British TV is preparing the way for the return of their amazing series Skins which will debut its 4th season next month. As you may recall, an entirely new cast of players was announced around this time last year for the show’s 3rd season … a move that was not initially well-received. The original cast of Skins (which included Dev Patel who went on to star in Slumdog Millionaire and Nicholas Holt who went on to star in A Single Man) was so beloved that any notion of a new cast was frowned upon. IMHO, the new cast only added to the show’s richness and provided just as much entertainment. The “new” Skins players were featured in an issue of Nylon magazine earlier this year and the show itself got enough attention that MTV is planning a US version for airing here in America (an idea I vehemently oppose). In any regard, a new season of Skins is nearly upon us … here is the first group promo pic from the new season:

I cannot believe it’s been almost an entire year since the last season aired in the UK. I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the series online on You Tube as it aired overseas but now, because of You Tube‘s new policy of restricting international video, I don’t think I’ll be able to watch along so easily this time around. I understand that this upcoming 4th season of Skins will be the last to feature this cast of young players (the original cast were only featured in 2 seasons as well) and that an entirely new cast will be featured in season 5. I love this show so much. BBC America airs Skins in its full, uncensored version here in the US but they do so months after it debuts in the UK. After the jump, check out individual promo photos of the Skins cast in all their neon-colored glory …

Potentially horrible (and deffo, at the least, worrisome) news for fans of the amazing UK teen series Skins … news today is that MTV has bought the rights to adapt the series for US television which should strike fear and loathing in anyone who has ever watched a single ep of the original UK version. Like it or not, it’s coming to America … in MTV style:

MTV has landed the rights to develop a U.S. version of the award-winning U.K. phenomenon “Skins,” it was announced today by Liz Gateley, Senior Vice President, MTV Series Development. Created by father and son team, Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, the E4 and Channel 4 series is about a group of British teenagers who are trying to grow up and find love and happiness. Bryan Elsley will be writing and executive producing the U.S. version. In an effort to maintain the original production’s successful model wherein all the stories were written by a group of British teenagers, MTV will similarly join together unknown teenagers to write and star in the series. The producers intend to set the show in Baltimore, Maryland. “‘Skins’ is one of those rare shows that cuts through to its core audience with unusually authentic stories due to the unique writing and casting process that Bryan pioneered. Having personally pursued the U.K. project for almost two years, I am beyond thrilled to bring it to MTV in the U.S. We intend to preserve the authenticity of the British version and are excited to collaborate with the original team to develop stories that will speak to American youth,” said Liz Gateley, Senior Vice President, MTV Series Development. “We are delighted to be making ‘Skins’ for the U.S. and in particular, for MTV who have embraced the show and its ambitions and unusual production process. We are looking forward to talking to teenagers across the U.S. and making a show that reflects their lives in every aspect,” said Charlie Pattinson, CEO, Company Pictures. “Skins” instantly became a critical and commercial hit in the U.K. especially among young adults as it was the third highest-rated show of the year on E4 reaching 1.2 million P2+ viewers and achieved a massive 61% of 16-34 year olds. The series won a 2009 BAFTA Audience Award, which was voted on by the public, and Best Drama Series at the 2008 Broadcast Awards. “Skins” will be produced by Company Pictures, a division of ALL3MEDIA, and Stormdog, the same companies that produce the Channel 4 series in the U.K. Bryan Elsley, of Stormdog, will Executive Produce and write the U.S. version, along with Executive Producers Charlie Pattinson and George Faber, both of Company Pictures.

No, I’m sorry … but I cannot believe that MTV or any other US basic cable network, to be quite honest, will be able to do justice to this show. The thought of a watered-down version just irritates the hell out of me. I look at what NBC did to the brilliant Aussie comedy series Kath & Kim and I wince … I am really dreading a US version of Skins. I hoped and prayed that the show wouldn’t gain the attention of the US market and, well, here we have it. No offense to MTV but their brand of programming will not even come close to the spirit of the original. Only a pay cable network like HBO or Showtime would have the freedom to really do it justice and then, well, I’d still not have much hope. Besides, BBC America already airs a censored version of the original here in the US, there is NO NEED for an entirely new MTV version. This is crappy news. So, to offset, I’m happy to pass along that the 4th season of the original version of Skins has been picked up and will air in the UK next year. Ugh … why can’t MTV leave somethings alone?

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The third season of Skins, which featured an entirely new cast from the first two seasons of the show, may already be finished in the UK but the season is scheduled to air here in the US on BBC America sometime soon. So, to prepare, Nylon magazine is featuring some of the new cast in a feature in their new issue in order to introduce the new kids to the US audience:

Nylonmag.com posted an interview online with some of the new cast but it has mysteriously been taken down for some unknown reason. While we wait for it to come back, let’s check out a few photos of some of the individual castmembers — including Kaya Scodelario, Luke Pasqualino, Lily Loveless and Ollie Barbieri — which you can see after the jump …

British television stars made their way to the Royal Festival Hall in London, England yesterday for the 2009 British Academy of Film and Television Awards (ie. the UK Emmy Awards). Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick, Skins star Kaya Scodelario and Mischa Barton (who really had no reason to be at the awards show at all) all appeared at yesterday’s award show … as did Jennifer Saunders who, it must be said, looked Absolutely Fabulous with her short blonde hair’do:

Naturalist David Attenborough, actor Kenneth Branagh and comedy duo French and Saunders have been honoured with gongs at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) awards. In a glittering ceremony in London, Attenborough picked up the specialist factual Bafta for “Life in Cold Blood,” his series on reptiles and amphibians — the eighth time he and his wildlife programmes have been honoured here. “Our thanks, of course, go to the spitting cobras, axolotls, golden frogs, dwarf chameleons, those happy tortoises, and this (award) belongs not to me or to them but the production team,” the 82-year-old said. Actor and director Branagh, best known for his Shakespearean roles on stage and on screen, took his first Bafta for a television appearance for “Wallander,” which he produced and also stars in as a Swedish detective. Accepting the best drama award, which comes 20 years after he won a film Bafta for Henry V, Branagh thanked the BBC for commissioning the show. “They took a risk in wondering whether the world would be interested in the troubled life of a melancholy Scandinavian, but as I have spent half my life trying to make a living doing that, it wasn’t such a stretch for me,” he said, referring to his performances as the Danish prince “Hamlet.” Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, who have been cracking jokes together for the past 30 years, were jointly given the academy fellowship, which Saunders said was a “great honour.” Golden Globe-winning US drama “Mad Men,” about an advertising agency in 1960s New York, won the prize for best international programme.

Additionally, Skins took home the Philips Audience Award which is the only award voted on by the audience and honors the Best Programme of 2008. It was accepted on behalf of the show by Kaya Scodelario (who plays Effie) and Hannah Murray (who plays Cassie):

I understand that over 22,000 votes were cast and the amazing show Skins came out on top. I absolutely contend that Skins is the best TV series on the air both in the UK and here in the US … it’s really an amazing show and I’m glad to know that it has been honored in this way. Congrats!!

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Late last month we were introduced to the new cast of the new season of the hit British TV series Skins and today we get to watch a new trailer that gives us a pretty extensive feel for the way the new gang will be interacting, especially when they are all introduced to one another in the season premiere episode. US readers may not be very familiar with Skins (which airs in this country on BBC America) but I can assure you, it’s a really great (if oftentimes totally exaggerated) television series. Here is an extended trailer for the upcoming third season of Skins … be warned, some of the language and imagery may be NSFW (additionally, some portions of the clip may be unintelligible to folks who have a hard time deciphering British accents):

Click HERE to watch this video on You Tube if the above embed does not work for you. Yeah, it looks pretty good … tho, I’m still reserving total judgment until I’m able to watch the series (or at least the first few eps) in full for myself. I so love the original cast of characters from the first two seasons of Skins (who have since graduated from college [just after high school but not university]). My fear is that season three will attempt to outdo the crazy stuff we saw in the first two seasons of the show merely for shock value. I’d rather the series continue to stick to the witty writing and amazing character development that we got from the original cast. Dev Patel, who played Anwar in seasons 1 and 2 of Skins, can currently be seen in the amazing movie Slumdog Millionaire … that might give y’all a better understanding of the quality that was had from the original cast. I like this trailer … but I want to see more. There is still no word on when exactly season 3 of Skins will air here in the US (at this point, word is we’ll get the next season sometime in “Spring 2009″) but the show will premiere in the UK on Thursday January 22. Folks here in the US interested in catching up with the first two seasons of Skins can catch reruns on BBC America OR can download all of the eps HERE on iTunes OR the season 1 DVD set can be ordered from BBC America HERE:

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Yesterday I posted my list of my fave movies and TV shows for 2008 and I listed Skins as my #1 pick of the year. I’m not entirely sure when the series originally aired in the UK but the first two seasons were broadcast on BBC America this year and immediately won my heart. Frank, witty and incredibly real, Skins follows the intermingling lives of a group of young friends as they try to get thru school, romance and varying degrees of drug use pretty much like all teenage kids are wont to do. The second season of Skins ended with many of the principle characters heading off to university or to make their way in the big city … but a third season is on the way, scheduled to being airing in the UK very soon. Here is our first look at the new cast of season three — meet Effy, Thomas, Cook and Pandora:

Here is Naomi, Freddie, Katie, Emily (they’re twins), JJ and Karen:

This is BY FAR the most entertaining show I’ve seen all year … it beats the hell out of the drama we get on Gossip Girl. Trust me, if you like GG you’ll love Skins. I urge those of you here in the US who haven’t seen the series to check it out on BBC America. I can only hope that we’ll be getting season 3 of Skins here in the US sometime in 2009 … I’m not sure I can wait that long to watch the next season.

[Source via ONTD!]

Just like it was for music, 2008 wasn’t really a great year for movies or television … the Writer’s Strike at the start of the year really decimated Hollywood and severely hurt television programming. That said, there were a few really amazing films (highlighted by really amazing acting performances) and a select few TV shows that really brought the entertainment this year. Here is my list of my Fave Movies of 2008 … I think the #1 pick might surprise you.

At #10 is The Incredible Hulk:

This movie may not have been the best superhero film of all time but it beat the hell out of Ang Lee‘s Hulk and really did a service to both the comic book series and the TV series from the ’70s. This film really paid homage to the beloved TV series for the first half of the film and then represented the comic books very well in the second half of the film. All I know is that I had a really good time at the movies watching this film … and isn’t that what’s most important?

At #9 is W.:

Oliver Stone films are really hit or miss and this one was a pretty nice hit. Josh Brolin played a superb GWB and managed to put our soon-to-be ex-president in real context. I am no GWB fan by any stretch of the imagination but this film actually made him a sympathetic character. Props to Oliver Stone for actually doing the impossible.

In the #8 position is Doubt:

This film is all about the acting. And among the amazing acting performances, Meryl Streep far outshines everyone else in this film. She absolutely turned in the most powerful acting performance this year … she absolutely deserves all the Best Actress awards and, IMHO, the Best Actor awards as well — she is that good in this film. I feel bad for Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, who both turned in exceptional performances, cuz Streep just steals the spotlight. She made this movie such a delight for me to watch.

At #7 is Milk:

At long last, the story of Harvey Milk‘s life made it to the big screen … and Sean Penn did his memory a great service. Milk may not have been a blockbuster but it is a very important story that is told so expertly that I wish it had made more money at the box office. Penn‘s cast of supporting actors were also pretty phenomenal … as a whole they told a tale that an entire generation of people were hearing for the first time — which was eerily similar to the events that were playing out on the streets of SoCal this past November.

At #6 is WALL•E:

OMG … what can I say about WALL•E that hasn’t been said a million times before? The movie is just cute as hell and actually caused kids and grown adults alike to fall in love with a sweet little animated trash compactor. I had my doubts about this film before I saw it for myself … but man, once I saw it — I was hooked. WALL•E is absolutely the Best Animated Film of 2008.

After the jump, check out my Top 5 Fave Films of 2008 as well as my list of my Fave TV Shows of the Year …