Most shit TV is made for teenagers. Teen Cribs, My Super Sweet 16, anything on BBC 3, the consensus among TV executives appears to be "They don't know any better! Give them platter of shit and they'll eat it up like it's a bucket of ecstasy pills." What they don't seem to realise is that some youngsters grew up watching good TV, and their tastes are more refined. Not content with the egregious listings of today, they'll search out the best in classic and contemporary television on the internet, a far more accessible and comprehensive library for good television than the television ever was. But TV doesn't so itself any favours.
Take Skins. Now in its fifth series, Skins has steadily been declining in quality since the end of its first run. The original set of characters were fairly annoying, but they at least had moments of normality; genuine human camaraderie with some humour sprinkled on top. But since then, it has decided to take itself far too seriously, each storyline being more ludicrous than the last, the characters becoming crass stereotypes of their supposed real life mirrors. This came to a head recently, in the latest series, where Skins represented a metal head in the most insulting way I think I have ever seen.
I like metal. I don't listen to is as much as I used to, but I still enjoy it. Some of my friends were into it as well, we'd often discuss who was good, who was wank, as you do, but it was a music we enjoyed, and that was all. The metal head character portrayed in Skins is the most insipid, ungrateful, mopey fucking idiot I have ever witnessed. Someone so ignorantly steeped in the ethos of 'Metal' that when his kindly father tells him he loves him, he replies by calling him by his first name and basically telling him to fuck off. Someone so horrifically bland and uninspiring that everything they utter is basically an ode to how metal they are, and how they'll 'Never compromise!'
He comes into contact with one of the more popular girls, Grace, who has been assigned the task of teaching him how to talk to the equally awful metal bird who works in the Library. This culminates Grace trying to learn the ways of the metal warrior, by dressing in a quintessentially metal fashion. She has done some homework on metal (claiming she likes Industrial but 'Trent Reznor can suck my cock', apparently...) and the ensuing conversation ends up in what I consider, with no hyperbole, no exaggeration, the most cringe worthy scene I have ever witnessed on television. After becoming agitated at Dr. Metal Tits' general demeanour, she stands on a table and starts triumphantly singing Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing In The Name', specifically the 'Fuck you I won't do what you tell me' bit. My toes curled into my foot sole, and my head was firmly glued to my hands. This is what it has come to. This is what they think we want to watch. This. Is. Fucking. Shit.
By comparison, an exceptional program began on Sky's new channel Sky Atlantic. Boardwalk Empire, from the off, was encapsulating and visually stunning. It follows Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson, a corrupt and powerful political figure in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Nucky, played impeccably by Steve Buscemi, who has a fascinating face, is a charming and wise man, who is pained by the death of his young wife. Supporting performances also stick out, especially Kelly MacDonald as Margaret Schroeder, an unassuming but strong and clever woman, who Nucky warms to. The pilot was directed by Martin Scorsese, and is reportedly the most expensive TV pilot ever made, and it looks it. The sets are incredible, antiquated advertisements and amusements align the boardwalk, and the interior furnishings are typically grand.
Maybe it's the money, Skins fifth series was rumoured to be cancelled due to budget restraints, but the gulf of quality between the two shows is astounding. A patronising and sickly pseudo insight to teenage life versus a sublime and well executed American period drama: the victor here is clear.
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