representations

Yeah it shows the gritty realities of being a teenager in the uk today ok some bits are a bit ott bou onthe whole is true to life yeah.

Oh, Dr. Beeching what have you done?
There once were lots of trains to catch

I think shows like Skins and Sugar rush portray teenage life quite acurrately, obviously its over dramatised and they make sure the characters experience quite a wealth of expreriences but it still dipicts aspects of youth culture in a non patronising and accessable way. the only problem i think is that they glorify some of these things a little too much and probably do encourage non-sensible teens to experiment more with sex, drugs etc. i think though this is better than things like one tree hill and dawsons creek (classic and watchable though they are) which patronise you and dont allow you to see flaws in the characters like natural teen curiousity. i like that british dramas arnt afraid to let the characters have faults and be unlikeable sometimes.

"he's a good guy if he's willing to cover himself in your bodily fluids"- paramedic

It's been quite a while since I was a teenager but I still remember it like yesterday, and I think this show is bang on. I don't think I've really seen anything else that gets teenagers quite right. They either make them totally chavvy and totally over do it, or they under do it, or they just misunderstand it. And often they get the drinking and smoking wrong too. They make out like the kids drink and it's a big deal and they do it to fit and be cool and it's really dangerous blah blah. The reality for a LOT of teenagers is that they just get pissed because its fun, and it has absolutely no consequences at all. I think Americans especially are absolutely paranoid about drinking, but you can go and down a load of vodka or some cheap spirits down under the pier a couple of nights a week and you'll never become an alcoholic.

I think Sugar Rush is/was really accurate. The only thing I would say is that it's a little bit exaggerated, partly for dramatic effect because it's a TV show so the girls get up to a bit more than most teenagers as mentioned by a poster above. But also because they live in Brighton. I grew up in a big city so if you couldn't get in to pubs and clubs at age 14/15, there was limited places to go. There was a park which was ok but that was pretty much it. Other similar places were either too far, or were dangerous/scary/seedy. With Brighton I get the impression that there are more places for kids to hang out and get wasted. And lastly, because they both come from pretty messed up families. Sugar is a total latch key kid, and Kim has a LOT of freedom, but she does at least have some family presence, even though they are pretty preoccupied with their own stuff.

Good show.