Skins UK vs. Skins US

Hello, my dear readers!!!!!!! It’s been nearly a week since I posted so I thought it was about time. So, I don’t know if its just me, but I feel like the last few years America has been doing remakes of a lot of UK shows. Shameless, the Office, Being Human, Skins and if you guys aren’t aware the hit UK show Misfits is being adapted in the good old US of A as well. Most shows that are re-adapted here are hits! The Office US is on it’s, correct me if I’m wrong, 7th season and is one of my favorite shows. Shameless is actually returning for its second season today at 8pm! Season 2 of Bieng Human is coming back the 16th of this month. These shows have been both nominated for awards and received many of them. They’re amazingly popular and Americans can’t get enough of them. Except for one show. Skins. Skins unlike other UK to US shows was a completefailure. It had horribly low ratings and only lasted for one season. Recently, I’ve been watching the UK version of Skins. When the US version premiered I was very excited expecting it to enchant me like all other UK shows. However, I wasn’t very impressed. I watched the whole season though, but I have to say I’m not upset  that there won’t be a 2nd season of Skins US. As I was watching the UK version I started to wonder why the US version was such a fiasco. Then, I realized why. It’s because the Skins US didn’t follow the plot of the UK version at all. Okay, they had the same characters (with different names) but the story of each individual character was so different. One difference that plucked a nerve with me personally was that the gay character in the UK version was a male, but in the US version it was a girl. I didn’t understand why they would change the gender of the gay character besides trying to play on most men’s fantasy of two girls being intimate with one another. Another major difference was language. The UK characters were a bit more straightforward and brutal. If a girl had had sex with a male character on the show, the UK characters would simply put it out there while US characters would more so tip toe around it a bit. This difference is due to a culture difference between the US and UK. A third difference is the back story of Jal and Daisy, who is US version of Jal. In the British show Jal’s Dad is  a big rich movie producer. Jal has two brothers while in the American show Daisy’s Dad is poor and discourages her from playing her instrument (in the UK show her Dad pushed her to succeed in music). She has one little sister. This difference completely changes the conflict Jal (Daisy) has with herself and her father. Also, Jal and Chris (UK) eventually fall for one another. This happens in the 2nd season but inklings of it are given in the 1st one. No such inklings happen in the US version and actually Daisy ends up hooking up with the American version of Anwar named Abbud which didn’t happen in the UK version. And lastly Cadie (US) doesn’t have aneating disorder like Cassie (UK). Cadie is much darker and a bid druggie, while Cassie is happy, bubbly and anorexic. It’s differences like these that make the characters who they are and either engage the audience or bore them.

There are many other differences but I don’t think you all want me to go off on a rant. The whole point is that the US Skins failed because it changed the show so much. If something is good why try to change it? If its not broke, why fix it? Why change a good thing? You see where I’m going here. If the US had stuck to the same plot as the UK I have no doubt that it would have succeeded. However, my dear readers please tell me what you think. Why do you think the US version of Skins failed? Do you think America has really been taken over by UK shows like I do? I know a lot of Brits are a bit angry about our adaptions of their shows. I personally don’t see what the big deal is, these are just shows and it’s not like we’re stealing their whole culture just because of a few shows, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. Do you think the Brits should be upset? It’s all up to you. Let me know and see ya next time! :)