Skins: Series 4

Following its recent airing on E4, Skins returns on DVD with its fourth series of sex, drugs… and indie-soundtracked montages of not a lot happening.

In keeping with the formula of previous series, each hour-long episode follows just one character, with other cast members often not appearing until well after the first ad break, giving the viewer unexpected insights into the group’s lives and background. Only for the climactic final instalment do all the characters finally gather together, with one notable exception following the genuinely shocking cliffhanger ending to Episode 7. It's a poignant goodbye not just for the characters, as they prepare to enter the adult world, but for the audience, as the entire cast will once again be replaced with a third generation for the next year's Series 5.

Exploring the generally expected teen issues such as pregnancy, drug-taking, self-harm, parental divorce, mental breakdowns, etc., fortunately the drama of most of the storylines are so massively heightened that it lends freshness to these potentially clichéd themes. If we’re honest, sensationalist plots are exactly what we watch Skins for, so perhaps a lesbian love-triangle being implicated with drug-dealing and suicide is something to be expected, and not scorned…

Considering the age of the actors (there's no 90210-style casting here), the performances are above-average, while a diverse soundtrack and some innovative editing strengthen any occasionally weak patches. There's also an impressive, if obscure, range of adult cameos to look out for, including Will Young perfectly hamming-up the part of T. Love (Freddie's educational intervention officer who is obsessed with Michael Jackson) and the Happy Mondays' Bez as a rickshaw driver.



Released on DVD on 22nd March 2010 by 4DVD.

Written by Olivia Spooner.