David Knox can’t wait for more of the crazy cool stories of kids from Skins.
Often television shows don’t hit their stride until after the first season. They iron out the wrinkles, having learnt who the audience like and return to the writer’s table full of confidence. So I’m really looking forward to seeing what Brian Elsley comes up with for the second season of Skins.
This troupe of Bristol teens burst onto our screens in January, telling dynamic stories of teenage angst, ambition, romance, peer pressure, self esteem, anorexia and sexual identity. Wearing their hearts on their sleeves, they blew the rich kids of The OC and Gossip Girl out of the water.
Premiering just weeks after its UK conclusion, this is the equivalent of SBS ‘fast-tracking’.
If you didn’t follow the first series (you don’t know what you’re missing) the title refers to the way the series focuses on a different member every episode to get ‘under their skins’.
When we last left them, alpha male Tony (Nicholas Hoult) had been hit by a bus. He’s back for the second series – but you’ll have to see the first ep to learn any more. Gay dancer Maxxie, played gloriously by Mitch Hewer, is this week’s focus. With his platinum crop and toned physique, Hewer’s clearly been working out during the season break. A twink hasn’t seduced the camera this effectively since Justin in Queer As Folk.
But Maxxie is much more than eye candy. He’s a loyal friend to Tony, for whom he harbours a crush, and probably the most well-adjusted kid in the gang. Hewer is also a killer dancer. He leaps through the opening scene’s dance rehearsal with ease – look out Rhys Borbidge!
Maxxie’s dad wants him to become a builder, a story device that’s a bit Billy Eliot for my liking. Watch for the less plot-driven scenes where he laughs off the taunts of homophobes – you won’t believe where that ends up!
The other shining kid I’m waiting to revisit is Sid (Mike Bailey) who, from behind his beanie and spectacles, brims with vulnerability, and is usually handed the production’s best dramatic scenes. But it’s all the cast combined who are the reason to love Skins. Many of them first-time actors, they’re a joy to behold – which is why it will be so much harder when Elsley turfs all but one for the third series. Even in TV you’re too old at 18?
Skins returns 10pm Monday on SBS.
TV Guide
FRIDAY MAY 16
[TEN/1:00pm] Oprah. ‘Wives Confess They Are Gay’ and Opie confesses absolutely nothing, particularly nothing in reference to her best pal, Gayle King. On Monday it’s the widely reported post-op M2F transgender interview with ‘The Pregnant Man’.
[SBS/10:00pm] Miss International Queen. Meet the bizarre UK straight man who travels to Thailand to compete in the ‘Mr Miss World’ pageant, with his girlfriend in tow. Rpt.
[Nine/10:55pm] Blue Murder. Richard Roxburgh is amazing in the ABC’s 1995 essay on police corruption. Equally fascinating are the fashions and hairstyles of a younger Gary Sweet, Marcus Graham and Alex Dimitriades.
SATURDAY 17
[SBS/8:30pm] Big Love. The enforced outing of the polygamist family (an illegal practice in Utah) echoes many familiar feelings: anger, mistrust and defensiveness. A billboard for Bill’s hardware, ‘Henrickson Home Plus is Us’ is defaced with spray paint to read ‘+ US +US +US’.
SUNDAY 18
[ABC/8:30pm] The Ruby In The Smoke. Billie Piper stars as Sally Lockhart, a bold Victorian heroine, caught up in London’s deadly opium trade and hunted by an assassin. With accomplices in tow, she faces off against a murderous opponent played by Julie Walters. Unpreviewed.
[MovieExtra/9:30pm] The L Word. Dana’s battle with breast cancer is defining this third series, and a shining performance by Erin Daniels coming to terms with her diminishing body. It’s made all the more ironic by Jenny’s squeeze Moira/Max trying to her extricate her feminine body parts to assume a male identity.
MONDAY 19
[Seven/9:30pm] Boston Legal. When an HIV positive teenager sues her high school for recommending abstinence over condom use, Alan (James Spader) delivers a blazing speech that should be mandatory for every school in America. “It’s sort of forgotten about, AIDS in this country. Treatments have improved dramatically, drugs are keeping people alive for many years after they become infected. But the grim butcher’s bill for this pandemic still keeps growing and growing. 65 million people worldwide have become infected. One time [of] unprotected sex can kill you. A condom can save you! It is inconceivable that every child in the world isn’t taught that!”
[ABC/9:30pm] More Than Enough Rope. Another highlights edition with musical guests, many of whom will be relevant to readers: P!nk, kd lang, Elton John, and a feature interview with REM’s Michael Stipe.
TUESDAY 20
[SBS/1:20am Wed] The Tasty Bust Reunion. It’s nearly 14 years since Victoria Police raided the Commerce Club in Melbourne, strip-searching 463 gay patrons and staff in a drug raid. It set back police and community relations into ‘the Victorian era’ and led to legal payouts worth thousands. Rpt.
WEDNESDAY 21
[Seven/7:30pm] Ugly Betty. Betty befriends the new sandwich guy, who’s kinda Latino hot. Justin tries to become more masculine and rebellious. Henry gets mad which causes Marc to say “I’ve never been so turned on”. And convincing the memory-lapsed Alexis they are really best friends, Whilhelmena photoshops herself into old snapshots, including one fake pic at a gay pride rally.
THURSDAY 22
[Seven/8:30pm] Bones. Although Stephen Fry guest stars as a shrink this week, the more amusing moments come from Brennan’s gags about sleeping with FBI Agent Sullivan, who might have a small penis. Bones indeed….
David Knox can’t wait for more of the crazy cool stories of kids from Skins.
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