Pick a side for The Inbetweeners

MTV premiered The Inbetweeners this week. It used to be anything on this network could be written off. The fact that The Inbetweeners is a remake of a British series, a la Skins, would count even further against it. However, surprise surprise, The Inbetweeners is good. Very good.

There are a lot of shows you can compare The Inbetweeners to. Some have said The Wonder Years, but I prefer the more modern references, like calling it a series version of Superbad or the guy (and loser-class) bend on Awkward. I might even see it as an American Pie prequel. All of these are excellent projects, and The Inbetweeners does not quite deserve to be in a league with them. Yet. But it does come a lot closer than one might expect it to.

I cannot speak as to whether it is like the original version or not. Like most Americans, I have not seen the popular foreign show, though I'd like to, so this review takes the episode purely on its own merits.

As the "Pilot" of The Inbetweeners begins, Will (Joey Pollari, Profile of a Killer) moves to town. He has recently transferred from a private school, and doesn't quite fit in with the less-civilized peons in the public educational system. Not that he's snobby about it. The Vice Principal (Brett Gelman, Eagleheart, Go On) thrusts Will into an already existing clique of boys who aren't very popular, but like most young men, talk a big game, think about sex constantly, sneak alcohol, and get into trouble when they aren't kept occupied. It isn't long before they begin to rub off on Will, welcoming him into their group.

Jay (Zack Pearlman, The Virginity Hit) is the polarizing character, the Jonah Hill-type who acts like he has had a lot of sexual conquests. His friends likely don't believe him, and viewers definitely won't, but there is still something charming about him. Everyone knows someone like Jay. We understand that his outsize personality is meant to cover up insecurities, and he is genuinely funny, so we forgive him, even when, as he does in the "Pilot," he exposes his friend's boner in the cafeteria.

Simon (Bubba Lewis, Flags of Our Fathers) is the more romantic type, stuck on one girl, Carly (Alex Frnka, Unanswered Prayers), a close friend since they were young. In the "Pilot," Simon drinks a bit too much and makes a play for her. This ends horribly, and provides the only scene in which the "Pilot" goes too far into gross out territory. Hopefully, this type of sequence will not be repeated.

And then there's Neil (Mark L. Young, Big Love, Sex Drive). He is the least featured in the first episode, so we'll have to wait to find out who he is.

The reason The Inbetweeners works is, like Awkward., it is highly relatable and realistic. These characters are still young enough that they don't have to have it all together. Those teens going through the same things will be able to identify with someone in the cast, while TV viewers who are well past that age may like the show for nostalgia's sake. These boys have not been Hollywood-ized, made unrecognizable from the average teen. Instead, The Inbetweeners lets them be themselves, pimples and all.

Plus, the show is funny. The writing is tight, the dialogue is smart, but not so much so that it takes viewers out of the moment. The setting is perfect, and the pacing is great. A bunch of positive elements all combine to make it a series well worth watching.

Catch The Inbetweeners Mondays at 10:30 p.m. ET on MTV.

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Cover Up, Skins! (US Version)

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     After Shameless and Being Human, I am getting a little tired of typing 'based on the British show of the same name', but here we go again. Except, this one is MTV's Skins. Please keep in mind, I haven't seen the British version. Everything I say this review applies ONLY to the American version of Skins. And what I'd like to say is, the show is terrible.

     Where to begin? First of all, the only audience I see for this series is the legions of horned up boys that flock to whatever the current equivalent of American Pie is. Look at the poster above, and you'll see what I mean. I will be the first to admit, I was in this demographic ten years ago. Ok, seven years ago. But now it takes a little more than the promise of a bit of girly skin to get me to spend me valuable time. And being that this series airs on basic cable, all you're going to get is a glimpse of that skin, not any of the really naughty bits.

     The characters are incredibly poorly executed. The lead, at least in the first episode, titled "Tony", is Tony (James Newman). He is supposed to be the ultra-cool kid that everyone loves, who can score all the girls, and gets whatever he wants because of his charm and good looks. I got a kick out of his friends making fun of him behind his back in one scene, because I don't see how anyone could possibly like Tony. He isn't that good looking. He's arrogant. He's a horrible friend. He takes advantage of people in obvious ways. There is nothing likable about him at all. Yet, there are plenty of 'Tony's out there that somehow pull this off, at least while still in high school.

     Similarly, I found most of the characters one note. Stanley (Daniel Flaherty) is the ugly dork who can't get laid, though he did show a slight hint of personality and kindness late in the episode. Cadie (Britne Oldford) is the pill-popping crazy one. Abbud (Ron Mustafaa) is little more than a racist stereotype. Tony's friends at the all-girl schools were two-dimensional preppie types. And yes, some teen guys are obsessed with girls and drugs. But most of them don't flaunt it as badly as the 'characters', using the term loosely, as caricatures would be more accurate, in Skins.

     The only small saving grace was Michelle, also known to Tony as Nips (Rachel Thevenard). Yes, her nickname is sexist and vulgar. No wonder she doesn't like it. She is the sole character that showed slight depth, and felt marginally real. She had a good sense of humor, was kind, enjoyed her life, liked who she was, and knew where she stood. So why is she sleeping with a creep like Tony? 

 

     I have considered that perhaps I'm just not the target audience for this series. I did manage to sit through the whole hour, so it wasn't the worst thing I've ever watched. But even teenagers deserve better dramas than this stuff. If anything, this just gives them an unrealistic worldview of limited, if any, consequences for dumb actions.

 
     If you'd like to make your own judgments, Skins airs Monday nights at 10 p.m.

Article first published as TV Review: Cover Up, Skins! on Blogcritics.