Yes we know that Skins ended recently and that the last ever episodes were really rather good.
But whenever I think about my all time favourite television shows, Skins always comes up top. But only the 'first generation' episodes. Why?
1. The opening titles. It sounded like a very big harp falling down a flight of stairs. Awesomely trendy.
2. Every character was so well written. You still know all their names by heart.
3. The third generation? Nope. Can't remember. Sorry.
4. You loved it because you secretly wanted to be as confident and cool as Tony...
5. ... but deep down you knew that you were like Sid.
6. You loved Maxxie. There really never had been a gay character like him on television before.
7. You also loved Cassie, who said "wow" a lot.
8. And then there was Anwar, who was well... Anwar.
9. Not to mention the array of dysfunctional adults who made the teens seem like the sensible ones.
10. Skins was groundbreaking. It managed to mix serious issues, from sexuality to eating disorders to Chris' abandonment issues and drug addiction...
11. ... with the silly, like the time that the car fell into the river, whilst Sid was reaching for a cigarette lighter out of Tony's back pocket, whilst Anwar was peeing.
12. I mean, even though it was marketed to seem like a 'wild' party, making your life look shit in comparison...
... the more the character's lives fell apart, the more you valued your own life.
13. Nothing on TV made you feel as much back then. All the other teenage dramas were like Hollyoaks.
14. And Hollyoaks didn't have moments like the whole cast breaking out into Cat Stevens' "Wild World" for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
15. Or had unexpected dance-offs to "Funky Town" after a serious talk about eating disorders.
16. And why was the first generation the best? Well just re-watch that moment when Chris was buried.
17. And that moment when they nicked Chris' coffin, attached it to the top of a Mini and drove it through Bristol.
18. And that episode after Tony's car accident, when Maxxie taught him how to write again.
19. And when Sid went to New York to find Cassie.
20. Even though the next series introduced new characters and quirky moments...
Something was missing. It wasn't the same.
