Reviewed by Justin Bateman
Stars Kaya Scodelario, Lisa Backwell, Jack O'Connell, Merveille Lukeba, Luke Pasqualino, Ollie Barbieri,
Kathryn Prescott, Megan Prescott, Lily Loveless, Simon Massey | Written by Jamie Brittain & Bryan Elsley
UK certification 18 | UK RRP £24.99| Runtime 450 minutes | Directed by Simon Massey & Charles Martin
Having not seen series 1 or 2 of Skins, I had few preconceptions about this third instalment of the Channel 4 teen drama. But as I watched the first couple of episodes I was fully prepared to write it off as an exercise in shock value over substance, a collection of pretty young things doing drugs, having sex and swearing a lot but with no intelligence or emotional reasoning to back it up. How wrong I was.
Series 3 has an almost entirely new cast with only innocent Pandora (Backwell) and temptress Effy (Scodelario) remaining. Joining them at Roundview College are cool skateboarder Freddie (Pasqualino), nerdy magician JJ (Barbieri) and one-man riot Cook (O’Connell), best friends and self-proclaimed ‘Three Musketeers’. Then there are the twins, Katie and Emily, Naomi, and Thomas from the Congo. Between them, the episodes contrive to cover traditional teenage topics such as unrequited love, drug-taking and same sex relationships, as well as immigration (sort of), parental affairs and even reality television.
And some of it really is contrived but it doesn’t matter for a number of reasons. First of all, the scripts are filled with funny, realistic dialogue. Secondly, they’re delivered expertly by a necessarily young and vibrant cast, all of whom are eminently watchable. Barbieri is at first irritating and then endearing as borderline autistic JJ, Scodelario smoulders effortlessly throughout as Effy but most fun of all is O’Connell’s Cook, clearly having a whale of a time as he wreaks havoc on the inhabitants of Bristol, himself and his friends included. They’re supported by a top notch cast of British comedic talent including Harry Enfield, Morwenna Banks, Mackenzie Crook and Ardal O’Hanlon.
First and last episode aside, each episode focuses on one character and as the series progresses, we begin to build up a more detailed picture of that person and why they behave like they do. Every character is fully rounded, complete with flaws alongside more redeeming qualities, so it’s almost impossible not to feel some sympathy for them. Even Cook, who seems intent on self-destruction, eventually finds some form of closure in the season finale.
Entertaining, energetic and emotive, you’d be hard pressed to find a more captivating depiction of teen angst than this. As Pandora herself might say, “It’s, like, totally whizzer.”
EXTRAS *** Video diaries; Behind the scenes of each episode; 4 x Skins stories; Behind the scenes of the London and final auditions; Trailers and behind the scenes of the trailers. The episode guides are the most interesting and entertaining, with the main character from each leading the way. The ‘Skins stories’ seem to be little more than occasionally amusing non-sequiturs but with more than 90 minutes of footage in total, the overall package should satisfy the die-hard Skins fan.