Skins US and UK Season 5 Review

It has been a while since I did a TV review and I think that it is necessary to write something about Skins. There is a lot of talk in the US at the moment about Skins. It seems that American networks may have run out of new ideas and decided to steal old ones from the UK, I mean if it worked for 'The Office,' it can work for everything else, or...?! Then came 'Shameless US,' and now 'Skins US.' Now I can't say that I have seen 'Shameless US,' but I truly hope that they are at the very least using different plots and dialogue, because Skins US isn't!!
The first episode of the US show was identical to the original first episode, except for a few American anachronisms, name changes, one sex change and what was the other thing....... oh yeah, it looks like they decided not to bother casting anyone that can actually act! Then somehow, who knows how, the show received criticism, well I never! The whole thing is ridiculous, why not just buy the rights to broadcast the original first season of skins, instead of wasting time and money on this drivel? I wager that if they had shown Skins UK on a major network, it played on BBC America a few years ago to be fair, then the show wouldn't have stirred up half as much trouble. I can imagine that all the naysayers would just blame the fact that English teenagers are.... fill in the derogatory cultural slur here, and everyone would have watched with morbid fascination and disgust, while the Network executives racked in the cash!! This current mess could have been prevented if they had asked me first!! ; )
Now on to Skins UK Season 5. *Spoilers*
I want to premise my remarks with the statement that I have been a long time fan and viewer of Skins and have always thoroughly enjoyed the show. However after the first episode of season 5, my hopes are set pretty low. The Frankie character, while endearing, seems to have only the superficial depth that accompanies an alternative lifestyle and artistic pursuits, and her intelligence level must not be up there if she thinks that the blond bimbo wants to be her friend 2 hours after they had a mud fight and her life was threatened. I can understand the desire to be accepted, to think the best of people, but inviting these girls straight into your home and leaving your computer unlocked?! As I mentioned, she must not be the brightest spark! The other characters presented so far also leave little to be hopeful for. There's the perfect, but hurt on the inside, enemy, her little girl group who want to be nice but yet go along with everything bitch queen says, the comedy relief red head and the metal wannabe.......... Fun times! The first episode ends in the most random of scenarios that while unlikely will probably remind many a young person of nights spent in a field with a bottle of something cheap. The reminiscing aside however, that may have been our part of our boring adolescence but then there's a reason no-one filmed us doing that, it's just not good TV!