S1E5: Skins is frustrating. There’s really no way else to put it. The latest installment further proves that it really can’t figure itself out. Sometimes, the show’s characters channel deep, genuine heartfelt moments, but then for some reason or another, they follow up those moments with forced humor or a botched joke. A lot of this can be contributed to the poor acting, but I also think it stems from the fact that, as I said last week, the writers are just trying so hard to be cool that it all comes off forced.
“One more unexcused absence and he’ll have to re-take the year.” -Teacher
“Stanley” opens with, well, Stanley (played by Daniel Flaherty, who’s appearance we aren’t entirely clear on with all that damn hair). His teacher is meeting with his parents to tell them that if he skips any more class, he’ll have to retake his entire junior year. This, of course, pisses off his dad, who we learn is a loud, obnoxious, in-your-face type of parent. It’s very clear that he believes in a “tough-love” type of upbringing, something he learned from his father, and his father learned from his father, etc. So Stanley’s father vows to toughen him up because according to him, only “meth heads” repeat their junior year.
“You guys should come to my choir concert tonight. Stanley can drive you.” -Tony
In his first day post-getting yelled at for skipping school, Stanley misses the bus. He discovers his dad’s old car in the garage so he takes that to school, but there’s a catch — Stanley doesn’t have a license. Regardless, he gets to school with no problems just in time, and quickly, everyone is in awe of Stanley and his new ride. Tony, being the “leader” that he is, tells Stanley to go to his choir concert that night and to bring Michelle with him. He agrees, and sneaks off with the car that night. They show up at Tony’s concert, which ends with Tony kissing his on-stage partner, which sends Michelle into a rage. After the concert, she breaks backstage and gets in a fight with the girl Tony kissed until finally, Stanley takes her home where Michelle, while extremely upset, takes out her frustration on Stanley.
“I took dad’s car. It, kind of, caught fire.” -Stanley
So Stanley goes home and is sad, but before he falls asleep, Tony calls and requests that he come pick him up. Stanley obliges and after he picks Tony up, he gets pulled over by the cops and because he was improperly driving his car, the vehicle overheats and lights on fire. Basically, in the blink of an eye, everything fell apart for Stanley — the car is destroyed, he angered Michelle, his dad will be pissed. In his frustration, he blames Tony for all the problems (which is fair, considering Tony pressured him to do it all).
Now, let’s pause and talk about this for a moment because this is a perfect example of what’s not working in Skins. James Newman, who plays Tony, is just bad. For some reason, he thinks the way that you need to be “cool” is to talk in a flat, monotone voice all the time and pretend to laugh at everything. He’s not likable — at all — and considering so many people are willing to do whatever he asks, him not being likable really doesn’t make sense. Sure, maybe the writers don’t want us to like Tony so we’re even more frustrated when people like Stanley do what he asks, but come on, we need to at least be able to see why characters are willing to do things for him. Right now, he’s not funny. He’s not friendly. He’s not charming. He’s just a dickhead. There’s nothing alluring about Tony’s character so we can’t even begin to understand why another character would sacrifice themselves for him.
“I think my parents got that call too. My dad just yelled at me and told me to be less weird.” -Stanley
After the whole incident with the car, Stanley goes to the rehab center to see Cadie to “have someone to talk to.” And, um, okay? Outside of that very, very brief moment in last week’s episode, it’s been fairly obvious that Stanley doesn’t really care about Cadie. Apparently, the writers want us to think that there’s something there and Stanley actually does care for Cadie, but to be frank, I just don’t buy it. If anything, Stanley just uses Cadie. He uses her for drugs. He uses her as someone to talk to. Maybe he thinks he cares about her, or wants to care about her, but it’s just not coming through. Honestly, this whole scene in the rehab center just felt off and out of place.
“Break the cycle, Stanley.” -Judge
Stanley’s dad decides that he won’t drop the charges and makes Stanley appear in court. Fortunately for Stanley, the judge is a little more rational and lets him go, letting his father know that he should maybe be a little less of a jerk or Stanley will turn into a jerk. It’s a gracious move but his father doesn’t approve, which leads to Stanley’s mom leaving, at least for a couple of days. What follows is actually fairly sweet. Stanley and his father share a couple beers, talk about life and actually identify with one another.
These serious moments are what Skins does best, because instead of using forced dialogue and attempts to seem cool by talking about drugs (oh my god!) and sex (dear lord!), the show actually lets the actors act. They don’t worry about appearing hip. They’re just dealing with their human emotions, and that’s it. Does that mean I’m asking for an increase in seriousness on the show? Of course not, because if they filled up the hour with moments like this, the show would lack balance and would just become a melodrama. But, I think the writers need to examine what’s working within these more serious moments and try to apply it to the comedic scenes, or — and this might be a better option — just get a new Tony.
