Skin (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Skin is a television
serial drama which aired at 9:00 p.m. Monday on Fox
in 2003. It followed the tale of two teenagers who came from feuding families on opposite sides of the moral and legal spectrum. Adam (D.J. Cotrona
) is the son of the Los Angeles
District Attorney
, and Jewel (Olivia Wilde
) is the daughter of a pornographer. The show is a modern-day take on the Romeo and Juliet
story. Even after an incredible amount of advertising, the show was cancelled after only three episodes due to poor ratings and less than favorable reviews. It was reprieved in 2005, when SOAPnet
acquired broadcasting rights to all eight episodes and aired the last five episodes for the first time.
romance between the daughter of a porn king and the son of a crusading district attorney. Fox
was interested as "it was a really character-based drama, and a new world" where pornography would be the background, not the focus. Leonard said "Our goal was to take the soap out of soap opera and to tell a kind of operatic big story where worlds come together," and that he had long wanted to do a show that was about "sex, race and love."
Skin was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Hoosier Karma Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television
The executive producers were creator Jim Leonard, Jonathan Littman, Jerry Bruckheimer. During production Bruckheimer had expressed intent to have the DVD release more contain explicit edits of the episodes than what was broadcast. This is the first series produced by Bruckheimer to be canceled.
was cast as main character Larry Goldman. Goldman was to be a likable personality whose professional conduct is questionable. "What I wanted to set up was a situation where nobody's good and nobody's bad, and you ultimately don't know who to root for," said Leonard. Silver said "I was fascinated by the potential complexity of the character". In researching his role Silver met with Larry Flynt
and Jenna Jameson
as well as reading magazines and watching videos. Olivia Wilde
played his daughter Jewel and Pamela Gidley
played his wife Barbara. Kevin Anderson played the Los Angeles district attorney, Thomas Roam, who was out to get Goldman. Anderson elaborated on his character stating, "He's not an out-and-out good guy, there's a dark side. He's different than the run-of-the-mill do-gooder crusader lawyer." His son, Adam, and wife, Laura, were played by D.J. Cotrona
and Rachel Ticotin
respectively. Other recurring characters included D. W. Moffett (as Skip Ziti), Laura Leighton
(as Cynthia Peterson) and Ginger Lynn Allen (as Amber Synn).
Robert Bianco of USA Today
said, "Skin traps a 21st-century Romeo and Juliet between two dirty worlds: politics and porn. Throw in race, religion and economic disparity, and you have enough problems to keep a soap busy for decades.... Yet there's nothing salacious or pornographic about the show itself, which by current standards is relatively chaste." Bianco described the plot as "amusingly complicated" and Cotrona and Wilde as an "almost impossibly attractive couple". Alessandra Stanley
of The New York Times
said, "Fox has pulled off a slick, clever melodrama that holds one's attention even when pole-dancing, thong-snapping adult entertainers are off the screen" because "the adults do not fit neatly into hero and villain categories."
Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe
beings his review by saying, "If you were to write a book about MTV's influence on series television, you'd have to devote a long chapter to Skin." Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
points out that by the time Skin premiered it was already about a month into the new television season and there were many good shows already struggling to find an audience and it was too late for another show that wasn't truly great to premiere. In exploring the plot development Goodman says, "You begin to think this might be the shortest story arc ever -- a three-episode season." In addressing the conceptual similarities to Romeo and Juliet Goodman wrote, "This kind of forced drama may have worked in Shakespeare's time, but the modern audience doesn't want a tease it can predict."
In addressing the show's cancellation Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly described Skin as one of Fox's good shows and said he expected Arrested Development to be cancelled. Tucker goes on to say of the critical praise the show had received, "critics didn't want to look prudish, so their effusive ejaculations
... were premature".
Originally aired on Fox
, the first episode attracted 6.3 million viewers. It was down to fewer than 5.1 million viewers in its second airing and fewer than 4.1 million by its third airing.
reported on November 5, 2003 that production on the series had shut down the day before, after completion of the eighth episode.
The original three episodes that aired on Fox before the show was cancelled.
The remaining episodes of the show that aired when SOAPnet syndicated the show in 2005.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
serial drama which aired at 9:00 p.m. Monday on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in 2003. It followed the tale of two teenagers who came from feuding families on opposite sides of the moral and legal spectrum. Adam (D.J. Cotrona
D.J. Cotrona
Donald Joseph "D.J." Cotrona is an American actor.-Early life:Cotrona was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His father works for a recycling company and his mother is a teacher. He was studying to be a lawyer at Northeastern University in Boston; however, after doing a summer internship at a law...
) is the son of the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, and Jewel (Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
) is the daughter of a pornographer. The show is a modern-day take on the Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
story. Even after an incredible amount of advertising, the show was cancelled after only three episodes due to poor ratings and less than favorable reviews. It was reprieved in 2005, when SOAPnet
SOAPnet
SOAPnet is an American cable television channel that broadcasts current and past soap operas and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
acquired broadcasting rights to all eight episodes and aired the last five episodes for the first time.
Production
Jim Leonard had the idea for the show, and put it forward to Jerry Bruckheimer. It was to be a Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
romance between the daughter of a porn king and the son of a crusading district attorney. Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
was interested as "it was a really character-based drama, and a new world" where pornography would be the background, not the focus. Leonard said "Our goal was to take the soap out of soap opera and to tell a kind of operatic big story where worlds come together," and that he had long wanted to do a show that was about "sex, race and love."
Skin was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Hoosier Karma Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television is the television production arm of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself part of Time Warner. Alongside CBS Television Studios, it serves as a television production arm of The CW Television Network , though it also produces shows for other networks, such as Shameless on...
The executive producers were creator Jim Leonard, Jonathan Littman, Jerry Bruckheimer. During production Bruckheimer had expressed intent to have the DVD release more contain explicit edits of the episodes than what was broadcast. This is the first series produced by Bruckheimer to be canceled.
Cast and characters
Larry Golman is a Jewish pornography magnate and loving father, who controls the Los Angeles pornography industry. Barbara is his giggling platinum blonde wife and Jewel is their sixteen year old daughter. Thomas Roam is a Catholic Los Angeles district attorney running for re-election, at a time when missing children, linked to child pornography, dominate the news. Laura Roam, his wife, is a judge, and Adam is their half Mexican, half Irish sixteen year old son.Casting
Ron SilverRon Silver
Ronald Arthur "Ron" Silver was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist.-Early life:...
was cast as main character Larry Goldman. Goldman was to be a likable personality whose professional conduct is questionable. "What I wanted to set up was a situation where nobody's good and nobody's bad, and you ultimately don't know who to root for," said Leonard. Silver said "I was fascinated by the potential complexity of the character". In researching his role Silver met with Larry Flynt
Larry Flynt
Larry Claxton Flynt, Jr. is an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications . In 2003, Arena magazine listed him as the number one on the "50 Powerful People in Porn" list....
and Jenna Jameson
Jenna Jameson
Jenna Jameson is an American entrepreneur and former pornographic actress, who has been called the world's most famous adult-entertainment performer and "The Queen of Porn."...
as well as reading magazines and watching videos. Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
played his daughter Jewel and Pamela Gidley
Pamela Gidley
Pamela Catherine Gidley is an American actress and model.-Early life:Gidley was born in Methuen, Massachusetts but was raised in Nashua, New Hampshire and the youngest of the family with four older brothers...
played his wife Barbara. Kevin Anderson played the Los Angeles district attorney, Thomas Roam, who was out to get Goldman. Anderson elaborated on his character stating, "He's not an out-and-out good guy, there's a dark side. He's different than the run-of-the-mill do-gooder crusader lawyer." His son, Adam, and wife, Laura, were played by D.J. Cotrona
D.J. Cotrona
Donald Joseph "D.J." Cotrona is an American actor.-Early life:Cotrona was born in New Haven, Connecticut. His father works for a recycling company and his mother is a teacher. He was studying to be a lawyer at Northeastern University in Boston; however, after doing a summer internship at a law...
and Rachel Ticotin
Rachel Ticotin
Rachel Ticotin is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Ticotin was born in Bronx, New York, the daughter of Iris Torres, a Puerto Rican educator, and Abe Ticotin, a Russian Jewish used car salesman. Her brother, Sahaj, is a musician and the lead singer for his rock group, Ra...
respectively. Other recurring characters included D. W. Moffett (as Skip Ziti), Laura Leighton
Laura Leighton
Laura Leighton is an American actress. She is best-known for the role of Sydney Andrews, introduced in the 1990s television series Melrose Place. She reprised the role in the 2009 series of the same name...
(as Cynthia Peterson) and Ginger Lynn Allen (as Amber Synn).
Reception
On May 30, 2003 Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly picked Skin as one of the most promising new series for the 2003-04 U.S. television season. Fretts said that redoing Romeo and Juliet in a modern setting was nothing new but that having Romeo's father be a district attorney going after Juliet's porn-king father was original enough that "methinks Shakespeare would approve."Robert Bianco of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
said, "Skin traps a 21st-century Romeo and Juliet between two dirty worlds: politics and porn. Throw in race, religion and economic disparity, and you have enough problems to keep a soap busy for decades.... Yet there's nothing salacious or pornographic about the show itself, which by current standards is relatively chaste." Bianco described the plot as "amusingly complicated" and Cotrona and Wilde as an "almost impossibly attractive couple". Alessandra Stanley
Alessandra Stanley
Alessandra Stanley is an American journalist. In 2003 she became the television critic for The New York Times. Stanley was previously co-chief of the paper's Moscow bureau, Rome bureau chief, and as a correspondent for Time. She is the daughter of defense expert Timothy W...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said, "Fox has pulled off a slick, clever melodrama that holds one's attention even when pole-dancing, thong-snapping adult entertainers are off the screen" because "the adults do not fit neatly into hero and villain categories."
Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
beings his review by saying, "If you were to write a book about MTV's influence on series television, you'd have to devote a long chapter to Skin." Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
points out that by the time Skin premiered it was already about a month into the new television season and there were many good shows already struggling to find an audience and it was too late for another show that wasn't truly great to premiere. In exploring the plot development Goodman says, "You begin to think this might be the shortest story arc ever -- a three-episode season." In addressing the conceptual similarities to Romeo and Juliet Goodman wrote, "This kind of forced drama may have worked in Shakespeare's time, but the modern audience doesn't want a tease it can predict."
In addressing the show's cancellation Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly described Skin as one of Fox's good shows and said he expected Arrested Development to be cancelled. Tucker goes on to say of the critical praise the show had received, "critics didn't want to look prudish, so their effusive ejaculations
Ejaculation (grammar)
In grammar, an ejaculation is an utterance that expresses a feeling outside of the normal language structure. Often, but not always, it is an exclamation, most often consisting of a single word, either an interjection or a profanity or both.Examples:...
... were premature".
Originally aired on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, the first episode attracted 6.3 million viewers. It was down to fewer than 5.1 million viewers in its second airing and fewer than 4.1 million by its third airing.
Episodes
The first three episodes were shown on Fox in 2003 and SOAPnet aired the eight episodes in 2005. There were reports at the time the show was canceled that nine episodes had been produced. CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
reported on November 5, 2003 that production on the series had shut down the day before, after completion of the eighth episode.
The original three episodes that aired on Fox before the show was cancelled.
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | American viewers (millions) |
Original air date | Code |
|---|
The remaining episodes of the show that aired when SOAPnet syndicated the show in 2005.
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Code |
|---|