So after watching the ending to series 4 my reaction was WTF!? … Pretty much the same response a lot of fans where feeling on twitter and facebook.

Like many I’ve watched the show from the beginning, I’ve loved it through its highs and its lows points and not always agreed with some  elements of the stories on the show but this series it came to a crossroads for me, I watched… but was left was unimpressed by what was offered the loss of charm and originality that made the show so great fell to the waist side this series, it felt like a soap instead of serious teen drama, depressing and bleak seems to be the theme this series, which if I wanted to see I would have just tuned in to Eastenders instead.

The show I felt started on a downer, the opener centred on the character of Thomas, this was properly the first mistake made, the episode focus pretty much about Thomas’s lack of faith in his friends and the alien culture of England but also the solace in his religion but also thrown in their was him shagging some choir girl, problems with his mother and siblings, beating up Cook and breaking up with Pandora, it had hardly any interactions between the group as a whole which has been a constant reoccurrence through out the show.

We are suppose to believe in a group of teens as friends that have chemistry and bounce off each other but I don’t see how that was possible if they had little scenes together ,which is sad as the cast seems to get on very well together as a group.

I guess that was one of the failure  for me with this group of characters this series, series one they all knew each other and that made it more believable and it worked, we where able to see them grow and develop as a group over the course of two years, which made the impact of their stories all the more powerful , the next generation for me felt more thrown together, miss matched and clichéd filtering between groups of characters , like they where a puzzle that didn’t fit together , that’s why for a few brief flickers when the group where all together in the finale minus Freddie it felt like Skins again…

But that was it, this series down points have been the reliance on the individual storytelling, and there is nothing wrong solely focusing on individual stories its fine but not if the stories can’t be woven together by allowing the characters too connect and interact as a group, I don’t know if this was due too restraints such as the cut in episodes or budget, the cut in episodes properly effected the characters storylines as each character did not get their own episodes which properly put a cap on how the writers could develop and finish their stories which left minor characters such as Pandora, Katie and JJ fluttering in the background with nothing to do.

I think what also let this series down is the handling of some of their more popular character s and pairings, my favourite is Naomily, I loved theses two together, it was so cute in the beginning and had great depth and build up, which left me frustrated with the outcome of their story in series 4, too put them together then, pull them apart for a trivial reason, the whole Sophia episode I didn’t get had no build up and  a lack of clarity, leaving the pair floundering through each episode brooding until the finale with a quick clear up and supposedly happy ending was not very good, another major pairing is Freddie and Effy I liked them together but they become boring in the end they placed too many issues with the characters trying to make the relationship all dark and destructive which really ended up failing in the end the characters never got their happily ever after but never really got any after too begin with more stuck in the middle left wondering where the hell to go.

As the series went on you may be surprised to know that I did enjoy some episodes, my favourite has to be Katie’s it was brilliantly written and gave the character so much more depth and personality so kudos to Georgia Lester for writing a great episode, JJ episode was nice as it was more light hearted and less depressive then previous episodes, I think Jamie Brittain should be given kudos too I wasn’t keen on his Thomas episode and I felt if they where to focus on him it would have been better set further down the line and not at the beginning to give his stories more time to develop but anyway Effy episode was more intense, dark  and psychological in places, which seems to be JB strong point in writing if anyone remembers Tony’s episode in series 2 which had something of the same flavour and no doubt will go down in Skins history as controversial with the obsessive nutter John Foster played by the brilliant Hugo Speers bashing Freddie’s head in with a bat and leaving us with a image of Freddie brains splattered on his glass… nice huh!

So I get too the ending of the finale, I was disappointed I wasn’t expecting a happy ending or even one that made sense, Skins is known for their unclear endings but there was so much left unfinished and I was left a bit annoyed that Effy one of the most prominent character through out the four series, was left without a deserving ending, after all the drama of the past episodes she didn’t get anything that resembled remotely good enough closure which is a sad way to end things no loose ends where tide up so we left wondering the fate of a character that has pay such a important part too the show for fours years, the ending for Cook was very fitting for the character to go out fighting but that’s where it ends, the writing was strong for the episode but just muddled in place,  Bryan Elsley has always been a excellent writer if anyone has ever seen his previous work on Rose and Maloney will know that and his episodes on Skins has always been top notch so it was rather unnerving and I guessing daring on his part to end it like that especially as his last episode ever (If you haven’t read the official website), but like he says on his post, the writers are never sure how things on the show will turn out and how fans will react to it and they will keep you on your feet and the whole point of the stories is too get you too react and talk about it, skins is a home grown show and has been a great starting ground for the young writers and I hope it will be around for a long time to come  and I have faith that the who ever is writing or in charge will do the best to ensure that it will continue to strive to do its best not to become predictable and lame but to be as near as brilliant as it can get.

Also a quick word on the acting which has been very good in the series despite the issues, the actors gave it there all and made the characters brilliant and unique to the core, especially Lily, Kat and Kaya and I think Jack O’Connell will have no trouble in the future his made Cook his own and properly one of the best characters on the show, never forgotten.

So as I come to the end of writing this post I hope I’ve made my reflections clear, it never was intended to be a bashing and negative reaction to this series but I just wanted too say something as Skins has play a small part in my life, when I started Skins Online and then eventually going on to SN I never thought it was would have such a impact on my life It made me some great friends because of it and made me proud of the sites that I created and knowledge I gain because of time and  effort that has been put into both sites if anyone reads this you properly wondering what I waffling on about but I just wanted to say its has been a great experience, but with all the good things that come it also must eventually come to a end and for me this is it, you properly notice the lack of posts on the site and that’s has been down largely too the fact that both me and Alex have been busy studying and working but for me I also feel as It time too make a clean break from the fandom so this will most likely be my last post on the site for a while, I don’t know of yet what will be happening if Alex will continue alone or  if we decide to past the baton on to someone else or to close the site completely, its been a immense journey starting as the third site around when it started and the first proper news and media site at the beginning but their are plenty more fansites even better then ours to carry on so I’m sure they be no worries in that department .

And  Finally I’d just like to say thanks to all the fans and visitors of the site that have ever emailed, commented, watched the videos or sent stuff in its been great.

Hayley x

P.S feel free to leave a comment below tell us what you think of the ending, do you agree with me or do you think I’m chatting total bollocks? let us know.

Nicholas Hoult will be taking part in a Q&A session at the Future Film Festive ‘10 on Saturday 6th of February at 12-3pm, with a special viewing of his favourite film,  What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, if you click on this LINK it will take you to the official website which will allow you to apply for tickets, this will be taking place at BFI Southbank, London.

Also this may interest skins fans and potential actors, Skins casting director Jane Ripley is having a casting workshop at the same event, it fully booked but they are taking reserve booking incase anybody drops out, keep checking the website for updates.

Now this is one episode I am looking forward too, Any other Naomily fans out there?

How much does the girl who plays Sophia look like Hannah Murray aka Cassie? maybe its me but I do think there is a resemblence.

What did you think, good, bad, okay, or not sure???, leave us a comment below.

Share and Enjoy:

]]> http://www.skinsnation.co.uk/uncategorized/4-1-thomas-what-did-you-think/feed 4 http://www.skinsnation.co.uk/series-5/want-to-know-what-it-takes-to-be-in-skins-series-5 http://www.skinsnation.co.uk/series-5/want-to-know-what-it-takes-to-be-in-skins-series-5#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:21:41 +0000 Alex http://www.skinsnation.co.uk/?p=2464 Then head along to this free workshop that is being run by Jane Ripley, the Skins casting director.

NOTE: These are NOT auditions, it is a workshop to learn what is takes to be in the show

The details:

Mon 25 January 2010 at 8:30pm

Free (strictly for 16-19 yr olds only)

Delegate Centre
BFI Southbank
Belvedere Road
South Bank
London
SE1 8XT

To clarify. Skins will hopefully have a fifth series, but we have not yet been re-commissioned. It will have a new cast. We will hold open auditions to cast it. I don’t know any details beyond that. We’re still working on series 4!

Source: http://twitter.com/jamiebrittain/status/6035369623 and http://twitter.com/jamiebrittain/status/6035407371

Lara played by Georgia Henshaw

Sam played by Ben Evans

Ben played by Sam Oliver

Candy played by Lily Davis-Broome

More soon!

p.s. thanks Felix!

some notable guest apperences

Pauline Quirke

Tanya Franks

Paul Kaye

Ryan Pope

Sorry for the lack of updates, I’m not sure what is gonna happen with the site atm but will let you guys know. x