I just watched the first episode of the american version of Skins and I can already see why many don’t like it. Personally, neither do I.
First of all, Cassie’s counterpart, Cadie, is all wrong. Cassie’s [one of] my favorite character, played brilliantly by Hannah Murray, but the way Britne Oldford plays her in this new version of hers is, well… lame. To quote Tony from the original series, “Fucking [Cassie] would be like fucking a fairy on LSD.” Cadie has nothing of Cassie’s “constantly dreaming” state that made her fans love her so much.
And while we’re on the subject of acting, I find the whole cast horrible! When you act, you’re not supposed to be obvious about the lines you say being scripted, if you know what I mean. But then again, Nicholas Hoult is the kid from “About A Boy” and other films and Dev Patel did become Zuko in “The Last Airbender” [I’m not saying I liked that one either, but that’s a different story], so it’s no wonder the first generation of the original show was so heartfelt. But when it comes to this Tony and this Cassie and stuff, it makes me want to socket the casting crew in the face. I love america and would like to think that we’ve produced some pretty great actors over time. So watching these guys is just plain embarassing. I hope, as other series have done for some actors, they’ll improve throughout the course of the show.
However, as to not make it seem like I have a one track opinion about this show, there are some key points, some changes, I like about this version. Changes such as the aspect of making Maxxie female in the character Tea. Now, I liked Maxxie’s character a lot. I thought he was pretty awesome and portrayed greatly, especially since he reminded me so much of an old friend I had in Switzerland [the whole show reminds me of my high school time and growing up there, really]. So when they introduced Tea, I was positively surprised on the new twist. Call me your stereotypical guy if you must, but I kinda like a little girl on girl action. ;P So, if they do it right, they could get a real good character out of her. Sadly, I won’t be holding my breath on that.

Also, I’ve heard how many people hate the way the show is copying the original Skins scene by scene on the dot and true enough, 90% of it was like the original, just worse acting. But in their defense, I watched an interview with the cast where it was explained that Jamie Brittain set it up to introduce the characters in the exact same way. However, Brittain brought a whole new team of american writers on board to take over after, basically saying “These are the characters I’ve created for you, now have a ball!” I find this a rather interesting concept, to have the characters start out the same and end up somewhere entirely new. If this is truly a good idea, with the danger of having these new writers tear it all apart and all, has yet to be decided.

So in the end, I think I’ll keep watching it. For now, at least. Partially ‘cause I miss the original cast of generation one so much that I’d even settle for their substitutes… But mainly ‘cause I’m curious as to how the developments I mentioned above will occur, if they do. I suppose I wouldn’t be able to have a thoroughly informed oppinion of the show if I at least didn’t give it a fair chance. But to anyone who’s only seen the US verson of Skins, do yourself a favor:
Watch the british version first.
It really is the only “true Skins” there is.