"Skins" Should Put Some Clothes On

"Skins" is the newest show on MTV and arguably the weirdest. Premiering in January of this year, it is the Americanized version of a very successful show that originated in the U.K. Having seen the ads leading up to its debut, I thought, "Meh." Just not my thing. So when I saw that it was on (which is all the time, because MTV replays episodes to the point of exhaustion), I would change the channel. That is, until last weekend when I was at a friends house and wasn't in control of the remote.

We watched two episodes and I came to the conclusion that "Skins" is a racier adaptation of the Canadian show "Degrassi," depicting teenage angst in all its glory. Sex, drugs, alcohol, peer pressure, identity, and self-image all make their way into the plot lines. And, not surprisingly, these high schoolers show a lot of 'skin' throughout the hour long episode.

I can understand why people are drawn to it. These troubled teens really do act their age, and they go through the highs and lows, the good and the miserable, that many teenagers face in real life. That could be because teenagers help write the show, giving it that raw feeling of emotion. Who better to write about the pressures of high school than those living it? However, when watching, some of the dialogue felt very forced, not the natural way that high schoolers speak. And some scenes were just plain awkward and I was left feeling uncomfortable.

Having never seen the British version of the show I can't compare the two. Though there was a great deal of skepticism from critics and fans that bringing "Skins" to America would ruin its authenticity because American television is much more prudish than it is in the U.K. Americans are OK with showing violence on t.v., but sex and drugs are more of a no-no on basic cable. From what I saw, however, it didn't look like they were holding back. I was very surprised by the amount of sexual content that was displayed.

"Skins" is not a show that I plan to keep watching. I was right in my assumption that is wasn't for me. But if you don't feel awkward watching a 15-year-old masturbate without realizing that her grandmother with alzheimer's has just walked in the room and crawled in bed with her, be my guest.