tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post3138240507743349742..comments2024-03-28T18:01:28.997-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Skins, "Maxxie & Anwar": From Russia with loveAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-13324807276945977512008-09-18T09:11:00.000-04:002008-09-18T09:11:00.000-04:00Do not despair. This episode is probably the weake...Do not despair. This episode is probably the weakest of the entire series so far (up to the end of season 2). There is only one other episode after this which abandons the close character-study direction.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00910813799364418949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1279491049948596862008-09-16T02:35:00.000-04:002008-09-16T02:35:00.000-04:00This is definitely my least favorite episode of th...This is definitely my least favorite episode of the season, which is a shame because I really adore Simon Amstell. But this episode is so ridiculous and annoying, and i hate - frickin' <I>hate</I> - Anwar.Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15758923671028899249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-79709231236518198042008-09-15T20:40:00.000-04:002008-09-15T20:40:00.000-04:00The main problem with the show is a lot of bad and...The main problem with the show is a lot of bad and maddeningly inconsistent writing around good ideas, characters and actors. <BR/><BR/>It is a show without a mission statement, or at least one that evaporated fairly quickly, where any and all internal logic is forgotten and characters act according to the what is necessary for the episode often completely ignoring what came before. The above poster's 'trippy' assertion is spot on. However, in my opinion it is as a result of nothing more than a 'have your cake and eat it'/throw everything against the wall and see what sticks approach to writing, which comes across as incredibly self-indulgent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-33506154732773151122008-09-15T15:04:00.000-04:002008-09-15T15:04:00.000-04:00What, no mention of all the "Friends" jokes????--H...What, no mention of all the "Friends" jokes????<BR/><BR/>--How you doin?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27524542412547720792008-09-15T10:05:00.000-04:002008-09-15T10:05:00.000-04:00I saw Simon Amstell in stand-up recently and he wa...I saw Simon Amstell in stand-up recently and he was not enarmoured with his experience with Skins, the representativeness of its characters and the plots, particularly the writers love affair with Tony and how he could do anything they wanted 'because he's confident!' - including them arguing with him that he should be good at the BJ, because he was Tony.<BR/><BR/>Not mentioning spoilers, but one of the few saving graces of season 2 was that the earlier parts of it tore apart Tony and his arrogance, until the campus-tour comeback.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-50847532902307204482008-09-15T03:12:00.000-04:002008-09-15T03:12:00.000-04:00This episode was guest written by Simon Amstell, t...This episode was guest written by Simon Amstell, the comedian best known for hosting Never Mind The Buzzcocks. If you're familiar with his work, and his sense of humour, this episode really isn't a surprise. I love this episode for it's strangeness, and for me it took on that warped reality of when they're telling the story AFTER the fact. So it was exaggerated and twisted and seriously weird, and its so completely from the teenagers point of view, even if they didn't quite make it work as something from anwar and maxxie's POV. Also, go to the british website and check out the Extra Scene for this episode. It is the reason that I adore Chris so much. Well worth it,Clarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403182002944460325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35314549809422317912008-09-14T22:36:00.000-04:002008-09-14T22:36:00.000-04:00This was kind of a "what the hell?" episode for me...This was kind of a "what the hell?" episode for me because the stuff with the Russian girl was just so telegraphed and kinda stupid. I felt the next episode returned to the tone of the earlier episodes, even if less focussed on the individual characters.<BR/><BR/>On a side note, Dev Patel is in Slumdog Millionaire, which got rave reviews at the Toronto Film Fest and won the People's Choice award. From what I hear Patel does a great job and far surpasses his work in Skins.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11317568565085893849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75930400760924599382008-09-14T22:14:00.000-04:002008-09-14T22:14:00.000-04:00does talking about the thematic direction of the s...does talking about the thematic direction of the show count as a spoiler? if it does, delete this:<BR/><BR/>i'm probably not alone in thinking that the show more or less abandons its plaintive, close-examination-of-individual-character-details tone starting with this episode, at least not in the way you see in earlier episodes like "cassie" and "jal." maybe it's just the characters they choose to focus on, but it seems like the show adopts more of a trippy, rave-like tone, where it's more about the ludicrous plot twists and severely melodramatic character moments, and you don't really get too much time to just "chill," at least not in a sober way. now, i don't think "ludicrous" is a bad thing; i happen to like amped-up melodrama, and the show is still incredibly interesting and warrants close analysis. but it's just louder, and the character examinations are turned up to max volume. it gets a little disorienting.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06664200920287220667noreply@blogger.com