Skins American Style

The first episode of the US version of Skins was horrible.  It was nearly identical to the first episode of the British counterpart except much more watered-down.  It's understandable that most viewers have never seen the British version, but it was really like going from Playboy to Skinemax.  If Skins going to be the like that, it would have been nice to see more of an American twist or go in a different direction.  The acting was subpar, even for MTV.  It was over-the-top and in-your-face.  Every joke does not need to be spelled out and so obvious.  The actors did everything short of winking every time you were supposed to laugh.  Subtlety, people!  The most egregious mistake, however, was the casting.  Part of the appeal of Skins is that the actors are actually teenagers and not like the cast of Scream.  The British cast looked like they had some mileage on them, though.  Drew Barrymore-style.  The Americans seemed so small and young.  All the characters are fucked up, but there's just something more inherently appealing and likable about those Brits.  They're flawed but you're rooting for them.  The Americans come off whiny and spoiled.  The biggest mistake was the casting of Tony, the show's most important character.  Nicholas Hoult plays British Tony with an magnetism that makes you want to let him hook up with your sister.  He's an asshole and he doesn't care about you, but you want to be friends with him anyway.  In contrast, James Milo Newman does a fairly average job with American Tony, but doesn't leave you wanting to find out what going to happen next week.  And that, my friends, is the most important thing.  I'll stick to The Hard Times of RJ Berger.  1 star.