was written, is specifically for England, and being molded to try and fit America, just makes the whole thing seem forced and fake. I think what writers should have done was make a different story line completely, but still keep the basic concept and ideals of the original Skins, instead of more or less remaking the script verbatim. A for effort, D- for finished product.