Eloquent Bones

gq:

newsweek:

Here’s a quick taste of what you’ll get in the first few minutes of MTV’s new teen drama, Skins: Masturbation. Porn. References to “girl-on-girl.” Parties, vomit, and a whole lot of prescription drugs. The plot of the first episode? Figure out how to get Stanley, a quirky, shy 16-year-old who’s in love with his best friend’s girlfriend, laid before his 17th birthday. How to do it? “We go to a party and get some girl’recaucusly spliffed,” his friend tells him. “In her confused state, she comes to believe—momentarily, of course—that you’re attractive. And then she bangs your brains out.”

In which NEWSWEEK asks, Is Skins the Most Dangerous Show on TV? (Photo courtesy MTV)

Our favorite bit from ace culture writer Jessica Bennett’s typically smart take is when the Parents Television Council says the series “may well be the the most dangerous show for children that we have ever seen.” Proving yet again that PTC’s chief function is serving as a dog whistle alerting us to shows that we REALLY REALLY WANT TO SEE. Thanks for the heads-up, PTC! You guys rule!

okay; i’ve seen the first two seasons of the original (british) version of the show, and the pilot plot is the same - character names, accents, and british colloqualisms aside. sure, there’s drugs and sex, but the [british version of] the show is actually a very compelling character drama that deals with relevant issues for kids this age. if anything, not watching the show is dangerous. i might have learned something if i had seen it when i was an impressionable high schooler.