The Most Dangerous Show On Television

Is 'Skins' the most dangerous show on television? That depends on your point of view- importing the risque, gritty British hit television show to American shores was a gutsy move to make, even if the newly debuted American version is consigned to that forbidden time slot of after 10 PM on MTV: British imports or attempted Americanized remakes have a history of being horribly bad and failing pretty much most of the time, so I'm betting that, after the initial interest dies down and after people realize that they can view the far more gritty and harsh British version on Netflix Instant, the American version of 'Skins' will flounder like a wounded beast for awhile before being quietly taken out behind the woodshed and cancelled.

But you have to admire the moxie on MTV. Granted, I have no idea what happened to MTV or why it even bothers to call itself MTV anymore, as very little of what you see on MTV actually involves, you know, music videos, but it's nice to know they've still got some steel in their backbone. 'Skins' even if it is a watered down, Americanized version of the show, will be enough to make heads explode on parents from coast to coast- as this show might truly be every parents' worst nightmare. Sex, drugs, rock n'roll, eating disorders, love, relationships, identity, the whole mess of figuring out who you are that seems to consume your teenage years is portrayed with flat out brutality that comes uncomfortably close to reality in many cases.

The Missus and I are working our way slowly through the British version of the show via Netflix right now and I have to say I love the fact that 'Skins'- at least the British version is absolutely unafraid to take risks. In the second season of the show, the introduce an obssessed stalker type for one of the male characters and in the space of about thirty seconds flat, she manages to become one the most creepy and frightening characters I've ever seen on television, while the kids get set to stage a performance of their original high school musical, named- are you ready for this? 'Osama: The Musical' and what's it about, you ask? Well, the kiddies of whatever school in Bristol they're supposed to be attending are acting in an original high school musical about the September 11th Attacks.

I literally couldn't quite believe what I was seeing on my television screen. Had any American show had the balls to do something even remotely resembling this anytime in the past decade, someone, somewhere would have freaked out. The musical itself wasn't necessarily in bad taste, in fact it was more like a typical high school musical: bad production, lame musical numbers, the whole nine yards- and even the content of the musical itself wasn't necessarily all that offensive. I guess what stunned me about it was the fact that it took 9/11 down to the level of a high school musical- it didn't seem right to me, it seemed to almost trivialize it- but then again, I think that was precisely the reaction the shows creators were intended to provoke.

But we've strayed a bit from our original question: Is it the 'most dangerous show on television?' No. I'd say that honor belongs to the teen pregnancy glamorizing twins of '16 and Pregnant' and 'Teen Mom'- but 'Skins' will worry parents- it will freak some of them right out, no doubt, but while it might not hold back in it's portrayal of some of the excesses of teenagers, I wouldn't say it encourages them, per say. Teenagers might well identify with some of the struggles they see in 'Skins' and I think that's OK. But I'd still say bypass whatever weak tea the American version offers, head for your Netflix and go straight to the original. It doesn't disappoint.