girls rock !!

If we think of the past 12 months in terms of a teen tv drama triathlon - competing on acting, storylines and style - the results are in.

Overall, 2009 has been a great year for teen drama series, with some ongoing quality and a few outstanding performances. For us, Skins has been the best in a number of ways. There are excellent features in some of the other series as well, so here is a summary of the shows and our medal table.

Skins - UK - series 3 - Gold Medal

Now in its third season and with a deliberate freshening of the characters and cast, Skins has been praised worldwide, including Gordon Farrer writing in Melbourne’s The Age newspaper. He called it “refreshing, entertaining and worthy” and decided it should be “compulsory viewing for parents of teenagers as much as for teens.”

Alongside the many acting, writing and production awards, Skins has led the field with clever, up-to-the-minute marketing. The show has won Best Advertising Campaign and Best Interactive Marketing awards in 2008. The actresses are sure to be nominated as well for their parts in Skins (photo 1 shows Effy on the cover of Super Super).

Skins scorecard 2009
Acting - 5 stars
Storylines - 5 stars
Style - 5 stars

Gold Stars this season
Emily Fitch (photo 2), superbly played by this season’s outstanding new talent, Kathryn Prescott.
Naomi Campbell in wonderful, understated performances by Lily Loveless which, at times, have chilled with their perfection.
Katie Fitch portrayed in blazing performances by Megan Prescott.

Silver Commendations this season
Pandora Moon, whose bright and colourful performances are handled by Lisa Backwell.
Karen Mclair had extremely impressive early showings by Klariza Clayton.

Gossip Girl - USA - series 2 - Silver Medal

While nowhere near the grit and “real life” tone of Skins, the second season has done a few things really well. And while not as “sexy” as the books, the tv show suggests enough teenage game-playing and bed-hopping to echo the lives - if not the money - of many. Gossip Girl is also better than many other teen dramas which are little more than paper-thin storylines of the soap variety.

Gossip Girl scorecard 2009
Acting - 4 stars
Storylines - 4 stars
Style - 5 stars

Gold Star this season
Jenny Humphrey is one of the youngest of the Gossip Girl characters and rapidly rose to a central role. This has been an impressive season for Taylor Momsen (photo 3) in the role, as both her real-life acting and modelling have fused in one key role.

Silver Commendation this season
Blair Waldorf as the “queen bee” has been both a problem and a clever story hook. The haughty, beautiful and insecure character is played with skill by Leighton Meester.

90210 - USA - series 1 - Bronze Medal

Created as a contemporary spin-off from Beverly Hills, 90210, the all-new 90210 is not that new. There are still many early weaknesses like goody-goody central characters (Annie, Navid) and cardboard-baddies (Adrianna). However, the cast is rich with adult and teen characters with space to grow, and the arrival of Rebecca Rand Kirshner (formerly of Gilmore Girls and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as executive producer/showrunner should see some deeper storylines.

90210 scorecard 2009
Acting - 4 stars
Storylines - 4 stars
Style - 4 stars

Gold Star this season
Erin aka Silver is one of the major characters to return from the original series. Her blog The Vicious Circle often leads to conflict. As a number of the other characters are still one-dimensional, and because the role is played with flair and strength by Jessica Stroup (photo 4), Silver stands out so far.

An extended review and more detail can be found at Cheerleaders in High Heels .

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