Tony (Skins series 1)

Last updated

"Tony"
Skins episode
Episode no.Series 1
Episode 1
Directed byPaul Gay
Written by Bryan Elsley
Original air date25 January 2007 (2007-01-25)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
Next 
"Cassie"
Skins (series 1)
List of episodes

"Tony" is the first episode of British drama series, Skins . It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Paul Gay. [1] It is told from the point of view of main character Tony Stonem. It aired on E4 on 25 January 2007. [2]

Contents

Plot

The episode begins with Tony waking up in his room on an average morning. He distracts his angry, overly vocal father in order for his younger sister Effy to get inside unnoticed. He also stares at Miriam, a naked woman changing in front of her bedroom window across the street. Tony continues to irritate his father by locking him out of the bathroom and exiting through the window, leaving the door locked. Tony's father swears a great deal, seemingly constantly much to their mother Anthea's annoyance.

Tony then leaves for college and on the way rings his friends and tries to organise a night out so they can help his best friend Sid lose his virginity. Tony and Sid meet for breakfast in a café where Tony tells Sid that they will get a girl "spliffed up" so she will have sex with Sid. Sid assumes he will get to have sex with Tony's girlfriend - the beautiful Michelle - and it is revealed that Sid is very attracted to her. Michelle and Tony tell Sid he is being set up with Cassie, who was recently in a psychiatric hospital and is good in bed provided she is not hungry, according to "everyone". Tony asks Sid to pick up some drugs off his dealer, Mad Twatter.

Tony auditions for the city chamber choir and succeeds in getting a part. He then flirts with a private school girl Abigail Stock and agrees to attend her house party with his friends. Most of his friends, however, have other plans. Tony's openly gay friend Maxxie is taking Chris and Anwar on a big, gay night out. Tony, now aware via Chris that Bristol (the show's setting) is awash with cannabis, tries to call Sid to tell him not to buy the drugs, but Sid has his mobile phone switched off. Sid asks Mad about buying drugs on credit terms, but is bullied into purchasing three ounces instead of the intended ounce by the deranged, moustached drug dealer. He warns Sid that if he has not paid him the three hundred pounds within the time given, he will take Sid's testicles as "collateral".

The gang arrive at Abigail's party and Sid meets Cassie, who tells him he is cute, and is delighted that he will not make her eat anything. In Abigail's house, they are told to remove their shoes in order to prevent staining the brand new carpet imported from Iran. They also cannot smoke anything in the house on account of the expensive wallpaper. Tony and Michelle scoff at the dull, lifeless party the wealthy "posh" kids are enjoying and decide to show them up with seductive dancing.

Sid goes to find Cassie, and they discuss her anorexia. While they talk, Chris, Anwar and Maxxie arrive, having found Bristol's gay scene dull. While Chris dirties the floor with his shoes, the posh kids gang up on the newcomers, and a fight begins after Tony punches a posh boy in the face. The fight is broken up as Sid runs in with an unconscious Cassie, who told him she had taken pills before passing out. The group, along with a posh Polish girl from the party, steal a Mercedes car and drive Cassie to the city hospital, where Cassie wakes, seemingly fine. The gang then drive to the harbour. While parked, Sid accidentally hits the car's handbrake while searching for skins in Tony's back pocket. The car rolls into the harbour, destroying the three ounces of spliff.

The group, minus Chris and the Pole, climb out of the submerged car and walk home. Tony and Sid later retire to Tony's bed, with both of them depressed that Sid is still a virgin despite being sixteen, which Tony feels is embarrassing. Sid asks Tony if Chris and the Pole got out of the car at the hospital; Tony says that they did.

Main cast

Arc significance and continuity

Tony's home life

Series relevance

  • Tony Stonem A manipulative, narcissistic and intelligent teenager who is the group's leader and has a girlfriend, yet flirts with other girls.
  • Sid Jenkins A self-conscious "sidekick" to Tony, forever in his friend's shadow. Sid is a virgin and is in love with Tony's girlfriend, Michelle. Sid sleeps a lot and is doing poorly in college.
  • Chris Miles A party-goer and experimentalist with various drugs. Chris does anything for fun and is in love with his psychology teacher, Angie. He has a sweet "schoolboy" love for her and every day offers to carry her books. He even badmouths his own Health Science teacher for making Angie upset.
  • Maxxie Oliver A gay dancer and actor whose current ambition is to include a tap dancing routine in Death of a Salesman . Despite being gay, he is best friends with Anwar, who is a Muslim. This unorthodox relationship causes problems toward the end of the season.
  • Anwar Kharral A Muslim of Pakistani descent. Despite being a Muslim, Anwar consumes alcohol and drugs and hopes to lose his virginity before marriage. His best friend is Maxxie, who is gay, which causes problems later in the series. These, along with his English accent, indicate that Anwar grew up in the United Kingdom rather than Pakistan. Whether he is British by birth or immigrated to Britain is never stated.
  • Jal Fazer Daughter of (fictional) famous reggae and grime artist Ronny Fazer, she is a dedicated clarinetist. She is portrayed as slightly more conservative and prudent than the others, but not excessively so.
  • Michelle Richardson Tony's girlfriend, she has been best friends with Sid and Tony for years. She puts up with continuous insults from Tony including him nicknaming her "Nips" because "her nipples are funny" and "one breast is bigger than the other". She seems to love Tony more than he loves her despite him being flirtatious with other girls.
  • Cassie Ainsworth is an anorexic sex addict. She refuses to eat, but instead has regular casual sex and does drugs, but not weed because "it makes you hungry". She also suffers from mild OCD and likes to arrange food in people's cabinets. She is spacey and says "wow" very often in a dazed tone and is very blunt. She has a crush on Sid.
  • Effy Stonem is Tony's little sister, initially introduced as a recurring character, she later becomes a main character in season three after Tony leaves for university and she begins college. For almost the entirety of the first season, she does not speak, however she is a wild club-goer who drinks, smokes and parties all night despite her young age of fourteen.

U.S. version

This episode is remade almost shot-for-shot for the U.S. adaption of Skins. Differences include

Soundtrack

Related Research Articles

<i>Skins</i> (British TV series) British television series (2007–2013)

Skins is a British teen comedy drama television series that follows the lives of a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of sixth form. Its controversial story-lines have explored issues like dysfunctional families, mental illness, adolescent sexuality, gender, substance abuse, death, and bullying.

Tony Stonem Character in Skins

Anthony "Tony" Stonem is a fictional character from the British television series Skins. He is the protagonist of the first seasons. Portrayed by Nicholas Hoult, the character was created by Bryan Elsley; Tony was the series' central character in its first and second season, from 2007–2008. In the first series finale, he is hit by a bus, leading to a trauma-related subplot in the second series. The character is considered an antihero, and in some respects his actions are very antagonistic due to his antisocial tendencies. However, this changes in the second series after he becomes a victim of a subdural hematoma and, as a result, becomes more vulnerable. Hoult, along with the other starring actors of the first two series, departed the show after its second season. The character was subsequently alluded to in episodes of the third and fourth series, which centred on Tony's sister Effy, played by Kaya Scodelario. In the 2011 North American adaptation of the show, Tony is played by actor James Newman, and the character's surname is changed to Schneider.

Cassie Ainsworth Fictional character from Skins

Cassandra "Cassie" Ainsworth is a fictional character in the television series Skins, portrayed by Hannah Murray.

Maxxie Oliver Fictional character from Skins

Maxwell "Maxxie" Oliver is a fictional character in the British television series Skins. He is portrayed by actor Mitch Hewer.

Jal Fazer Fictional character from Skins

Jalander "Jal" Fazer is a fictional character in the television series Skins portrayed by Larissa Wilson.

Sid Jenkins Fictional character from Skins

Sidney "Sid" Jenkins is a fictional character in the television series Skins portrayed by Mike Bailey. In the first series, Sid is portrayed as a nice guy stereotype, an unlucky virgin who is nervous around girls, and has low self-esteem. Tony Stonem is his role model, whom he frequently looks up to. However, by the second series, Sid is more dependable and following Tony's accident, becomes more confident in his own skin, leading him to have sexual relationships with both Cassie Ainsworth and Michelle Richardson, as well as standing up for himself more often.

Michelle Richardson Fictional character from Skins

Michelle Richardson is a fictional character in both the teen drama British series and U.S. remake of Skins. She is played by April Pearson in the British version and by Rachel Thevenard in the American version.

Anwar Kharral Fictional character from Skins

Anwar Kharral is a fictional character in the television series Skins portrayed by Dev Patel.

Chris Miles (Skins) Fictional character from Skins

Christopher "Chris" Miles is a fictional character in the British teen drama Skins, portrayed by Joe Dempsie.

Sketch (<i>Skins</i> character) Fictional character from Skins

Lucy Sketch is a fictional character in British teen drama series Skins. She is portrayed by Aimee-Ffion Edwards.

"Cassie" is the second episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Paul Gay. It aired on E4 on 1 February 2007. It is told from the point of view of main character Cassie Ainsworth.

"Jal" is the third episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Adam Smith. It premiered on E4 on 8 February 2007. It is told from the point of view of main character Jal Fazer.

"Sid" is the fifth episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Jamie Brittain and directed by Minkie Spiro. It aired on E4 on 22 February 2007. It is told from the point of view of main character Sid Jenkins.

"Maxxie and Anwar" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Simon Amstell and Ben Schiffer and was directed by Chris Clough. It first aired on E4 on 1 March 2007. It is told from the points of view of main characters Maxxie Oliver and Anwar Kharral.

"Michelle" is the seventh episode of the first series of the British teen drama skins. It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Minkie Spiro. It premiered on E4 on 8 March 2007. It is told from the point of view of main character Michelle Richardson.

"Effy" is the eighth and penultimate episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by Adam Smith. It aired on E4 on 15 March 2007. It is told from the point of view of recurring character Effy Stonem and her brother, main character Tony Stonem.

"Everyone" is the ninth and final episode of the first series of the British teen drama Skins. It was written by Bryan Elsley and directed by Adam Smith. It first aired on E4 in the UK on 22 March 2007. Contrarily to the season's other episodes, it does not focus particularly on one character but on the group as a whole, a first for the show.

<i>Skins</i> (series 1) 1st series of the British television show Skins

Skins is a British teen drama created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures. The first series began airing on E4 on 25 January 2007 and ended on 22 March 2007. This series sees the introduction of a new cast; it follows the lives of the first generation of sixth form students Tony Stonem, Michelle Richardson, Sid Jenkins, Cassie Ainsworth, Chris Miles, Jal Fazer, Maxxie Oliver and Anwar Kharral.

<i>Skins</i> (series 2) 2nd series of the British television show Skins

Skins is a British teen drama created by father-and-son television writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures. The second series began airing on E4 on 11 February 2008 and ended on 14 April 2008. Like the previous series, this series follows the lives of the first generation, which consists of Tony Stonem, Michelle Richardson, Sid Jenkins, Cassie Ainsworth, Chris Miles, Jal Fazer, Maxxie Oliver and Anwar Kharral.

References