The much−awaited teenage drama "Skins" made its debut on MTV on Jan. 7. Based on the award−winning hit in the U.K., "Skins" is marketed toward teenagers and explores issues such as teen drug use, drinking and sexuality. Though "Skins" was a huge hit in Britain, its U.S. successor has not lived up to its name, disappointing many fans of the original series.
Heavy censorship is largely to blame for the flop; a large amount of swearwords, drug references and sex was removed when the U.K. version was adapted for American viewers. The British "Skins" garnered such a large following because of its ability to portray real teenage life. By toning down so much of the show, MTV is not only forgoing a possible hit, but it is also unnecessarily trying to shelter American children from the dangers of real life.
The idea for the original U.K. "Skins" was not thought up by a producer or a screen−writer, but by 19−year−old Jamie Brittain, who suggested that his father, television writer Bryan Elsley, write a show about "the real lives" of teenagers. The British version has several writers under the age of 20, and Elsley has stated that it his goal to achieve the same in the U.S.
A young writing staff is one of the many reasons that "Skins" is able to portray teenage life in such an honest light. "Skins" is an original product, made by people who face the same issues as their characters on a daily basis, and it is this brutal honesty that gives the show its power.
American censorship standards — much more stringent than their British equivalents — simply will not let that honesty shine through in the MTV remake. Five days after the first episode premiered in the U.S., the Parents Television Council (PTC), a media watchdog group, had already begun attacking the show.
"‘Skins' may well be the most dangerous show for children we have ever seen," PTC President Tim Winter said.
The PTC may see it as "dangerous," but the British "Skins" has been one of the most realistic shows about teenage life to air on television — and that is something to be admired. Some aspects of the show are no doubt a little over the top: In one episode, for example, a few teenagers steal a car after an all−night bender and drive it into a lake.
But despite some hyperbole, "Skins" gets to the heart of what the lives of teenagers are really like when adults aren't watching. And while it may not be what parents want their children to see, all of the sex, drug use and general mischief that occurs in "Skins" definitely exists, and it is almost guaranteed that their kids will have to deal with these things some time in the near future. Far too many people fail to understand that shielding children from bad words and the realities of drugs will not make these things disappear from their world.
For too long, conservative watchdogs have put up a red herring, lambasting the portrayal of vice in the media. Parents are not going to prevent their children from turning into "Skins" characters by sweeping truths about our world under the carpet. They should be educating their children about the realities of life. By chopping out so much of the original script, MTV is ruining the impetus behind the original "Skins." It is impossible to portray the real lives of teenagers if everything that is supposed to be "real" is removed for fear of offending the more puritanical members of society.
Unless MTV can somehow manage to make the show more uncensored — and more realistic — like its British counterpart, the American version of "Skins" will probably become a B−list show akin to "The Secret Life of the American Teenager": something that claims to show what real life is like for teenagers, but is at best some 40−year−old writer's sugar−coated pipe dream about the harshness of adolescent life.
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