RISQUE: MTV’s new “Skins” is Brit adaptation. (
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The idea of A&E’s new inside-TV sitcom “Episodes” is that a hit British series is brought to Hollywood, where it is immediately ruined. And, yes, it happens all the time.
Enter MTV’s “Skins” — from the darkly funny British hit of the same name — debuting tonight. It’s even produced by the father of the father-and-son team behind the British series. Unfortunately, dark, in this case, looks more like lights out.
“Skins” (a term for rolling papers) is about a group of blue-collar teens. But what, in the original version, is a combination of laugh-out-loud funny and scary comes across here as “Gossip Girl” on unemployment.
The producer/creator Bryan Elsley, who may know British teens very well, misses with American kids. Even the lead, Tony (James Newman), apes Tom Cruise in “Risky Business.”
The rest of the teen cast — Michelle (Rachel Thevenard), Stanley (Daniel Flaherty), Abub (Ron Mustafaa), Tea (Sofia Black-D’Elia), Daisy (Camille Cresencia-Mills), Chris (Jesse Carere), Cadie (Britne Oldford) and Eura (Eleanor Zichy) — for the most part (with the exception of Flaherty) are fairly forgettable.
The kids do a huge amount of drugs, steal keys, phones and money from other kids at a party, have endless sex.
Sex, drugs and rolling papers are all fine on MTV but, somehow, four-letter words are not, so the kids use fake curses. Right.
The scripts are nearly line-for-line copies of the Brit version. But the scenes are over the top, the kids are too good-looking and seem to have spent too much time at acting camp.
“Skins” could have been great fun instead of just OK. Think of all those fantastic American teen movies, from the 1980s Brat Pack classics to “Superbad.” and “American Pie.”
I’m not giving up on the show, but the producers need some direction. Or a ticket home.