One of MTV’s latest series, ‘Skins,’ had a lot to live up to with its inaugural season. The hyped-up advertisements about the series brought the commentary up tenfold, and the fact that the show started off as an extremely popular BBC teenage drama doesn’t help. With the season finally coming to a close, MTV proves the show has come a long way in the scripted series department.

When MTV first announced its release of an American take on ‘Skins,’ it seemed as if the show would surely flop. A network primarily dominated by reality shows (and maybe some music), MTV has had its fair share of struggles in the past with the art of the scripted series.

In 1999, the network premiered ‘Undressed,’ a racy late-night dramedy about collegiate sexual encounters. The show failed to outshine its ‘Real World’ and ‘Road Rules’ competitors and was canceled within two years. However, the network’s next move was somewhat intelligent. ‘My Life as Liz’ uses the aesthetics of a reality show but is labeled a scripted comedy. Though the show holds minimal substance, its first season’s good ratings imply there may be some longevity to the series. Still, the network lacks a legitimate drama.

So was this new ‘Skins’ adaptation successful? Though the promo looked as if the show portrayed a terribly unrealistic representation following a group of hipsters and their rebelliously unorthodox lifestyles (something I know I’d definitely hate), I had to find out for myself. And I must say I did not hate it by any means.

The pilot episode was exceptional,providing the audience with that ‘hook-you-in’ factor, which is sure to captivate and pull in the viewer. It’s relatively easy to zip through the first six episodes and catch up. Next are the ridiculously surreal situations in which the characters find themselves.

The show’s strength is its character development, most likely the reason for its popularity here in the states. In series such as’Flash Forward,’ which failed after one season, characters were all introduced in the first episode in, well, a flash. You weren’t invested in the story because you weren’t investedwith the characters. In ‘Skins,’ each episode focuses on the plights of one character — this makes it easy to follow and catches the viewer’s interest.

Despite the sometimes ludicrous storylines, the series will undoubtedly become a success. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s appealing to a younger demographic that eats this stuff up. As pathetic as this sounds, teenagers want to be as rebellious as possible without actually defying the norm. ‘Skins’ is the perfect escapism for teenagers to pretend like they’re a part of some ‘utopian’ lifestyle they wish they had the cojones to mimic. What it all boils down to is that teenagers love watching other teenagers make out. The end.

Also, MTV is finally taking a step in the right direction. Its older audiences were so invested in ‘The Real World,’ ‘The Hills’ and other horrendously fake reality shows broadcasted. Those teenagers aren’t teenagers anymore. It’s time for the network to start luring a new generation of viewers in an innovatively fresh fashion. MTV can be taken more seriously now.

So while you won’t find me dying to TiVo the show at the expense of being labeled a pedophile, you can bet teens and preteens alike will gather around the television Monday nights at 10 p.m. for their weekly helping of ‘Skins,’ followed by a healthy serving of status updates and pointless tweets: ‘Skins, like, IS my life!’

 raparks@syr.edu

Published on February 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm