Naomi (Skins episode)
Encyclopedia
"Naomi" is the sixth episode of the third series of the English teen drama
Skins
, which first aired on 26 February 2009 on E4 in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The episode was written by Atiha Sen Gupta and Jack Thorne
, and was directed by Simon Massey. The episode focuses on the character of Naomi Campbell (Lily Loveless
) as she competes against James Cook (Jack O'Connell
) in their college's elections for Student President. She enters a romantic relationship with her classmate Emily Fitch (Kathryn Prescott
) while also receiving affection from her teacher Kieran (Ardal O'Hanlon
).
The episode was filmed in October 2008. The weather was so cold during filming that one scene taking place in a lake had to be shortened when Prescott was taken to a standby ambulance with suspected hypothermia
. "Naomi" brought in 957,000 viewers and was E4's highest-rated programme of the week. Critical reviews of the episode were generally positive.
) and fifteen other people in a communal living arrangement. This is a source of annoyance to Naomi, whose privacy is invaded when she wakes up one morning, naked, to discover that a male hippy is sleeping in her bed. At college, she avoids Emily to meet with her politics teacher Kieran instead. In the students' common room, they are informed of the upcoming elections for Student President. Emily encourages Naomi to run for president, but Naomi refuses. She later comes across Cook, who tries to persuade her to have sex with him. She jokingly tells him that he has a better chance of winning the student elections, which he sees as a challenge and decides to register. Kieran walks her home at the end of the day and urges her to run in the elections, giving her a registration form. When she arrives at her house, she finds Emily waiting in her bedroom with another registration form. Emily starts to leave when Naomi is rude and standoffish to her—despite taking Emily's advice to enter the elections—but returns and confronts her. She coldly tells her that she is not obsessed with pursuing a sexual relationship with her, and Naomi suggests she stay the night with her.
When Naomi wakes up the following morning, she leaves Emily in her bed as she goes to college. At college, she sees the massive presidential campaign staged by Cook and JJ (Ollie Barbieri
). She launches her own campaign to rival Cook, but finds that most of her classmates' support is for Cook's anarchist ideas. She is doubly humiliated in front of the form when Cook ridicules her and Emily subsequently stands up for her. She flees to Kieran for comfort but leaves him, shocked and disgusted, when he kisses her. She goes home and, after finding a note from Emily in her bed, cries herself to sleep.
Naomi and Emily escape to the countryside later that evening and cycle to one of Emily's favourite places by a lake before sunset. After swimming in the lake, they light a campfire. The two then kiss and proceed to make love. Emily wakes up the following morning to find Naomi preparing to leave. She pleas for Naomi not to leave her a second time, and telling her that she should accept that she needs to be loved. Naomi returns home to find Kieran in bed with her mother, and leaves for college, devastated. She witnesses her teachers' rigging the votes to prevent Cook from winning, and reveals this to the form after she is announced the winner of the elections. As his first presidential act, Cook starts a riot. In the ensuing chaos, Naomi forgives Kieran and begins to have sex with Cook before she realises that it "isn't right". She leaves, with her and Cook now sharing a better understanding of each other. That night, she visits Emily's house, but Emily refuses to open the door, not wanting Naomi to see her after she had been crying. They sit on opposite sides of the door, and Naomi admits that she does need somebody to love her. Emily offers her hand through the door's catflap to Naomi, who finally reciprocates Emily's feelings.
", and the series' opening title sequence. The riot scene in front of the college was filmed with 100 extras; Cook's petrol-bombing of the car was described by costume assistant Ros Marshall as "probably the most hi-tech special effect we've had while filming Skins". The students' college common room was filmed in the show's production canteen. Originally, an entire scene was supposed to be filmed with Naomi and Emily in the lake, but the water was so cold that the actors were unable to stay in the water, and Kathryn Prescott was taken to a standby ambulance with suspected hypothermia
. Director Simon Massey choreographed Naomi and Emily's sex scene prior to filming so that, on the set, the actions would come instinctively to the actors and they would be able to complete the scene in a limited number of takes. While Lily Loveless enjoyed filming those scenes because "stuff like that gives you experience", Prescott said that it concerned her, though she said that she was not pressured to do anything in the script that made her uncomfortable.
Stylist Kirstie Stanway began to differentiate between Emily and her twin sister Katie's hair and makeup with this episode to show that the twins are starting to "move along their own paths". She re-styled Katie's character in particular to illustrate that she is now "desperate not to be lumped with her sister as she really doesn't approve of the new girl in her life". Ardal O'Hanlon grew a beard for his role as Kieran and was given a scar under one eye to give his character a "more rugged look". Ros Marshall said that Cook's mock-presentation of himself as "Cook Guevara
" paid homage to The Clash
's Joe Strummer
and "the youth cultures of days gone by", and that his Dr. Martens
brogues
were a reference to skinheads of the 1980s. Marshall made Cook and JJ's campaign rosettes by hand from Rizla
rolling papers.
Sarah Warn, editor-in chief of lesbian-based website AfterEllen.com wrote that the episode's focus on Naomi and Emily "was one of the best-developed and most honest depictions of a lesbian teenage relationship that I've ever seen on TV." A critic for PopSugar.com
thought both Naomi and Cook to be more likable after the episode and enjoyed the development of their friendship throughout. They found Emily's plea to Naomi as Naomi left the campsite "heartbreaking" and called Kieran "one of my favourite recurring characters this series". Digital Spy
's Dan French gave the episode a positive review, describing it as "chaotic" and "full of lady-lovin'". He praised Naomi's relationship with Kieran, which he saw as a reference to the affair between Chris Miles
, a first generation character from Skins first and second series, and his teacher Angie. The entertainment editor for eurOut.org
, a website for European lesbians, thought that Naomi and Emily's storyline was "definitely one of the best portrayals of teenage lesbians I've ever seen", writing that "when the focus is more on cute girls falling for each other, this show isn't half bad". Another eurOut.org
writer, Cate O'Neil, said that "Naomi" was "probably the best individual lesbian episode I have seen on TV. Ever." In response to O'Hanlon's nude scene as Kieran, Sara Nathan of The Sun
said, "If seeing [him] clad in lycra as Thermoman in My Hero wasn't bad enough, now he's leaving nothing to the imagination."
Teen drama
A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s...
Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
, which first aired on 26 February 2009 on E4 in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The episode was written by Atiha Sen Gupta and Jack Thorne
Jack Thorne (writer)
Jack Thorne is an English screenwriter and playwright. Born in Bristol, England, he has written for radio, theatre and film, most notably on the TV shows Skins, Cast-offs, This Is England '86, The Fades and the feature film The Scouting Book For Boys...
, and was directed by Simon Massey. The episode focuses on the character of Naomi Campbell (Lily Loveless
Lily Loveless
Lily May Loveless is an English actress, best known for her role as Naomi Campbell in the BAFTA award winning drama Skins.-Career:...
) as she competes against James Cook (Jack O'Connell
Jack O'Connell (actor)
Jack O'Connell , is a British actor, from Alvaston, Derby, England. He went to St Benedict Catholic School and Performing Arts College...
) in their college's elections for Student President. She enters a romantic relationship with her classmate Emily Fitch (Kathryn Prescott
Kathryn Prescott
Kathryn "Kat" Prescott is an English actress. Born in Southgate, London, Prescott is best known for her portrayal of teenager Emily Fitch on the teen drama television series Skins.-Career:...
) while also receiving affection from her teacher Kieran (Ardal O'Hanlon
Ardal O'Hanlon
Ardal O'Hanlon is an Irish comedian and actor, best known for his roles in television sitcoms as Father Dougal McGuire in Father Ted and George Sunday in My Hero.-Early life:...
).
The episode was filmed in October 2008. The weather was so cold during filming that one scene taking place in a lake had to be shortened when Prescott was taken to a standby ambulance with suspected hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
. "Naomi" brought in 957,000 viewers and was E4's highest-rated programme of the week. Critical reviews of the episode were generally positive.
Plot
Naomi lives with her hippy mother Gina (Olivia ColmanOlivia Colman
Olivia Colman is an English actress, best known for her supporting roles in various comedy shows, such as Sophie Chapman in Peep Show and Harriet Schulenburg in Green Wing. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has appeared in radio, television and theatre.-Personal life:Colman...
) and fifteen other people in a communal living arrangement. This is a source of annoyance to Naomi, whose privacy is invaded when she wakes up one morning, naked, to discover that a male hippy is sleeping in her bed. At college, she avoids Emily to meet with her politics teacher Kieran instead. In the students' common room, they are informed of the upcoming elections for Student President. Emily encourages Naomi to run for president, but Naomi refuses. She later comes across Cook, who tries to persuade her to have sex with him. She jokingly tells him that he has a better chance of winning the student elections, which he sees as a challenge and decides to register. Kieran walks her home at the end of the day and urges her to run in the elections, giving her a registration form. When she arrives at her house, she finds Emily waiting in her bedroom with another registration form. Emily starts to leave when Naomi is rude and standoffish to her—despite taking Emily's advice to enter the elections—but returns and confronts her. She coldly tells her that she is not obsessed with pursuing a sexual relationship with her, and Naomi suggests she stay the night with her.
When Naomi wakes up the following morning, she leaves Emily in her bed as she goes to college. At college, she sees the massive presidential campaign staged by Cook and JJ (Ollie Barbieri
Ollie Barbieri
Ollie Barbieri is a British actor, best known for his role as JJ Jones in the hit British TV drama Skins.- Career :In 2008, he was cast as JJ Jones in Skins.He was later cast as Enrique in Anuvahood....
). She launches her own campaign to rival Cook, but finds that most of her classmates' support is for Cook's anarchist ideas. She is doubly humiliated in front of the form when Cook ridicules her and Emily subsequently stands up for her. She flees to Kieran for comfort but leaves him, shocked and disgusted, when he kisses her. She goes home and, after finding a note from Emily in her bed, cries herself to sleep.
Naomi and Emily escape to the countryside later that evening and cycle to one of Emily's favourite places by a lake before sunset. After swimming in the lake, they light a campfire. The two then kiss and proceed to make love. Emily wakes up the following morning to find Naomi preparing to leave. She pleas for Naomi not to leave her a second time, and telling her that she should accept that she needs to be loved. Naomi returns home to find Kieran in bed with her mother, and leaves for college, devastated. She witnesses her teachers' rigging the votes to prevent Cook from winning, and reveals this to the form after she is announced the winner of the elections. As his first presidential act, Cook starts a riot. In the ensuing chaos, Naomi forgives Kieran and begins to have sex with Cook before she realises that it "isn't right". She leaves, with her and Cook now sharing a better understanding of each other. That night, she visits Emily's house, but Emily refuses to open the door, not wanting Naomi to see her after she had been crying. They sit on opposite sides of the door, and Naomi admits that she does need somebody to love her. Emily offers her hand through the door's catflap to Naomi, who finally reciprocates Emily's feelings.
Production
"Naomi" was filmed in October 2008, in the same production block as the series' fourth episode, "PandoraPandora (Skins episode)
"Pandora" is the fourth episode of the third series of the English teen drama Skins, which first aired on 12 February 2009 on E4 in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The episode was written by Bryan Elsley and Georgia Lester, and was directed by Simon Massey...
", and the series' opening title sequence. The riot scene in front of the college was filmed with 100 extras; Cook's petrol-bombing of the car was described by costume assistant Ros Marshall as "probably the most hi-tech special effect we've had while filming Skins". The students' college common room was filmed in the show's production canteen. Originally, an entire scene was supposed to be filmed with Naomi and Emily in the lake, but the water was so cold that the actors were unable to stay in the water, and Kathryn Prescott was taken to a standby ambulance with suspected hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
. Director Simon Massey choreographed Naomi and Emily's sex scene prior to filming so that, on the set, the actions would come instinctively to the actors and they would be able to complete the scene in a limited number of takes. While Lily Loveless enjoyed filming those scenes because "stuff like that gives you experience", Prescott said that it concerned her, though she said that she was not pressured to do anything in the script that made her uncomfortable.
Stylist Kirstie Stanway began to differentiate between Emily and her twin sister Katie's hair and makeup with this episode to show that the twins are starting to "move along their own paths". She re-styled Katie's character in particular to illustrate that she is now "desperate not to be lumped with her sister as she really doesn't approve of the new girl in her life". Ardal O'Hanlon grew a beard for his role as Kieran and was given a scar under one eye to give his character a "more rugged look". Ros Marshall said that Cook's mock-presentation of himself as "Cook Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
" paid homage to The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
and "the youth cultures of days gone by", and that his Dr. Martens
Dr. Martens
Dr. Martens is a traditional British footwear brand, which also makes a range of accessories – shoe care products, clothing, luggage, etc. In addition to Dr. Martens, they are known as Doctor Martens, Doc Martens, Docs or DMs...
brogues
Brogues
The Brogue is a style of low-heeled shoe or boot traditionally characterized by multiple-piece, sturdy leather uppers with decorative perforations and serration along the pieces' visible edges...
were a reference to skinheads of the 1980s. Marshall made Cook and JJ's campaign rosettes by hand from Rizla
Rizla
RizLa+ , known in English as Rizla is a brand of rolling papers and cigarette tubes or blanks in which tobacco is rolled or stuffed to form handmade cigarettes....
rolling papers.
Reception
"Naomi" drew 957,000 viewers and was E4's highest-rated programme of the week.Sarah Warn, editor-in chief of lesbian-based website AfterEllen.com wrote that the episode's focus on Naomi and Emily "was one of the best-developed and most honest depictions of a lesbian teenage relationship that I've ever seen on TV." A critic for PopSugar.com
Popsugar
PopSugar.com is Sugar Publishing's celebrity news and gossip site. Founded in March 2005, the site is based in San Francisco, California.PopSugar is the flagship site for the Sugar Network, which now includes nine additional sites.-Editors:...
thought both Naomi and Cook to be more likable after the episode and enjoyed the development of their friendship throughout. They found Emily's plea to Naomi as Naomi left the campsite "heartbreaking" and called Kieran "one of my favourite recurring characters this series". Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
's Dan French gave the episode a positive review, describing it as "chaotic" and "full of lady-lovin'". He praised Naomi's relationship with Kieran, which he saw as a reference to the affair between Chris Miles
Chris Miles
Christopher "Chris" Miles is a fictional character in the television series Skins portrayed by Joe Dempsie.-Characterization:Chris's character was initially portrayed as being very into pills and as being something of a hedonist, but at the same time had other layers to his personality. According...
, a first generation character from Skins first and second series, and his teacher Angie. The entertainment editor for eurOut.org
EurOut.org
eurOut.org, founded in September 2008, is a European website dedicated to bringing their readers the latest news about lesbian and bisexual women in entertainment and politics in the English language. The website was founded by Sandra Showtime who also functioned as its editor-in-chief until...
, a website for European lesbians, thought that Naomi and Emily's storyline was "definitely one of the best portrayals of teenage lesbians I've ever seen", writing that "when the focus is more on cute girls falling for each other, this show isn't half bad". Another eurOut.org
EurOut.org
eurOut.org, founded in September 2008, is a European website dedicated to bringing their readers the latest news about lesbian and bisexual women in entertainment and politics in the English language. The website was founded by Sandra Showtime who also functioned as its editor-in-chief until...
writer, Cate O'Neil, said that "Naomi" was "probably the best individual lesbian episode I have seen on TV. Ever." In response to O'Hanlon's nude scene as Kieran, Sara Nathan of The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
said, "If seeing [him] clad in lycra as Thermoman in My Hero wasn't bad enough, now he's leaving nothing to the imagination."