Controversy over MTV's Skins

[Cyn]

The only time I know of MTV to play any videos at all is between 4 and 9 in the morning. Exactly when I don't want to watch/listen to videos. Ditto for vh1.

Then again, I gave up on MTV when they quit airing "120 Minutes" - possibly the greatest video program they ever had. Thankfully I had the smarts to tape several of the broadcasts from 1989-1990. Frakking awesome industrial and alternative videos.

[BaileyCatts]

Is this show a reality show (loose meaning .. you know what I mean ), like they specifically tried out, were picked/cast like The Real World (which I used to watch in the early years, but haven't watched for years)? Or is it a scripted show and they are actors following written scripts?

[zaphyre14]

It's scripted. I only caught part of one episode of the US version, but I watched the UK original and found it to be mediocre (but maybe I'm just too old for it?).

As for PTC, well, one of my neighbors is an ardent member and periodically bombards the neighborhood with PTC newsletters about how bad television is destroying American Family Values. Last week when I was walking the dog, she was standing on her doorstep screaming at her snow-blowing husband to keep that effin' snow off my effin' car.) Seems to me she should be more concerned about the language kids hear at home rather than what they see on TV.

[Impromptu]

I was curious about this show (because of the controversy - I would not have bothered otherwise). I know the BBC version has gotten a lot of critical praise, but the MTV version? Zzzzzzzzzzz. I was more offended by the acting than anything else. I'm guessing that without the PTC controversy, the show might have died the natural death of lame programming (which would have been the kindest thing to happen to it). Now it will probably go on forever.

[reckless]

On the timing issue, I'm in California and have DirecTV. My feed for MTV, like a lot of cable shows, uses east coast timing. So Skins actually shows at 7 pm.

As for the show, I recorded the US version, but I watched some of the first and second seasons on BBC America and thought the show was very hit and miss. Some episodes were quite good, but others were terrible. I tried to watch the new cast in season three and gave up after one episode. The actors were terrible.

For people unfamiliar with Skins, one of its key concepts is that the writers are members of the age group being depicted and most of the actors are amateurs with little or no acting experience so they come across as more "real."

[vesperholly]

"The most dangerous show on television"....what a joke. This makes me want to watch it now.

Me too!!!

Please, I watched the trashy hos of Melrose Place at 13, and I certainly didn't go out and act like them. TV people just like to think that they have more influence than they truly do.

Does anyone remember MTV's Undressed? Ran from 99-02. Sounds very similar.

I miss the MTV of the early 90s ... they had an HIV-positive person on Real World in 1993, hosted political candidate forums and a huge get-out-the-vote campaign, showed reruns of My So-Called Life and Daria ... sigh.

[Cyn]

Does anyone remember MTV's Undressed? Ran from 99-02. Sounds very similar.

I miss the MTV of the early 90s ... they had an HIV-positive person on Real World in 1993, hosted political candidate forums and a huge get-out-the-vote campaign, showed reruns of My So-Called Life and Daria ... sigh.

I don't remember Undressed, and I only briefly watch the occasional snippet of The Real World, but I definitely remember that little shit, Puck, being all over tabloid/entertainment news when he was evicted from the house for being such an antagonistic asshole .

I also remember many a night partying while Headbanger's Ball was on:

<---------- Two hours of this, both on the TV and in the room

[Allen]

The PTC is a joke and if they think that kids aren't doing that and much more in real life then they are sadly deluded.

The PTC can kiss my ass. That group also gives college film professors a hard time for the films shown in their classes.

I've said it a million times, the kids who grow up in homes with honest discourse about drugs and sex generally avoid both. My cousin couldn't talk to boys on the phone, couldn't watch above a PG movie, and had her Christina Aguillera CD broken by her mother because it was supposed to be "vulgar." She turned out to be a meth dealing lesbian who has now broken up two marriages. Obviously the lesbianism has nothing to do with how strict her parents were, but I think the rest of her wild behavior is directly linked to how tightly her parents sheltered her.