Hercules The Strong says:
Everybody seems to like this pilot a whole lot more than I did – maybe because most of them saw the first two episodes and I only saw the pilot. The “Skin” characters, to my ears, come off as all carboardy and familiar. And unlike its fellow freshman Fox soap, “The O.C.,” the “Skin” pilot is just teeming with scenes that ring false, like the one that depicts a porn magnate “surprising” potential investors by trotting out semi-nude stars. “Wow!” the investors’ faces tell us. “Who expected a porn king to trot out half-naked girls at a meeting?? Where do I sign away my billions??!!” But, again, perhaps things get better in episode two.
TV Guide says:
… as irresistible as it is overripe … unexpectedly engrossing and suspenseful … the dads steal the show …
The Hollywood Reportersays:
… might be described as a cross between "Boogie Nights" and "Romeo and Juliet" except that it contains fresh elements found in neither. It is, in reality, a very clever series that balances Fox's need for teen angst and romance with a superbly constructed chess game between powerful adversaries played by outstanding actors. …
Variety says:
… watchable … Granted, even the bard would be challenged to transform "Romeo & Juliet" into a Fox sudser set against the porn industry, but "Skin's" producers have pulled it off about as well as can be done despite inherent limitations. … while D.J. Cotrona and Olivia Wilde are extremely attractive, watching them coo at each other starts to grow tiresome by the end of the second hour screened. …Writer-producer Jim Leonard also concocts a fair amount of intrigue … He doesn't help the show's cause, however, with whiny teen dialogue like Adam saying, "The less my parents are home, the more rules they make." … it at least represents an attempt at turning out a quality, character-driven drama -- a welcome departure from the Bruckheimer factory's steady output of crimeshows
USA Today gives it three stars (out of four) and says:
The plot maze is amusingly complicated, and the fine cast wends its way through it with sure-footed conviction. As for the teen-targeted stars, Cotrona and Wilde make an almost impossibly attractive couple. … Following the plot won't be easy, but that's the beauty of Skin. It's lovely to look at, even when you're not sure what's going on underneath.
9 p.m. Monday. Fox.
