'The Inbetweeners'- E4 sitcom, the anti-'Skins'

[HappyDayRiot]

I don't think Skins and The Inbetweeners are comparable. One is serious, overblown and often pretentious comedy-drama and one is a straight out gross out sitcom. The only real similarity is the setting.

This week's was brilliant. The lines about Neil's dad and AIDS were absolutely textbook and the scene with Jay putting Carly off Simon at the bathroom was also vintage juvenile pranking. It's so close to life it's brilliant.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I don't think Skins and The Inbetweeners are comparable. One is serious, overblown and often pretentious comedy-drama and one is a straight out gross out sitcom. The only real similarity is the setting.

This week's was brilliant. The lines about Neil's dad and AIDS were absolutely textbook and the scene with Jay putting Carly off Simon at the bathroom was also vintage juvenile pranking. It's so close to life it's brilliant.

I think that shows in that people have been calling it "The Anti-Skins"

 

[Ethros]

Mmm, already said my opinion in the opening post, but can't say I like Skins much.
I've been watching a lot of Paul Calf stuff recently, and as he would say "bag of shite!"

 

[Cky]

Granted it's nothing like Skins, but I would still compare it againts it (it doesn't have any of the melodrama that Skins has, but it's still entertaining).

I was trying to think earlier who my favourate character is, and I think it' Jay, but it's a very very close call.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

Jay gets all the best lines. Especially due to his constant lying about his sexual prowess and experiences, and excellent general use of the word 'gash'.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

About half way through the first episode now, and already had a fair amount of laughs.I guess Will and Jay are the stand outs so far.

 

[Ethros]

I love the whole section of that ep where they go to the pub.
Jay's faux Australian accent "15th of bloody May 1989!"

"She says it so packed she can't see where we are"
"Is she a retard?"
"She's in the Black Horse, where are we?"
"Black Bull"
"Right so we're in the wrong pub"


Now to me that's a perfect reflection of going to the pub at that age, ie worrying about getting served, what to drink, impressing your mates to look cool, etc
Love the bit where Simon tries to impress Carly acting cool "yeah bit pissed, been to the Black Bull first just to sharpen up"

As I say I haven't seen loads of Skins, but from what I have it's just not like what being that age is really like. They all seem really comfortable in that setting, downing pints and looking cool (well, thinking they look cool)
It was certainly never like that for me, and all the people in my year who were like were the biggest arsehole wankers you could ever meet. So why I'd want to watch a show based around those sort of tosspots I don't know

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^Depends on the person... I know people who did go out clubbing at 16, getting in with no trouble, getting served and whatever. I could get served pretty easy at the local off license at 16 too. But I know what you mean. The first episode of Skins put me off for over a year, but Tony is a knob and the more you watch the show the more you realise that it isn't really trying to make that cool. It works in an odd way.

Oh and I pissed myself on the part where he was going off on the bar tender, telling him how young everyone in the pub is.

 

[Cky]

Jay: "Maybe they'll notice us for who we really are!"
Will: "Well, you're screwed then because you're a twat"


Simon: "I don't think Neil's dad could afford a caravan..."
Jay: "Maybe if we convinced him it was a mobile closet to hide in?"

Jay - "That one has fucked everyone, I've slung one up her a few times myself"
Will - "And who exactly is everone Jay, that old man over there, has he had a go on her?"

And my current favourate (until I find something better):

Simon- He touched us here... and here... and here... *whispers* the bumhole..."

And then I just heard this in the background:

Will- "Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger ... except polio"

 

[Ethros]

Jay - "That one has fucked everyone, I've slung one up her a few times myself"
Will - "And who exactly is everone Jay, that old man over there, has he had a go on her?"

That was the first ep I saw, and it was that exchange that sold me 100% on the show, making me order the DVD straight away
Will- "Where are all these women then?"
Jay- "There's loads about"
Will- "Where?"
Jay- "Well what about her?"
Will- "She look about twelve!"
Jay- "Nah she's older than that. Believe me"



Neil's dad- "I'll have less of your lip"
Will- "Oh you'd like my lip wouldn't you? Right round your bell end! You... bumder!"

^Depends on the person... I know people who did go out clubbing at 16, getting in with no trouble, getting served and whatever. I could get served pretty easy at the local off license at 16 too. But I know what you mean. The first episode of Skins put me off for over a year, but Tony is a knob and the more you watch the show the more you realise that it isn't really trying to make that cool. It works in an odd way.

Yeah it's mainly just because I relate so well to the Inbetweeners characters. But it's like what Stewart Lee says in that vid, than had Skins been on when I was that age it would probably have made me feel really left out and alone, like I was missing all the action. Whereas The Inbetweeners cheers me up for the opposite reasons.
Jay- "So what are we doing this Friday night then?"
Simon- "Same thing we do every Friday night. Nothing"

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^That was the first episode I saw after I'd decided to give it a go, and it made me decide to get the DVD too.

I know what you mean about Skins, cos it's more or less what I thought the first time I saw the first episode, but after I got past that first impression and watched a few more episodes it really grew on me. Russell T Davis made a comment about it in The Writers Tale, ad he said something along the lines of No 17 year old is as self confident and cool as Tony, and everyone wishes they were, the very fact that he is makes it heightened reality and not really realistic, and you end up hating him for it, but they're clever enough to know that.

That may not be exactly what he said, of even really a paraphrase of what he said but that's the kinda feeling I took away from it.

 

[Ethros]

I've not seen that much of the first two series, its Series 3 I've mainly seen, when it was on late night on E4 and I was staying up flicking through the channels all night.
First the three male friends I find unbelievable that they'd be friends, there's one total scally guy, one massive geek, and one dressed up like Nathan Barley looking a twat. At that age I didn't get why people like that would be mates with each other.

And plus the Effy charatcer is odd, are girls meant to look up to this anorexic teenage whore? Because it seems that what she is.
But as I said before I've only seen bits, and unlike a lot of TrekBBS folk I don't like criticising things I don't know overly a lot about.
Again I get the whole warped reality vibe like RTD said, and kidna like Ch4's Teachers was a bit. But I would like to punch the majority of the cast very hard in the face


I like this Adam & Joe bit analysing the first few minutes of the first ep of Series 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZTr9k4BUxw&feature=related
Great hilarious insights. What I thought watching it, like they were desperatly trying to be insanely 'cool' as possible, but to me it just gives the opposite impact. You just really want to see that kid and his skateboard dragged under a bus

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Well Effy was always a weird character, so nothing has changed there.
JJ, Cook and Freddie have been friends since they were kids, and it's only really in the series where they start to question it. Series 3 isn't really up to the same level as 1 and 2, but I know what you mean about wanting to hit them.

 

[Cky]

But, the main difference in Series 1 & 2 is that you can see why the main group are already friends, they've all basically got the same interests and they all get along well. Series 3 however, you look at the group at the end and think "why the hell are they all friends?" I mean okay, they bring up the stuff that the three guys have been friends all along, and we know how Pandora and Effy became friends, but the others are so opposite from everyone else it just annoys me.

But going back to the Inbetweeners, very good character development from the very beginning of the show. You can see how Si and Will have sort of balanced themselves off each other.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I'm glad they explained what a bellend is in the pilot. I was never comlpetely aware about how focused an insult it was than a general swapout for idiot.

 

[dark angel_707]

only started to watch The Inbetweeners' (once again its because the E4 adverts really make not want to watch the show, same with skins series 1)

going to order series 1 now from play

 

[HappyDayRiot]

^ Those E4 adverts used to drive me INSANE. Every single set of ads during every single show after 6pm and they never showed bits that showed off either show's appeal due to the true being in the sort of material you can't play at 6pm. No wonder I only watched Skins and The Inbetweeners a fortnight after the first series ended...

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I watched the first 3 or 4 episodes last night. I'm really enjoying it. I'm just wondering what happens after series 2? Are they going to take it out of the school setting, which given the premise is a bit of a mistake, I would think, or are they just going to end it there?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

^ Those E4 adverts used to drive me INSANE. Every single set of ads during every single show after 6pm and they never showed bits that showed off either show's appeal due to the true being in the sort of material you can't play at 6pm. No wonder I only watched Skins and The Inbetweeners a fortnight after the first series ended...

And because of those ads my 11 year old niece keeps telling me she wants to watch it.

 

[HappyDayRiot]

^ The second series is only set in their second term ie January. So there's potentially a series per term of sixth form, which makes six series.