Sensitive Skin (TV series)

Sensitive Skin
Series title card
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Hugo Blick
Starring	Joanna Lumley Denis Lawson Annabel Capper James Lance Nicholas Jones Maggie Steed
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	12
Production
Producer(s)	Hugo Blick
Editor(s)	Graham Hodson
Running time	approx. 29 mins per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two
Original airing	10 November 2005

Sensitive Skin is a British black comedy/drama, produced by Baby Cow Productions for BBC Two. It stars Joanna Lumley and first aired in 2005, with a second series following in 2007. Series 1 and 2 have aired on CBC Country Canada. Series 1 aired in Australia on ABC TV in mid 2007 (repeated 2009).

On 16 April 2008, BBC Video announced a DVD release. Sensitive Skin - The Complete Seasons 1 and 2 — a 2-disc set including all 12 original episodes from the First and Second Seasons — would be released on 5 August 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Plot summary

Series 1

The first series is about an affluent couple, Al and Davina Jackson (Lumley), who live in metropolitan London. Along with their friends, Al and Davina struggle with sexual temptation and professional jealously and try to cope with their fear of the future. Al is a pundit for a broadsheet newspaper and is paid to find imperfection in everything, while Davina works in an art gallery and is paid to make life more beautiful. But being 60 isn't simple – the couple's 30 year old son, Orlando (James Lance), refuses to acknowledge adulthood, and Davina's sister, Veronica (Maggie Steed), and her husband, Roger, intimidate the Jacksons with their confident and controlled grasp of life.

Series 2

The second series sees Davina attempt to start her life again, six months after the death of Al. She embarks on a journey to rediscover personal happiness, however her efforts are hampered by the difficulties she faces in coping with grief alone and Veronica, who is still blaming her for everything she can.

The closing music on the last episode is "Come Again" by Canadian Counter tenor Daniel Taylor. The full music list can be found at http://www.babycow.co.uk/music.html

Reception

The series garnered great critical reception, praising the performances and the melancholic style, which set it apart from the standard cringe-driven comedies that had been in wide circulation since The Office. Public reception was also good, with people appreciating the return of Joanna Lumley and warming to the sparse comedic style.

"One of the best pieces of television in years... Sensitive Skin, a portrait of a disturbingly disconnected ageing beauty whose marriage gradually disintegrates, is part comedy, part poignant drama, and is one of the finest performances of Lumley’s 38-year career" Jasper Gerard, Sunday Times

DVD release

Sensitive Skin - The Complete Seasons 1 and 2 was released on Region 1 DVD on 5 August 2008. The two-disc collection includes all 12 episodes from the first and second seasons.^{[citation needed]}

American Adaptation

American premium cable network HBO has announced an upcoming adaptation of the show starring Kim Cattrall of Sex and the City fame. [1] The US version will be written by Emmy-winning “The Sopranos” writers Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green and will take place in New York City. “Sensitive Skin” falls under a development deal Cattrall inked with HBO when she signed on for the “Sex and the City” feature. Cattrall, Burgess, Green and Blick are exec producing with Henry Normal, whose Baby Cow Prods. was behind the British series.

External links

• Sensitive Skin at the British Film Institute
• Sensitive Skin at the British Comedy Guide
• Sensitive Skin at the Internet Movie Database