Overlooked and Overexposed: Skins (US)

So, I guess this will be my first official blog post on The Nocturnal Night Blogger. I've privatised my old blog that I had since I was twelve and I'm sixteen now and am in need of some change. The url to my old blog got childish (what kind of url is superstarrsophie? i mean, really? it was cute then yeah sure when you're 12 NOT when you're 16 nu uh) over the years and don't get me started on the hundreds of embarrassing old posts I typed onto that old blog of mine. No one was gonna take me seriously with a silly url like that now that I've started blogging my opinions, thoughts and rants on there. It's time to start fresh! Fine, not so fresh since I re-posted four of my latest and most proud blog posts from my old blog. Credits go to my lovely cousin from Unraveled who helped me with the design on this blog.

Not mine. Cast of Skins US.
(from left) Chris, Tea, Abbud, Tony, Michelle, Daisy, Stanley, Cadie and Eura.

Okay, so I'm not gonna lie here. I'm going to be honest with you. Before I properly got into Skins this year,  a few years back I watched a lot of the fan videos on Youtube just to give me a teaser of what the show is all about and yes, like many others I instantly came to the conclusion that all the show was about is reckless teenage behaviour and the like. Through those fan videos, I came to ship Naomily from Generation 2 of Skins UK, Maxxie/Tony from Generation 1 of Skins UK and Freddie/Effy from Generation 2 of Skins UK. Through online posts and talk from my friends who were fans of the show, I immediately hated Skins US. I haven't even tried to watch it but I immediately hated it and found myself telling everyone that "Skins US is sh*t! Skins UK is the best!" Yup, judge me all you want.

Fast forward to this year where something in me made me start and finish watching all the seasons from 1 to 6 in about 2 weeks only, I also decided to try watching Skins US. You know, just to give it a try and see why everyone says it's so sh*t and why I, myself had called it sh*t a few years back. You see, in 2011, MTV decided to do a remake of Skins UK. This decision angered a lot of Skins fans from all over and if you go through most if not all videos of both Skins UK and US, you will definitely come across comments about how Skins US was sh*t and Skins UK was forever the best and then, there are comments about how someone actually liked Skins US but of course, it will never compare to the original that is the one, the only Skins UK.

Skins US had a lot of potential to be something good but too bad it only lasted one season. I actually, honest to God I liked it. I can't believe I said that it was sh*t before this. It's not all that bad actually. Of course if you want to analyse everything that's different about it compared to the original then, you might think it's sh*t but if you just watch it by itself and not know that it is indeed a remake of the UK series then, it's actually quite good. I'm just saying. Most of the plot is the same but there is a pretty big plot twist that happens in the middle of the first season that makes me wish so badly that someone would pick up this show and continue it themselves. If I had the money and the people behind me, I'd pick this show up again despite the many angered people I'd have to lash out at me.

They changed most of the names of the characters on the show. Tony Stonem is a Tony Snyder, Effy Stonem is a Eura Stonem, Sid Jenkins is a Stanley Lucerne, Chris Miles a Chris Collins on here, Anwar Kharral is an Abbud Sidiqui, Jal Fazer is a Daisy Valero, Cassie Ainsworth is a Cadie Campbell, Maxxie Oliver is a Tea Marveli and Michelle Richardson's name is retained.

Tea was a shock. A pleasant shock. Maxxie in Skins UK is a gay character who is a dancer whereas in Skins US, they've replaced his character with a lesbian Tea who is a cheerleader. I really liked Tea's character a lot. She was just......amazing. (i'm sorry but when i love something/someone so much and i have no other words to describe them without going all kjnfjkwnkaef, i end up saying amazing so i'm sorry in advance if i use the word amazing a lot on this blog. you have been warned!) She was pretty confused. She was almost sure of her sexuality. She loved Bette but she also loved Tony and how can that be? She was sure she was a lesbian so that plot twist was great. This also reminded me of the very brief Tony/Maxxie romantic moment in Skins UK which unfortunately, wasn't explored much as much as I wished it was because I don't know, some part of me wishes to believe that Tony was a bit confused between loving his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Michelle and wanting one of his friends in the gang, Maxxie to the horror of my Tony-loving friend. Tony/Tea's relationship in Skins US was great and was explored well. It could've been explored more if only they continued the show but nope, they didn't and nope, I will not get into that again or this post will be longer than it already is. Tony and Tea wanted each other just as much and this was confusing to the both of them. Their ending at the last episode could've meant something more for the both of them. Everyone in their gang knows about the two of them. Both of their girlfriends know but they're still with them and this confuses them and me as their shipper, watcher.

Tea and Tony

Not mine but wow, aren't they the cutest? ((they're dating in real life))

I don't even particularly like Tony from Skins UK and yet, I'm still trying to compare him with the Tony mentioned above. Tony in Skins US is a bit dull and lacks character, if I'm being honest but oh well, since it's a remake of the original, nothing can be perfect and exactly like the original.

Michelle and Stanley

Not mine.

I didn't really like Michelle in Skins UK, to be honest as much as I think her and Tony deserve each other. I thought she was a bit desperate and pathetic but I'm glad somewhere in Generation 1, she became her own woman and decided when enough was enough. I really liked Michelle in Skins US because she was her own woman and got back up really quickly when she found out about Tony's cheating. She wasn't all mopey and sad about it, she was angry of course but she was cool, calm and fine maybe not so classy about it. That girl was a right badass!

I can't compare Sid and Stanley. They're both different yet they are just the same and unlike, in Skins UK where I hated the idea of Michelle and Sid together, I actually liked seeing Michelle and Stanley on here.

Abbud and Daisy

I don't know what to say about them, they're just really cute and I hope this video does the explaining.

So, overall I guess Skins US isn't as bad as I thought it was, not as bad as I was told it was either. It's actually pretty good. One thing that stops them from being as good or as close to being anywhere near the original is the fact that America is not as open as the UK. Skins US has no nudity and censors most if not all curse words used in the character's dialogues and even that received a lot of complaints from the parents of America. I mean, I'm pretty most of your teenagers do even worst things if not the same things that are shown on the show and compared to the original, this is nothing. 

I loved the reviews from here, here and here. 

Overlooked and Overexposed: Skins (Pure)

Original post: Wednesday. July 24, 2013.
Re-posted from: http://superstarrsophie.blogspot.com

I know I initially planned to blog my Overlooked and Overexposed: Skins rant series accordingly starting with Part One where I touched on Generation One where you can read here: Overlooked and Overexposed: Skins (Rant Part One) and followed by Generation 2 which I have started on but I got distracted when I was just getting started after I started re-watching my favorite fan videos from that particular generation that I've already bookmarked and also because I somehow forgot what really happened during Generation 2, oops and next, Generation 3 before going into Skins Redux which is ending in 2 weeks time, sadly.

Who's taking photos of Cassie during her most private, personal moments in the comfort of her room?

I just finished watching  Skins Pure and am trying to deal with the aftermath of the show while I'm sat at my study table in the dark, listening to The Maine's Daytrotter session and Gabrielle Aplin's Start Again which was written especially for Skins Pure(if you know me personally, you'll know just how much I adore her) listen to it here. It's a beautiful night. If you haven't already guessed what I'm about to say, I suggest you read on to find out what I'm about to say. I'm gonna go out of what I initially planned and start my rant on Skins Pure before going into who knows? Skins Fire, Skins Rise, Generation 2 or Generation 3. I don't even know anymore but what I do know now is that I've got a lot of things on mind about Skins Pure which will not wait because if I sleep this through, whatever I've to say will be gone along with my back ache and my sleepiness so here I go.

Not my gif.

Skins Pure, where should I start? Skins Redux in general then, okay. Skins Redux is the seventh and the final series of UK hit teen comedy-drama series, Skins. Skins Redux brings back three characters who the writers/producers felt didn't have a proper ending in their respective Generations One and Two. The series starts with the first two parts of Skins Fire which centres on Effy Stonem (I will talk about this later after this post, after the post after this post if you know what I mean). Skins Pure which centres on Generation One's favorite Cassie Ainsworth just premiered it's two parts and now everyone is waiting for the last two parts of Skins Rise which centres on Cook.

In the trailer that was shown before the premiere of Skins Redux, this line has been mentioned several times. "Time changes everyone" and yes, time has changed everyone in Skins. That is, the people they have decided to bring back. Skins Pure was the perfect title for Cassie's episodes. Pure was what she has become. She's purified herself, she's still trying to purify herself. There was a scene where she was offered drugs and she said she doesn't really do those anymore. See, if it was the old Cassie being offered drugs, she wouldn't hesitate before accepting the offer. I loved the old her and I'm even more in love with the new her, the adult Cassie. Cassie has always been a rather dreamy, whimsical character. Now, as an adult she's somehow lost her dreamy-like character she once had. She's matured now, adjusting to life in the city of London, alone. Her day starts and ends the same, every single time. She lives in a town house with a housemate living a floor below her. She gets up early and goes to work at a cafe and goes home after her shift ends at night. Same old, same old. She's grown up a lot, she's grown out of all her old ways.

"It's pure, Cassie. All of it. It's you...me and the world sees what we want to." -Jakob-

As I've mentioned, she has lost some of her old character and what really pissed me off, fine it still continues to piss me off about this Skins fandom is when they romanticise her past. Yes, it's true that your past and the mistakes you've made will shape you in the future so why should you bring it up? Why should you expect someone to still be the same if it's been repeatedly mentioned that Time changes everyone. I was really annoyed with the whole of my timeline on Twitter and the Skins and Skins Pure tag on Tumblr. All I keep reading about is how everyone is just waiting for the moment where she mentions Sid or utters the word "Wow, lovely" that has somewhat been her trademark when she was a teenager. She sort of implied there ever been a Sid in her life but when asked about it even further, she shrugged it off by saying "It doesn't matter now" because as much as I loved her relationship with him, it really doesn't matter now because she's here in London and he's there, somewhere and there's nothing anyone can do to change that now.

I've been reading a lot of disappointed fans' feedback after watching Skins Pure. Many have said that in comparison to Skins Fire, Pure was a bit boring and lacked storyline and the ending was abrupt. Someone has also said that after six years, Hannah Murray has forgotten how to portray Cassie. Although this same person claims she understands the "Time changes everyone"  theme the writers were making it on, she didn't like that she was a whole different person now. Hm. Another person has commented on Pure, saying it was "painfully pretentious and immensely disappointing."  Well, here's what I have to say. I have no negative feedback regarding the show. I thought it was very well-written, all the scenes were shot very beautifully. The scenery and the shooting locations chosen were very beautiful and was indeed, pure. It was simple and the turnout was beautiful. Very beautiful. I really have no other words to describe it besides beautiful. I'm just going to repeat the word 'beautiful' so many times until everyone understands that I loved it! I absolutely loved it! The ending was very well thought-of and the whole point of Skins Redux was to give fans closure because before this, fans were left with a cliffhanger which was never solved until now. Cassie had a happy ending. She was happy and I am happy just knowing that she's in the right place surrounded by the right people. She cleaned herself up very well.

A lot of things has happened to Cassie along the way which forces her to be strong for herself and for the people around her especially her dad and her little brother, Reuben who are left to fend for themselves after her mother passed away and after Cassie moved into the city of London. Her father became an alcoholic and this really effected her brother who was left alone and didn't get to go to school because his father would have a hangover the day after and forget to send him. I think these things motivated Cassie to change herself. She's really focusing on herself but also thinking of other people around before making decisions for herself.

Not my gif. The ending really got to me. The whole of Skins Pure has already gotten to me.

"Cassie’s story is one that is beloved and beautiful. There’s this bittersweet quality that overwhelms me with nostalgia. In my own life and hers. There is sweet simplicity in how her life is now and quirks of her old ways. It makes me sad and want to scream out in relation of her pain. The writing is just so real. It’s transparent but the best out of all that’s been written; what perfect closure." here

I loved this review here , here, here,  here and here. I'm sorry for just jumping into Skins Pure like this and not following what I've already planned but I had to get all this out of my brain before I go to sleep. With this, I can go to sleep now.....in peace without worrying about my ideas being forgotten if I didn't type this out now.

Overlooked and Overexposed: Skins (Rant Part One)

Original post: Tueday, June 25, 2013.

Re-posted from: http://superstarrsophie.blogspot.com

Skins is a very overlooked TV show, in my opinion. Everyone who doesn't watch the show seem to think they know whatever there is to know about the show just by watching the trailer. People seem to assume the show is about reckless teenage behaviour: teenagers who engage in promiscuity, teenagers who experiment with substances and alcohol, teenagers with no responsibilities and teenagers who party the night away. Well, I guess this is partly true if you judge the show solely based on the promotion and the trailers made for it then yeah, you might think so. The people behind the show reached their purpose. They wanted to make a big hype about the show, make it controversial, revolutionary and different from the shows that were being aired at that time. It was the start of 2007 and before then, no one has ever seen a show like Skins.

I've gotta admit that I was one of the many people who assumed such things about Skins. I started watching random episodes of Skins in 2010, three years after the first episode of Series One was aired. I didn't really understand it then. I was a naive, 13 year old who found the show fun with the partying, alcohol and drug abuse scenes. Fast forward to 2013, I don't know what made me do it but I started getting into Skins again. Properly, this time. I didn't jump to any episodes. I watched every single one of them ( except for Series 6, I missed a few episodes because it's pretty hard to find them but hey! if you have proper links to it, please send them to me thank you very much!) I started shipping people, I had opinions about the characters and each generation and it looks like, I might start on my rant about everyone and everything Skins. I've kept all these thoughts to myself for quite a while now fine, maybe I've had short rants in 140 characters over Twitter with my online friend, Nayli and maybe verbally to my confused friends who unfortunately don't feel the same way as I do. So, you know what? I'll be blogging my Skins rant in parts to divide each generation. That'll make it easier for me to post (get my thoughts together) and easier for whoever wants to read it.

Not mine, taken from Your Skins Confessions

Skins is full of great storylines that will definitely pull you into the show. The show is not all about how cute Nicholas Hoult looks like, I'm watching you. Yes, you whoever you are that watches the show just because of that shallow reason. You have to look past whatever it is said to be about because there is more to the show than reckless teenage behaviour. The show and the characters portrayed in it are said to be unrealistic and stereotypical. Well, they're not in my opinion. Your life might not have turned out to be the way the Skins' character's lives turned out to be but that doesn't make the show unrealistic or stereotypical. The stories written for these characters are mostly based on the stories the people behind the show are told by their friends who went through all these things. They're all real so, don't tell me that this show is unrealistic and stereotypical because it's not. I know I can't really relate to what these characters go through in each episode of the show but, I have this emotional attachment to them. I feel as if I am them when I put myself in their shoes and in their minds. I cry because I feel the pain they are going through at that time. I feel like they are me and I am them. I'm not sure if anyone else who watches the show feel that way or if it's just me. I spent like, only two weeks of my life to finish Series One to Five but, it did come with consequences. I wouldn't sleep till I finished a series so that means I stayed up most of the night till morning and that would leave me with about 1-2 hours of sleep. There was one day where I had to endure only 5 minutes of sleep and that was also the day of a big play I was apart of. I came to school feeling like I was dead.

(from top to bottom) Generation One, Two and Three

Let's talk about Generation One. They divide their show to three generations. These generations just mean the generations of students. The actors are replaced every two series when the characters graduate from sixth form in Roundview College and move onto university. This also means a new generation begins after every two series. Generation One were explored in Series One and Two, Generation Two in Series Three and Four and Generation Three in Series Five and Six. One thing I love about Skins regardless of which generation it is are the actors. This show has got to be the only show (that I watch, not sure about the other shows that are put out there) that casts actors who are around the same age as the characters they portray on set. The main characters on the show are around 16 to 17 and the actors are the same ages as well. Plus, the actors in the show have had little to no acting experience prior to being casted on the show. They're mostly amateur actors  and they act so well! It's unbelievable, really.

Not mine, taken from Your Skins Confessions

My favorite characters in the whole of Generation One have got to be Cassie and Chris. When they moved in together, I loved them even more. The friendship they had was beautiful. I loved them together! When Chris died, I was in denial. It took me a while for me to cry because all that was in my head before I started crying was "Wait, nope. He's not dead. He's just pulling another prank on Cassie like he did the last time. No, wait he's dead. For sure." and the tears came rushing in.

The most underrated characters in Generation One have got to be Maxxie and Anwar. I wished the writers explored their characters more than they did. I really cherished the friendship they had together. I don't know how I would've rewritten their character's story lines but I'd definitely add more to it.

There were a few characters in this generation that took me some time to like them. For example, Tony and Michelle. I didn't like Tony throughout Series One because I didn't like the way he took advantage of the people around him. Deep down, I know he cares but he doesn't show it and he takes his friends especially his best friend, Sid and his girlfriend, Michelle for granted. At first, I thought the only person he genuinely cared about and he shows that he does is his younger sister, Effy. He covers for her when she goes out late at night, he takes care of her, he worries about her. I loved their brother-sister relationship throughout the show. In Series Two, I started liking him and I actually pitied him. The way his friends (mainly Sid and Michelle) turned their backs on him by hooking up with each other when he needed them most the way he did to them before while he was recovering after his coma.

Michelle, Michelle, Michelle. What's there to say about Michelle? I didn't really like her at first because she was always trying too hard. But now, I see that she had her reasons. She was always insecure with herself. Her own boyfriend doesn't compliment or love her enough to make her feel good about herself and then there's her boyfriend's best friend who worships the ground she walks on. She's confused too. She doesn't have a good family background (her mom remarries a lot). She hides her insecurity with confidence. She exudes so much confidence that nobody knows how she's actually feeling deep inside except maybe her best friend, Jal who can see through the lines.

I just have to point out the resemblance of Tony in Cassie or Cassie in Tony? I don't know. They share one thing in common besides their group of friends, their manipulative trait. While Tony uses manipulation to benefit himself, Cassie uses it as revenge. She manipulates people to hurt them the way they hate her. You can see how she treats Sid.

If you wanna start talking about ships, my favorite ships in Generation One have got to be Sid/Cassie and Chris/Jal. For a while, I did ship Chris/Angie, I'm not proud to admit that but I did ship them. I cry in frustration especially during their storylines because sometimes I just wanna punch their faces and be like "Why did you do that? No, don't do that!" Yeah, if you didn't know this already I am a very emotional shipper and tv show watcher. I can't help having an emotional attachment to fiction.

Here are some of my favorite fan videos and scenes from Generation One:

Sid/Cassie:

Jal/Chris/Angie:

Can I also point out how Skins Generation One had the best soundtrack in all of the generations. Well, actually Skins in general has the best soundtrack. They showcase so many new artistes who have done so well after their songs are used in the show. For example, Adele. It was the first time Hometown Glory was every played and the song was sent to Skins and they used it in Series Two. They also showcase so many other great musical acts like Crystal Castles and Foals who are doing so well in the music industry right now. And no one should ever forget the finale to Series One and how they ended it with a song. It was really unexpected and really different. The idea might seem a bit ridiculous but somehow it fits. Take a look for yourself. I love it so much!

Besides all the pain and sadness and drama that happened all throughout Series One and Two, there were some very funny moments that lightened up the mood of the show.

Watch 4:40 because I can't find the original footage of that scene.

I'll be back with second part to "Overlooked and Overexposed: Skins (Rant Part One). I've worked so hard on this rant, I hope everyone reading this appreciates my opinion. You can comment below, follow my blog or tweet me! Enjoy!

Note: Videos taken from Youtube and pictures taken from Tumblr, none are mine.

Original post: Sunday, December 30, 2012.

Re-posted from: http://superstarrsophie.blogspot.com

I don't know but it's as if parents these days are unimaginative and can't seem to find other ways to entertain their child besides simply handing their children their iPads or iPods or iPhones or any other devices to play with. I've seen many parents do this: at restaurants while waiting for their food to arrive, at houses while visiting people, at seating areas in shopping malls and everywhere else. Now, because of this that is all their children think of. When the children are bored, they ask for their parent's iPod or iPad or iPhone or other devices and when their parents are busy using them themselves and refuse to hand it to their children, they throw a fit. To calm their children down, they reluctantly hand it to them and their children stop and enjoy the device.

Parents these days should think and be more imaginative. Think of other ways to entertain their children. Teach them to joy of reading books. Teach them the joy of television shows. Don't just teach them how to slide open the iPhone. Don't just teach them how to tap on the iPad. Don't just teach them how to play Angry Birds or Temple Run or whatever games it is you parents teach your children to play. My mum used to read to me to entertain me. She talked to me to entertain me. She played games with me and no, I did not mean that we'd play some iPhone games or Internet games but, real games.

There are just so many children I see today, running around while carrying their parent's iPads and iPhones and iPods. Some parents don't want to be bothered by their children asking to use it while they're using it themselves that they buy the devices for their children's own use.

So, today I was shocked in a good way. For the first time, in a long time I did not see two siblings using the iPad while waiting for their food to arrive at a restaurant. This family was sitting at a table opposite mine. They just ordered their food and the waiter left to deliver their order to the kitchen. The two brothers took out their board game and laid out the pieces on the board and started playing it. One brother had the blue pieces and the other brother had the green pieces and I couldn't help but stare at them. They've been brought up well but, it's not that I'm saying other children aren't brought up well. It's just that these children were brought up differently than the children of this generation who only know how to entertain themselves with the many applications and softwares the new devices have to offer and without them, they think can't be entertained. I wanted to take a photo of the boys but soon after I was done admiring them (well more like, staring at them) my food had arrived and I realized how hungry I was.

"You only want me when you're lonely"

Original post: Friday, November 26, 2012. 

Re-posted from: http://superstarrsophie.blogspot.com/

Tom Fletcher of McFly with Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Niall Horan of One Direction.

I'm just sick of everything. I'm sick of the recent interviews with McFly where Tom and Danny never fail to mention their songwriting collaboration with the One Direction boys. They're very proud of the songs they've written (Tom and Danny wrote I Want for their debut album, Up All Night and wrote I Would and Irresistible for their second album, Take Me Home) (Danny produced Irresistible). I understand that they're proud and that's not what I'm sick of, not really. It's just so unfair how Tom and Danny don't receive enough credit, not quite enough. They deserve more.

Let's take a look at Ed Sheeran who wrote Little Things for One Direction's second album, Take Me Home. The song has such beautiful lyrics, beautiful melody. Just a beautiful song really. Ed Sheeran gets a lot of credit for his song. Directioners credit him, the One Direction boys credit him. I think he really deserves all the credit he's been receiving. He really does, I'm not gonna deny that. But, don't you think that Tom and Danny receives just as much credit as Ed as well? It's not fair, at all. It's not fair for my boys. It seems to me that One Direction only loves/befriends/cares about Tom and Danny when no one else is around. This situation can be loosely related to Mtv's Awkward plot line. In the tv series, Matty McKibben only loves and cares about Jenna Hamilton when they're alone or when no one else is around. When they're in school, he ignores her and pretends they're not in a relationship. They continue their relationship in private. Jenna realizes she doesn't want to continue this relationship if they're going to keep it private, she breaks it off with Matty and moves on with someone else who happens to be Matty's best friend, Jake Rosati. Now that she's moved on, Matty realizes what he lost and wants her back.

Yeah, you're probably wondering "...And what has this got anything to do with One Direction and McFly?" This is what I'll tell you "Everything." It seems to me that they only love? is that how I should describe McFly when they're alone, working in the studio with them and when they're alone, having their barbecue. Another situation that can be related to this situation is how Kesha Rose Sebert doesn't give enough credit to Nick Reuss (fun.) who wrote the song, Die Young for her album, Warrior. I think fun. fans can relate to this. They also understand how I feel right now.

The press and the media have been nasty to McFly, saying they gave away their "worst and shit" songs for One Direction to use. Tom and Danny had to defend themselves, their fans had to defend them. One Direction didn't have anything to say about the allegations that were made against Tom and Danny. Tom actually said that "I Would" and "Irresistible" were one of the best songs he's written. He was very proud of it, actually. I'm very proud of it, actually. We, the Galaxy Defenders are very proud of it, actually.

It's just not fair to me, to them. They deserve to receive more credit than they do because I think the only credit that is given to my boys is in the cd booklet where they have the whole track listing and the composers/producers names and that's all, I don't think One Direction will even remember to include their names' in their Thank Yous. I'd expect them to get tons of tweets from crazy Directioners by now, something like this maybe? "Omg thank you Tom. Thank you Danny omg I Would is so good! I love you boys! Good job." Just like how Ed Sheeran gets tons of tweets from crazy Directioners saying the same thing. I guess, the closest they get to this is from this crazy Directioner who told me this in school (I actually know in real life and no, I will not reveal her true identity) " Omg Sofiah. I'm so happy. I'm just so thankful McFly is writing songs for One Direction now, their new album won't be half as shitty than it is. Yeah."